Classified ads on craigslist attract scammers from Nigeria and elsewhere.Here is a recent example when I was trying to sell something.Not that I asked for $375, and was offered more for it.Here is the first message I got:
pls can you tell me if this item is still for sale ?and the price
When I replied it was available, this was the reply:
I will have to inform you that i am okay with the price of the [item name] ($375)condition terms are also okay with me,For the Shippment from your location,i have my SHIPPER as soon as we seal this Transaction from your end. I have a CLIENT of my that is owning me some Fund in United Kingdom that will issue you the cheque of ($2000) soon as you receive the cheque and when cleared you will deduct the cost of the [item name] and the remaining balance will be send to the Shipper through western union money transfer for the pick up from your location. If this is okay by you, do e-mail me the following detail FULL NAME ON CHEQUE:CONTACTED ADDRESS:MOBILE&LANDLINE PHONE NUMBER:AND ZIP CODEI will compensate you $50 to remove the advert from the site and will wait until the cheque clear before the pick up commence.hope to read from you today.
This is a classic scam that involves you wiring them money via Western Union, and they sending you a fake cashier cheque.
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Anonymous (not verified)
Craig's and Nigerian scams
Wed, 2009/03/11 - 04:59Note....Don Williams..not a very third world name seems to use a sentence structure that's "English as a second language" with odd phrases like a badly translated instruction manual.
Don Williams is a throwaway name,of course,next week, it's Williams Don or Hillary Book or..whatever. The Gmail accounts are also disposable and a lot of ths suff seems relayed.
There IS a Paypal variant. They Ideally want your paypal info,to shop with YOUR money,but,using a stolen Paypal account will buy your item,have it sent, then claim it failed to arrive,so Paypal makes you refund for an item that was sent and recieved....THEN you find out the payment was from a stolen account and YOU just recieved stolen money....even if you had it "refunded" to the phoney buyer.
They ALSO can work the fake mover off that.
Some actually ask to have "the item" shipped to a son/daughter/boyfriend who is a Missionary/student/United Nations Doctor in "West Africa" Check..money order...same game different details.
They will open with "is the item available" Item. Not the Nikon N 70 or whatever is for sale. The may ask what is it's condition and what is my phone number. Odd..as the as covers that well...with pictures.
Next..they tell ME the terms of the deal, they will pay X dollars and X dollars to have it shipped and I should take the ad off.
I play dumb and say , Do call, it's a wonderful item and I've had some response so, Sunday would be a good day to visit this camera and see if it likes you.
No call. Instead...I may find out the person is deaf or ill or in Spain on a business trip....
The latest was "I am a stranger in this place and do not have phone".......wow....around here everybody seems to have a cell phone beeping or at their ear...very suspicious.
EVERY camera ,set,lens, I'd post over $100 would get 1 or 2 of these scripted pitches. I've seen more than 20.
Now..in the ad I include, NO Nigerian Scams, No fake Money Orders, No shipping (rare exceptions) CASH.....but I still leave ONE ad without that...just to stay current on their act and tease them along a bit.
Anonymous (not verified)
Western Union Scam by sherdrack_bent2000@yahoo.com at Craigslist
Thu, 2009/02/19 - 23:16I've just been scammed also. I just found this site and luckily I have not received the check yet! Below is the email traffic:
Thanks very much for your understanding,pleasae i shall be providing the shipping agents info as soon as the check arrives .Thanks and stay blessed and also my regards to your family.
--- On Wed, 2/18/09, VINCENT METCAF wrote:
From: VINCENT METCAF
Subject: Re: I NEED YOUR HONESTY
To: sherdrack_bent2000@yahoo.com
Date: Wednesday, February 18, 2009, 4:44 AM
O.K. no problem, you can trust that I am an honest person. I'm a member of the US Air Force stationed her in AZ. We are bound by 3 core values the first of which is integrity so don't worry about that. Let me get this straight though. I am to cash the check, take $250 and Western Union the rest to the shipping agent? This will be no problem and thank you very much!! The only thing that I will need from you I guess is the shipping agent's information to set up the Western Union when the check arrives.
Thanks again,
----- Original Message -----
From: sherdrack Bent
To: VINCENT METCAF
Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2009 3:38 AM
Subject: I NEED YOUR HONESTY
How are you doing? I hope everything is going as planned? As a matter of fact the deal is on and I will effect the payment immediately, So the payment will be delivered to you as fast as possible VIA UPS COURIER SERVICE WITH A TRACKING#,and once you get it,I guess you know how to handle everything! Moreover please do not bother about any other buyer for the item cause i am highly interested in purchasing it from you but there has been a new development which I believe we can resolve based on Trust and Understanding.I will included the pick up agents fee to the real amount, which will make the total amount on the check to be $2,550 this is because I am travelling out of town tomorrow because of my wife who went on excursion trip with the school student and she is about to be delivered our baby so I have to be there to witness everything going on and I will be back very soon. I will include the pickup agent fee because he is bringing down some other items for me and that is why i will add the excess fund.
When you have the payment, You will deduct your own payment of $150 for the item and have the remaining balance of the funds send to my shipper through Via western transfer immediately after cashing the check so that my shipper can proceed with the necessary arrangements for the pick up at your place. So when you recieve the payment I will want you to take it to your bank or any check cashing store outlets and have it cashed so as to fasting the transaction, and also deduct $100 for yourself for the running around and gas.
