Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with craigslist and scam

Nigerian scammer has my info...help!

jnnla — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 09:29:15 -0800

A Nigerian Scammer has my full name and webpage address...what should I watch out for? I did something stupid. Very stupid. I posted an ad on craigslist to sell some high end electronics that I am looking to get rid of. Right off the bat I got a scam reply from an individual asking for my paypal ID and saying that he wants to purchase the item and have it sent to his "cousin" who lives out of the country. I am familiar with all sorts of internet scams, and red-flagged this one immediately. A google search yielded similar emails using the same script. At any rate...I never respond to these...and when I do respond to craigslist buyers I use an anonymous email account.

This morning, however, I was feeling punchy and retorted back "Your cousin doesn't happen to live in Nigeria does he?" As soon as I hit send, I realized I had replied from my personal email address, with my full name and website in the signature. Big booboo.

So...this guy trying to scam me has my name and my internet address. Things I am worried about:

-That he may attempt to get my SSN
-That he may do a Denial of Service attack on my site
-That he may somehow steal my identity or use my mistake to his advantage

What should I be watching out for? I know I can't place a fraud alert on my SSN...but how reasonable are my concerns? Would love some insight to help damage control my bad impulse...Thanks!

Gemstone scam?

PowerCat — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:01:30 -0800

A friend of mine has become involved in a new... "job" It sounds too good to be true so it must be! Basically, this "job" involves my friend receiving very specific money transfer requests from some dude he found on craigslist.

He gets a transfer, sometimes western union, sometimes an interac or email transfer, he then has to cash it and transer it to someone else. The guy usually wants this done within the next hour or so.

The guy explained that what he's doing is getting clients to buy gem stones over the internet or something, then he has to transfer it in my friend's name and then he has to collect the money and transfer it to some other person (A NIGERIAN!)

Is this some sort of money laundering scam? I really don't know what's up with whole deal and I'd like to know if there are ricks for him at all? My friend's name is on all these transfers...
Any info is appreciated.

To swat a scammer?

ConstantineXVI — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 10:21:21 -0800

I have a foreign scammer trying to get me on a Craigslist item that just won't take the hint and give up. Should I ignore them, or should I make their lives miserable? Few days ago, posted a link to a phone on our local Craigslist. The likely scammer's reply is word-for-word as follows:

Thanks for getting back to me concerning the inquiry mail i sent to you about the item and i will like to let you that am so serious in buying this from you, i live at Tynen Starbucks here in US residing in Brooklyn.The price of the item is okay with me.so i want you to know that i will not be able to come over to you to make the pick up and pay in cash due to the fact that am at the camp for a Rugery Coaching in Florida, i will be much glad if you can handle the shipping down to my partner who was currently transferred from USA to Benue Republic at oversea with his team on a research on Human development under world Health Organization also you will be mailing the item out through the US local post office United EMS Express Speed post mail (USPS)down to my partner,i will be paying you through a {USA}paypal or (USA) money order,i have agreed to mail out as bank paypal of $330 for you on my behalf to cover the shipping fees.all i will be needing now from you is your paypal account name and e-mail account address.so that i can send your account info to paypal for the money transfer..i will be expecting the info from you now, so that i can send it to paypal for the instant money transfer.

Gave a reply that amounted to "go away, don't bother". The scammer replied back with "please send me your paypal posthaste". I've gone back and forth a few times, poking a new hole in their story each time, yet they won't give in. Should I just let this one go? Or is there somewhere I can submit them to either:
a) warn others?
b) torture them until they give up scamming?

What scam are these macbook box bandits running?

miniminimarket — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 15:38:03 -0800

We've had to buy five macbooks in three years because of a couple of apartment break-ins. Now we're moving (because of apartment break-ins). I put up the old macbook boxes up for free (seem too nice just to recycle) on Craigslist and got a surprising number of takers. Is there a scam here? We ripped off the old serial numbers on the boxes, so that's useless for them. But I don't want to find out I'm giving away boxes so some jerk can sell his freshly stolen macbook (possibly my macbook) as "new in box." Is this something people do? Or do nice people need macbook boxes too? Thanks in advance.

Help keep me from getting ripped off!

