Do You Think This Is A Scam?

Do You Think This Is A Scam?

  • Yes

    Votes: 33 100.0%

  • No

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Don't Know

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    33
sgt1372

sgt1372

Platinum Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2018
Messages
6,580
Been trying to sell a few things on Craiglist and my scam radar is on high alert when ever I receive any replies but this is a new one.

I tried to figure out if this was a scam and how I could get fooled by it but I really didn't see where the risks were.

Just to be safe I rejected the offer but I'm still wondering what the "catch" is. Does anyone see how I could have been ripped off if I had accepted the offer?

Any insights would be appreciated. Many thanks!

PS: This is my 1st time posting a poll. Noticed that the poll says that "multiple votes are allowed." Not sure if that means multiple votes by different people or multiple votes for the same person. Whichever the case, for accuracy of the vote, please only vote ONCE. Thanks!

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Thank for the response to my husband (Dimitri) message regarding your CL item, We are ready to make the purchase, But we won't be able to meet in person with the cash pick due to our work schedule and we are also in the process of moving after our daughter's wedding so we are fully occupied, but everything sounds good with the price & all the conditions posted on the CL, My husband will proceed to overnight a Cashier/Certified Check to you through Fedex and we will arrange for someone to pick up the item from you after the Check fully clear your bank, An additional $50 will be added to the asking price for the reservation so you keep this to us. Kindly Email me the following information needed to overnight the check to you.

Full Name to issue the check to....
Address to overnight the check.....
Final asking price & cell# to contact .....

Acknowledge the receipt of this email with the information needed to issue the payment out ASAP so you can get it after 24hours.

Thanks
 
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It sounds like the first step to a common scam. The certified check is the tip off, and the unnecessary extra money is a big additional hint. The next step, which they often save for the follow up communication, will be to tell you that the certified check will be for more than is needed, and you should send the extra money somewhere.

The basis for the scam is that people assume that certified checks are as good as cash, but it actually takes the banking system a while to detect counterfeits. So you've sent off real money by the time you discover that you were paid with a phony check.
 
Likely- I had something similar on Craigslist, though they wanted me to pay those picking it up out of the proceeds(sales price +)Keep in mind that the couple day date for funds to be available to you, is not fully cleared. It was an immediate response to my ad and I believe they sent them out to anything of value.
If you want to proceed maybe have them send the $50 that they were giving you to hold it and the person coming to pick it up can bring the cash for the sales price-or just come with the cash.
 
So, I read that as 4 "yes" votes to the poll so far, even though not votes have actually been posted yet. ;)

BTW, my response was to say that I preferred to sell to someone in a FTF transaction w/someone with cash in hand and (NO surprise) I received NO response to that message. The other "red flag that I didn't mention earlier, was that the initial msg from the scammer was followed up by another from the "wife" which I thought was suspect.
 
Certified check/cashier's check forgery is really common, and it can take weeks from the time that the bank says to you "yes, the funds are in your account" to the time they say "oops, that was a phony check, no funds for you."

I would only accept a certified check if you can meet the person inside at the issuing bank, and watch them arrange for the check.
 
Counting that as 5 "yes" votes now. :)

And yes, I saw the "risk" in the cashier's check but allowing it time to "clear" threw me off. Just depends when the "other person" would contact me for the pickup. The "earlier" the more suspicious I would be and, if I had gone thru w/it, I'd have delayed them for at least 2 weeks but better that I didn't engage them at all.
 
7-0. And why so many commas? Other downside would be meeting them in person and getting “rolled.”
 
I don't know what you are selling, but if the item is small enough it is being recommended(by my local police) you meet up in the local police station lobby. The items I was selling were too big for that to be realistic, but it certainly could work as a neutral location for smaller items.
 
Peter Hartwig said:
I don't know what you are selling, but if the item is small enough it is being recommended(by my local police) you meet up in the local police station lobby. The items I was selling were too big for that to be realistic, but it certainly could work as a neutral location for smaller items.
Click to expand...

It's a spin bike that weighs 143#. LOL!

BTW, I am a retired LEO and whenever I meet a stranger to buy something from me off of CL, I'm armed (and not just w/a knife) whether we meet at my home or a "neutral" location.

PS: I'm calling it 10-0 now. ;)
 
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willc said:
When someone replies about “your item” it is usually a scam, this is a copy/paste reply they probably send out to many people on CL.
Click to expand...

Yeah, there was that clue too.

No specific reference to the actual item advertised; definitely cut and paste. They also asked in an earlier msg why I was selling it, even though the reason was already posted in the ad.

So, lots of clues to the fact is was a scam that I couldn't articulate initially but it just seemed WRONG to me, which is why I passed.

Fortunately, I still have some common sense (no dementia or Alzheimer's yet) and avoided being another senior citizen victim of a Net scam. :)
 
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