Um. Good lord.

[camwyn]

I put a table up for sale on Craigslist the other day, and received two emails shortly afterwards asking if it was still available. I told both people yes. the answers I got from each have me wondering whether either of them is actually trustworthy, because they give me rather bad vibes:


Message one:

Thanks for the prompt response. I have instructed my account officer to mail (overnight) a certified check, while you hold this item for me. Let me know when you receive the check and I will have my mover will come pick up at your place. Please forward me the following info so I can issue your check . . .

1.Your full name
2.Your mailing address(Physical as Ups does not deliver to P.O.Box}
3.Your phone number.

** Please note that I will overnight the payment,and you should receive it tomorrow. I appreciate you holding this for me. Please delete the posting as I am definitely buying it from you and it would be sad for me to have the payment in the mail only to be informed of the its sale also am deaf and will like to be contacted via email.**




Message two:

Hello,
Thanks for your prompt responds, However, i will need your name and address for payment,As am only able to make payment by money order at this time b/c i am away on assignment. It will be nice if you can send me more pictures. It will take about 7days for payment to get to you. As per pick-up, I will make arrangement for the pick-up after payment has been received by you. I don't mind adding thirty dollars so you can keep it in my favor.Please take the posting off Craigslist today and consider it sold to me, Include your phone number. Expecting to hear from you soon.
Regards
*snip name*




Anyone else get a weird vibe here or is it just me?

Comments

[lienne.livejournal.com]

Not that I am an expert in these matters, but weird vibe definitely coming through.

[silveraspen]

TOTAL weird vibe. It's a scam.

I think the way it works is that the scammer sends a check or money order for more than the amount requested, claims that a secretary made the mistake and asks you to return the overpayment along with the item. Of course, it turns out that the money was never there in the first place, which leaves you out however much the 'overpayment' was.

Forward messages to CL scam reports, if they have such, or delete without responding further -- and anything that comes in along these lines in the future is the same sort of scam. It's like the "Nigerian Emails."

People suck sometimes. A lot.

[camwyn]

Yeah, I'd heard of that one, which is why I got the bahoogies. I've bought stuff on Craigslist before. The usual procedure is:

1. Is it still available?
2. I notice there are no pictures. Can I see it?
3. What form of payment do you accept?

Not

1. Is it still available?
2. TAKE MY MONEY, BITCH
3. Oh, yeah, and seeing it would be good, too.

I've forwarded the text of the emails to Craigslist and removed the ad. I'll repost it in a few days. 'make arrangements for my movers to pick it up' indeed.

[bigscary.livejournal.com]

To be entirely fair, the end of any furniture transaction I engage in larger than "a chair" is likely to be "let me call my delivery guys, see when they can come get it" (I'm likely to say that in person after looking over the item, though).

[camwyn]

true. Still, it's a table and in the ad I didn't even give its dimensions, just 'seats up to six'. These people are offering to buy it sight unseen; how do they even know it'll fit through their doors, or look right with their other furniture? I did say it was 'probably' a particular Ikea design, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. I've lived in apartments with weird doors and stairs to be willing to buy furniture sight unseen, or at least without a set of measurements.

[e-mily.livejournal.com]

O.o yeaaaaaaaaaaaaah weird vibes. Definitely.

First one, WAY too f'ing serious and "professional" for someone who's buying a table on Craigslist.

[tundra-no-caps.livejournal.com]

Perhaps they intend to resell it?

Heh. But unlikely unless you're selling it for pennies.

[tundra-no-caps.livejournal.com]

Wow.

[badninja.livejournal.com]

Both come across very scammy to me.

[bcgphoenix]

Hooo, yeah, definitely getting a weird vibe. Plus, the first one uses language that runs a lot like a scam e-mail I got a few months back, when I was trying to find a renter for my old place.

[pat-trick.livejournal.com]

both are likely wire transfer scams.

[mmexlibris]

This.

[vadrice.livejournal.com]

nope. likely raptors.
though I should mention that if you are what you eat, raptors are people too.

[(Anonymous)]

Hey, I posted a couch the other day and got a weird email response as well. I did a google search of the text of the email and lo and behold, I found your post. The text is identical to the second message you posted. Definitely sounds like a scam.