Glendale — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 05:56:26 -0800

Making an expensive, long-distance purchase. He only accepts "cashier's checks/money orders". How do I protect myself? That's basically the entire question. This is a craigslist-style sale, so there's no way to track it digitally... He gave me one address that the vehicle is located (his small business, which checks out on google) and another to send the check (his home address). He informed me that if I faxed him a copy of the check, he would immediately fax back the title, with my information on it, to show that he's actually got the vehicle and that he'll be dropping it in the mail as soon as he receives the real, physical copy of the check.

He sounds real legit, and I'm a really trusting person, so I'm going to go for it. I know there are probably a lot of warning flags here, but I'm going with my gut. Just wondering if anyone knows of any clever ways to protect myself...

How to purchase an item from Craigslist long distance?

media_itoku — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 11:57:43 -0800

Is there any way to ensure a Craigslist sale is legit for an item I want to purchase in another city? There's an antique item that's being listed for sale in Boca Raton, and I really really want it. The price is reasonable and the seller seems on the up&up (sent me some extra photos when I asked for them). Problem: I'm in West Virginia, & Craigslist always says "deal locally" and not to deal with fake escrow (smart advice). Is there *any* way to purchase this item without running the risk of a scam?

(too) Cheap car with escrow. What could go wrong?

niles — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 13:56:50 -0800

She's selling the Mini for $10k under retail and will ship it out here at no cost for me to inspect. It's just like nice Mr. Oreck and his vacuum cleaners! So what's the scam? Or is it too good and true? My mom has been wanting to buy a Mini Cooper for the longest time, and regularly looks on Craigslist and other sites for sales. Yesterday, she found someone selling it for under $5,000. The cars retail new for about 4 times that amount. Ostensibly, the seller just needs to get rid of it so it doesn't rot in her driveway while she's deployed in Iraq. I think she could sell in in all of 30 seconds to a dealer for double her asking price. One other weird thing is that the ad was placed locally, but the car is 3 three states away for some reason. I also couldn't find an ad local to where the car is.

So here's the deal. She says she'll set it up though eBay Motors, using their "Business Purchase Protection Program", wherein she ships the car, along with the "title,bill of sale, full service records and more" at her cost. We simply pay eBay, and she ships upon deposit of the money. eBay holds the money "until you receive and inspect the car (you have 5 days for inspection) If you will find the smallest problem with the car you will ship it back on my expense and ebay will send you your full amount back."

This seems like a regular escrow deal. And escrows are supposed to prevent both parties from getting ripped off, right? So is there some loop hole we're missing, or is this really as safe as it looks?

Craigslist scam?

Tehanu — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:36:56 -0800

Is this apartment ad on Craigslist a scam? It seems too good to be true of course, and it links to a suspicious-looking URL where they ask that interested people fax them a credit score. I've been running into the more typical scams (unbelievably good deal, landlord in UK or Mali, will mail you the keys, etc) but this ad is the only one I've seen that asks you to send a credit score. Typically the landlord asks for an application fee so they can run a credit report. Would a legitimate apartment manager ever ask you to fax your credit score as your first contact with them?

Craigslist offer: Scam? Legit?

alpha_betty — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:57:26 -0800

Craigslist offer to buy an item I'm selling: Scam? Legit? Am I overreacting? A few days ago, I posted a wedding dress in the classified section of Craigslist. Someone, we'll call him Rick, replied and asked if the dress was still available. I replied, saying that yes, it was, and to let me know if he had any other questions. I just got an email from him, which says:

"Hi,
I'm glad it's still available. I'm presently on vacation but I will ask my assistant to prepare and mail your payment. And I am sure you will receive it in the next 3 - 6 business days. I will add $10 extra for you to keep it in my favour and also for the delay. I will pay you with Money Order. If this is acceptable by you, Send me your info i.e your full name and address for the payment and also a contact number. Arrangement for pick-up will be after you must have received and cashed the Money Order.
Awaiting your info
Thanks
Rick"

...Something about this tugs at my spider sense. It seems off, somehow (perhaps the vacation + assistant + money order + delayed pickup + offering extra money on top of asking price?). I have googled money order + scam + craigslist a few different ways, and all that comes up as a definite scam is when someone offers to buy something with a money order in the amount over what the item costs, then asks the seller to give them back the extra. I see how this would be a scam and wouldn't fall for something like that - however, this person isn't asking me to return any money. But do people really offer money on top of what you asked? It seems too good to be true... and while I know that when that's the case, it usually is, I can't figure out what the angle could be here. Should I go forward with this transaction?

