How I love you so. But your no-frills interface looks the same as it did in 1998, and you attract a LOT of weirdos.
I’m always buying or selling something on craigslist and luckily all of my transactions have been very pleasant. At the moment I’m selling our old dining room set and I got this reply, which sounds just too good to be true.
Hello
I appreciate your response to my inquiry. Am interested in buying
it from you. I would love to come and check it myself but I just got
married and am presently on my honeymoon trip to Hawaii with my wife.
Pls do withdraw ,with immediate effect, the advert from Web as i
dont mind adding $50 for you to do that, so i can be rest assured that
the item is held for me. I should believe it is in good condition as
stated. I will be making the payment via a Certified Check, which my
secretary will mail across to you. I’ll be picking the item from you
with the aid of my mover. My Mover will be coming to pick it from you
once the Certified Check has been cashed.
Pls I will need both your full name and physical address to issue
out the payment.
It’s almost an exact duplicate of the example scams craigslist warns us about here. Example scam email:
Thanks for your mail, Since the cost of your bike is $800 i just contacted my client about the cost of your bike and it present condition and he said there is no problem about that.So my client said he will be issuing you a
Certified Check of $4000 while you wire 3000 to me through Western Union
Money Trasfer and you deduct the cost of your bike $800 and keep the
remaining $200 which my client said you should take for the terms of
Transaction and Agreement between you and my client.So i will like you to
send me your full contact information to where my client will be sending you the Certified Check…
The only thing I can’t figure out is this: If it’s a scam, what the heck would he/she want with this old dining room set? It’s not like it’s a laptop, or it can be sold for double the money on the black market. The set isn’t worth a penny more than what I’m asking.
But I still think it’s a scam. I just can’t figure out what to write back to this arsehole. Let me know if you have any suggestions.
In the meantime, I WAS going to copy and paste a post left in the ‘Bicycles for Sale’ section but it got yanked in the last few minutes so its gone. Funny as hell. Titled “To the guy who puked on my bike outside WaWa” and went on to thank the guy for barfing on his Huffy cuz when he went home he told his wife that he puked from too much exercise and now she’s pampering him and is goin’ to let him watch the Eagles game without bitching at him… so he asks the guy to meet him at the same WaWa next week so he can puke on it again.
Classic.
Unless I am missing something it doesn’t sound like a scam. He’s sending you a check right? You’re not sending him anything… Just keep it on the list until his check clears – then throw it out in the street! LOL
Tony, It’s most def. a scam.
I just got another offer, this one almost identical: I bet they “make a mistake” and pay me too much, then ask for the rest back, before the fake check gets flagged. No question it’s fake:
Hello,
Thanks so much for the prompt response to my enquiry,can I possibly get more pictures,The price is okay by me,I really wish to be there to check out the item but I don’t have chance cause am the very busy type,to proceed with this transaction,my mode of payment will be via cashiers check/bank certified check,Concerning the pick up, my mover would be at your place for the pick up as soon as payment is confirmed .I will need you to provide me with the following information to facilitate the mailing of the payment
(1)Your full name:
(2) Contact address where payment will be sent to:
(3) Tell/cell numbers:so please do withdraw the advertisement from CL. cos I urgently need the item .I Await your response as soon as possible.
Thanks.
Man, these scam offers just keep coming. a bit of Googling came up with this:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080605152217AAKuLfk
“Yes this is a scam, the Nigerian check scam to be specific. The warning signs is all in the email. They are willing to buy the dresser site unseen, they mention “item” instead of dresser, and my all time favorite is when the scammer asks for info that is clearly already provided in the listing. The scammer asked for a photo, but you had already included a photo of the dresser. They just sent you one of their automated scam email responses.
What this scammer will do is send you a cashiers check for way more than the cost of the dresser and shipping expense. They’ll email you saying that the check is on the way, but they wrote the wrong amount and would like you to cash the check and wire the amount they overpaid back to them. It will look as if that check has cleared the bank, but two or three weeks later, the bank will find out the check is no good and you’ll be responsible for it.
