Scam on Craiglist/EBAY

[BigJoe]

Gentlemen,

I thought I would share this with you.

My daughter got into an accident last week and her car was totaled by the insurance company. With the car being 10 years old and an air bag being triggered the civic was done. The officer gave the older gentlemen the tickets. He was illegally parked on a one way street. He pulled out from behind a pickup that was also illegally parked. She has been driving for 3 years with no traffic stops or violations. So I get the insurance check and start browsing Craig's list. My daughter finds several Honda Pilots well under priced. So inquire via email. This is when it gets interesting.

I get a reply from someone who says they had posted to Craig's list for a friend. A few hours later I get another email from a supposed lady. Telling me she needs to sell her son's Honda Pilot because he had been a car accident in his fiancée car and killed 24 months ago. Now mind you I am searching Craig's list in a local area. I and my wife research someone being killed and cannot come up with someone that age or mom's name locally. She further explains that the car will be shipped to me and I have 5 days to decide if I want this vehicle. 2004 Pilot with 120,000 miles listed at 2k). I am still questioning this. I respond back that I will need to see the vehicle. I get a return email saying the car is being sold through EBAY and at an EBAY warehouse in Massachusetts. With the explanation that by using eBay we are both protected. The lady said she is traveling business woman and just wants to get rid of the memories. The sentence grammar is not that, of someone who is educated. So I google all this. (I had never heard of an eBay warehouse.) So it is listed as a scam on the Internet.

This morning I wake up and checking messages and have a porn text sent to me.

Joe

 

[BSAGuy]

Good advice. Remember the hoary maxim - if something appears too good to be true, it probably is.

 

[Cash_Stronomer]

A night time drive around town has always been my favorite way to shop. You can drive slower to see better and pull over to stop and check things out a lot easier. Good luck!

 

[dabrock]

Free ad sites are a hot bed for scams, I remember about 8 years ago looking to rent an apartment while I was working away form home for a year and there was an add for a nice apartment at a really low price. When I emailed the person I got a story about them being in Zimbabwe (first red flag!) and having their employment their extended so they were looking to rent the apartment out. They asked for the first months rent and security deposit and said they would mail me the keys and that I could go look into windows to see what it looked like - how many alarm sirens do I need?

So I asked them to just direct me to their property manager and I would be happy to handle it with them. They said they had none and I told them I was forwarding their scam to the RCMP for investigation. Obviously they were African scam artists and they couldn't do much but the RCMP did have the ads removed and issued a local alert.

 

[KeenDogg]

Good advice. Remember the hoary maxim - if something appears too good to be true, it probably is.

That's what my mother always told me.

 

[dpm802]

Free ad sites are a hot bed for scams, I remember about 8 years ago looking to rent an apartment while I was working away form home for a year and there was an add for a nice apartment at a really low price. When I emailed the person I got a story about them being in Zimbabwe (first red flag!) and having their employment their extended so they were looking to rent the apartment out. They asked for the first months rent and security deposit and said they would mail me the keys and that I could go look into windows to see what it looked like - how many alarm sirens do I need?

So I asked them to just direct me to their property manager and I would be happy to handle it with them. They said they had none and I told them I was forwarding their scam to the RCMP for investigation. Obviously they were African scam artists and they couldn't do much but the RCMP did have the ads removed and issued a local alert.

I had a similar experience when I tried to find a housemate. I ran an ad on Craigslist, and I got a reply (supposedly coming from) a married woman in Scotland who said she was coming to the United States to work in healthcare research. When I tried googling the name of the agency she mentioned, I could find no location near me.

I wrote back and inquired further and reminded her that the clock is ticking and I needed an answer before the end of the month. She accepted my offer of housing, sight unseen, and told me that she would be forwarding a check for $10,000 to pay the first month's rent, and she had ordered a car and furniture to be delivered to my house, and would I please sign for it? If there was money left over, I should wire it back to her in Scotland.

