Here is a classic scam from Craigslist.They offer to buy your item you advertised via classified for more money than you ask for ($375 in my case, he offered $500).They even give you a bleeding heart story about wife dying in accident.
From: ike derico Alright,i live in North Georgia United State.Am quite comfortable with the condition of the item since i wont be making any repairs on it,i will like to offer you $500 including packing materials without you paying for any shipping charges b'cos i already have an account with FedEx,i would have loved to make the payment in cash and carry but we are not in the same state so i will like to go ahead with the payment by sending you a Money Order But i will need your contact infomation in which the money will be deliver ok.I wonna buy this [item name] for my step son to fulfill the promise his mum made before she died,i lost my lovely wife to an auto accident on 29th of June 2005 and since then i and her step son john have been living seperately and i want to buy this item for him because his mom promised him before death took her away from us and i think with this i and tobi can live as a family. Kindly get back to me immediately you receive my e-mail and i will like you to take it off craigslist for auction cos am serious in buying it.So let me have your full infomation ofr pyment to be made.... Best Regards. .I.Derico
Note how they can't pick up proper English names? I got another from 'ortega hanson'.
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Comments
Anonymous (not verified)
pretty much every scam i get
Fri, 2010/01/15 - 12:12pretty much every scam i get ends with gmail.com
Lesleigh (not verified)
$2880.09 cashier's check from TD Bank fedex, western union
Sat, 2010/03/06 - 11:51I got scammed by:
jamescopper@yahoo.com AKA: James Copper
He contacted me about purchasing one of my chocolate labs that I had for sale. He contacted me via AT&T touch teller, and had me email him the info about the puppies. He then said he would be sending me a cashier's check for the amount of the dog and the amount that I would have to Western Union to his "shipper" since he was out of state. When I got the check in a FedEx envelope on March 2nd 2009 I called the bank it was drawn off of to make sure it was a real cashier's check. They verified that it was and it was drawn off of one of their branches. I then took the cashier's check to my bank and told them the story and asked what the policy was as far as it "clearing" or if there would be a "hold" or what the procedures were. They told me it was just as good as cash in hand....well, that didn't end up being the case. I cashed the check, kept my portion, western unioned the remaining amount to his "shipper" and 3 days later the bank contacted me because the cashier's check was a counterfeit. I'm out $2,080.09 and the cops won't do anything, the bank won't do anything, and from what I found out, FedEx issues a fraud alert on that account and they won't do anything either.
Name on the check (from): Thomas Moore
I know there was at least 25 other people that were scammed by this same guy on the same day....any info, please help me: lesleighdoud@yahoo.com
Thanks!
Anonymous (not verified)
Thanks for posting your info.
Tue, 2010/03/09 - 17:03Thanks for posting your info. I was to cash the check today and end up doing the same thing you did. He sent me a check for the same amount 2,880.09.
Anonymous (not verified)
cashier's check fraud
Sat, 2010/05/29 - 00:33I AM SO GLAD I FOUND THIS THREAD!!! THANKS FOR ALL YOUR POSTS BC IT CONFIRMS IT!!! just today, i randomly received a check in the mail (express mail costing $26.00 for shipping) for $3942.00. i was not selling anything but i was looking for jobs (emailing resumes with my address on them MISTAKE!!) on craigslist and had heard back from a personal asst position that seemed VERY shady. anyway, there was nothing else in the envelope but the check. the check was a cashier's check from TD Bank with "RE: Thomas Moore" listed right below it. there was no date and the signature on the check was hard to read. i was VERY suspicious so i went to my bank and asked the tellers and they said that they wouldn't trust it but to double check with the bank manager. he said to contact the bank listed on the check and give them the cashier's number, acct #, and routing # and they'd be able to tell me if it was legitimate. i did & TD Bank told me that the routing & account numbers on the cashier's check were legitimate but she wasn't able to look up the cashier's check number & that i would have to go to an actually branch to have them look it up...why, i don't know?? but i couldn't do that bc there are no TD branches in tennessee so that's as far as i got with TD Bank. after all this, i still didn't understand how these scammers could fraud me with the cashier's check??? especially, since no one was asking money from me...however, the bank manager did say that the way the fraud works is when i write down my account number on the back of the check when depositing, the scammers will now have access not only to my bank routing number but my acct number, too. once, they have all this information they can use it to purchase things online with all my bank information. what a relief i went with my instincts and asked someone at my bank. VERY SCARY STUFF!!
Anonymous (not verified)
Check scam
Fri, 2010/06/11 - 21:48Same thing Happened to me and my husband. He is disabled so he can't work a normal job. So we looked on Craigslist found a great fit for him a assistant to answer phone calls and give info to customers easy right? wel we kept getting Emails saying they were sending a package with a check. First thing I thought wow thats wierd! Havent even done any work yet. So we waited to recieve the check then googled everything on it and found this site and more. so glad there are post like this to help people find out whats going on. I can't wait to see if they email or call us and we can find out what their plan is.
