Oh,geeze Craiglist.

[Kronos]

I'm selling an item on Craigslist and I get a text that someone wants it sends me an email so I shoot him a "yea I still have it" I get this:

"Thanks for your responds i am

seriously interested in the item

and i dont know if you will like me

to make the payment with the

certified check from my account to

cover the cost of the item, kindly

Provide me with the Full
NAME
Address
City
State
Zip code
firm price
Number to be on the check to have

the payment mail to you and also

offer you extra$50 or more to keep
the item for me.Thanks for that"

Oh,lord this again? big'ol scam but I am feeling playful (always am) so I shoot this back:

........bub the last guy who did this was running a scam-but I'm a bit nuts so tell you what:my email=paypal,just paypal me the cash and I'll mail it to you no need to give me anything to hold it.

If I don't hear from you go say hi to the jungle animals for me.

Guess we'll see if it's a scam or I'll piss someone off

 

[vmumford]

Playful???? Sounds like you slammed the door on him. You wont get a reply for sure. I would have strung him along to get a check to see how good they have gott'n at making them.....LOL I still have one in my drawer from years ago that came from the Philippines.

 

[Kronos]

The last,and my first,sent me a check from some supposed bank in PA for two grand! I actually contacted the state DA and sent it to him.

People I tell you

What gets me is there are folks who fall for this

 

[Arik]

You didn't piss anyone off, it's a scam. No one talks like that.

Ive had it before when I sold my car. Lots of scams of sending money to my account and sending a truck to pick up the car. I just told them to give the trucker cash to give to me and I'll give him the car

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Have bought and sold a bunch of items on Craigslist.
All the way from $100 camera lens to $50,000 real estate.
You are running an free ad available to world wide scam artists.
Most of the scammer replies are very transparent, some not so much.
Computer, camera and smartphone ads seem to get the most scammer responses for me.
Craigslist- It's free, it's easy, and it works.
So I'll keep on using it. The public is always difficult to deal with.
Why would this be any different?

 

[Mainsail]

If the potential buyer doesn't mention the actual item ignore it.

Example:
"Hi, I'm interested in the tow-hooks you listed" = respond
"Hi, I'm interested in the item you listed" = ignore

I would also be suspicious if the spelling and grammar are bad.

Sidebar: I worked for a supervisor with notoriously bad spelling, grammar, and punctuation. The agency started to crack down on that so he sent out an email to all with a paragraph on the importance of proofreading and using proper spelling and grammar; only his email was almost unreadable.

 

[Kronos]

@The Pilgrim:

Know what's funny? this is for a hydroponic garden thing I got hold of....now granted it's $199.00 but still,it's not even a phone.

 

[EdnAZ]

@The Pilgrim:

Know what's funny? this is for a hydroponic garden thing I got hold of....now granted it's $199.00 but still,it's not even a phone.

Usually the people buying hydroponics arrive late and smell bad.......

 

[pawngal]

I've had a lot of fun with the Craigslist scammers over the past month.
Being in an area of small towns there is no designated Craigslist site here.
I listed a Harley Road King for a friend on 6 different sites, all with 100 miles. So you can imagine the messages I got! After a couple of messages back & forth I'd tell them that as a scammer they are failure, Come on, show me your A game.

Years ago I worked with a bunch of eBay users busting the scammers there so I think I've heard them all.

 

[cougar14]

What really pisses me off is when I am legitimately interested, reply, and never hear if it's sold, or they think I'm a scammer.

 

[DWalt]

After you are on Craigslist for awhile, you can spot the scammers instantly. Their responses to ads all look somewhat like the one in #1, and some have creative stories about buying something for their "sick wife," or some such BS intended to generate sympathy. They usually don't bother with low-dollar items, nearly always those things listed for several hundred dollars or more. They also almost always involve payment using some type of check or money order. My firm policy has always been cash only. I generally make the transfer in a public location, such as a busy parking lot. The local PD allows transactions in their substation parking lots, and I have done that a few times. I have had several instances in which I was suspicious and requested the transfer in a PD parking lot, and suddenly the prospective purchaser was never heard from again. Just last week, I made a fairly high-dollar transaction in the parking lot of a busy Pizza Hut at lunchtime, but the tone of the correspondence with the buyer indicated he was completely legit, and indeed he was. In fact it was a very interesting meeting. We even went into the PH for lunch. He bought because he was so happy to get what I was selling (as he should have been - it was a very unusual piece of militaria). I really don't want anyone coming to my house.

 

[Kronos]

I don't really care if people come to my house-I'm second to last on a dead end road and I come out with my pistol visible on my belt.

If someone wants to start it they know I'm gonna finish it.

 

[DWalt]

I don't really care if people come to my house-I'm second to last on a dead end road and I come out with my pistol visible on my belt.

If someone wants to start it they know I'm gonna finish it.

A confrontation during the sale is not my concern. If they come into your house, they could well be casing it for a return visit when you are not home.

 

[Kronos]

A confrontation during the sale is not my concern. If they come into your house, they could well be casing it for a return visit when you are not home.

I don't allow people into my house,rarely friends,for sure any woman I may find who likes me,but if I don't know you?

Don't even ask.

 

[pittpa]

If the potential buyer doesn't mention the actual item ignore it.

Example:
"Hi, I'm interested in the tow-hooks you listed" = respond
"Hi, I'm interested in the item you listed" = ignore

I would also be suspicious if the spelling and grammar are bad.

Typically, "do you still have the ...?" is a scam. If you look, many sellers will state, "if it is listed, I still have it for sale" for that reason.
The other scam is that they pretend to be Craigslist contacting you to update your password and include a link to do so, then they hack your account

 

[arjay]

So far,I've used it to get rid of junk I don't want to haul to the dump.Free sells,it's at the end of the driveway,help yourself [emoji1]

 

[THE PILGRIM]

If I respond to a shaky reply, I ask for a phone number, they must have a phone! Sort of that Indian rule of no toilet, no gun permit.
No phone? Really? You got a computer.
Oh, you use one at the library. You get points for going to the library.
The real people with real interests stand out pretty quick.
The scammers shake out even quicker.

 

[Ron M.]

Just sold my motor scooter yesterday using Craigslist. I made it a point to get the purchaser's driver's license, copy the info, and actually type the info, including the license number, on the bill of sale. Also took a photo as the buyer and her two relatives loaded the scooter into the back of the truck, in case they had an accident while transporting it and felt I was negligent.

 

[federali]

Scam Variations

A common scam to watch for is: you're selling something for $500.00 (as an example). I'm expecting a check for $1500.00 from my boss. I'll sign the check over to you. You send me the sale item and $1000.00. Once my check bounces, you'll regret trying to sell me anything.

 

[HalfStack]

I tell them all:

Money talks BS walks. No exception.