I wrote back to say I was not comfortable signing for her goods. Also, I suggested that what she was proposing sounded an awful lot like the scams that Craigslist warns us about. I left the door open to see if she wanted to proceed, but to do so on MY TERMS, not hers.

She wrote back in an hour, pleading and begging and guaranteeing that she was a religious woman and would never think to take advantage of another human being. While her first eMail to me was well written, properly spelled and punctuated, this reply was sloppy and disorganized and contained numerous grammatical errors.

I did not reply back to her ... but I did report her to Craigslist and never heard more from her.

I left the housemate ad running for several more months, and in that time, I received similar replies, supposedly coming from France, Italy and The Phillipines.

 

[dabrock]

I had a similar experience when I tried to find a housemate. I ran an ad on Craigslist, and I got a reply (supposedly coming from) a married woman in Scotland who said she was coming to the United States to work in healthcare research. When I tried googling the name of the agency she mentioned, I could find no location near me.

I wrote back and inquired further and reminded her that the clock is ticking and I needed an answer before the end of the month. She accepted my offer of housing, sight unseen, and told me that she would be forwarding a check for $10,000 to pay the first month's rent, and she had ordered a car and furniture to be delivered to my house, and would I please sign for it? If there was money left over, I should wire it back to her in Scotland.

I wrote back to say I was not comfortable signing for her goods. Also, I suggested that what she was proposing sounded an awful lot like the scams that Craigslist warns us about. I left the door open to see if she wanted to proceed, but to do so on MY TERMS, not hers.

She wrote back in an hour, pleading and begging and guaranteeing that she was a religious woman and would never think to take advantage of another human being. While her first eMail to me was well written, properly spelled and punctuated, this reply was sloppy and disorganized and contained numerous grammatical errors.

I did not reply back to her ... but I did report her to Craigslist and never heard more from her.

I left the housemate ad running for several more months, and in that time, I received similar replies, supposedly coming from France, Italy and The Phillipines.

Yeah, that's a classic scam very similar to the one with Western Union where they pay you then you wire them money and of course after you wire them the money the cheque ALWAYS bounces. The fact that it's from a foreign bank makes it even worse since their will be a hold on it for a couple weeks till things settle over the international clearances. Any time someone sends you an overly large sum then asks for money back it is 100% guaranteed scam.

Glad you didn't fall for that!

 

[Seraphim]

This gut scammed me out of a burger!

 

[dfoulk]

Here's one I got a while ago. I responded to one of the too good to be true priced cars.

Me -
Hello,
Please let me know when and where I can test drive the Audi. I am interested in purchasing it if everything checks out.

Thank you,
David


The response I got:
Hi again,

My name is Sandra and I'm emailing you about the 2O1O AUDI A6 3.0T Quattro Prestige. It has clear title, 22,689 miles 3.0L, V6 automatic transmission. The price was reduced at $5.000 as I need to sell it before 8th of September, when I'll be leaving with my unit back to Baghdad replacing the troops scheduled to come home. The deal includes free delivery and the car will arrive at your address in 2 business days so my presence it's not necessary cause I have everything arranged with Amazon Payments. You will have 5 days inspection period before I receive any money and if by any reason you find something you don't like about, you can send it back on my expense and you will receive a full refund of your money. It is located in Topeka KS sealed into a container and ready to be shipped to its new owner.

If you're interested in purchasing it, I can ask Amazon Payments to send you an email with all the transaction information, but I will need from you: your full name, phone number, shipping address and Amazon Payments will contact you shortly after I forward them your contact details.
More pics at: (the address she gave me that I don't want to display here)

Thank you,
Sandra Harper

And my response:

Sandra, This is perfect, I just send you money and I don't have to do anything else but wait. I was wondering how someone on a military salary could afford an Audi A6. I thought the price of the car was great but this is even better. I love the car and I'd love to put a bunch of money in your account and trust that the car will appear at my doorstep in two days. I'm not even sure how you'd get the car here from Kansas to my doorstep in two days. It's almost too good to be true.