Visit the website 419eater.com. It has info about international scammers, as well as examples of emails they send out to unsuspecting people who fall for their scams. Do not give out your personal information to this person. Report the person and include their email response to Craiglist mods as a scam. On Craigslist, it’s best to sell to local people and only accept cash. It tempting to jump at this person’s offer and get rid of that dresser, but everything about this is screaming scam.”
They send me a check for too much money, then ask that I send back the overpayment. The furniture is never picked up. Just what I thought.
My 5 cents:
These guys are arsehells for sure. Response for my ad:
FROM: “mayor johnson”
I appreciate your response to my inquiry. How was your vacatios? I’m interested in buying it from you. I would have loved to come and check it myself but I’m on a business trip to france .I would love a surprise change of furniture in the home on my return.Pls do withdraw the advert from craigslist as i don’t mind adding $50 for you to do that, so i can be rest assured that the item is held for me. I should believe it is in good condition as stated.
I will be making the payment via a Certified Check, which my secretary will mail across to you. I’ll be picking the item from you with the aid of my mover. My Mover will be coming to pick it from you once the Certified Check has been cashed. Pls I will need your full name and residential address along with your phone number to issue out the payment.
Best wishes,
Mayor
I might bomb the hell out of this spammers den, no matter where they are. If Nigeria, be it. Arsehells.
I got a similar message today, selling items in Vermont. Here’s what the potential buyer sent me:
=====================================
Hello,
I really appreciate your response to my mail I saw your item on
Cl for sales and am seriously interested in buying this if still available for pick up and am satisfy with the description, condition and the price but pls i will appreciate it, if you can withdraw the advert from craigslist to avoid disturbance and I will pay you extra $20 for the removing, as you will be receiving be paying with a Bank Check.I will need you to provide me all this information to facilitate the mailing of the check.
1. The full name to be on the check.
2. Your mailing address(residential address) please no P.O BOX address because i want the payment to get to you at your house or your office address to make the transaction fast
3.Your phone number and the best time to contact you.
***As for the pick up,i will know how to handle that with my mover that as been helping me to move in my belongings into our home, the Mover will come for the pick up once the Certified Check has been cashed and i will like to complete this transaction soonest.thanks and get back to me with the full info as soon as possible.
Thanks.
xxxxx xxxxxxxxxx
Your blog is very interresting for me, i will come back here..
I just received an almost word for word identical response from “Mayor Johnson” for 5 separate postings that I made on Craigslist. He only offered $30 to “remove my advert.”
I told hiom that I only deal with local buyers for cash only. He responded with a song and dance about waiting for his check to clear. I told him that unless his bank had a local branch in my area, where I could cash the check against his account rather than my own, that my policy stands.
He responded that of course it is a local check. His enthusiasm and instant responses just smelled funny, which is why I googled “mayor johnson” and “craigslist scam”,- and here I am!
These postings were for a charity fundraiser. These scammers should be ashamed!
Has it really?
I just got this I wanted to cuss and swear back at them but I feel it better to keep quite and post the crap out of their name on the net.. as should every body!
Re: Yamaha CG101A Classical Guitar(Natural) – $100Wednesday, August 12, 2009 3:50 PM
From: This sender is DomainKeys verified “Julia Ross” Add sender to ContactsTo: “***ME***” Hello,
I appreciate your response to my inquiry. Am interested in buying
your musical instrument. I would have loved to come, check it out myself but
I just got married and am presently on honeymoon to Hawaii with my husband.
I would love some surprise inclusions in his music studio on our return.
Please do withdraw the ad from craigslist as I wouldn’t mind
adding $50 for you to take it down, so that I can be assured that the item
is held for me. I should believe it is in good condition as stated in the ad.
I will be making the payment via a Certified Check, which my secretary will
mail across to you.
