The Busy Brain - Latest Comments in Be Cognizant of Craigslist Scammers - My Story of Craigslist Fraud

Re: Be Cognizant of Craigslist Scammers - My Story of Craigslist Fraud

Sintek — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:30:12 -0000

I know this is old, but I just got two emails within minutes of one another very similar to yours.

The first was from "Tina": "Greetings, i will like to know the presents condition of the item and do you still have the original box with it."

And just like you, I clearly stated the condition of the item and includes pictures.

The second was from "Bolaji": "is your item still available?
if yes, am really interested in your item and i will make payment via PayPal so i want you to get back to me with your PayPal email address so i can issue out the payment as soon as possible, i will also include $100 for the shipment cost, and i want the item to be shipped via USPS Global Express Mail International and if you don`t have a PayPal account you can go and sign up at www.paypal.com because paypal protects both the buyer and seller a whole lot.
hope to hear from you soon"

Now I say right up front in my ads that I only respond to phone calls. I just feel bad for the people who actually fall for this crap.

Re: Be Cognizant of Craigslist Scammers - My Story of Craigslist Fraud

fraud scam — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 12:10:03 -0000

yes, like somebody said: Use paypal is the best method. You are protected.

Re: Be Cognizant of Craigslist Scammers - My Story of Craigslist Fraud

thebusybrain — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 22:39:53 -0000

Don't get me wrong... I love Paypal!

I have been a user of Paypal since 1999. I use paypal for a healthy percentage of transactions I do on and offline. I also run a few websites that receive payments via paypal as a very high percentage of the overall transaction method.

I just don't trust using Paypal in the circumstances stated above!

Re: Be Cognizant of Craigslist Scammers - My Story of Craigslist Fraud

Simple Mindz — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 22:01:28 -0000

I use Paypal for a lot of things - It's just easier for me.
But I also stay away from Craigslist...I just don't trust it.

Re: Be Cognizant of Craigslist Scammers - My Story of Craigslist Fraud

thebusybrain — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 20:53:31 -0000

Wow! That just goes to show you they pretty much work off of a script to some degree! I seriously wonder how many people have been duped by these people! They MUST get some unsuspecting people to fall for it, otherwise they would have moved to something different by now!

After I made this original blog post, I was contacted by another person attempting to scam me regarding the same item. iPods must be a big hit on their radar, because I have 10 other items listed and they don't seem to get the fraud attention the iPod got!

FYI - I finally sold the iPod yesterday! I told the kid I was ecstatic to finally talk to someone local that is not trying to scam the system!

Re: Be Cognizant of Craigslist Scammers - My Story of Craigslist Fraud

Ryan — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 09:25:00 -0000

I had the exact same thing happen to me on craigslist, they pretty much copy pasted what you got word for word. I just googled a sentence from the email and found your blog.

Re: Be Cognizant of Craigslist Scammers - My Story of Craigslist Fraud

BrandiPierce — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 18:44:53 -0000

Interesting. The few local people I have dealt with I have paid via Paypal for the merchandise -- but at my request -- because I love using my credit card. I also made sure to talk with them at least twice on the phone and only pay right before arriving to the agreed upon meeting time/place -- or on the spot, thanks to iPhone. =) Good warning to post though.

Re: Be Cognizant of Craigslist Scammers - My Story of Craigslist Fraud

onebigswede — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:43:25 -0000

People use this type of scam for all sorts of things. I work at an online automotive classifieds website, and every day people try to scam people out of their money by telling them they'll buy their car- and that they're sending a cashier's check to cover the cost of the car, plus extra to give to their shipping agent. it's all a scam, and you get caught on the hook for the money by your bank.

Anytime "extra money" being included is talked about - run for the hills!