Craigslist....odds are

[momxx5]

After all the sucess stories I have had using Craigslist, for the first time I ran into a spammer.

She replied to my sale in middle of night, I reply this morning about arrangements to get item.....then I got spammed.

She replied a long story about getting in car accident this morning. Her nephew hit her bumper so cannot no longer afford item.
"But hey, if you are looking for a way to make great money you can work from home like I do." She provided a link...didn't go to it because don't want any viruses.

Thankfully I had a new potential buyer call this a bit ago....so will prob sell item by weekend.

Just wanted to let y'all know.

 

[SandrA9810]

I hate those stupid emails. I look for emails with specific item in the title. Like "Craigslist ad for "x" item". It's also how I reply to ads, letting them know I'm specifically interested in what they're selling.

 

[momxx5]

That's the thing, she replied just like all my other buyers did, including mentioning the item and ask for pick arrangements.

 

[Jey12]

I had the same thing happen! They must be getting really desperate? I had an item for sale and she replied in the middle of the night as well, asked a question about the item and when would be a good time to meet the next day. I responded back, thankfully did not give out my phone number as I some times do, and later on get a response about her being in a car accident and if I'd like to make money working from home click this link to learn more info. No way I was clicking the link, and I thought about sending a nasty reply but just blocked her email. I was a little shocked at how well the spam was pulled off. Thankfully a real person bought the item a few days later.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I occasionally post a vacation rental that my parents own. The common scam for rentals is a little different. They email you and say that they want to rent the place for a week starting in the next two or three days. They ask for the total rental amount and say they will overnight a check that day. They say the check will be coming from a business since the trip is a gift from their employer. A few hours later, they email again saying they found out the employer already sent the check but it's for way over the requested amount. Apparently, the employer is paying for the entire vacation, including airfare, accommodations and food. By mistake, the accounting department sent the whole amount to us. So, they want us to deposit the check, keep the amount for the rental, and go directly to Western Union to wire the rest back. For our trouble, we can keep an extra $200! Of course, the check will be rubber and bounce and the victim will have wired their own money.

We didn't actually fall for this scam. We did give my parents' address for the potential renter to send the check. It seemed legit up to that point. As soon as the talk started about extra money and Western Union, we asked the person to call us directly. First they said they would. Then there was a story about a sick father and could we please just send the money because they really needed a vacation and couldn't pay for their airfare until we sent the extra money back. As soon as I emailed back and told them to cut the scam, they disappeared.

Now we have a policy that the potential renters have to call my mom directly before we will agree to rent to them. Most scammers only want to work through email and won't actually pick up the phone.

 

[SandrA9810]

I've been looking at apartments, and got a very strange response the first time. Just sounded totally weird. Then I emailed another person and got the same response back (word for word). In it was a link to a credit monitoring site, advertising free credit score with trial.

First and foremost, thank you for your interest in the home. I am available to show the house this week
if that fits your schedule.

Just to give you a little more information about the home, the water, trash
and garbage are paid by us. The security deposit can be paid in 2 installments if money is tight. (I know how that can be).
The house has a fenced in backyard and we do allow pets. The deposit per pet is a one time payment.
The house includes a washer and dryer, and we pay for lawn care so the renter does not have to cut the grass.
There is NO application fee (our company policy and guarantee).

I will be happy to show the house at an agreed upon time and date but I do require that all applicants and
additional renters who will be living in the home complete a free credit report to ensure their eligibility.
I have so many people apply for homes that I have to make sure they are qualified renters before I show the property.
This ensures neither of us will be wasting our time.

It is okay if you have bad credit (trust me). We just check to make sure that you don't have several evictions on
your record. (We won't rent if you have 3 or more evictions on your record)

I also had to recently stop giving out the exact address of rental properties before I am able to show them because
last time I did that the house was vandalized (I will be glad to send you the address right after your reply) I assure
you though that this is a very safe neighborhood. I actually lived in this home for 2 years (very cozy).

As soon as you can, please click the link below and go to the secure website to complete the free credit report (takes about 30 seconds)
Once you complete, I'll call you once I receive the information from the credit company (very quickly usually).

cgpreport.com/iJBxF4Ir69/
(Copy and paste this link to your address bar if it is not clickable)

*** You don't have to send me your credit report.
Once you fill out the report the credit company automatically forwards me your name, email address and whether you have
had any outstanding evictions in the past 5 years to determine your renter eligibility. This is the only information I am
interested in. This is a soft credit report so it won't touch your FICO score (which is why we work with them).

This process turns some people off, so I completely understand if you decide not to complete them. In that case, good luck
with your home search. I just want to be honest with you up front about our process, which does a good job of protecting
us from ineligible renters and scammers. Also, the site above is one the safest and most secure website for credit reports in the
world, which is good for peace of mind. I have worked with them personally for a couple years now.

If you are truly interested in proceeding, take a moment and fill out one of the reports. Let me know when this is done and
we can then work out the time and date to go see the home. Email me back once you access your fresh report. I will be forwarded
the information. (Make sure to include a valid phone number. I usually call within 6 hours of submitting your report. Then I can
forward you the address and we can set up a time to tour the home.)

If eligible you will also be sent an email with my office number so we can set up a time to go see the house and discuss any
other questions or concerns you may have.

