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.
Contents:
Comments
Anonymous (not verified)
They're doing it for jewelry too
Mon, 2007/05/07 - 06:39Hello,
Thanks for your reply i got all your information about the jewelry and am
ok with it, i will be making your payment today i need your full name
and address and your phone number to make the payment today through
certified check i will handle the shipment myself. The check will
get to you in 2-5 days time and when you recived the check you can
then get the check cashed at your Bank 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 jewelry after
you must have confirmed and cashed the check .i will wait for your
bank to clear the dratf so you can deduct your own money and send the
excess fund to my friend via Money GramMoney Transfer cos he needs the excess for the preparation oh his wedding coming up very soon . You can IM on this ID goldenwum@hotmail.com mailto:goldenwum@hotmail.com: or call me on 9145954296 for more information.
Thanks and God Bless,you can get the posting deleted from craiglist
stefan (not verified)
car scam on craiglist
Sat, 2007/06/02 - 18:09Hi there,
Here is a slightly differerent version of already posted scams.
I wanted to sell my used car on craigslist, after a couple of emails, the potential buyer send me this email:
Dear Seller,
Thanks for your mail, Concerning the shipment, my shipper will come and pick it up from your location as soon as we seal this transaction. This is how the payment will be made a client of mine in U.S is owing me some funds $15,500. I will instruct him to issue a Check in your name and once the Check clears, You will deduct the cost of the car, compensation and any tax incurred and my balance will be send back to my shipper via western union money transfer for immediate shipping arrangement.
The reason for this is that it takes 2-3 days for a Check to clear there while it takes a longer time for a Check here. If this is okay with you do get back to me with your full name, contact address and phone number as soon as possible for me to instruct my client to issue the Check in your name asap. Thanks for your understanding in anticipation and hope to read from you today.
Thank you and best regards,
Bazzani.
N.B: I will compensate you with $50 for the running arround and transportation and also to consider the item sold to me.
Anonymous (not verified)
Yet another scam e-mail
Thu, 2007/06/07 - 17:42I think whoever this is needs to learn proper English.
I removed the actual cost in the e-mail below but he had exact amounts.
------------------------------
Hello,
Thanks for the mail response and i really appreciate your quick response.I am okay with the price of the Car which is ($--------),So i will be paying you via a cheque or banker's draft.I will contact my Business Associates to send you the Payment of ($--------).Once you recieve the Payment from my Business Associates,All what you have to do is deduct your selling price from the funds and then send the remaining funds to a Shipping Company i contact that will take charge of the shipping.....The remaining money is meant for the shipment. so do email me your full details so that you can have the cheque or banker's draft as soon as possible and when you got cheque or banker's draft.Bank it and when the cheque or banker's draft cleared your bank,then you can send outstanding balance to the shipper's information that will be given to you okay.Am willing to do this deal with you with my wholeheartedly.You are not to worry about Shipping, I have a reputable Shipping Company that i have been using for long now,So i am sure they will Ship the Car right to the destination i want it shipped. Also they have got a lot in U.S to ship for me.The remaining excess funds should be sent to the Shipping Company via Western Union Money Transfer and the charges to get Funds transfered to them should be deduct from the funds you are sending to them (Shipping Company).For this i am compesating you with the sum of ($50) and remove the Advert from the internet,So if you are ready to transact with me,Which i believe you will certainly do,I will want you to provide me with the following details needed for the Payment to get to you:
FULL NAME YOU WANT TO BE ON THE PAYMENT:
FULL ADDRESS YOU WANT THE PAYMENT SENT TOO:
PHONE NUMBER:(Home,Work and Cell):
Will await to read from you soonest with the details needed immeidately,So as to facilitate the pace of the transaction.I will wait untill the payment clear with your bank and we proceed.
Thanks.....
Smith...............
Anonymous (not verified)
Same Guy?
Wed, 2007/07/18 - 02:46I listed my dodge ram and got an email asking for info. I gave him the info, and he sent me this e-mail.
Thank you for the response.i will like to make out the purchase title to my name MAQUEZ MOREIRA I would love to buy your (car) am okay with your price $4,500
As you know, am buying this, as a suprise for my son So i have instructed my associate there in there in the United States ( VIRGINIA ) who owes me the sum of $9000 He will send you a payment of $9000 through a US Certified Cashiers. All i want you to do as soon as you receive the cheque, send me an email that you have received payment, then go and have the US Certified Cashiers Cheque instantly at the cashing point or at your local bank, then deduct your funds $4,500
for the item and addition $100 for your running
around then have the rest of the money wired (sent ) to my shipper through Western Union Money Transfer. My shipper will use this funds to take care of everything necessary for the shipping of this ITEM and 8 of my HORSE TRAILERS down to my house in amsterdam in holland.
So please get back to me and i will like you to know that my associate there in USA will be sending your payment to you , as soon as you email me with your required payment details..Kindly reply me with your following payment details, so I can
inform my associate to make out payment to you immediately:
YOUR NAME AS TO APPEAR ON CHECK ..........
YOUR PHYSICAL MAILING ADDRESS ..............
YOUR PHONE # .........
