Warning - Craig's list Scam!!!

[sptyks]

Hi all,


I was Scammed on Craig's List so this is a warning. I'm not sure if this scam is common or not but I have never heard of it before and they got me good.


 


I will be moving soon so I decided to sell two of my Kirby's and a few other items on Craig's List. I got an email from a gentleman in CA who said he wanted to buy all of my items. He said he would send a cashier's check via FedEx. He told me the check would be in excess of my selling price. The excess amount was to be sent to his moving Co. who would arrive at my home within 2 days after the check clears and to notify him as soon as the check cleared my bank.


 


  Two days later the check cleared and the money was in my checking account. I notified him via text that the check cleared. He told me to deduct my selling price from the money and send the rest to his shipping company. I wired the money via Western Union to the account he specified and was waiting for the shipping company to arrive and pick up the 2 Kirby's and other items at my home.


 


 The next morning I logged into my online banking account and noticed in horror that my account was overdrawn by well over $700. It turns out that the Cashier's check was being drawn on a fictitious bank that didn't even exist so of course the checked bounced. The check looked 100% authentic but the bank still removed all of the money from my account leaving me quite far in the hole.


 


So hopefully this will serve as a warning that not all cashier's checks are good! And only accept cash in hand for any items being sold on Craig's List.


 


~Stan


 


 


 


 

 

[human]

I had a similar experience several years ago when I was trying to sell a car. I had it advertised on Auto Trader, not Craigslist. A couple came to look at the car, liked it and agreed to my asking price. They said they'd pay by cashier's check and that since their bank was kind of far away, they'd go get the check and meet me at a funeral home across town to complete the transaction. We met, exchanged the title for the cashier's check, and they drove off with the car. I deposited the check the next day and a week later got a letter from my bank, stating that the cashier's check had bounced. What? Bounced? Cashier's checks don't bounce. That's the whole point of a cashier's check!

It turned out the check was fraudulent. I called the bank on which it was drawn and was informed that a stack of blank cashier's checks had been stolen from them and they were looking for the perpetrator. I went to the police, reported the car stolen, and they recovered it six hours later. It had a 10-day temporary paper tag on the back that had obviously been stolen off of another vehicle and the title was in the glove compartment. I spoke with a detective a few days later, who told me the same people had stolen three cars that day, using the same M.O. and two of the three cars had been recovered but the perpetrators had not yet been caught. Since the title that I had signed over had not been processed, it had a close encounter with my shredder and I just ordered a duplicate title to be able to sell the car.

I've sold a couple of cars since then, but now I always insist on cash. The only way I would accept a cashier's check anymore is if I could go with them to the bank and watch the check being cut. I would likely then cash the check before leaving said bank.

 

[fcs3]

Sorry for your trouble, sptyks

Nowadays, with advanced laser printers, check washing,
and counterfeiting, anything paid with paper is suspect.
My last Craigslist purchase, the guy wanted to have the
Postal Money Order verified as genuine before he'd deal.

The old 'overpay-send-me-the-difference' scam has been
around for decades. Its the something extra for nothing
that baits people into cooperating with the scammer.

But I'll often overpay 10% or so for Craigslist just aa a
courtesy when asking that the item be shipped (most 'listers'
don't consider that their buyer may not be their neighbor).

Learn about the half dozen tried and true scams out there:
Bait and Switch; Pigeon Drop; etc. Knowledge is power!

 

[vacerator]

Use Paypal

I too find it disgusting that Craigslist, etc. has so many scammers buying and selling.
No integrity, especially for a buyer appreciative of a vintage Kirby or other appliance or vacuum.
Just when the banks or credit companies bust one way of thieves stealing, they come up with a new scam.

 

[fan-of-fans]

So many scams on Craigslist

I sometimes go on Craigslist, but haven't bought or sold anything on there. The cars on there so often seem to be scams - they won't show or list the mileage or say it's in great condition when clearly it's not. Even have seen cars listed as being the TOL trim level when again, clearly it's not.

Also for some reason Craigslist cars are often modified with all the aftermarket crap attached to them, I'm not sure why that is, with dealerships you usually see cars kept more pristine.

Anyway, back on topic sorry you all experienced scams. Scammers have really gotten sophisticated these days to where you really don't know what's real and what's not anymore.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Here's What I Bought on CL

My early 1985 Stark Deluxe (Royal) 880 was found via a Craigslist ad, but it wasn't a scam! It was all cash only, and the seller even accepted my 50% off suggestion.

~Ben

 

[human]

True, not all Craigslist ads are scams; in fact, most of them probably aren't. I've sold two cars via Craigslist with no problems and bought one. I also got my cat Lily via a Craigslist ad.

 

[dch112]

This type of scam has been going on Craigslist for way more then 10 years. You should have known this. Craigslist has warnings regarding this. You must be a Craigslist newbe.

 

[huskyvacs]

@ human: Oh no, the ads are not usually scams, it's the EMAIL REPLIES you get to those ads (if you are selling) that is where the trouble begins.

 

[kirbysthebest]

Oh-Yes

That old scam has been around for years.

Good luck, your chances of recovery are null to none. You can often make a claim on your homeowner's insurance, but in most cases the deductible exceeds the loss.

You learned a valuable and expensive lesson, You mentioned that he was waiting for the shipping company to pick up the items from your home. I hope they didn't get them before you discovered the fraud.

According to a program on MSNBC this scams are very profitable, in one case the victim turned to a perpetrator to recovered her losses from the perpetrator, by becoming a partner with him. At first it was just going to be until she recouped her losses, until the net became too great to give up. She and her mother were netting $400K a year each until the FBI shut them down. Now they are doing 10-20.

 

[fantomfan57]

I agree, Darrell

I am so sorry this happened to you, Stan.
I had noticed the warnings years ago when I first found Craigslist. They had listed all the warnings to keep us from being scammed.

Also, I had read about this type of scam in particular.

Again, my sympathies.