Craiglist SCAMMERS. How they do it?

by 12 replies
16
You know the Craiglist scam where they send you a MO or
Paypal payment and send someone to pick up the merchandise,
then the payment is later reversed. How do they determine which
ads to pick on? I'm getting a lot of these responses even though
I say "CASH ONLY" in the ads. Just trying to find a way to reduce
these queries.

-Ray Edwards
#offline marketing #craiglist #scammers
  • Mark them as Spam.. or check the options.settings in CL.
    I am sure there must be a way...
    • [1] reply

    • Most of these are texts messages, not email.

      -Ray Edwards
  • I'd say it's bots.

    You could put "no money order, cashier checks or paypal" in your ads.

    I place a lot of help wanted ads and in the setting part I indicate phone or email
    as the best way to respond. I don't get scam texts, but texting just does not work for
    applying for a job Not enough voice and body language feedback as there is in person
    or by phone. Dan
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
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    • I get the sense it's bots too. The responses seems to be pretty standard
      and always includes the full title of the ad with a simple question like:
      "________ available still? They never say they are interested at
      first just ask some general questions to see if they get a response.

      When I respond, almost immediately afterwards I get a long text
      with a story about why they cannot pick up the item in person
      and how they will send you the MO or Paypal etc.

      -Ray Edwards
      • [1] reply
  • When I sell on there I never include my phone number. I give the item description and the day and hours that I plan to show the item. I plainly let them know that the first person to show up with cash in the amount of my firm but usually very reasonable price gets it. They can email me for the address or with more questions. If email responses look scammy, I skip them. If they write me something that a person in kindergarten might write, I might skip those too. I try to deal with people that care enough to write a coherent response and go from there. If someone comes and tries to give me half of the asking price I let them know that they wasted both of our time and turn them out. I even put that in my ad, that if they show up unwilling to pay the price they've wasted everyone's time. I'm a busy guy. No time for haggling. I price things pretty cheap so as to liquidate quickly. If you don't want it, chances are the guy coming behind you does.
    • [ 2 ] Thanks
  • Scam going in the cars for sale section, too. Chatter says by Russian gangsters.
    Ridiculous low price because they are in the military car program, and can have it shipped to the base nearest to you for free. Pay by Paypal. Price is always odd - like $1914 instead of $1900 - and the background of the photo does not match the geography of where they say the car is. It used to be that the phone number would have an out of state area code, but they are using local phone numbers now. Leave a voice mail and you get a text back saying it is still available and they are selling it for a friend at...email address. If you email you get the reply about the military program.
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    • [1] reply
    • Thankfully, the Craigslist filters have caught onto this particular scam. Craigslist now has a price filter that flags ads for vehicles which have prices far below average for that particular vehicle. Can spot these scammers a mile away since they plan on posting the exact same vehicle across the country. Text only response is also a signature of their campaigns.
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  • Banned
    You have to be careful to find ads from craigslist because most of them are now cheaters.
  • Banned
    yea no I have not really looked into craigslist scams, although I have to say that has to be a pretty big niche, hehe. you know the thing is that to run scams most of the time you need to have some good technical know how like being able to run a phishing page and things of that nature,
  • Yes, many scammers in craigslist I was once a victim but I also find a good job in craigslist
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