Craigs List scam

So I have a home back bar mirror for sale on the local CL. I get an email reply stating they can pick it up on certain days and in the reply is another email address. I sent a reply to the email address of their reply and heard nothing for a few days. I send a follow up asking if they are def interested before listing elsewhere and a few days later I get an email from another address stating they were in town but now are not but still want the mirror, they will send me a check if I provide my full mailing address and my cel ph#(good luck with that, I don't have one).

OK, so somebody who has never met me and has never seen the mirror in person is now going to send me a check for a couple hundred and is going to trust me to hold the mirror until they can come get it...sure buddy! So obviously this is a scam, but just what are they trying to do?
Yep, my name really is Bob.
Parasound HCA1500A(indoor sound) and HCA1000(outdoor sound), Dynaco PAS4, Denon DP1200 w/Shure V15 Type V and Jico SAS stylus, Marantz UD7007, modded Polk SDA 2B, Rythmik L12 sub.

Comments

  • scubalab
    scubalab Posts: 3,101
    Bob,

    Seems to happen all the time. I'm not sure what they're up to other than phishing for your contact info. Whenever I sell on Craigslist, I ALWAYS ask people to put something unique in the subject of the email so I know it's not spam. I also provide my cell number... but only do so in a photo (uniquely handwritten in one of the item pics). I inevitably get several emails that I can tell right away are scams. I just delete them. Also, broken English, phrases like "I am interested in your (EXACT TITLE OF YOUR LISTING) for sell...", or requests to respond to a non-CL email address (usually a gmail address) are dead giveaways to scams.

    CL ads that don't use Craigslist's email system (usually have a gmail address in the description) are scams 99% of the time as well. Just be careful. You can usually tell by the way an email is written whether or not it is legit!

    Safe selling!

    -Al
  • muncybob
    muncybob Posts: 2,963
    Yea, there was broken English which was my 1st tip off....btw, wanna buy a home bar mirror :)

    I'm lost as to what they can possibly do with my contact info.
    Yep, my name really is Bob.
    Parasound HCA1500A(indoor sound) and HCA1000(outdoor sound), Dynaco PAS4, Denon DP1200 w/Shure V15 Type V and Jico SAS stylus, Marantz UD7007, modded Polk SDA 2B, Rythmik L12 sub.
  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,903
    The "delete" button is there for a reason, use it....and pay these idiots no mind.
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
  • deucekazoo
    deucekazoo Posts: 146
    It also has to do with the check. If you deposit it and wait for it to clear. Then they pick up the item or someone does and after that your bank will contact you that the check did not clear or the funds were retracted and you are out the money, the mirror and bank fees. Its something goofy like that.
    Also the same thing where they send you more money than the item wanting you to hold it. Same scam, stay away! I always say face to face and cash. Don't here anything after that.
    Polk S10, S8, S4
    Polk RT8
    Polk Monitor 7s
    Working on getting SDAs
  • trj
    trj Posts: 320
    Total scam. What they do is, they buy the item/get you to ship the item. You momentarily see the money in your account, but it takes a couple of days for your bank to actually withdraw the money from the said cheque. Their cheque bounces after sometime because of insufficient funds or cheque gets cancelled.

    Now you already sent the item, shipping cost and you are out of money. I don't know if someone still falls for this scam, but man they are relentless. Anytime you list something, scammers are always there to offer you more money to get the items shipped. Or extreme low ballers, who offer 20% of what you listed the item for.

    I had listed SACD/DVD-A player for $50 a couple of weeks ago for my neighbor. Here in the forum too. One guy from CL calls me and offers me $15 and says I have cash. Sure buddy, I know you have cash, but do you think I need money to buy drugs to sell that player for whatever CASH you offer. lol. And then someone from Greece offering $100 plus shipping for the same item. Really?
    Sony BDP-S6500 | Raspberry Pi 2 | XBOX One S | Wii --> Yamaha RX-V667 --> Adcom 5006 bridged to 175 watts for front LCR -- >Front: Polk Audio RTi8s | Center: CSi5 | Side Surrounds: RTi4s | Rear surrounds: FXiA4s | Cheap 12" sub woofer|Samsung UN60KU6300
  • DaveHo
    DaveHo Posts: 3,471
    When they ask you to reply outside the C/L mail system, it's almost always a phishing attempt. Delete!
  • scubalab
    scubalab Posts: 3,101
    muncybob wrote: »
    Yea, there was broken English which was my 1st tip off....btw, wanna buy a home bar mirror :)
    We are close enough! Unfortunately, my bar already has a custom mirrored wall and shelves, so I don't need one. Is yours the 36" x 56" Kokomo listed on the WPT Craigslist (just searched for it out of curiosity)? That does look nice... GLWTS!
  • Polkie2009
    Polkie2009 Posts: 3,834
    Deucekazoo has this spot on . Law enforcement officials have been warning people for some time of this ruse , usually seen on CL and also sometimes on Ebay. Many times these perps communicate with emails. Perp will send a cheque (sometimes by FedEx or UPS) for more__ money than what the item is selling for. The perp will explain the extra money is to pay "his" shipper he has already arranged. Please,___ don't fall for this scam, these creeps target the elderly or folks who aren't informed.
  • motorstereo
    motorstereo Posts: 2,043
    I was chatting with the head bank teller at our bank and she tells me she sees this all the time. People just want to believe they've been paid double for their item and won't let anyone talk them out of it. She says the people hang onto those checks like they're gold plated certificates and sadly they will not listen to her explanation that they've been scammed. One of the worst ones she tells me is the Australian sweepstakes. The person has never been to Australia or played the "sweepstakes" but they're sure they've won a large amount of cash. Of course that will only happen once the target sends a check to cover the "expenses". It's sad that some people are so gullible and other people are so willing to prey on that.
  • muncybob
    muncybob Posts: 2,963
    scubalab wrote: »
    muncybob wrote: »
    Yea, there was broken English which was my 1st tip off....btw, wanna buy a home bar mirror :)
    We are close enough! Unfortunately, my bar already has a custom mirrored wall and shelves, so I don't need one. Is yours the 36" x 56" Kokomo listed on the WPT Craigslist (just searched for it out of curiosity)? That does look nice... GLWTS!

    Yep, that's the one.
    Yep, my name really is Bob.
    Parasound HCA1500A(indoor sound) and HCA1000(outdoor sound), Dynaco PAS4, Denon DP1200 w/Shure V15 Type V and Jico SAS stylus, Marantz UD7007, modded Polk SDA 2B, Rythmik L12 sub.