Wow, not a very sneaky thief. Wouldn't this one fall under one of those Darwin Awards? ;)

I'm confused. Well, I'm not confused about it being fishy, but what is the scam? Does she send a bad cashiers check and then take your stuff? Get your address and try to rob you?

I'm confused, too. I've never sold on CL but was just about to....now I'm afraid to. I can't see the scam. How can she pick up the stuff without the address? Phony cashier's check?

The scam is that most people think that cashier's checks are as safe as cash, but they are now making counterfeit ones. As craigslist explains: FAKE CASHIER CHECKS & MONEY ORDERS ARE COMMON, and BANKS WILL CASH THEM AND THEN HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE when the fake is discovered weeks later.

"Thelma's" next move would be to send Christy a cashier's check for more than the amount agreed upon for the furniture and ask Christy to pay the movers. Then "the movers" would turn up, take Christy's money and leave - probably not even bothering to take the furniture.

So is it cash only on CL?

Yep, cash only and local buyers only.

Yes, I always put Cash/You Pick Up only in my CL ads. I even got a scam once that said she was deaf so I couldn't call her and that she was moving to my area in a few weeks but would send me a cashiers check and someone to get the furniture.

I'm sorry, I meant to post this on the conversations side of the HD forum. Typically they will send a check for considerable more than the asking price and ask you to keep a little extra for your trouble and then send them a check for the difference. The say their secretary made a mistake by cutting a check for too much. I don't know if they are go as far as having someone show up. But they will get their scams confused a lot. They'll write the wrong furniture, they have grammatical and spelling errors. You should always be cautious selling on CL, but I wouldn't be afraid to do so. Local and cash only for sure. I also like to speak to them on the phone - get a feel for the person showing up. I also have my husband be home and typically tell a family member that someone is coming by, when they are coming by, and after they have left. I get contacted by at least one scammer EVERY time I post. I just delete them, but this one left a phone number. It aggravates me to no end when they try to scam people out of their money, but this one clearly isn't very good at it :) Sorry again for posting in the wrong section!!! Christy

Have you notified the FTC? With a landline number, this may be one that they can actually prosecute.

From Craigslist "about>scams":
FTC toll free hotline: 877-FTC-HELP (877-382-4357)
FTC online complaint form

They also suggest that you contact your local police department. I would call the Florida Attorney General's consumer protection division too.

Thanks. I still think I'll skip it for now.

I know that this also sounds crazy, but by calling them, you just verified your number as a working phone number. I am sure that this information is something that can be sold. I think it is similar to if you reply to a "junk" email, it verifies that it is a valid email address, and it gets sold.

I had lots of scammers when I was selling stuff from my kitchen renovation.

Just imagine how much good could be done in the world if these people actually did something productive.

Thanks bbstx, for the idea, I did contact the FTC and the Florida Attorney General. Beekeeperswife, I'm not too worried about my number being verified. I think I actually suprised her. She sounded flustered like she didn't know what to say and then just kept asking me to email her pictures. I really think this is new to them. You're right, their energy really could go to more productive things!!

I always put cash and carry only in my listing a now I don't get that many and most times don't get any. My first time I got a scammer tho but when I heard about the moving and movers would be here I said no and she didn't bother me any more.

You can also go to whitepages.com and plug their land line number into the reverse-lookup section to find out the name and address of the scammer.

If there is a number listed, that's what I do when I am interested in buying something. :)

What gets me is the people that actually put their phone numbers on CL! Just let people respond through the email url that CL supplies. Then, you can correspond by phone if you are sure the buyers/sellers are legit. Always go see items (and have items seen,) with a friend or relative in tow.

Yeah, NHB, but I think many either don't have computers at home (just at work) or they have no clue they could set up a temp email account and don't want responses coming in on their reg accounts.

Always go see items (and have items seen,) with a friend or relative in tow.

Agree with that! Wanted to flip this around and if showing something make sure someone else is around and Fido if applicable. I remember going to look at an antique bedroom set. Seller (a woman) could only show it evenings. It was in winter so got dark early. DH went along with me to see it. She lived in an area of new construction, large lots on a lake setting, very nice homes but she was isolated because many surrounding homes were unfinished. The woman greeted us at the door, let us in, led us through the entire home to the back master suite and left us there alone to look it over. No dog showed up at any time to bark at us, no evidence of anyone around. (Looked like just the two of them lived there.) It was very beautiful, but too large for my guest bedroom & had some serious undisclosed flaws. Since dressers held their personal belongings I was not comfortable in the least opening any drawers to check construction (which I always do with antiques). A bit disappointed she didn't mention those flaws, so as not to offend her I decided to use the out that our room was just too small. Politely thanked her for her time and she walked us out. It was all very pleasant. Her DH came home just as we were leaving. To this day I'm amazed that she did that. I mean, DH & I know we aren't wackos or potential return-to-the-house burglars, but she had no way of being certain of that. Just not a good situation for a woman to put herself in. We have some big items we're considering listing, don't need them anymore. Decided already if we do CL they will be in the detached garage, our two big dogs will be in the fenced yard and permitted to do a bit of their watch dog barking before being shushed, and DH will make his presence known.

