I recently listed a car for sale on craigslist and other local classified ad services.This is one reply I got, which is clearly an attempt at scamming:
From: Dave Smith <goldenwum12@yahoo.com>Subject: [The title of the classified ad for the car]Hello,I just viewed your car posting on craigslist and i have interest on it i will like to know the present condition and two more pictures of the car before i proceed with the transaction.Thanks
Problem is, the scammer is not very smart. I did not posted pictures to begin with, so there are no more pictures. So, I sent this reply:
From: meTo: Dave Smith <goldenwum12@yahoo.com>Pictures attached.
I intentionally did not attach any pictures. A genuine buyer would have noticed this of course. Instead, the scammer proceeded with the next step, revealing his true intent:
From Dave Smith <goldenwum12@yahoo.com>To: meHello,Thanks for your reply i got all your information about the car and am ok with it, i will be making your payment today i need your full name and address to make your payment today through electronic check i will handle the shipment myself.All what you need about the mode of payment is to get a Blank check paper and magnetic versa ink to print the check, the check will be sent to your email and you get it printed from it. You can get this materials from the following stores.1. Office Depot2. Office Max3. Staples Store 4. Stationery Store5. Compusa.When you get this materials you can print the check out and immediately after the printing you can then get the check cashed at your Bank or any bank of america branch around you I will wait for you to confirm and clear the check.The payment will be in excess as i will want you to contact my shipper with the excess fund for shipping the car after you must have confirmed and cashed the check.i will wait for your bank to clear the check so you can deduct your own money and send the excess fund to the shipper via Western Union Money Transfer so as to cover the cost of shipping the car from your place to it's destination. I will add extra 100$ for the purchasing of check paper and magnetic versa ink.For more information about the mode of payment you can check the website www.qchex.com and know more about it .Dont worry i will handle the shipping myself with my shipper. you can IM on this ID goldenwum10@yahoo.com or call me on 9145954296 for more information.Thanks and God Bless
This is a classic scam where a fake cheque is sent to the victim for more than the amount owed, and the difference is to be wired to the scammer.
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Comments
Anonymous (not verified)
smilesinme4@aol.com
Sat, 2008/12/27 - 09:13This guy just doesn't quit. Look at the subtle script changes...amazing...
Sounds good,
Thanks for the urgent and swift reply to my email ..l am still interested in purchasing the item from you and i would like to proceed with payment cause i am buying this item to present my Distant Friend as a gift for the wedding coming soon,l am not currently at home for now.Am on business trip,so i wouldnt be able to pay via cash or cashier check so My form of payment would be via PAYPAL to facilitate the transaction,please proceed too set up an account with paypal.Its safer and secured way of paying.To proceed with the payment,you will probably need to setup with an account with Paypal as member.So, after you signup with Paypal ,for the payment to commence all i need is your Full Name and Your Email address which you used to register with Paypal to order for your payment with Paypal .Once the payment been approved,you will receive a confirmation notice via your email from Paypal for you to be sure that i have paid for the item,The item will be ship Via EXPRESS MAIL SERVICE (EMS) OF USPS and also i will add extra $100 will to your asking price to cover the shipping and insurance cost.
Please proceed to delete the postage from Craigslist web.And email me the information and item amount to send your money.
I look forward to read your response.
Thanks
Merry Christmas to you and your family also! Happy holidays and a blessed New Year!
Mike
Dawn (not verified)
He's still on the loose! WTF??
Wed, 2008/06/11 - 10:27So, the same thing happened to me. Same emails as above. When I emailed him back to tell him that I will only do cash transactions in person, he emailed me this email: (similar to ones above as well)
"Ok I can't call you now and i can pay you with cash but Am on the business trip right now that why i cant come to pay cash, thats why i cant come to you so pls mail me your full information so i can send you the check Asap And i will wait to hear from you with you Asap and here ids my full information so you can believe me
Thanks
Randy Smith
1412 Clark St
Rock Springs, WY 82901"
So...I emailed him back (after finding this message board)..this was my email to him:
"Hello Mr. Randy Smith....