Renting an apartment on Craigslist - 4 very similar applicants. Is this a scam?

bradn — Thu, 01 May 2008 20:44:46 -0800

Renting an apartment on Craigslist - 4 very similar applicants. Is this a scam? I have had a 2 bedroom apartment listed for rent on Craigslist for one week today. So far, I have received 4 emails from interested parties that are suspiciously similar, but in every other way seem legit.
All are currently living out of town and are moving to the area to attend an area university. All are couples with a dog (our listing says "dogs allowed"). Two say they will be in town in a week or so and wish to see the apartment. One will rent sight unseen, but asked to have her brother look at the place beforehand. I spoke with this one on the phone, she was very nice and normal, seemed legit in every way. The fourth just said she will be in town next month and to keep her in mind if the place is still available.
Is it possible that this is a coincidence or is this some kind of scam? Does anyone have experience with this? Am I being overly cautious?
We rented the upper apartment 2.5 years ago via Craigslist, and we did get some scam replies, but they always involved a 3rd party that would be paying us, sometimes WAY over the asking price. Also, the interested party was usually overseas.
Have the scammers just gotten more clever and convincing? We need to rent this place soon, so I don't want to waste time on scam inquiries.
Thanks in advance.

Is this courier job a scam?

borkingchikapa — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 15:44:57 -0800

Is this courier business a scam? I saw an ad on craigslist about working for a courier service type thing, applied and got the "job". They claim to cater to people overseas who cannot get certain things shipped directly to their country, and instead accept and re-ship them for the customer. My job would be to get the package, inspect the contents, print out the pre-paid shipping label and send it out again.

Upon googling, their name only comes up in a few directories, which makes me a little suspicious - how would a business like this operate without a website? However, the only personal info they're asking for is address, phone number and driver's license, and at no point am I supposed to be paying for anything. They amount of money they're offering seems about right for how much work is involved.

So, is this a scam? I don't see how it could possibly be, but I'm naturally a little wary of any "work from home" thing on the internet.

Protect against apartment rental scam

lilybeane — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 10:27:02 -0800

How can I protect myself from a scam when I can't check out the apartment in person? I live in Boston and am about to rent a place in D.C. The place I found on craigslist seems good--they're offering the short-term lease length we need, the building is in the area we want, the rent is acceptable, we've seen lots of photos (although we can't verify that the photos are actually of the place in question), etc. We'd be renting a condo from the person who owns it (that's what he says, anyway).

I would go down there and meet the person face to face if I could, but I can't. I asked the person if he would accept a Paypal transaction for the security deposit so that I could pay with a credit card and later dispute the transaction if necessary. But then I realized that would require the condo owner to pay fees--and that's not something he wants to do, I'm sure.

If I pay cash from my Paypal account, I'll be on my own. Any other ideas?

Avoiding an Internet Scam

mto — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 21:06:18 -0800

I am pretty sure I am caught up in an Internet scam, and I want to know the best way to proceed to make sure I cover all my bases. A couple of weeks ago my girlfriend posted a loom for sale on the local Craigslist (this is a small midwestern town). A guy from Canada wrote back and said he was interested. Some emails went back and forth and, as it happens, he said he'd have a check in the mail for $1000 and that he'd have a shipper come pick up the loom.

About a week passes and he finally gets the check in the mail, but adds the addendum that he's going to include the costs for the shipper. A few more days pass and a check arrives, for $3600 dollars. At this time I get involved, because this is a large sum of money (more than triple the asking value). It's possible it'd cost $2600 to ship a loom to Canada, but it felt weird so I looked into it some more.

I go through and read the email thread between this guy and my girlfriend and I discover the guy writes like a classic Nigerian scammer. The same weird mispellings, odd grammar, and over politeness. I notice the check was shipped from California, has a return address in Alabama, and is issued by a company (FX Universal, LLC) based out of NYC. Remember, this guy is in Canada (but has a yahoo.co.uk email address!).