Sorry to digress, just wanted to share that.

That's what I said...make sure you have someone with you whether you are buying or selling. I always have my trusty JRT, too!

That's was a scary situation for the woman to be in. Something similar happened to me. I had a buyer for an item, and a set pick up time for her to come over. However, she called at the last minute and said that he brother was coming instead. I had set the time up so that my daughter would be home, but she was late getting home that afternoon. This guy shows up, and I let him into the foyer. Thinking back, I should not have done that, but for some reason, I felt comfortable with him because he was obviously gay. Perhaps that woman's DH was supposed to be home in time for you to look at the furniture.

Ah, you did indeed say both going to and showing items. (My bad, up since 1 AM and am a zombie today.)

Perhaps that woman's DH was supposed to be home in time for you to look at the furniture. Yeah, could be. Her demeanor was very relaxed, tho, like she thought not much of it.

No problem. I wasn't trying to be snarley or a know-it-all. :)

At least we can warn people on here that are planning on buying selling with CL. That rape/murder thing was enough to do me in and be extra cautious.

No problem here, it's all good! ;)

FTR I often ask for pics to be emailed because CL pics aren't doing items any favors.

We use CL a lot - mostly to sell or give away stuff. I agree about cash and carry. My problem is when I get a lot of responses but the first few are no-shows. Had a friend who almost got scammed, just as described by Graywings. Luckily, she showed me the email which said to send back the difference on the cashier's check. After I explained the scam, she sent back the entire check and sold her sofa to someone local.

We rarely buy on CL, but there are some great deals. it's just a hassle with some things being misrepresented. Sometimes the seller is a college person who doesn't know the difference between real wood and particle board, for example. But I have a TERRIFIC, huge mirror that I bought on CL for $45.

I agree about having DH with me for sales and for purchases.

Another caution,
Keep a few ones or fives in your pocket, figure out what change they may NOT have on them. I always list 'bring exact change, cash only', This way they can't hand you a 20 and say all I have is another 20 when the item is 25. That way they can almost force you to give $5 off. NEVER leave them alone while you walk to where you have your money to give change!

I always have had someone move the item on our covered porch before someone came to look, and or place at the front of your garage so when you open the door, it is right there. And if I ma looking, I ask where the item is kept for viewing BEFORE heading out to see it (listed on CL) When the man asks 'why' I say 'Craigslist safty'. they understand, if not I do NOT go to view that item ALONE or not go at all.

I also email or call the number first, and ask finishing, tears, weight, size (measurements) and where it was bought if they know. Saves me a lot of driving! If they won't coorperate, I don't go.

You will LOVE the people at 419 Eater, who engage the scammers. Their stories are hilarious!

This is my favorite one...keep reading at least until you get to the picture of the squirrel. Hilarious!

Oh and in case you're curious, these scammers make a TON of money!

Just to give some additional information on John Boko. As I write, I have been in contact with "John" posing as a fellow scammer looking for work. John has just offered me a job as just one of several of his European representatives to help cash and transfer payments from scammed victims for him. I was offered between $2,000 and $3,000 per month just for the simple job of gathering victim's payments together and forwarding the money into his bank account.

During our conversations I John told me he was making around $45,000 a month on average from his various scams, ranging from standard 419 type scams to cheque and Credit Card fraud. His team consists of around 20 individuals located in various countries around the world. I was also able to discover the name and contact details of John's artist and managed to contact him to confirm he had indeed been paid for his work, although he wouldn't tell me how much he was paid!

I'm still in contact with John, who calls himself Tony, who incidentally just collected a $15,000 payment from one of his "guys" in Switzerland. Any information I can find will be handed over to the relevant authorities.

I hope to update this page a little more soon.

OMG jeanninepc99, I read your favorite one.
The part about the hamster of African origin just started me laughing so hard I'm in tears...
This:
It appears that your package was infiltrated by a rodent,

Thanks...ROFL..I needed a good laugh! ;D

There may be another victim in this scam. Read about how naive people are tricked into forwarding calls from potential victims to scammers and the charge ends up on their bill.

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/scams/forward.asp

That email you received follow the same linguistic style as all the Nigerian scam ones. Most likely you talked to someone there and not some one in your city.

Here is a link that might be useful: *72 Scam