craigslist scam?

vader1979

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Has this been happening to anyone else? 2 weeks ago I put up my dedicated mortal kombat 1 arcade machine on fargo craigslist. with this time I have received to text messages and 1 email. The first text I got was from somebody claiming to be from new york. They first asked for a condition of the machine... I explained via text that it was in decent shape excetera... without asking for any more pictures they said they would take it but they wanted to buy it for their sister overseas. They then started demanding my full name and pay pal account. I told them I was not shipping the item And that it was cash only. he tried telling me that it now was safe and continue to demand my pay pal account. I finally just lied and said that I didn't have a pay pal account and he never responded back. the second text was exactly the same but from a different number. note today I received an email from somebody playing that they wanted the machine and we're going to pay me 50 extra dollars to take the ad off of craigslist. And they said that they were going to Pay for shipping cost to buy a cashiers check then I was to take the money out and pay the shipper when they came to pick up the machine. again I said I don't accept cashiers check pay pal or any other payment besides cash. has anyone lately been experiencing these type of texts or emails?
 
I get it all the time here in Canada also with Craigslist other competitor KIJIJI. I usually threaten to get the authorities involved and the scammers usually go away. Whoever these people are, must think others are as foolish as them. Last year I inquired on a fishing boat and I received the same time of response but they asked to complete the transaction through eBay instead Just to be sure, I contacted eBay directly and they warned me to stay clear and pursued the individual after I forwarded over their information.
 
I was using text to talk to write the above comment... basically I was suspicious of the first text because he said he wanted it shipped overseas... I was suspicious of the second email because they demanded that I remove the ad from craigslist and were offering to pay with a cashiers check which I know craigslist says to not accept.
 
I've had my share of these also. Not sure what the hell they are trying to get in the end.. I didn't include my phone number thou in my posts but basically the same exact bull thru email.
 
I've had my share of these also. Not sure what the hell they are trying to get in the end.. I didn't include my phone number thou in my posts but basically the same exact bull thru email.

I had a friend of mine actually get taken in by this scam a few years back. The way it works is that they usually offer to send you a check for the shipping + the item and sometimes a bit more to entice you to agree to it. Once you receive the check, it turns out that shipping actually costs less or it's for way more money then the item costs and they ask you to send them a check/wire for the difference back. When you go to deposit their check into your banking account, your bank will credit you the money the next day so you think it's good, but in reality it actually takes them a week to figure out that the check you deposited was bogus. By that time, the scammers have already cashed the check you sent them, taken possession of your arcade and/or have hacked into your paypal account and gifted a bunch of money to strange 3rd parties. The best thing to do to protect yourself is that if a transaction feels funny, ask the bank to immediately "cash" the check and then wait for it to clear before shipping. This usually involves a supervisor calling the corresponding bank to verify the funds, but it's worth taking your time to make sure that you're not a victim of theft. Not only do they end up victimizing you if you don't, but the banks will bounce your legitimate checks/debit transactions in the worst possible order, so they can assess the maximum number of fees to your account. It's really just a new twist on the traditional check kiting scam, except they're taking advantage of a generation who aren't familiar with how those old fashioned pieces of paper actually get processed.
 
Thanks, sethichino.

I didn't go threw with the sale as I did feel something out of order there. After that I've began to put local pickup only, no shipping, and cash sales only on my for sale posts on CL. I admit they almost had me thou as it was my first sale. Kinda glad I wised up before getting screwed.
 
Yup, this scam sits right up there with winning the International Lottery or helping a Royal Family get their rightful funds by depositing them into your savings account.

If you don't put CASH and CARRY only - No Shipping - you will almost certainly catch the eyes of those scammers and get a similar email.

My dad got a similar email when he was trying to rent out his house. The scammers were trying to offer extra for him to hold the house for them and would send out a cashiers check immediately. My dad emailed them a credit check agreement and rental application and told them to fill it out and email back the forms. Obviously, nothing further ever bacame of it and the emails stopped.

I always tell scammers to contact me at this address:
450 Golden Gate Avenue, 13th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94102-9523

(It's the FBI office in San Francisco)
:)
 
Its a typical we'll send you a check for more than the amount, please send us back the difference; and the check will bounce, and they may actually send someone to pick up product, but actually doesn't matter, they've already scammed you.

Speaking of Fargo Craigslist, there is an asteroids cocktail listed and though I didnt reply someone I know did and basically the phone number posted is some woman that has no idea what you're talking about, and no response to the emails sent.

This happened last winter with a Frogger cocktail and some other one at the same time.

We haven't figured out what the deal is OTHER than to mine phone numbers/email addresses for future spam or something.
 
Speaking of Fargo Craigslist, there is an asteroids cocktail listed and though I didnt reply someone I know did and basically the phone number posted is some woman that has no idea what you're talking about, and no response to the emails sent.

This happened last winter with a Frogger cocktail and some other one at the same time.

We haven't figured out what the deal is OTHER than to mine phone numbers/email addresses for future spam or something.

That is actually a form of harrassement. It probably has nothing to do with phone mining and everything to do with somebody trying to get revenge. It is a variant of the old classified ad bomb.

BITD, if your girlfriend (boyfriend) breaks up with you and you want to get back at them, you put a free classified ad in the newspaper for something desirable or several desirable things and put their phone number in the ad. If you wanted to be really mean about it, you would put something like, "I work a late shift so please call me after 1am".

