Craigslist scammers - UGH!

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

For about a month now I have been trying to make a bit of extra money on the side by selling a few things on Craigslist. I refuse to sell on Ebay anymore and I like Craigslist because there are no fees associated with either listing or selling an item.

What's really driving me nuts are the massive amounts of scammers out there.

I've list about 12 items so far and sold 3.

BUT, I've had at LEAST seven phony "bites" from scammers.

The first two I probably should have caught earlier because the names that popped up on the e-mail were foreign sounding. I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and I was wrong.

They seem to be using a varied approach. One just straight sent a bad grammar email saying: "I wish to make purchase for this item to send my daughter in London. I will provide payment by way of wire transfer. Please send me needed details"

So no problem there. The next one, was sneaky as hell. I receive an e-mail in reference to one of my items that reads: "Hey there, is this still available? What time could I come to pick it up?"

Seems pretty legitimate. So I respond to say yes it is and to let them know when I would be available to complete the transaction.

The reply I got back really got me pissed, because it said: "Sorry I won't be able to pick up these items. I loaned my car to my brother and he put a big dent in it so my cash needs to go elsewhere. By the way, my sister just started a new job and they have a couple of positions open in your area. It seems to pay quite well, you can make over $500 a day FROM HOME! Check it out: www.thisisascam.com

Grrrr. Delete, delete, delete.

Since most of these emails had come from accounts with foreign sounding names, I decided that, for the immediate future, I was not going to respond to accounts with those kinds of names on them. You see, these names were common to an ethnic group that has a small presence in this area, so the odds that such a response would be legit were low anyways.

Two days later I get a hit on another item, actually a collection of items, from "John Mcdonald Smith". Like before he's asking if the items are still available. I tell him they are...

...and about an hour later get a request for my details so we can arrange a wire transfer for payment.

Grrrrr....

And the stupid thing about all this? The items I'm selling, in general, are not Expensive/high fraud items. I'm smart enough to not even bother selling Laptops/cellphones/Ipods/etc. on such a venue.

One of my scam hits was on a set of Star Trek toys I was selling for less than $50. I was really shocked they even bothered with that one.

Currently, I'm getting more scammers than legit inquiries by a nearly 2 to 1 ratio.

[Mr Hero]

Way to be alert to these scammers! I forget the reason why requests to have money wired tips off red flags. Is it just because there's no record of the payment?

[NateTheChops]

I've honestly given up on trying to sell anything on craigslist. Thus far the only legitimate dealings I've had on that site are finding roommates.

[ReverendBSB]

I gave up on Craigslist and went back to eBay. Too many scammers and too many cheapskates. Those emails advertising some scam sight are easy to spot. The subject is always the headline for your ad and they never mention the product in the email, only asking if the "item" is available. As for the cheapskates just because I am selling something on Craigslist does to mean itmismalways going to be cheap. I was selling some scuba gear that brand new cost almost 10 grand. It is several years old but well maintained and I wanted around 1800 for all of it. One jackass had the gall to offer me 650. I told him to shove it, went back to enaynand have made over a thousand so far even after fees with a lot more equipment still left to sell.

[csquared]

To do a wire transfer, they need your bank account number. You will see a wire transfer, but it will not be in the direction that you were hoping for.

As for why bother scamming low dollar items... The value of the item you are selling has no relationship to the amount of money they can pull from your bank account. I would guess that they think that people who are selling low dollar item are not "big dealers" and might be easier to scam.

[EricKei]

I had a CL'er contact me recently in response to an ad (I do "neighborhood geek" stuff) that I had last updated...2 months ago? They wanted to drop by or meet me at a coffee shop or something to set up times for me to come over and help. The thing is, they had a California phone number and I am in Louisiana... >_< Another one at least had a local number, but the phrasing was almost identical, so I just never responded to either one.

[Sapphire Silk]

Way to be alert to these scammers! I forget the reason why requests to have money wired tips off red flags. Is it just because there's no record of the payment?

To do a wire transfer, they need your bank account number. You will see a wire transfer, but it will not be in the direction that you were hoping for.

Actually that's not usually the way these scams work.

Usually the scammer wants to pay via check. They send too much, and ask you to refund the difference via wire. Then the check bounces and you're stuck for the whole thing. They're really not interested in the item.

Problem with sending stuff by Western Union is once you send it, it's gone for good. There is NO way to track it or get it back, and Western Union will not get in the middle of a dispute, usually with someone in another country under different laws. You're screwed.

This is why I don't take checks. I occasionally take US Postal Money orders, no other money orders. Or I take Pay Pal. Cash is fine when I sell stuff on Craigslist . . . but I'm going to get one of those pens for checking for fake bills when I sell a big ticket item.

I'm getting frustrated with Craigslist, too. I've been trying to sell an elliptical for two weeks. I've gotten lots of interest, but when I offer to let the buyer set up a time to look at the item, I get no response.

Or I get, "What is the lowest you will take for it?" responses. I absolutely HATE those.

Make me an offer, fucker. If you lowball me, I'll tell you no but I'll be polite about it.

But if you ask me to lowball myself, I'm just going to ignore you.

I'm thinking I'll go back to eBay, much as I hate the damn fees. At least I can get payment via Pay Pal and know the money's good.

