Craigslist Question - legit or not?

polkatese

wow. The Nigerian boys are going downstream. They are no longer in the million dollars business, instead, encroaching into the bottom feeders territory.

Tony M

decal wrote: »

I was just killing time and found this thread and had to add my experience. A couple of years ago I had a listing on my local CL for some equipment and a gentleman contacted me to see if it was still available. When I answered yes to his question he sent the following(names and numbers omitted by me) .............


Re: Adcom PreAmp/PowerAmp Combo - $300 (XXXXXX,FL)
Friday, June 26, 2009 3:03 AM
From:
"XXXXXXXXXX@sify.com>
Add sender to Contacts
To:
"XXXXXXXXXX" <XXXXXXX@XXXXXX.net>
Thank you very much for your swift response and for telling me the
item is still available.I am satisfied with the conditions has you
have stated in the ad.
I have a schedule already,for i need to attend an important seminar in
Iowa so i wont be able to come to check it at your place.Since i am ok
with the condition,i will be sending you a certified check that will
cover the amount of the item and the moving funds.You are to take your
money for the item from the check after cleared in your bank within
2-3 days and have the rest sent to the mover via western union money
transfer or money gram.For your inconvenience,i will add $100 with the
payment to be your running
around fee.I'm always a busy man and i will not like to miss this
item.The information of the mover will be sent to you after the check is
received and he will be at your location for the pick up with a signed
note explaining that he will be assuming responsibility for the
property on my behalf.
Kindly get back to me with the following information for issuing of
the payment........
NAME:
ADDRESS :
CITY:
ZIP CODE:
PHONE NUMBER:

Have a Great Day


I particularly like the part where he was going to send $100.00 for my running around fee !!!!! The sad part of this whole thing is, someone will eventually fall for his scam.

I received one VERY similar just a couple of weeks ago. I just didn't respond to it. I really think a 300.00 price or more sets their scam alert off. I'm sure some Pay-pal accounts are drained after responding to their wishes, and you loose the item too if it even gets picked up.:rolleyes:

evhudsons

Yes, it is a scam. I have many victims of craigslist scams come in my office every day or other day. When in doubt, save some time and copy paste a portion of the email into google and search, and google search the email too. For instance, I did that to your sample:

http://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1_____enUS424US424&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=Thanks+for+your+response%2C+i'll+offer+you+%24350+including+the+shipping+cost+but+that's+if+the+item+is+still+in+good+condition+because+am+not+local+and+am+also+paying+you+via+PayPal+payment%2C+i'll+be+glad+if+you+take+my+offer+and+get+back+to+me+with+money+request+of+%24350+and+as+soon+a+i+get+your+money+request+from+PayPal%2C+i'll+transfer+the+money+into+your+PayPal+account+immediately...

Sorry about that horrendously long link. I use paypal all the time, but carefully. One hint to protect yourself is to fund your paypal with your credit card. That way if you do get scammed, it's your credit card company who can fix it for you, paypal itself can do very little to help no matter what they say about protecting you.

Always have a phone number to call as well, but these craigslist scammers are getting really really good, and the grammar is even getting better. They are not going away anytime soon.

You can also look at the headers in the email, but if your gut instinct says scam, assume it is.