Another scam via Craigslist: offering more than asking price

Received this over the weekend
first contact
Hello,
i see your advert now at CL and i want to confirm if you still have it for sale.

Second contact
Hello,thanks for your quick responce i will be buying,i will like to tell you
that i will be paying with a cashier check in us dollars and as for
the shippment, my shipper will come for the pick up at your location
upon your confirmation of receiving the payment and i dont want you to
look for anyother buyer.i would have loved to come down for the pick
up but am not chanced to do that now but am satisfied with your
description of the item i will like you to give me the following information so
that your payment can be sent.................
1....your full name to be on the check
2..your full contact address to send the payment to
3..your zip code
4.your mobile and land number to reach you.i will expect your mail asap

third contact
hello .
The payment would be sent by UPS courier company and the item will be
picked up as soon as you receive my payment,I will wait for the
payment to get cashed before i'd send my shipper for the pick up.I
will like to tell you that i would be sending a check worth of $1500
to cover the shipment of the item and the money for the item it should
be deduct .As soon as the check reaches you,have it cashed and remove
your money for the item and send the remaining fund to my shipper by
western union money transfer.My shipper is also picking some of my
other items up for me in the same city of yours so that is why i need
to give him that amount.I will like you to remove $100for your
running around in getting the check cashed.Please let me know if i can
trust you on this so we can move forward from here.

what kinda fool do they think we are

First email

GOOD DAY,
I AM INTRESTED IN BUYING YOUR {ITEM} I WILL WANT YOU
TO MAIL ME THE LATEST CONDITION AND THE FINAL ASKING
PRICE.AND MY METHOD OF PAYMENT IS CHECK . PLEASE REPLY
PROOF OF OWNERSHIP OK. GET BACK TO ME AS SOON AS POSSIBILE
TODAY.
THANKS

KellyGracee@gmail.com and massimox20@yahoo.com

Second email

Hello ,
Thanks for your mail. please keep it away from the post. For people not to mail you again. and am okay with the prize $6,500 and I will be offering you $200. I will instruct my client to issue you the Personal Check, Cashier''s Check or Money Order to you. Meanwhile i will also instructed him to include $5,000 on the payment so you should expect a Check of $11,700. The excess is for my shipper that will be coming for pick up. The funds will be used for the shipping of the {item}, along side with other thing i placed order for in care of my shipper. I'll imploy you to wire the balance Via Western Union to my shipper as soon as you RECEIVE the Check. My SHIPPER will come for pick up on a specified date that will be convenient for you.i hope i can count on you for my balance. I ALSO WANT THIS TO BASE ON TRUST CAN I TRUST YOU?...I hope this is understandable by you, so that is why i asked for trust once you agree to wire my remaining balance to my shipper mail me back so that i will send it and the amount on the Check will be $11,700. so Send me your full information like...
NAME...........
ADDRESS.....
CITY............
STATE..........
ZIPCODE.....
COUNTRY....
PHONE #.....
Thanks And My Regards To Your Family.......

Here's one received today from tomhowell20@hotmail.co.uk:

- first message -
Hello..
Gooday i saw your advert on craiglist about your {item},please i have interest to purchasing it.please Let me know if is still available,you can contact me back via my email address.
Thanks
Tom

- second message -
Hello,
I got your message here once again.I got all Information i needed about the item, i'm a Merchant Navy (Chief Cook) i'm currently on ship, but i'll be onshore in few weeks time and i just bought a new house due to the trauma that happended to me and my ex. So, i want the item to be moved as soon as payment has been made... I will handle the Shipping to my new apartment...
The mode of my payment will be made via (Cashier Check) in which i will hOandle the Shipping. Check will be mailed via (FEDEX) providing with tracking number for proper inspection. As soon as Check gets to you, you will take the Check to your Bank or a Registered cashing Point to cash, In which the remaining of the Fund will be sent to the people who will come for the pick-up via Westernunion...They people will be right there after they must have gotten their fund. Once you are satisfied with my mode of payment you can proceed to delete the advert of the item..
The amount on the check will cover the cost of the Item and the cost of the shipping...You will assist me to disburse the remaining fund on my check will be transfered to the people
who will come for the pick-up, a time will be scheduled for the pick-up as soon as you have cash at hand....
Kindly get back to me with the following Info. in other to proceed with the payment.
(1) Full Name
(2) Address and
(3) Phone Number.
As soon as i get this information, i shall proceed in mailing the check to you.
Best Regards,

Fortunately, my wife and I are internet-savvy and were a bit leery with the first e-mail. Thus, we did our homework and were prepared when the second message came and recognized it as a complete scam.

Beware of this scammer on Craigslits

This scammer sent the money order via ups to make believe legitimate he also asked more of the selling price. It took approximately a week for the money order from Walmart to be recognized as counterfeit. GUys beware of this i fell for it. Read his emails below...