[Redbeard]

To do a wire transfer, they need your bank account number. You will see a wire transfer, but it will not be in the direction that you were hoping for.

As for why bother scamming low dollar items... The value of the item you are selling has no relationship to the amount of money they can pull from your bank account. I would guess that they think that people who are selling low dollar item are not "big dealers" and might be easier to scam.

This right here. Or they send you a check and "accidentally" make it for $300 over. Well, can't have that, no time to send another check so go ahead and Western Union me $150 and keep the rest for your tourbles. no no, no need to wait for the check to clear.

check goes bouncy, they've got your money, you get hit with bounced check fees and are out of your product

[Javarod]

Ah yes, Craigslist is fun, no? I'm going through the same thing, i'm moving across country, so i'm trying to sell off the majority of my furniture (anyone in Phx need cheap furniture?), and its beyond annoying. I like the money order scam, they sent me that one on a pair of living room chairs, just send us back the extra and the product, and we're not responsible for shipping. Riiiight, i'm going to ship two living room chairs for free, two chairs that cost $35. Mmm, i think it'd cost more to ship them than i'm selling them for.

[MoonCat]

I'm sorry you guys are running into all this trouble, but I have to say these stories of scammers are fascinating to me. I take newspaper want ads for a living, and while it's possible to scam someone this way, it's much less common than what happens on craigslist. Just today, I had a guy tell me, "I do NOT want this ad to go on craigslist!" Not sure why he thought I was going to put it there.

Scams have increased probably by a thousandfold since internet ad sites came into being.

[Merriweather]

I've been doing Craigs List for a while now. I began with craft supplies (from a purge/downsize of my craft room, & from buying some big "bulk" purchases at garage sales - I kept what I could use and sold the rest). Amazingly, good craft supplies (scrapbook papers, rubber stamps, sewing fabric, etc) sell very well. I've also begun attempting to de-clutter all over - collectibles, books, DVDs, household stuff, a bit of everything. I also pick up stuff at garage sales now and then that I think will resell.

I do almost all local, very little mail, so I have "cash only" in my ad, which may be why I've not gotten the wire transfer scams. I also put a statement that emails not mentioning the items will be ignored due to phishing emails. And I do, when I have a dozen CDs listed in an ad, and an email says "I'm interested in the item, when can I pick it up?", its obviously just phishing.

Anytime I renew my ads, I get a new round of spam - mostly, they just want you to email or call them, so they get email addresses & phone numbers to sell. Answer one of the emails, and suddenly your spam box is full of viagra and other questionable ads. Now, there's a little link on emails sent thru CL that you can click, and it flags that address as having sent spam. I use it a lot.

It's an annoyance, deleting spam, but not a really big deal, IMO. I like CL because people look at the item, and if they like it, they hand me cash and leave, LOL. No worries about feedback, no screaming people saying it has some flaw that takes an electron microscope to see, no returns, etc.

Of course, it's a smaller market, too. I never expect things to sell quickly (though sometimes they do). It's a matter of happening to post it the day one of the few local people who would be intrested happens to check CL, LOL. So I post, and keep renewing (which has gotten much easier lately), over and over.... and suddenly, when I'm about to take it to Goodwill, someone will call. I keep a shelf/counter in the basement and just let stuff sit til I get a bite.

[LillFilly]

I just got a rabbit from a rescuer who 'saved' her from a Craigslist scammer. Rescuer sees the rabbit on craiglist selling for $60 with new cage. She recognized the picture as the rabbit her friend was adopting out, and recalled that her friend had adopted it to a lady for $25 with a USED cage. Her friend confirmed that the rabbit was the same she had just adopted out. Rescuer also noticed that that lady was also selling many other animals on craigslist and discovered that she'd 'adopt' them from people just wanting good homes for their animals, then 'flip them' to double or triple her money. Rescuer flagged the scammer (Guess it's not illegal, just immoral) and got her to sell back the rabbit for the original 25$, and then that's when I adopted her! Sweet little devil of a dust mop of a rabbit!

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

Usually the scammer wants to pay via check. They send too much, and ask you to refund the difference via wire. Then the check bounces and you're stuck for the whole thing. They're really not interested in the item.

This is why I let people know that if they're going to pay with a check they're going to have to wait until the check clears the bank before I send a goddamned thing.

And the few times I've had the "Whoops I sent $500 for a $50 item by mistake", I void that sucker and cut it into eight pieces. Then I email them a image of the voided and dismembered check and ask them to send me another one with the *correct* value.

Funny how these people who are so desperate for the item are actually willing to send me a check for the correct amount.

Although I *did* have one who sent me a second check and a third check. All for far more than the amount of the cost of the item. I kept shredding and voiding. Stubborn jackass.

Now a days I use PayPal or now I have the Square-Up dongle for my iPhone. I can take Credit Cards.

[MiloMorai]

Those scammers are persistent though. I was posting some things on CL and I even put it in the ad that I will not accept a check or paypal, yet they persist in trying to use a check. what's funny is CL puts in the mail a warning about scammers and checks.

Some of my things actually sold though.

[Mel]

CL isn't the only place where people try to scam. Last summer I posted an ad on Kijiji for a yard sale we were doing, where I included a general list of items that we were including in the sale.

About a week after the yard sale was over I received a reply to the ad asking "Is this item still available?"

Errr, you're going to have to be more specific than that!