Another scam via Craigslist: offering more than asking price

I sold a piano online, buyer sd he would send money order, when it arrived it was for $1100.00 more than the buying price. Buyer asked me to send western union payment to his "shipper" who would pick it up. The part that got my attention was that the address for where to send the Wester Union payment was actually in the same town as the buyer. Why would he pay western union fees when he could go across town and hand payment to the shipper? Here is a copy of one of the emails-

I got a response from Courier service that the delivery of the payment will be done this morning and once its get delivered...I will like you to get the payment process at your bank immediately , You are to deduct the cost of the item and additional $30 for keeping the item for me after you have the payment process at your bank and then have the remaining funds sent to the mover via western union money transfer so that all other musical instruments bought from other sellers are picked up by the mover at once..i got in touch with the Moving company concerning pickup and they told me to get words with you as to when you will be available for them to effect pickup after they have receive their funds.

BELOW IS THE MOVER'S INFORMATION I WAS GIVEN FOR WESTERNUNION DETAILS.

NAME-- Mark Frederick
ADDRESS-- 509 East Thrush Avenue
City-- Peoria
STATE-- IL
ZIPCODE- 61603
COUNTRY-- USA

Also remember to deduct Western Union Charges from the funds and get back to me with total amount sent along with other information used e.g

MTCN (10 Digits)
Sender's Name and Address

Heres another craigslist scammer!

wesleystores@marshall4stores.com

Hi,
Thanks for your response. I'm going on a vacation to London but I will instruct my assistant to prepare and mail your payment which I'm sure you will get in about 4 - 6 business days. I'll add $20 extra for the delay. I'll pay by M O or cashier check so send me your info (i.e full name, mailing address and your phone number) so payment can be mailed out immediately. I will also make arrangement for pick-up which will be after you must have received and cashed the payment.
Awaiting your info.
Thanks

jamescole2999@aol.com

same exact message!!! glad i decided to google is email address before giving him mine!!!
Thanks for The response,I want to make it known that I'm okay with the price and status of the item But my payment will be in form of Cashiers Check via UPS next day delivery. Meanwhile I shall be taking up responsibility for Pick up,Which means you do not have to bother yourself about shipping The item. In other words I would be adding the pick up funds to the payment that will be sent to you, this is because I have some other items that the pick up company would need to get for me along with what I'm buying from you. The payment will also Have to clear before you Give the item up for Pick up. The movers fee will be included in the payment that will be sent to you in order to avoid any form of delay and to enable a proper time schedule for pick up arrangement of the item from your location after the check must have been cashed. As much as I would have loved to take time out to have a look on what I'm paying for, I cannot do so because I do not have the privilege to do such due to my time frame at work ,so in that case I would duly request that you send me more pictures for a closer look.
PS-I hope you understand the email quite well and will still want to go ahead with the transaction?If you are Okay with This arrangement Please do get back to me with your full name and address which should also include your cell or land phone number in order to make out payment to you. Thank you for understanding
Regards.
James....

This was my scam email on Craigs List. They seem to keep to a pretty solid routine.:

Hello,
Thanks for your prompt responds, However, i will need your name and
address for payment,As am only able to make payment by money order at
this time b/c i am away on assignment. It will be nice if you can send
me more pictures. It will take about 4days for payment to get to you.
As per pick-up, I will make arrangement for the pick-up after payment
has been received by you. I don't mind adding sixty dollars so you
can keep it in my favor.Please take the posting off Craigslist today
and consider it sold to me, Include your phone number.
Expecting to hear from you soon.
Regards
William Steeve.

How are you doing today ?i hope fine , I want you to understand that
the deal is on as my secretary just brought it to my notice that the
payment was already issued and schedule for mail and she included the
moving fee with your payment. So, instead of the actual amount, she
made out the check for $1,100. This was due to accumulated unpaid
transactions undertaken by the mover in the past weeks and they said
they can't come and pick this up if I don't pay them all together. So
once you have the check,i want you to cash it and deduct the money for
your good plus the extra $100 for taking the add down and for your
running around expenses, The remaining fund should please be sent to
my mover via western union money transfer so that they will be able
to facilitate the pick up arrangement and come for the pick up
immediately.

**Please email me at once to let me know that I can trust you to have
the money sent to my mover**

Thanks and I'm waiting to hear from you as soon as possible.

Got notification from my courier service that payment has been
delivered to your front door and signed
So i want you to have the check cash and deduct the money for your
item and extra $100 for taking the add down and for running around
expenses the remaining funds should be sent to my mover via western
union so that pick up arrangement can be facilitate later today.

Here is my mover's information to send the excess funds via western
union money transfer.

Name : Cindy Langella
City: Somers point
State: New Jersey
Zip Code: 08244

You are to deduct the western union sending fees from the excess funds
and get back to me with the following details later today....

#Actual Amount Sent After All Deductions...
#MTCN
#Sender's Name and Address.

Also let me know the best time for my mover to come over for pick-up.

Cheers

I replied to a rosiciky@globomail.com about a an item I posted for sale on craigslist. Then within the same thread of communication a Mikland Bell at krnstwrt54@marshall4stores.com came back with this nonsense.

Hi,
Thanks for your response. I'm going on a vacation to London but I will instruct my assistant to prepare and mail your payment which I'm sure you will get in about 4 - 6 business days. I'll add $20 extra for the delay. I'll pay by M O or cashier check so send me your info (i.e full name, mailing address and your phone number) so payment can be mailed out immediately. I will also make arrangement for pick-up which will be after you must have received and cashed the payment.
Awaiting your info.
Thanks

I also rec'd email from DeniseCrad@gmail. I am so glad I Googled her to find out this scamming information. Thankfully, I didn't provide her/him with any personal information.
This is her email below. Now that I know about these people/scammers - I will be so wary. Something about her email just sounded fishy anyway - and her English was unusual. I guess the only way to go is - Cash Only.

