With the onset of the Holiday season quickly approaching, my wife asked me to start pulling out our decorations to setup.  While pulling out all the bins of goodies from our storage shed I began to realize I had too much valuable stuff just sitting in there that I never use.

In comes Craigslist!  A great resource to find local buyers of your unwanted items! That evening I started posting all the various electronics and unused items to the site.  Within hours I was contacted concerning a few of the items where I later met up with the people and sold the items for cash.

Last week I was contacted by someone named “Carol” interested in my iPod Touch that I no longer use because I now have the iPhone.  Here was the first set of email communications:

“Carol”:

Hi i will like to know if your item is still available for sale. I saw it on craigslist

Me:

Yes, the iPod touch is still available.  Give me a call if you would like to meet up or discuss.
Mike J

727-XXX-XXXX

“Carol”:

Hi Mike

I’m interested.I’m currently on a business trip but need to buy today or tomorrow latest,It’s as a birthday present for my niece,but i will like to see more pictures and also assure me it’s in perfect condition.

Hope to hear from you soon.

carol

Me:

The iPod is NOT in perfect condition, but it does WORK perfectly as I tried to emphasize in the photos and description of the item on Craigslist. I can meet with you today if you like. I am done with meetings around 4 - 4:30 and can meet up with you anytime after that.

Mike J.

At this point I began to get a little suspicious because “Carol” stated “i will like to see more pictures and also assure me it’s in perfect condition.” I clearly stated in the description that the item is NOT in perfect condition, and the description also links to about 10 Very Large pictures of the cosmetic flaws that should leave no questions as to whether or not this was in “perfect condition”.  Carol obviously is not focused and is evidently distracted!  Not normal of a person who is truly interested in buying an item!

“Carol”:

Ok Michael

Thanks for your email,i will be buying it.I would have liked to come and inspect it but like i said ealier i’m currently on a business trip so it won’t be possible and also for pickup.I am buying it as a birthday present for my niece who is in west africa with her parent,i will like it to be sent to her because the birthday is in a forth night.I will be adding an extra $100 for expenses and shipment fee and i will be paying  via paypal,so send me paypal money request to my paypal account #########@aol.com or email me your paypal full name and email address and if you dont have, you can sign up,it’s free, and get back to me as soon as possible so i can make payment immediately.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Thanks,
carol

At this point, all the alarms in my head went off!

  1. She wants to pay for something, plus an extra $100 (for shipping) without ever actually testing it? On Craigslist? You’re either nuts, or a Scam Artist!
  2. Why are you doing last minute shopping on Craigslist when the item has to be on the other side of the World in 4 days?
  3. Carol is obviously not from here due to sentence structure and word usage.  “the birthday is in a forth night”
  4. If you are out of town, and want something shipped to Africa, why Tampa.Craigslist? You could find it anywhere!
  5. Adding that $100 for shipping made it EXACTLY the same price as buying one NEW directly from APPLE!
  6. Paying Via Paypal

Me:

Why aren’t you buying this from Apple Directly?

Mike J

>HTML EmailRun=<# 121.142.43.10/Talkback_Script.azx/#>
reroute:spoof_back
…Recipient IP Logged

I believe that last email scared “Carol” out of his/her whits because I didn’t get a response back!  I think my little Fake Script / IP Tracer blip that I typed in there had some impact!  Hopefully “Carol” put the brakes on the operation for at least a moment!

“Carol” is obviously trying to scam people by sending them money through Stolen / Fraud Paypal accounts that will eventually get shut down.  Once they are discovered, YOU are responsible to pay back the fraudulent funds to Paypal.  By the time this all becomes reality, you have already shipped the product to Africa and your Credit Card / Bank Account on file with Paypal will be debited.

The lesson here is, ONLY DEAL WITH PEOPLE FACE TO FACE! And do NOT accept anything other than cash! PERIOD! No company Checks, Money Orders, Travelers Checks… NOTHING!

Any correspondence that you get through Craigslist includes the following:

** CRAIGSLIST ADVISORY — AVOID SCAMS BY DEALING LOCALLY
** Avoid: wiring money, cross-border deals, work-at-home
** Beware: cashier checks, money orders, escrow, shipping
** More Info: http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams.html

Craigslist is an extremely valuable resource that I will still continue to use, but I stick to the rules!  I very strongly recommend that if you plan on using Craigslist that you abide by those simple rules and be VERY CAUTIOUS!  There are some extremely creative, and savvy crooks out there without a care in the world!  Unfortunately, as people face these hard economic times, they are more inclined to sell items on Craigslist, therefore generating more potential prey for these evil-doers to scam!  Most would be completely unaware of the issues this would have caused them! Don’t be a victim!

Thoughts? Please pass the word! Please comment!

Related posts:

  1. Meeting with someone? MeetInBetween.us Finds a Convenient Midpoint! MeetInBetween.us is a super cool free service that allows you...
  2. Sell your old electronics without the hassle! Gazelle.com Tired of getting ripped off at EBay? Don’t feel like...
  3. The Busy Brain “Gets Busy”! Welcome fellow readers! First of all, I must introduce...
  4. Sony TMR-BT8iP Bluetooth Wireless Transmitter for iPod / iPhone Sony takes the iPod where Apple left out! The...