My My...what a nice scam you have going on here! Do you think Im an idiot? You want my "full information"..I will gladly give it to you.
Miss Jane Doe
123 Main Street
Anytown, NJ 55555
Oh, and by the way, EVERYONE is on to you...take a look at this:
https://baheyeldin.com/technology/technology-in-society/craigslist-classified-for-used-car-cheque-fraud-scam.html
Soon the police will be at your door to arrest you! Have fun in jail!"
I am reporting him to craigslist and anywhere else I can think of!
Anonymous (not verified)
Same Guy here too, thanks ya'll for the heads up
Tue, 2008/07/29 - 19:38From: "smilesinme4@aol.com"
To: XXXX@yahoo.com
Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2008 6:13:14 PM
Subject: Re: CUFFLINKS w/ STUDS
Sounds good,
I would like to purchase it from you as soon as possible. (I am intrested and ready to buy it now) The easiest way for me to pay is probably Cashier Check from my Bank. I know there are a lot of scams so I have no problem with you waiting for the Cashier Check to go through at your bank or anything, then you will have to proceed to your bank and cash the check when you receive it. I will wait for your bank to verify and clear the Cashier Check before we proceed with shipment of the jewellery via Express Mail Service(EMS) of USPS. As my Bank Operator informed me that it will clear immidiately at your bank as it was from my account. Which is Confirmed to All American Banking Association rules and standards and i dont mind if you could attach a pics of jewellery if you have more for me to see how beautiful it is again and email me your full name and contact address not P.O BOX with your phone number for me to send you the check wich will be delivered by Fedex Or UPS.
Please Email me back and let me know if this helps
Best Regards
Samuel Johnson
Thanks
Anonymous (not verified)
SCAM SCAM SCAM
Tue, 2008/06/17 - 23:08Here is the email i just got from the same scam:
Sounds good, i would like to purchase it from you as soon as possible. (I am intrested and ready to buy it now) The easiest way for me to pay is probably Cashier Check from my Bank.I know there are a lot of scams so I have no problem with you waiting for the Cashier Check to go through at your bank or anything,then you will have to proceed to your bank and cash the check when you receive it.I will wait for your bank to verify and clear that the Cashier Check is good before we proceed with shipment.As my Bank Operator informed me that it will clear immidiately at your bank as it was from my account.Which is Confirms to All American Banking Association rules and standards.Attach a pics of it for me to see how beautifull it is and email me your full name and address with your phone number for me to send you the check
Please Email me back and let me know if this helps
Best Regards.
Anonymous (not verified)
Let me guess....from
Wed, 2008/06/25 - 00:28Let me guess....from Christopher Cogswell?
I reported it to the FTC, the IC3 and the local police. I would advise all others to do the same.
Anonymous (not verified)
Randy Smith or Whoever
Wed, 2008/06/18 - 16:43I was just emailed by this guy about a wedding dress I had for sale and I just knew something was up when he told me he wanted to buy it for a friend of his as a suprise gift. Well being a woman, this is NOT something anyone suprises you with so I started asking questions. Then after this email - I told him his name and address was all over the internet about scams and said Nice Try!
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Ok I can't call you now and i can pay you with cash but Am on the business trip right now that why i cant come to pay cash, thats why i cant come to you so pls mail me your full information so i can send you the check Asap And i will wait to hear from you with you Asap and here ids my full information so you can belive me
Thanks
Randy Smith
1412 Clark St
Rock Springs, WY 82901
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From:
To: randysmith23401@hotmail.com
Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2008 13:53:07 -0500
Subject: RE: Wedding Dress
Do you have access to paypal? That might be a better option. I can send you an invoice via paypal if you like?
So you are saying you will pay $500.00 for the dress plus $100 for shipping it to you?
