I need some help with a Craig's List Ad (Very strange reply) - Opinions, Please

[Bob Wingard]

A friend of mine suffered the ill effects of this scam, and it is FAR WORSE than what I've read here ...

He received his CERTIFIED CHECK for an item ... deposited the check ... no one ever came or called to arrange pickup, so he just waited ... checked with his bank ... not only was the check no good .. the bad guy got the bounced check back, and the information the bank gave to HIM was enough to allow him to empty my friend's account !!! Now, he's finding credit cards and loans were taken out on top of that.

DON'T DO IT

[Greg Portland]

But you never know...........I have a friend who sold a classic car on e-bay. A guy on the west coast wanted to buy it. Said he would send a check then have a trucking company pick it up. (Sound familiar ? ) My friend was nervous, this was a high $$$ car. He received the check and the guy said keep the car till your satisfied you have the money cash in hand. He cashed check, cleared the bank, held the car a month just to be sure. The guy hired a company to pick it up. said he loved the car and even has a video posted on youtube of his new car.

There are reputable middle men who will guarantee the money for cases like this. That's why most savvy scammers will target sub $1k items; it's not worth paying for the service at that price point.

[Ruhi Arslan]

It is not about whether if this is a scam attempt - although it is poorly designed and old style - but how much fun you want to have with this "Mrs". Create a disposable yahoo or whatever account (I use one for these and sign them as "Yadretseynrob Rekcus". Ask if she could do cash but if not, fill in it with your local (Dallas I presume) FBI address and phone number for the their fraud dept. Better yet, go along with it and once you get the check, take it to the FBI. Who knows, you may run into someone who would care to file it for future use...

[glenn bradley]

Seriously. You had to ask?

[Scott Hildenbrand]

Read over the Craigslist warnings. Usually, "Is this Item still available " is a good indication of something possibility fishy.

Ha... I must be awfully fishy then.. That's my first question any time I see a listing. Countless times I'd checked only to find out they'd been too bloody lazy to delete their listing.

[Matt Kestenbaum]

THis type of scam is highlighted rather prominently by Cars.com as something to watch out for when listing a used car to sell. Definitely a scam.

[John Sanford]

Another one that I see frequently with cars is a very low price for a late model "flashy" vehicle (4x4s, Lariat Edition, Euro sport sedans, etc), along with some very nice pictures.

That were clearly taken somewhere else. I'm fortunate, the combination of the vegetation, architecture, and background topography here is fairly unique. Pics with a cottage style home in the background with lotsa vegation and no mountains? NOT here.

[Bruce Wrenn]

This one is most likely a fraud. In reply, notice that "i" isn't capitalized. But I once bought a table saw on CL. Because it was during State Fair, I couldn't go after it right then. Sent the seller a certified check drawn on my bank, which he took to local branch near his house and CASHED. Picked up the saw two weeks later. Last month, I bought an air compressor for $25. Sent the seller CASH, and arranged for later pick up. Pick up didn't work out (my fault.) Seller calls and says he will be with in a couple miles of my house on following weekend, and could he just deliver the compressor to me. Of course I said yes.

[Rick Fisher]

I would have to mess with these guys.. Its in my nature.

Funny.. when I want to buy something on CL, I always say " is it still available " ..

[Garrett Ellis]

Funny.. when I want to buy something on CL, I always say " is it still available " ..

Yeah same here LOL. There have been a lot of times where I've been interested in stuff and it has already been sold and the poster just forgot to take down the ad.

[Curt Harms]

I got a "modified" certified check scam. The Postal Inspectors have a tough reputation so I took it to the local post office. They see too many....they just didn't care. Took it to a branch of Citizens Bank on which the "check" was drawn. They DID care-kept the original, wrote "void" all over it and gave me a photocopy. Took it to a local cop shop, the guy there must have been bored. Said a friend of his knew someone in the RCMP. He became aware of a scam whose address was a P.O. Box in Montreal. The authorities there watched the box til a kid came to collect the mail. The kid didn't know anything of use to any investigation.