Or it could be a simple typo in the phone number. Flag the ad. If it is revenge, it will probably pop back up. If it is a type, maybe they will read the ad this time and fix it.

ken
 
It's your basic fraud. They're after the money only. They want you to send them the money you got by cashing their bogus check. They get you to commit the actual fraud instead of doing it themselves. You can get into a lot of trouble with this. Always deal in cash unless they're in the states. Wait for any electronic payment to clear before sending anything anywhere. And they can pay the shipper. Never let them overpay and have you pay for shipping.
 
This happens all the time with basically anything with a high value density, e.g. laptops and other consumer electronics, though I've seen it with arcade games, too. The variant I've seen (for years) is where they offer you significantly over your asking price to ship somewhere else.

You aren't speaking to a human. At least the ones I've come across are clearly automated replies. You can tell them you can't ship because you're exhausted from anally violating their mother in a Thai whorehose and they'll still keep trying to bait you. Just delete them. Also recommended that you use a fake / throwaway email and/or phone number for these kinds of things.

Another one I've seen lately is spam trying to get you to use rival classified sites.
 
I have noticed that there seems to be a certain money value to be met before they contact you in an attempt to scam (usually above $500 in my experience). In my last CL ad a couple weeks ago, I mentioned I wasn't interested in shipping to Nigeria. Even for $25K offers. Oddly enough, I have yet to receive any scam attempts. Nice.
 
I have had some fun with these folks...I get them to send me "cashier's checks"---all overseas postage---the "checks" look authentic--even watermarks, and small perforations top and bottom as though removed from printer....and all bogus! Its great when I get them to send me a replacement check when I tell them the first one was acidentally destroyed!

I also have an unused bank account and my bank agreed to try an experiment with it when one guy said he would transfer the money right into my account first! My banker said that once its in an account, he cannot touch it--so the bank was intrigued too and we thought it a good idea to try and see what happened--since the account has a zero balance and will never have funds put into it. I figured if money was transferred into this account, then I could immediately withdraw it and then the account would be zero again. AND there was a chance this clown in Saudi Arabia realled WANTED the 8 pinball machines that totaled $14,500.

Well, my banker called 2 days later and said INSTEAD, these clowns sent a "cashiers Check" direct to the bank instead to be deposited!!! Of course, the check was bogus (we never deposited it) and the Saudi Arabia clown emails me and tells me the funds are "in place" now! Once I said it was not a transfer but a check, he never emailed me back again--even after several more email attempts to reach him! If the check was real, he would have wanted the machines. The company he said he represented was not listed on Google and the address he gave was a giant office building (I looked on the google pictures of that address)...so I really knew it wouldn;t go through....but it was still fun for me and my banker!
 
I have had some fun with these folks...I get them to send me "cashier's checks"---all overseas postage---the "checks" look authentic--even watermarks, and small perforations top and bottom as though removed from printer....and all bogus! Its great when I get them to send me a replacement check when I tell them the first one was acidentally destroyed!

I also have an unused bank account and my bank agreed to try an experiment with it when one guy said he would transfer the money right into my account first! My banker said that once its in an account, he cannot touch it--so the bank was intrigued too and we thought it a good idea to try and see what happened--since the account has a zero balance and will never have funds put into it. I figured if money was transferred into this account, then I could immediately withdraw it and then the account would be zero again. AND there was a chance this clown in Saudi Arabia realled WANTED the 8 pinball machines that totaled $14,500.

Well, my banker called 2 days later and said INSTEAD, these clowns sent a "cashiers Check" direct to the bank instead to be deposited!!! Of course, the check was bogus (we never deposited it) and the Saudi Arabia clown emails me and tells me the funds are "in place" now! Once I said it was not a transfer but a check, he never emailed me back again--even after several more email attempts to reach him! If the check was real, he would have wanted the machines. The company he said he represented was not listed on Google and the address he gave was a giant office building (I looked on the google pictures of that address)...so I really knew it wouldn;t go through....but it was still fun for me and my banker!

Alright, I gotta ask......why do you keep a "dead" bank account?

Edward
 
I get that all the time. Thats why i never out my # directly in a craigs ad Id rather weed out the spam and scammers via email.
 
Revenge ad actually happened a few weeks ago in minneapolis. An ad popped up that said this guy had an entire arcade in his basement and he had to move immediately. He said everything was free and if he moved he would have to pay to store it. Of course I called... And of course no answer and within half an hour the ad was removed.



Its a typical we'll send you a check for more than the amount, please send us back the difference; and the check will bounce, and they may actually send someone to pick up product, but actually doesn't matter, they've already scammed you.

Speaking of Fargo Craigslist, there is an asteroids cocktail listed and though I didnt reply someone I know did and basically the phone number posted is some woman that has no idea what you're talking about, and no response to the emails sent.

This happened last winter with a Frogger cocktail and some other one at the same time.

We haven't figured out what the deal is OTHER than to mine phone numbers/email addresses for future spam or something.
 
I never post my real phone number in a CL ad... Instead, I use http://www.inumbr.com... For $7/month it forwards your calls to any number, you can turn it on/off whenever you like, and it takes messages. Then you can throw away the number and get a new one if you get harassing calls.

As far as the scammers, just don't reply to their emails and they go away.
 
Ive been getting the "ill give you x-amount to take the posting off craigslist and all that cashiers check crap lately...I just say i only accept cash and you have to haul it away...
 
Yeah that's pretty much What I told them and they have not responded back and I doubt i will hear from them again! I just hope that everybody on here is smart enough not to fall for this crap.
 
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