I’ll be picking the item from you with the aid of a mover. My Mover
will be coming to pick it from you once the Certified Check has been
cashed. Please I will need both your full name and physical address
along with your phone number to issue out the payment.
Best Wishes,
Dr.Julia
–
Still available and in good condition, Please let me know.
Dr.julia. dr.juliaross@gmail.com Julia Ross
I am dealing with the same “Mayor Johnson” and the same language in his “offer” email right now. I’ve already given my address so a check will probably arrive on Monday. How do I “return” the check and get this creep out of my life?
Here’s what I replied when I received this:
Great! I’ll remove it right away!
Please send the check to:
Attn: Fraud investigation officer
C/o Appleton Police Station
222 S Walnut St
Appletin WI 54911
920-832-5500
I got a similar one from an Augusta William
Hi,
I appreciate your response to my inquiry. Am interested in buying
your item. I would have loved to come, check it out myself but
I just got married and am presently on honeymoon to Hawaii with my husband.
I would love some surprise inclusions and replacements in my husband’s studio
on our return.
Please do withdraw the advert from craigslist as I wouldn’t mind
adding $50 for you to take it down, so that I can be assured that the item
is held for me. I should believe it is in good condition as stated in the ad.
I will be making the payment via a Certified Check, which my secretary will
mail across to you.
I’ll be picking the item from you with the aid of a mover. My Mover
will be coming to pick it from you once the Certified Check has been
cashed. Please I will need both your full name and physical address
along with your phone number to issue out the payment.
Regards,
Augusta
As an update, these scammers use real checks (where they get or manufacture them, I don’t know for sure). After receiving a check for $1000 more than the promised price, I called up the bank and the company listed on the check (nothing referring to Mayor Johnson). They were able to verify that the check information was legit, but the institution named on the check said that they had had a number of scam attempts against them and that the check number was not one they would have written.
The way it works is that if you cash the check, it will come back a week or two later that the company did not write it and then you are held responsible for the fraudulent check.
Here is another example:
From: Oruko Jesu
Hello
thanks for getting back to me,am interested in your item and i will
like to buy this item from you…am okay with the price listed for
your item…So please do withdraw the advert.I will also like you to
know that i will be paying via Certified Bank Check drawn directly
from my bank or i make a bank transfer to your account due distance
i am.I will need you to provide me with the following information
to facilitate the mailing of the check today.
.
Your full name
.Your mailing address(residential)
.Your phone number
I will like you to know that you will not be responsible for
shipping, my shipper will come over there as soon as you have the
payment in hand…..Await your response as soon as possible.
****please note that the payment will be made overnight via ups or fe dex
courier service and please ignore every other buyer.***
Here’s my email:
“Thanks for the swift reply.I am okay with the condition and price of the item and am ready for its purchase.I’ll be paying you with a certified Bank Check and the payment will be issue out to you Via Ups Courier service I’ll be responsible for the pick-up,while you hold on my behalf. Once you receive this, my mover’s will come for the pick up at your place.I will be needing the following information to issue out the payment……
1.Your full name
2.Your mailing address(Physical)….Not P.O.box
3.Your phone number
** Please note that the payment will be overnight to your address and it will be delivered within 2days.I will also wait for the check to clear before i have my mover come for the pick up
Warmest Regards”
I responded with the contact info of the local chapter of the FBI. I’m sure it won’t do anything but it made me smile.
And supposedly this person’s name is Jeff Nice but his yahoo address is kemi_jamall@yahoo.com. Seriously? It’s like he’s not even trying.
He just responded to my email that with the FBI contact info:
“Thanks for getting back to me with your contact details..The check will be issued out and you will get it shortly via Ups.The Mover’s money has been added in the check.So when you get the check,you will cash at your bank,Deduct your money,Plus An Extra $50 for your running a rounds,Then you will have the rest of the money sent to my mover same day Money gram,I will send you my Movers information as soon as you receive the check.”
At least I’m wasting his/ her time.