Hi,
Thanks for taking time to reply me back. Am sincerely sorry for
not getting back to you earlier enough. About the enquiry that I made,
I hope all that you said in the advert is correct as I would like to
make an instant purchase of it. I would have loved to come, take a look
and pay in cash but I have an urgent surgery which has to be done as soon
as possible. Well, have been able to link my email with my phone so there
wont be any delay in replying you as this is the best way to contact me for now.
So am willing to pay for it via a certified check. I don't mind paying an
additional cost of $50 for it in order for you to take the ad down from craigslist.
My P.A will send the check to you via courier service once i get your reply for the
payment, I'm going to need
1)Full name to be on the payment
2)Address which the payment would be delivered to (not p.o box)
3)And your phone number
I have also informed my mover about the pick up once you might have
cashed the check, so you don't need to bother yourself about the
moving as everything on that is well arranged for.
Regards to your family.
Hoping to hear from you soon.

William Steeve seems to be all over the place. Here are the emails i got from him. Note that they are pretty much word-for-word the same as one of the previous William Steeve reports above:

1st email: Available for sale? would love to buy it right away.

2nd email: Hello,
Thanks for your prompt responds, However, i will need your name and
address for payment,As am only able to make payment by money order/cashier check at this time b/c i am away on assignment. It will be nice if you can send me more pictures.
It will take about 4days for payment to get to you.
As per pick-up, I will make arrangement for the pick-up after payment has been received by you. I don't mind adding sixty dollars so you can keep it in my favor.
Please take the posting off Craigslist today and consider it sold to me, Include your phone number.
Expecting to hear from you soon.
Regards
William Steeve.

To everyone: I am renting a room in Craigs List and these three individuals have sent me suspicious emails. I recieved the same e-mail form Sarah Johnson from England as the other people who have reported her activities. I deleted the email it just did not feel right.

As for Jenifer Wood this is her email to me:jenifer wood
Hi
Thanks so much for replying my email,I really do appreciate it,. I would
have loved us to see before making any plan but i really have a lot of
things to do right now,But will be okay if you can tell me more about the
place and you,as my uncle is presently sick and i have to go see him,but
really want to hold a place down...
More about me again, i am a nurse,am 26 years old of
age..I am the neat type,I like honest, responsible, trustworthy and
hardworking people while I dislike lazy,messy,uncaring people and I love
pets so much,am quiet and easy going person to live with. I like tourising
and,i don't keep late nights, neither will i have overnight guest around,
but i am okay if you do,I was born and bread in Finland as there was where
i had my university education and stayed with my uncle there!!
I lived all my life way in Finland before coming down to South Dakota,,I grew up
with my uncle since 15 years old...I've also wanted to be in the medical
line since i was born, I served in the Paris Red Cross for 8 months, we
have involved in projects that includes orphans,orphanages,heart related
diseases in children between the ages of 4-10yrs .
Ambition and Work:
I was looking to move over to your state because i understand that i'll be
doing good overthere as i ve been told by my uncle's friend who ones live
over there..And i will be working with any hospital around as i am also
making enquires about that now...
Am sure You 'll really like the person that i am ,because i will also do
the dishing if you like,I work when i am to and relax when i am to,I also
like sharing my thoughts also....paying rent on time will not be a problem
as i will also be making the rent fee before the month ends....
Right now.I ve the support of my uncle about my well being,so you shouldn't
be bothered about if i am competent of paying the rent
I must confess i am comfortable with the price and I will want to secure
the place down before my arrival so i will want you to tell me all about
the place,as i can't see it before my arrival ...I also will want you to
know that i have a car that i will be coming over with,and little of my
furnitures, please let me know if there will be room for them..
With all that i've said above,I have told you more about me and more
picture of mine will be attach in the next email,Let me also know how i can
go about securing the place down before my arrival as i will also be busy
from next week preparing to come over.
Feel free to ask me any question and as i've said,i am looking to move in
by the availability of the place,
Thanks..

Just got one from Jessica Bailey, Jessica Bailey
I really appreciate your response.To tell you about me,I'm Jessica,I am 25.A non-smoker,don't do drugs, i drink occasionally,and drama free., I am single and have no children ..i do bible study and go to church.I seems incredibly nice.
I went to Nottingham Trent University in London and i speak both French and English.I'm done with my research work at Guam (USA),because its part of my perquisite for my masters in Microbiology.Thats being brief of course.I need to secure this room before moving to the state and will be in the state for the next 1year for my masters degree.Would have loved to call you but this is a remote area which calls hardly goes through.I'm really interested in renting this room from which i guess will be lovely.I do really love pets but don't have any at the moment. Also i would have loved to see the rooms if you have any pictures.Is there any other way to learn more about you.Will love to know the total amount plus utilities for the room ,I will send your email to my dad for him to email you later because he is the one that will be paying the bills .More so,do you have a garage? I will be looking forward to your email soonest.

Best Regards.
Jessica

The common thread is the wanting aditional pictures and information which already has been given in the post to then want to get the address and more personal detail.
Something does not feel right with neither three people( if they are who they claim to be)
I am only dealing with local people where I can do a criminal background and credit check. Overseas in Europe who will I contact? Interpol or the KGB

Please be careful, I am sure there are legitimate people who wish to reside in the US, but it also seems we are easy prey for dishonest people.

Good luck to everyone.