Paypal is extremely secure.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Randy smith [mailto:randysmith23401@hotmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, June 18, 2008 1:49 PM
To:
Subject: The: Wedding Dress
Sounds Good,
I am happy to read from you concerning the sales of your item.I want to purchase your item for my friend as surprise package as soon as possible before thier Engagment/Wedding ceremony which is fast approaching. Due to various scams on internet my mode of payment will be via Bank Certfied Check drawn in (Bank Of America)..I know there are a lot of scams so I have no problem with you waiting for the Check to go through at your bank or anything.All I need for now is your name, address,city,state,country,zipcode and also phone number.So that i will be able to mail the check to your home address while you await the delievery.Please proceed to delete the postage on craigs web immediately..I will wait for your bank to verify and clear the Check before we proceed with Shipment to my friend home address inwhich i will include the shipment fund via Express Mail Service (EMS OF USPS) to your asking price with an offer $100 for selling it to me and for the shiping of the item.I will await your email with your info today so that i can prepare and mail the check immediately as i wanted thier pastor to bless the item before Engagment/Wedding ceremony date
Thanks
God Bless You
Anonymous (not verified)
I also was contacted by
Fri, 2008/10/03 - 16:08I also was contacted by Randy Smith in regards to my wedding dress that I posted on Craigslist. I thought things were fishier when "Randy" wanted to buy the dress as a gift please the typing was horrible. I'm glad I looked up this email: randysmith23401@hotmail.com. Thanks for this post! Others beware!
"From: Randy smith
Subject: The: Designer Wedding Dress for Sale
Date: Friday, October 3, 2008, 3:39 PM
Sounds Good,
I am happy to read from you concerning the sales of youritem ..I want to purchase your item for my friend as surprise package as soon as possible before thier Engagment/Wedding ceremony which is fast approaching. Due to various scams on internet my mode of payment will be via Bank Certf ied Check drawn in (Bank Of America)..I know there are a lot of scams so I have no problem with you waiting for the Check to go through at your bank or anything.All I need for now is your name,address,city,state,coun try,zipcode and also phone number.So that i will be able to mail the chec k to your home address while you await the delievery.Please proceed to dele te the postage on craigs web immediately..I will wait for your bank to veri fy and clear the Check before we proceed with Shipment to my friend home address inwhich i will include the shipment fund via Express Mail Service (EM S OF USPS) to your asking price with an offer $100 for selling it to me and for the shiping of the item.I will await your email with your info today so that i can prepare and mail the check immediately as i wanted thier past or to bless the item before Engagment/Wedding ceremony date
Thanks
God Bless You"
Anonymous (not verified)
Craig's List Scam
Thu, 2008/06/19 - 21:43We received the same email regarding an item on Craig's List without a picture. We contacted the Rock Springs, WY police department to inform them that someone was doing this in their jurisdiction.
The email is the same as the ones above. Thanks for posting your information.
Anonymous (not verified)
I got this one
Sat, 2008/06/21 - 16:42Thanks for the swift response, i live in Dallas Texas.......i am ok with
the price of the item,and am ready for its purchase i will be making
my payment with a check because of the distance i will have my company to
take care of the payment promptly by sending you a Check with a 1st
class mail delivery via UPS with a tracking number which delivers next
day to you i will have my shipper to come for the pick up of the item
at your location. as soon as you confirm your payment ..as the shipper
have some other goods to be picking up for me alongside the item that
i intend to buy from you.Would have really love to come for the
viewing but due to my work frame that might not be possible, I'm
presently out of town for a research work,please do get back to me
with your full name and address including your cell or land number so
i can make out payment. awaiting to read from you soon...
Anonymous (not verified)
Thanks for getting back. I
Tue, 2008/06/24 - 00:55Thanks for getting back. I will like to see more pics of this item and what is the working condition of the item, the easiest way for me to pay for your item is through Company Check. And also don't worry about the shipment,the item will be pick up by my private shipping company. I will wait for the check to clear at your bank before we proceed with the shipment.
Joanne Gunderson
400 Wren Circle
Brookings, SD 57006
I will mail you a check of $3800.to your address.You will deduct $1200, and send the excess fund of $2600 to the Private shipping company for them to come for pick up, they still have about four times to pick up in state with yours. Since you are satisfied with my mode of payment you can proceed to delete the advert. So email me the name and address that is going to be on the check with your phone number.
Thanks
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