In fact I have so much money that I don't even care if you're trying to screw me over.
You see, I'm not sure if I told you this or not but I'm a Nigerian prince and I have 40 million to transfer that I obtained from an oil contract but I can't use an African account so I could really use your assistance. Let's not bother with the Amazon thing, just send me your personal information including your bank account number and I'll get the money in there right away. Don't you worry about a thing as all your problems will be solved. You don't mind if I overpay you by sending you a check for $15,000 instead of $5000 for the car do you. I have more money than I know what to do with. The problem is that it's all tied up and I can't get to it. All that I ask in return is that you send me a cashiers check for $5000 and you get to keep the extra 5K for your troubles. See what a great guy I am. Once I get the check for $5K from you I'll go ahead and wire the $15K right away, I promise.

You see I'm really wealthy but believe it or not, I won the local Indian casino bingo lottery as well for another 20 million, I know right... but because of the foreign laws holding up my funds I don't have the money for all of the fees. I'll split that with you as well 50/50 if you cover the fees so that I can get my money. The fees will run about 4K so your 4K investment will get you 10 million. The only catch is that I have to have the money in two days or the lottery ticket expires. Let me know if you're interested in this as well because I have to find somebody soon that wants the 10 million.

So go ahead and send the check for 9K and the car and we'll get this moving. Once I have the check and the car I'll send you your check for $10,015,000.00. It's amazing right, almost to good to be true. But you deserve it for protecting our country like you do.

You know, meeting you on Craigslist made my day. I'm really looking forward to doing business with you Sandra and thanks so much for serving our military. It's honest people like you that make this world such a nice place.

Thanks again,
David

Unfortunately, she never responded to my last email.

 

[paintflinger]

I can see your custom tag now.

"B&B's Nigerian Prince"

 

[dabrock]

Here's one I got a while ago. I responded to one of the too good to be true priced cars.

Me -
Hello,
Please let me know when and where I can test drive the Audi. I am interested in purchasing it if everything checks out.

Thank you,
David


The response I got:
Hi again,

My name is Sandra and I'm emailing you about the 2O1O AUDI A6 3.0T Quattro Prestige. It has clear title, 22,689 miles 3.0L, V6 automatic transmission. The price was reduced at $5.000 as I need to sell it before 8th of September, when I'll be leaving with my unit back to Baghdad replacing the troops scheduled to come home. The deal includes free delivery and the car will arrive at your address in 2 business days so my presence it's not necessary cause I have everything arranged with Amazon Payments. You will have 5 days inspection period before I receive any money and if by any reason you find something you don't like about, you can send it back on my expense and you will receive a full refund of your money. It is located in Topeka KS sealed into a container and ready to be shipped to its new owner.

If you're interested in purchasing it, I can ask Amazon Payments to send you an email with all the transaction information, but I will need from you: your full name, phone number, shipping address and Amazon Payments will contact you shortly after I forward them your contact details.
More pics at: (the address she gave me that I don't want to display here)

Thank you,
Sandra Harper

And my response:

Sandra, This is perfect, I just send you money and I don't have to do anything else but wait. I was wondering how someone on a military salary could afford an Audi A6. I thought the price of the car was great but this is even better. I love the car and I'd love to put a bunch of money in your account and trust that the car will appear at my doorstep in two days. I'm not even sure how you'd get the car here from Kansas to my doorstep in two days. It's almost too good to be true.