Please e-mail me back as soon as possible to enable me know If you can handle the payment the way I stated above. Thanks and have a nice day,while I await your swift response soon.Sorry for the inconviniences this might cause you
--- On Mon, 2/16/09, VINCENT METCAF wrote:
From: VINCENT METCAF
Subject: Re: PLEASE GET BACK TO ME ASAP
To: sherdrack_bent2000@yahoo.com
Date: Monday, February 16, 2009, 7:27 PM
It's yours.....you were first so I'm not going to wait for anyone else... Please just send the Cashier's check as soon as possible and provide me with the tracking number. When will you be picking the items up? Below is my address and ph#:
(REMOVED)
----- Original Message -----
From: sherdrack Bent
To: VINCENT METCAF
Sent: Monday, February 16, 2009 10:57 AM
Subject: PLEASE GET BACK TO ME ASAP
Thanks very much,please i am intrested in both items.The 1985 yamaha ca scotter$100 and also the pocket bike$50.please i will be responsible for the pick up and will also be making an immediate payment through a certified bank check or money order and will also be mailing the payment to you via u.p.s courier service with also a tracking#.please send the following details so that the payment can be mailed out to you.
Name:
Address:
City:
state:
Zipcode:
phone#
--- On Mon, 2/16/09, VINCENT METCAF wrote:
From: VINCENT METCAF
Subject: Re: Intrested in you item on Craigslist
To: sherdrack_bent2000@yahoo.com
Date: Monday, February 16, 2009, 5:22 PM
Hello sir,
Which Item are you speaking of?? I have two separate listing. One is for a 2006 GSXR 750 and one is for a Yamaha CA50 Scooter and Pocket Bike.
Thank you for your interest!
----- Original Message -----
From: sherdrack bent
Sent: Monday, February 16, 2009 9:09 AM
Subject: Intrested in you item on Craigslist
Hello Seller,
Is this item still available for sale and in good condition? I will like to make an immediate purchase of the item if still available and will be making the payment by a Via Bank certified check , I am comfortable with the price of the item and will make the payment as soon as possible.
If you are willing to sell this item for me understand this condition, you should get back to me with your full name and address and also your phone# so i can have the payment mailed to you. A pick up of the item will be schedule as soon as the payment process for item is been completed. I await your response asap.
Name:
Address:
City:
state:
Zipcode:
phone#
Final asking price:
I await your reply................
Stay Blessed and Best Regards
Rev SHERDRACK Parish Pastor
Evangelical Gospel Church .
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Anonymous (not verified)
Wow i just recieved a similar
Wed, 2009/04/22 - 11:58Wow i just recieved a similar email for an item i have up on craigslist from the same user. I proceded to emailing him as soon as i found your article informing him that the item is no longer for sale. Thanks so much for the info.
Anonymous (not verified)
sherdrack_bent2000@yahoo.com
Wed, 2009/09/23 - 23:08This person just emailed me with the same type email. I would be very leery of sending all my info like that. Not to chide you, but now he has your info and it looks like he was asking for it again. Whats up with that? As soon as I put my add up on craigslist I got 3 or 4 of these type emails. I would just delete them.
Flag this message
BUYER FROM CRAIGSLIST
Wednesday, September 23, 2009 5:14 PM
From:sherdrack_bent2000@yahoo.com" sherdrackbent002@gmail.com
This sender is DomainKeys verified
"sherdrack_bent2000@yahoo.com"
Add sender to Contacts
To:
undisclosed-recipients
I am interested in your item, i need to know if it is still available for
sale and in good condition, as i am okay with the price for the item and
shall be making an immediate payment for the item thru Cashier Check,
because that is the only method the payment can be made .
And as for the shipping i will arrange for a local pick up for the item as
soon as you got the check cashed and have the full payment in your hand and
the i will take care of the shipping bill .
If you are OK with all this arrangement quickly get back to me with all this
information's below so that the payment can be mailed to you asap
Name:
Address:
City:
State:
Zipcode:
Phone#:
I await your response fast........
And look up at the top. This guy is domain keys certified... I guess thats supposed make him legit.
It's obviously an email program of some kind that just sends fake email addresses.
Notice how one is gmail and one is yahoo?
Anonymous (not verified)
SCAMS
Sun, 2009/03/01 - 21:07WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE WHEN A PERSON SENDS YOU MONEY THROUGH WESTERN UNION OR MONEY GRAM THEY GIVE YOU ACTUAL MONEY, YOU WOULD HAVE TO BE A TOTAL FOOL TO SEND ANY BACK TO THE SCAMMER. KEEP ALL THE MONEY, ITS YOURS NOW, WHAT CAN THEY DO REPORT YOU???
Anonymous (not verified)
That's kind of funny and
Mon, 2009/04/13 - 22:41That's kind of funny and true
Anonymous (not verified)
You're Wrong
Thu, 2009/08/27 - 15:06The problem is the money orders or cashiers checks WILL be cashed by the banks. However, when the check hits the bank it was 'drawn' from. The check will bounce and you'll get stuck having to reimburse the funds to the bank. I got a check for $2300. Cashed it and then saw this site. Had the bank research the check and yes, it was fraudulent and had I spent the money, wired some back, what have you, I'd have been on the hook for the entire $2300.
Anonymous (not verified)
Scam
Fri, 2009/03/06 - 18:26Thank You I had someone offer to buy my car for $300. After I removed my item I got this email saying the money is coming and there would be extra and send it to Adnan Biag.It felt wierd so I checked into this guy and found this site! Thank You so much for saving me the headache! Also for the future the email of the buyer was Alomx10@aol.com.
Anonymous (not verified)
scottfelix02@gmail.com -
Sat, 2009/03/07 - 13:01scottfelix02@gmail.com - watch this email - he's a counterfit money order scammer
Anonymous (not verified)
ffrn202@aol.com - watch for
Sat, 2009/03/07 - 13:02ffrn202@aol.com - watch for this email - bogus money order scam!!!
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