I Googled for "FX Universal scam" and found plenty of reviews of FX Universal itself, and apparently the services they sell are not too highly looked upon (the word "scam" is used quite a few times). So, I'm 99% sure this is not legit. However, I've had some conflicting advice on what to do next.

I originally thought to just rip up the check and forget the incident, but people are telling me I need to take it to the bank and have it "officially voided", whatever that means. Or, even, as some have suggested to take it to the police. Most people I ask (friends, family) think I need to have some record of voiding the check (i.e. turning it over to the police, voiding at a bank, etc). I'm not sure, having never had to worry about this kind of thing before.

What should I do? I don't want to cash the check, everything about this smells wrong, so is there something special I need to do to put a stop to this? Since I've had conflicting advice, I thought maybe MeFi could set the record straight.

P.S. It's possible this guy is on the up and up and I'm just paranoid, but we'll sell this loom regardless and don't need to take a risk. As craiglist suggests, we'll deal locally next time.

What scam is this?

robbie01 — Sat, 08 Jul 2006 10:59:56 -0800

I posted an electronics item for sale on craigslist and began receiving several questionable offers for purchase, but none that are explicitly described by craigslist as a scam. Not long after posting my ad (selling an Xbox), I received several offers for purchase, but they all seemed fishy. All of them were very short (one or two sentences), every single one used poor grammar, and most inquired about the condition of the item for sale and had a sense of urgency. They all came from different e-mail addresses, so they don't appear to be from the same person.

Are all these people just setting up for some kind of wire transfer scam? Even though some have offered to come right over to pick it up? Of course I haven't replied to any of them to see what their next step would be. Or are they going to all that trouble just to get my real e-mail address in a response to add to their spam list?

Here are a couple of samples:

* Hello seller. i saw your items on craigslist site so i am interested in it so much and i will like to if this item is still for sell so mail me back if it is.........thanks

* Hi, I have interest in Your item So get back with condition & if it's for sale Asap

If I only received ONE such message, of course I'd just chalk it up as being legit and the person maybe not having English as a first language or just being a sloppy writer, no big deal. But I've gotten about 10-15 responses, and they are ALL in this style, usually the grammar is much worse.

Is this just something common to expect when selling on craigslist now? It seems pretty rampant.

Scammer scamming

pantsrobot — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 11:17:08 -0800

I'm exchanging emails with a scammer who wants me to buy his "car". What should I do? I've tried to get him to give me a number so that I can discuss some payment options. He's responded with a fake escrow and told me email them at support@craigslist-pay-safe.org (<- not connected with craigslist in any way)
So AskMe, what do I do now?

Is this online job a scam?

mygothlaundry — Fri, 10 Feb 2006 10:16:52 -0800

Does anyone have any experience with a company called Entertainment Media Consultants, Ltd.? I answered a craigslist ad for an online job from them and something about it is starting to bug me. The first red flag is that they don't seem to have a website. The second is that the ad is no longer there: what does it mean when a job listing is "removed by craigslist community?" The job was to edit & evaluate magazine articles. I sent a cover letter & resume to the email address: humanresources@consultant.com. They then sent me a long & complex PITA application to fill out, and a businesslike letter explaining the job and saying basically, you have to be serious about this, signed
David Franklin
Director of Human Resources,
Entertainment Media Consultant, Ltd.
I returned the application, but it bounced because the mailbox was full. They then sent me another email address - also @consultant.com. That was about 10 days ago.

I just got another email from them telling me they wanted to hire me, but over the course of the last week I've gotten kind of wary, I'm not sure why, because none of the usual scam marks have been there. They haven't asked for any money or bank account information or really, anything except my assurances that I would take the job seriously and be able to email completed work back promptly. However, they did want my SS# on the application and in the first letter said that the job would be paid direct deposit - of course I haven't given them any bank account information and they haven't asked for any yet.

I have googled all over the place and can find nothing anywhere for Entertainment Media Consultant, EMC, David Franklin, etc. Can the mefitective squad find any information? If this is a real job I want it, if it's a scam than, obviously, I'm going to just block their emails. If it is a scam it hasn't hurt me yet and I'm impressed by the trouble they went to with the job application.