Thanks,

The original email contained three questions, and only one was vaguely answered in a round about way. The weird part for me, was both ads contained pictures (one had inside pics too), but I'm guessing those were taken off the internet from someplace else and put in the listing. Now I avoid all listings that have the words "cozy, cute, or cottage"...

 

[Jey12]

I've been looking at apartments, and got a very strange response the first time. Just sounded totally weird. Then I emailed another person and got the same response back (word for word). In it was a link to a credit monitoring site, advertising free credit score with trial.



The original email contained three questions, and only one was vaguely answered in a round about way. The weird part for me, was both ads contained pictures (one had inside pics too), but I'm guessing those were taken off the internet from someplace else and put in the listing. Now I avoid all listings that have the words "cozy, cute, or cottage"...

I had a friend that had this happen to her 2 years ago. Sadly she actually filled it out. I'm going to blame the fact she's only 21 on the reason for her doing so. Thankfully nothing ever came of it, but she sure didn't hear back from the so called person who sent it to her either. It's sad what people will do to scam others. If only they'd put half of that effort into something legit?

 

[Swimalie]

I have several items on there right now. Some I had been listing and relisting for a year now. I'm meeting someone at my son's school today for a new item and someone tomorrow for one of the repeat items. Finally! I was worried about scams and always approach them with caution.

I once tried to sell some shoes from an old wedding on there. Someone with a vague name told me they just had ankle surgery and needed to know where the strap hit on the ankle. They asked me to take a picture of my foot in the shoes. I did but after the 2nd request I realized it was someone with a foot fetish. I stopped answering them and relisted the shoes a month later only to get the same person again. Never did sell those shoes.

 

[MnMomtoboys]

karma

 

[poohfriend77]

Am I the only one who thinks it's funny that the OP got an email about an opportunity to make "great money," yet the person could not afford the item on CL?

I have replied to a couple CL ads lately, for items I legitimately wanted to buy, and never got any kind of response from the seller. Very annoying! I don't know if they were ignoring all emails because they got a ton of spam messages, or if the item sold (in which case, all they would have had to do is REMOVE the ad!)

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

I've been listing things on CL for a couple of months now (and having a blast with it). I've gotten the lady with the nephew/ jeep only once. Often I'll get people who are clearly asking something bogus hoping to get a reply I'm not sure what their angle is.

Most people are really nice. I've added a line to my ads that basically asks people to mention the item in the topic line and in the e-mail in order to cut down on junk e-mail and another one saying that as long as it's listed it's still available.

Anyone who e-mails me asking if "the item" is still available just gets deleted.

 

[Robinrs]

I've been listing things on CL for a couple of months now (and having a blast with it). I've gotten the lady with the nephew/ jeep only once. Often I'll get people who are clearly asking something bogus hoping to get a reply I'm not sure what their angle is.

Most people are really nice. I've added a line to my ads that basically asks people to mention the item in the topic line and in the e-mail in order to cut down on junk e-mail and another one saying that as long as it's listed it's still available.

Anyone who e-mails me asking if "the item" is still available just gets deleted.

I ask if it's still available ALL the time! I've had too many people leave up stuff that is already sold.

I've been buying and selling on CL for many years and had about 10 spams. It comes with the territory. Anytime money is exchanged there is a person trying to get over.

 

[crashbb]

I ask if it's still available ALL the time! I've had too many people leave up stuff that is already sold.

I've been buying and selling on CL for many years and had about 10 spams. It comes with the territory. Anytime money is exchanged there is a person trying to get over.

I think the issue is people using the words "the item" rather then "the doll", "the chest of drawers", "the whatever". Spamming systems don't get specific, so using "the item" can be a big clue that it isn't a real person.

 

[timmac]

I had a friend that had this happen to her 2 years ago. Sadly she actually filled it out. I'm going to blame the fact she's only 21 on the reason for her doing so. Thankfully nothing ever came of it, but she sure didn't hear back from the so called person who sent it to her either. It's sad what people will do to scam others. If only they'd put half of that effort into something legit?

DGF and I experienced similar scams when looking for a new rental. Sometimes they claimed to be out of town on missionary work, or whatever, and wanted us to wire them the money and they'd send us keys, and they weren't worried about a big price, but wanted the home to be lived in by someone nice, etc, etc.

In one case, we contacted the "ministry" they claimed to be with, and found out they'd never heard of the person. In almost all cases, they're very real listings in real estate, but the not owned by the person placing the scam ad, and not at that price either!

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

I think the issue is people using the words "the item" rather then "the doll", "the chest of drawers", "the whatever". Spamming systems don't get specific, so using "the item" can be a big clue that it isn't a real person.

exactly what I meant - sorry I wasn't clear in my original post. When I'm sending an e-mail to someone I don't write about "the item" I ask about the desk or whatever using specific words - it seems more natural. "The item" to me is the generic spammer thing to send.

 

[Robinrs]

I think the issue is people using the words "the item" rather then "the doll", "the chest of drawers", "the whatever". Spamming systems don't get specific, so using "the item" can be a big clue that it isn't a real person.

exactly what I meant - sorry I wasn't clear in my original post. When I'm sending an e-mail to someone I don't write about "the item" I ask about the desk or whatever using specific words - it seems more natural. "The item" to me is the generic spammer thing to send.

Whew, thanks for explanation!