My Regards To Your Family.
Yours Sincerely
and best regards to your family
Sounds like a similar scammer.I gave him my info already, but now I realize how stupid this sounds. He wants me to ship a 99 dodge ram... to Amstrdam??!!
Anonymous (not verified)
Basically the same email to me too.....
Wed, 2007/07/18 - 16:17Only from Blainego019@hotmail.com:
Sounds Good.
I want to purchase the car today and pay you via Electronic Cashier Check drawn from my Bank (Bank of America) it is a real cashiers check after you print it the check will be sent to you immediately via email all you need to do is purchase a Business check paper at any Office depot or stationary store to print the check on and immediately when you print the check proceed to your Bank to cash the check immediately,the Business check paper cost $20 only but i will offer you $50 to purchase the Business check paper to print the check.
The car will be picked up from you by my Company shipper so you don't have to worry about shipment of the car also I will wait for you to confirm and cash the check before the shipper come to pickup the car from you actually I should have handled this myself but i am not available to do that now i am currently away for my Company seminar that is why i want you to do this and i will pay you $50 to purchase the Business check paper to print the check.
This is the fastest and best method of payment because it is instant once you purchase Business check paper all this process of printing and cashing of the E-check can be done within 2 hours.
Thanks
I'm not that stupid! Be careful out there!!
Anonymous (not verified)
Thank goodness for these posts!
Fri, 2007/07/20 - 20:59I suspected that my emailer was scamming me from the get-go due to bad English in the email. I posted a used car on Craigslist and even though I changed the amount I wanted for the car midstream, he never even questioned it.
I have played along with him and answered his emails, but I will be reporting him to the local police and handing his check over to the bank to deal with.
Here are the email addresses of my scammmers:
fanco112nate@yahoo.com
phemmyterry004@yahoo.com
Thank you to all who posted about this scam.
Anonymous (not verified)
new scam
Sat, 2007/07/28 - 12:12This is how they do it now:...i think they will come and see the car and they would hand me the cheque in person (of course the fake one).
Hello,
I saw advert from eforecourt as owner of 97 Nissan Primera which i am in
need of i will like to know your best offer and the present condition if i
am okay with condition and your price then we arrange for the pickup and
payment immediately.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Best Regards,
Graig Moore.
After my response:
Dear justyna,
Thanks for your quick response. I'm very much interested and I'm okay with
the price for 1550 euro, but I will like to see more of the photos. I am an
auto dealer and I'm permanently based in UK, but I'm presently out of town
on a course. Nevertheless, I will make arrangement with my engineer to come
over for the shipping upon our agreement and payment conclusion.
However, before my engineer comes down for the shipping and the necessary
duties such as taking a test drive, Checklist & the Inspections, I will like
to know more about it by giving me an answer to the following questions.
Did you buy it from new?
How long have you owned it?
What parts have you replaced recently?
Has it ever been involved in an accident?
Has it been bought on finance?
These are the important things I need to know. So pls get back asap on the
present conditon and so as to know how to go about the transaction.
Thanks and hope to hear from you as soon as possible.
Best regards,
Graig.
Father O'Neady ... (not verified)
another of the thousands of scams sent out to craigslist sellers
Sun, 2007/07/29 - 10:57joe micheal wrote:
Hello,
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
(E-Check) i will handle the shipment myself.
All what you need about the mode of payment is to get a Blank
check paper to print the check. The check will be sent to your email
and you get it printed from it. You can get this check paper from the
following stores;
1. Office Depot
2. Office Max
3. Staples Store
4. Stationery Store
5. Compusa.
When you get these 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 advart 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 money gram Money
Transfer so as to cover the cost of shipping the car from your place
to its destination. I will add extra 20$ for the purchasing of check
paper.
Dont worry i will handle the shipping myself like i said, with my
shipper. you can IM on this ID robertbizmgt@yahoo.com or call me on
9145954296 for more information.
Thanks and God Bless.
Anonymous (not verified)
Same thing happened
Sat, 2009/02/07 - 16:37We must be dealing with the same person because our email is almost exactly the same he just emailed us this morning and said he would pay an additional $100.00 for our inconvenience how can people be so terible.
Anonymous (not verified)
FRAUD Do Not Answer to these adds---fraud!
Mon, 2007/08/06 - 20:07Sounds Good.
I will like to proceed with payment asap and will like to handle shipment myself when you must have gotten your cash at hand.I am in no rush to Purchase the Jewelry till funds are clear at the bank. As there are too many scams on internet as regards buying and selling with large bogus account.My mode of payment will be via Electronic Cashier Check drawn on US bank.(Bank Of America).You will probarbly need a business check paper to print and cash or deposit the check today.The business check paper is sold for $20 at any stationery store,staples or at your local office supply outlet.I will add the cost of supplies to your asking price with an extra offer for accepting my mode of payment. The payment will be in excess as i will want you to contact the wedding Planner with the excess fund for the wedding Preparation 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 Wedding Planner via money gram Money Transfer I work with an auditing firm and will not have time to mail a check. you can IM on this ID craigon200@yahoo.com or call me on 9145954296 for more information
Pages