Thanks for your response,will you accept Money Order as a mode of payment? Because that is the only way i can pay you with as am out of town right now on contract.If you agree to it,i will require that you send me your full name,address and your phone number so that i can forward it to my Assistant to send the payment to you.I will be offering you $30 extra to hold the item for me for a week.To expediate this transaction for both of us to avoid stress.I have conclude arrangement with a moving company,they would be responsible for the packing and picking up of the item.This will make me to be sending you extra fund because the moving company need their payment before embarking on any transaction of picking up item.
I have included their fee in the payment you will be receiving,the amount covers for all logistic needed to pick up the item from you. When you receive the Money Order get it cashed at your bank and deduct the cost of your item and the $30 i offered you for holding it for me, then you send the balance to the moving company via Money Gram or Western Union before pickup can be effected.
Let me know if this is ok by you,because i want this transaction to be as smooth as possible.Get back to me so that i will know the status of things you can call me but am disable and also busy at new work but u can send text to 214-557-1020,until i hear from you my regards to you and your family.
This email was received from nicho hay (nichohay07@gmail.com)

Am sure you are doing well..i just want to tell you that the money order will get to you this week probably thursday which is tomorow..all you need to do is have them cashed at your bank immediately you receive it and remove the amount for the item plus the $30 am giving you for holding the item for me then you have the extra money sent to the moving company by western union and they will be coming for the pick up once they receive the money from you..the money order will be delivered to you by ups and here is the tracking number j2136194419.You can track it yourself at www.ups.com and see what time it will be delivered to your address..pls get back to me when you got the package so as to know the status of things.

Yes..tell when you got the money order cashed so u can send the extra money to the moving company..get to me when u got money order cashed..you will send the extra money by western union to

NAME : PAUL FAULKNER
CITY : LITTLE ROCK
COUNTRY : USA

THAS THE INFO U NEED AT WESTERN UNION TO WIRE MONEY..AND YOU WILL BE GIVEN SOME DETAILS AT WESTERN UNION GET BACK TO ME WITH THEM LIKE 10 DIGIT NUMBER,AMOUNT SENT AND SENDER'S NAME AND ADDRESS..THANKS
NICHO

Got an e-mail from a guy who said he was deaf and had to use one of the machines to talk by phone. We did all our transactions via e-mail (so I have all of them saved). Told me the bank made an error and sent me a check for $1100 more than the asking price. Wanted me to cash it, keep an extra $100 and then send the rest via Western Union to his shipper. I had asked for cash only...so I was skeptical. Got the check and my husband and I decided not to cash it (and the name on the envelope was different than the one I had been corresponding with and the location it was sent from was in Idaho). So, I told him he could send me a money order or we would cancel the deal. He asked me to rip it up as he has contacted his bank and told them to void the check. Then I found this link and others about scams...this was my first experience with Craigslist...and what a learning experience it was!

I received an offer on a dresser I posted. I'm still not sure if its a scam...I didn't get a sob story or nothing like that, but what struck me as odd was that the person(psalmuelsecret@hotmail.com) offered me "compensation" to remove the listing and requested a list of personal info.

I was selling something on craigslist and I got this e-mail yesterday.

"Hello,
This is joe smith, Am emailing

you concerning your items you place for

sales.I just want to know if its still

avaliable.
REGARDS,
joe"

The name of the person was JOE SMITH (capitalization theirs). I replied and said that it was, not thinking much of their spelling (heck, there are plenty of people I see from the states that have worse). A few hours later, I got this response.

"Hello,
I am glad to read from you. Am okay with the price and condition .I really need to get this right away. i am ready to pay on time. No need of shipping it. i will like my shipper to schedule a pick up immediately you get the payment confirmed. I would have love to come for it or see it but i must let you know i am okay with it. i just want this as replacement.I will offer you extra $100 to remove the ad from the posted site www.craigslist.com to be sure you are selling this to me ok. I will be able to make payment in form of US Certified Cashiers Check that is payable in any American banks in us dollars . I will like you to let me have information of whom i should issue the payment to.Such As :

*Full Name, Address and Working Phone no.*

So that ups can make delivery of the payment on time. I will also issue an excess fund with the payment so that when you get the payment, you will have to deduct your exact amount and wire out the excess to my shipper so that he can be able to make the pick up. I hope i can trust you with my money..When its time for the pick up, You will have to let me know the exact time and day my shipper can make the pick up of this item ..Your early response will be highly appreciated.
Regards,
joe."

The name was now showing up as joe smith (spelling is once again theirs). So I thought it was a little odd that the name had somehow changed on their e-mail accounts. Looking closer, their e-mail addresses were different!

The first one was joe0081@yahoo.com
The second was joe00811@yahoo.com

Obviously something they thought no one would notice, but I definitely thought it was sketchy, even knowing very little of the Nigeria scams. So if anyone receives e-mails from either of these addresses, THEY ARE SCAMS!

Many thanks to your mail as i am so much Glad with your reply
The reason I am sending you this email is to make final reconfirmation of the Price that i am okay with it I will like to make an outright purchase immediately.
I hope that i can trust you over the payment and the condition of the item. I reside in Georgia and I would have love to come for the pick up of the item myself but i'm a very busy individual with work and other obligations but I will be making arrangement with a local prepaid shipper that would be coming for the pick up as soon as payment have been confirmed by you.

I would purchase a Certified Bank Check from a Bank here and mail it to you through a safe Courier Service and i hope this is okay with you.. I also want to alert you on the fact that you will be receiving an overdraft Payment, which will cover the Moving Company ( Shipping Company) that is helping me Up-loading the goods i purchase from other stores and also they would be incharge of this shipping and pick up from your place, which i belief you can be trusted with.I shall connect you with the Moving Company ( Shipping Company) as soon as payment get to you so you can contact them to instruct you on how to pay the
shipping charges to them and also they would be coming to your place to pick up this item from you.. I will be offering you a $100 as a compensation fee for you for holding the item for me till payment get to your hand...I would be sending out the payment through courier service so it would get you to the second day..If you understand and also okay with this term kindly get back to me with the below details as you want it to appear on the payment:

FULL NAME
ADDRESS ( IN FULL )
HOME & CELL #

Talk to you Soon
Marc