Anonymous (not verified)
scam with TD Bank check
Tue, 2010/06/22 - 16:22the same thing happened to me - I applied for a job posting on craigslist - received email asking for name, address, phone, email. since they already had my email i said i would not put the phone. he sent a further email asking that i purchase toys for a local church and a check would be in the mail - a few days later the check came in. he did not ask for any money but I believe it was because I answered him when received the check from my work address - I work for a very well known university. so then a few days later I went to the bank and sure enough TD Bank has a list of these checks - all with Thomas Moore in the subject line - ALL ARE FAKE PEOPLE. I handed over the check along with emailing all the emails I received. The bank is convinced that they stopped contacting me when I emailed them from work because that spooked them.
Don't deal with any cashiers checks unless you can cash them and wait until it clears - chances are it will not. I suggest going to the bank and telling them the story. if the check clears great but I doubt it will
Anonymous (not verified)
I'm so glad this thread
Fri, 2010/05/28 - 12:33I'm so glad this thread exist. I almost got scammed yesterday. I am selling a camera and this person emailed me and saying he is willing to pay $200 more to get it. I got cautious right away and glad I went to do internet search and found all your comments here. Thank you guys so much!
So everyone, this is another scam email. Please be careful.
ruth johnson
Second email (I replied saying I'd prefer to do face to face deal)
Hi,
Thanks for the reply i am willing to offer $2100 if you can assure me it's in good working condition send me a PayPal payment invoice of $2100 to my email ruth.j69@gmail.com once i get the invoice i'll transfer the money ASAP.
Thanks
Third email
I would have loved to come and see you in person so i can see the
condition and pay cash but i am presently out of town on a primary
assignment in new york that is why i am paying via paypal cos it is
safe and secured and also very easy to set up all you have to do is
log on to www.paypal.com and create the account when you are done
youshould send me a paypal money request to me on
ruth.j69@gmail.com as soon as i get the paypal money request i
would transfer the money for the Camera
Anonymous (not verified)
Same thing happened to me,
Tue, 2010/09/28 - 09:58SO glad I am a cautious person. I recieved the same email for my camera from the same person. This is my thread line with her/him:
Ruth:
I would have loved to come and pay cash so i can see the condition of the camera but i am presently working ofshore that is why i am paying via paypal cos it is safe and secured and very easy to set up all you have to do is log on to www.paypal.com and create the account when you are done you send me a paypal money request to me from your paypal account.And i added the extra money to cover for shipping and the paypal charges.
Ruth
My dumb a**:
Hi Ruth, I am coming back from a long days work right now. Wondering where u r located, and weather or not a cash transaction would be possible? I do not have a paypal account. Will have to look into it tomorrow as I will be getting back late tonight. It is in great condition though. Also wondering why u r willing to pay more, is it due to the fact of shipping and paypal?
Ruth:
Thanks for the reply i am willing to offer $600 if you can assure me
it's in good working condition send me a PayPal payment invoice of
$600 to my email bukkrite045@gmail.com once i get the invoice i'll
transfer the money ASAP.
Thanks
Anonymous (not verified)
I received a similar response
Tue, 2010/07/27 - 09:11I received a similar response to something I had on CL. I am brand new to CL and stupidly said money order is fine and provided the person with my name and address-no other info. Should I be worried?
Anonymous (not verified)
Mr. Henry Thomas returns
Thu, 2010/08/12 - 12:53Mr. Henry Thomas Check fraud on Craigslist my idem was for sale for $250 dollars here is his message. It sounded odd, replys from different email addresses with each reply, 2 first names, and the wording used, plus the phrases do not include any significant information about the idem you can tell he simply cut and pastes probably hundreds per day hoping for a hit. I googled "henry thomas craigslist" and there were several matches on this site to this character.
His replies
Message #1
-Hello
I am interested in buying this item and i will like to know if this item is still available for sale.
My Regards
Mr Henry Thomas.
Message #2
Hello ,
Thanks for your reply concerning my inquiry. I am quite comfortable with the condition of the item.Since I won't be making any repairs on it, I will add $30 to the purchase price... for you to hold it for me,Please provide your full name, Address and your Phone number so that I can send your payment.I will be paying you by a Money Order /Bank Check. It will take 2 -3 days for the payment to get to you,As for delivery, I will make arrangements for the pick-up after you have received payment,If this meets your approval, kindly get back to me,as soon as possible, with your name, phone # and mailing address where payment will be sent,so that I can have my assistant get the Money Order /Bank Check ready.
Note: As soon as you have your money in hand,we can talk about the picking up of the item. I would like you to take the posting off craigslist.org today and consider is sold to me.
Best Regards
Henry Thomas.
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