In fact I have so much money that I don't even care if you're trying to screw me over.
You see, I'm not sure if I told you this or not but I'm a Nigerian prince and I have 40 million to transfer that I obtained from an oil contract but I can't use an African account so I could really use your assistance. Let's not bother with the Amazon thing, just send me your personal information including your bank account number and I'll get the money in there right away. Don't you worry about a thing as all your problems will be solved. You don't mind if I overpay you by sending you a check for $15,000 instead of $5000 for the car do you. I have more money than I know what to do with. The problem is that it's all tied up and I can't get to it. All that I ask in return is that you send me a cashiers check for $5000 and you get to keep the extra 5K for your troubles. See what a great guy I am. Once I get the check for $5K from you I'll go ahead and wire the $15K right away, I promise.

You see I'm really wealthy but believe it or not, I won the local Indian casino bingo lottery as well for another 20 million, I know right... but because of the foreign laws holding up my funds I don't have the money for all of the fees. I'll split that with you as well 50/50 if you cover the fees so that I can get my money. The fees will run about 4K so your 4K investment will get you 10 million. The only catch is that I have to have the money in two days or the lottery ticket expires. Let me know if you're interested in this as well because I have to find somebody soon that wants the 10 million.

So go ahead and send the check for 9K and the car and we'll get this moving. Once I have the check and the car I'll send you your check for $10,015,000.00. It's amazing right, almost to good to be true. But you deserve it for protecting our country like you do.

You know, meeting you on Craigslist made my day. I'm really looking forward to doing business with you Sandra and thanks so much for serving our military. It's honest people like you that make this world such a nice place.

Thanks again,
David

Unfortunately, she never responded to my last email.

Her response was definitely canned and not written by a native English speaker, you can tell by the incorrect use of prepositions and some of the awkward phrasing of her reasons for leaving, a solider would talk about deploying not going back to replace other troops last time I was in, and most English speakers say "I'm Sandra" "My name is Sandra", which tends to be common in many languages so this was probably run through a translator. Another give away is that she is talking in a very formal way rather than the normal conversational speech of someone just responding to an email and there are way too many small details about the legal title and how to arrange payment etc. I've seen so many of these scams you just get a feel for them as soon as you see the emails you basically know.

And your answer had me in stitches!

 

[the_edski]

I'm glad you didn't go any further and only got dinged with an unsavory text.

 

[ShaverGN]

If you hate spammers and are looking for some heart-warming vendetta check out 419 Eaters website.

 

[dfoulk]

I can see your custom tag now.

"B&B's Nigerian Prince"

That's funny. It was fun writing the response though I shouldn't have even bothered with the idiots. The initial post was very straight forward with minimal information so you couldn't really tell (except for the price) that anything was off. I had a feeling it was a scam and once I got the email response it was completely obvious. I sent them the email for fun, then reported it so that it could be removed.

You can easily Google any of these scenarios to see if they are known scams, unfortunately there are a lot of these directed at older people who don't have the computer skills to investigate, have some savings, and are more apt to send money without questioning it.

 

[dabrock]

If you hate spammers and are looking for some heart-warming vendetta check out 419 Eaters website.

I've been on a few sites like this and they are hilarious. The way they play with the scammers is amazing and I remember the audio of him getting the scammers to fly to the US but he was in Scotland so they were VERY upset. Guess they hate when people lie to them.

 

[Slash McCoy]

A night time drive around town has always been my favorite way to shop. You can drive slower to see better and pull over to stop and check things out a lot easier. Good luck!

Pulling over and checking things out at night... probably shouldn't do this in New Orleans.

 

[Cash_Stronomer]

Yeah I guess as we're all in very different parts of the world, some things just don't work Eh

 

[Mick]

When I find one of these scammers who whats to "ship" a car.

I ask if they could ship it to a post office box.....

Most say sure....

always view in person.

If you can't then it does not exist.

 

[dabrock]

When I find one of these scammers who whats to "ship" a car.

I ask if they could ship it to a post office box.....

Most say sure....

always view in person.

If you can't then it does not exist.

Well, it could be a Match Box car!

 

[BigJoe]

I would like to beat there a..... It takes all types to make up the world, it just amazes me that people would do that.