Craigslist question: Am I just paranoid or do you see a red flag from this buyer?

Hi Tim,

Long time no see.

Lol I wouldn't accept payment that way with anyone I didn't know. That's one red flag right there for me.


Mary

ROTFLMBO!

You know why.

Seriously, there are actually a couple of things in that quote that can set off red flags if people take the time to notice.

The main one as I mentioned earlier was the biggie for me. It sounded like one of those spam mails I get quite often in my inbox lol.

You know the ones that say they'll ship you xxxxxxxx.xx by Fedex. Uhu ...


Mary

Stay clear of responses like that Tim!

It's got "scam' written all over it.

Well, a lot of scam posting on CL so be careful on every transaction.

Its a scam. A very common one. The check is fake. You deposit it, a portion clears , you send the item then the bank tells you the check is fake and they want their money back.

This is a classic CL scam.

I think you're over thinking it. Once you receive the check you have 2 immediate things you can do for due diligence.

1. Contact the issuing bank and verify the account info and funds availability.
2. If that checks out, deposit the check and wait for the check to clear.

Someone trying to defraud you won't pass both of those test.

Biggest scam in the world.. "You can cash the check first".

If you have a regular bank account, the bank will give you the money at once. The problem comes 10 days or so after you've shipped, and your bank suddenly lets you know that the "check" was made of solid rubber.

Personally, I'd think twice about dealing with this individual.

Pete

yea, i would keep my hands of it

Even if the check clears - you might find out, a week later that it was fake...

Anyways, when I have to deal with these things, I tell them to send a check, I throw it away, write them an email that I never received it, they send another one... I throw it away once again and block their email address

looks fishy. What amount we're dealing here with?

ADD: Don't even touch this with a long pole, as others said...SCAM <--- all over it
(Looks like you're selling a house or something...)

On the face of this it looks a pretty good deal. But then you have to think to yourself why would anyone who hasn't even seen the item want to pay for it in full and pay shipping without even asking any questions.

If it were myself selling the item the first thing I would do would be to send a polite thanks but no thanks and see if you receive any reply. The fact that they ask for full address and phone numbers could mean they may be attempting some ID Theft which would then probably cause you more problems than a rubber check.

Stay well clear.

Why don't you use the most simple method of all - ask for a cashier's check for the exact amount, and tell him you will ship the item C.O.D.

Before you deposit it, ask the teller at your bank to call the other bank and make sure it is not forged. Then deposit it. That way the bank cannot come back to you if they made the mistake.

Then ship the item C.O.D. The buyer will pay the charges when it arrives, since you have already collected his money.

Problem solved.

Dixie

Everytime my boyfriend lists a high ticket item on CL he gets this email or a variation of it.

If I were you I wouldn't even bother responding to this "buyer".

Hey Killer the "overpayment/ partial refund scam" is a bit different.
This one is just a counterfeit check that uses a real account # that the Nigerian got from the standard 419 scam where they ask for your bank account because they want to send you 10 million dollars.

BTW these scams are still called nigerian scams but I investigate these email scams all the time and more and more they trace back to people in the states .

I've bought and sold on Craigslist and I only accepted cash only. That would save you some headache in case checks bounces. Hope this helps.

Yep it's a no go -- make them Paypal the check and once it clears there you'll know you're okay (I say that and something makes me now want to go check Paypal's policies -- arrgghh). 'Spect they'll have a reason they can't do that too though ;-)

Like the thread - you probably just saved lots of people from getting ripped off.

Andrea

Definitely a SCAM! First clue is the odd language that is used and reference to "the item" instead of what you are specifically selling. Also, why would someone send a check overnight via UPS? Regarding the check, the hope is they get whatever they need from you (which could be your product, your identity, etc.) while the check is in the clearing stage. When you cash/deposit the "check" you may think everything is fine. But, it may take several days for the check to actually clear and if it doesn't you get penalized!

If it looks wierd and you get a gut feeling about a response, go with your gut and move along to a real buyer.

Scott

Scam- They will send you a fake Versa check that you will cash (probably for a larger amount)

Then tell you that it was a mistake, to send them the item and the overpay...

A few weeks later, you receive a letter from your bank telling you that the check was fake/bounced and your account will be overdrawn for the amount of the check.

Just use some common sense. Who is buying a fairly high-ticket item from someone they don't know on Craigslist, without wanting to see it or talk to you about it, without asking any questions, being willing to send payment and trust you? Plus it says "the item" rather than whatever the thing actually is.

I use Escrow.com ...problems solved.

Dear Tim, dear all,

If you allow me, please let me give you a (proven) advice, but before going forward, let me tell you a short story. One year and a half ago, I was looking for a 7" / 1 DIN in car GPS,TV,DVD,Radio. The only one that was an "open box" item at a bargain price, I found it on ebay. The problem was that the seller was living in Dubai, EAD and of course he was asking for ALL the money in advance.
Unfortunately, the transaction was not qualifying for escrow.com, so I had to make a real market research in order to get the best prices for the escrow service.
So the answer was moneybookers.com. I've dealt with the seller and he accepted to be paid this way. So, I made the payment, specifying the value for the item AND the value for the shipping. Moneybookers allowed the seller to get the shipping fees and blocked the rest of it. On my side, I had up to 7 days to inspect the item and either return or accept it.
Finally I accepted it because it was OK and only after that the seller got his money.
Everything went smooth and actually we are now friends...
So, as a general rule, if the seller will accept the escrow service, definitely it is not a scam.

You are NOT paranoid. Anytime someone contacts you on CL and refers to what you're selling as "the item," it's a scam! If it is legit, you always get emails where the prospective buyer mentions what the item is directly.

I get the feeling 'suspect' from that email because of the method of payment. if someone can send you a check then they could get a cashiers check just as easily. Also, not to be biased, but broken English emails have often been big scams in the past.

It is a scam seen these type of responses before do not go ahead with this you will be sorry later.

I get this same email on physical products on craigslist. Not quite identical wording, but almost.
My reply is ALWAYS, come on by with CASH and it is yours.
On ebay I expect to ship proudcts. On Craigslist, I expect people to put cash in my hand