WARNING !

[Jay Murakoshi]

No, this is not another insomnia story. Although it might put you to sleep.

But this really happened to me.....

A few weeks back, I posted on Craig's List two items I was selling to produce movies. Just this past week, I got a response from some one back east wanting to buy my item. So he said he would get me a check in the mail and then I could send him the items. Fine and dandy

OK a few days later, I get an email from this guy stating the check has been sent but my name was put on the wrong check and sent. Instead of sending me a check for $100.00 the check was for $3,200.00. So this guy writes back in a panicky mind telling me about the incident and that he was at his girlfriends house when he did this and his dad was just in a wreck and was in a coma so he's not in the right state of mind.
So, I hope your honest and would send me back $3,100.00 by western union. The next email came two days later telling me where to wire the money too and that he will call his shipper to pick up the package whenever I'm ready. A couple days go by and no answer.

Then a couple days ago, I got another email from him telling me to send the money to another address. So now I'm getting suspicious. He wants it Western Union and not FedEx'd by cashiers check :shock:
So today I got another email stating "wats up" did you cash the check yet and wire the money". I went to the bank to deposit the check to make sure it would clear before I sent him the extra money back.

At the bank, the bank check wouldn't clear because something to do with the draft numbers on the check. Hummmmm, could it be stolen, phoney, etc.... It looks real, it feels real but is it real.... I've had this happen once before and lost $50.00 due to a phony bank draft.

So now here's the wrap up ------- I've got a Chase bank check that looks real but won't clear..... The one guy who is emailing me with all these concerns about his $3,100.00 and if it's on it's way.
A different remitter name on the bank check from what I've seen through emails. Two different people in which to send the money.

Too me, it's looking like a case of Fraud. To many loose ends that aren't attached. I'm going to look into this deeper by going to the postal inspector or so fraud unit associate with the FBI or some one..
This almost like watching CSI.

When I get to the bottom of this, I'll let you know the results.

Jay

[erhetta]

You are in the middle of a typical Craigslist fraud.

I am the Operations Manager for a major Credit Union here in Sacramento and can without a doubt, guarantee that you are dealing with a fake check.

Report the activity to the police, give them the check and any correspondance.

You might also contact the fraud department of Chase and give them the deatils too.

The more everybody knows about this fraud, the faster these people can get shut down.

Personally, I like to play these guys, give them fake confirmation numbers and dates and times to be at fedex or western union and call the local authorities in that area to let them know you have one on the hook.

Feel free to PM me if you want more info or contact info for the right authorities.

[erhetta]

Oh, and here is a great site with lots of info on fraud and especially the 419 scams. Lots of fun if you have the time to play with these guys:

http://ausetkmt.com/419.html

[TheOriginalBadBob]

I posted a ad on Craigs list for my Handy Man Service , and two persons
answered me with the same scam. They said if I wanted to make some extra money all I had to do was cash checks for them and I could keep 400.00 and then send them the rest. The deal was they said because they were selling stuff to people here in the states that there customers felt more comfortable if they were paying someone in the states and not overseas.........yea right. I am sure people fall for it and then get got owing the bank a bunch of money. I turned in the emails they sent me but I don't know if they can do anything to them or not? It seems there is alot of this that goes on from Craigs list.
All the best, Bob

[erhetta]

The scammers go from ripe site to ripe site. Ebay was big, and still is for scammers. The peeps that think eBay is bad tend to go local with Craigslist and are often less conscious of scamming since they think everything is local.

I buy and sell online all the time and live by a couple basic rules:

Craigslist is local, cash only, and pick-up in person.

Ebay is done via paypal only for buying and selling.

A lot of us think that since we get the scammers emails and stuff all the time that it is not worth the time to report it. I belive different and have seen the results first hand of reporting fraudulent email, scams, etc....

Easy way is to setup a contact in whatever email client you use for the more popular ones:

spoof@ebay.com - if you get a fake ebay email, just hit forward and send to this address

spoof@paypal.com - same as above for ebay only for the fake paypal emails

Take 3 mins and look up your financial institution's fraud email address or call and ask for it. Send any fake banking emails - no matter the financial institution - to them and they can update the national database. You may not be affected, but you might be the one that gets the email relay shut down and protect somebody else.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

With the Internet, fraud is rampant and will never go away.

Be very careful.......even on our classifieds.

[jhaquett]

That is a classic craigslist scam. The moment that he "accidently" sent any more money to you, it should have been pretty obvious.

Lot of jerks out there.... it sounds like a nasty piece of advice but I suggest that you never start by trusting ANYONE, and instead be cautious of EVERYONE

Every single overly trusting person I have known has been ripped off one way or another

[Jay Murakoshi]

Yeah, when I heard the sob story and that his brain in not in the right frame of mind, the warning flag went up. Especially when FedEx delivers an Overnight Express with no return address and just a check thrown inside the envelope. No note, nothing.

I have sold a lot of camera equipment on Craig's list (here in Fresno) but all transactions are done at the local Starbucks and cash only. If they say that they don't have time to get the cash and have a check, I just tell them to email me back when you have the cash in hand and then we'll deal.

I've been burnt once and that's how I learned my lesson.... Money sent, no item received - out $$$$$$$$

Jay

[Hairstacker]

Yep, without a doubt it is a scam and this particular one has been happening for years. They always involve sending a fake check of some sort for significantly more than the purchase and then requesting you to wire the excess back or they direct you to wire it to a third party such as a shipper and often suggest you keep some of the extra money for your troubles. They always make it seem urgent with some kind of story so you'll wire the money before the check is discovered to be fake. Some of the checks are done quite well to look real, while others are amateurish. Finally, many use a foreign address and are often based in a foreign country like Nigeria.