Craigslist replay...

[MissBritt]

It's probably too late now, but I would say DO NOT REPLY at all. Just delete it. I replied to an iffy email once and now I get tons of spam...

AGREE AGREE AGREE! Just posted several items to CL last week and got one "were intrested" email. That was the entire email! I know better than to respond to that... they are after emails to spam. And when they get it, it goes into a database, so you will get spam from hundreds of emails.

There are sooo many things in this reply email that are huge flags: the way it "reads" in general, which is not like a normal conversation or message; the fact that he specifies "US Bank Certified Check or money order" when CL sales should be made in cash for the safety of all parties; the fact that he offers to pay more than the asking price, which no one does; the fact that he needs so much personal information from you when anonymity and safe-place meets are key for CL sales; the fact that he wants you to be responsible for shipping and will send you the money, rather than picking it up himself a la the CL way; sentences like "After the information is been supplied,I will give you an update on the payment"; he wants to be your favorite buyer why exactly?

 

[JB2K]

A friend of mine has her car on craigslist and she got the following reply she is wondering if it seems legitimate or not. She says it feels fishy but she's never sold anything on there before.

REPLY:

Thanks for the swift reply. I am still interested in buying, I am satisfied with the conditions because i read thru the AD,I am on leave in office presently so i will be making my payments with a U.S Bank Certified Check or money order..I will be responsible for the pick up when check clears.I will add $50 to your asking price for you to hold the item for me.. please get back to me with the following information so that the payment can be endorsed:

Name to be on the check.
Address to mail the payment to (No P.O Box)
City, state and zip code..
Phone number both land and mobile.

More so, the shipping funds will be included on the payment and you will get the money send to the shipping company when the check clear from you account.. After the information is been supplied,I will give you an update on the payment.. I will be highly grateful if you can withdraw the AD from craigslist and make me your favorite buyer.

Regards
Paul
-------------------

What do you guys think?

A couple of things -- the "Regards" is a tad formal -- first red flag.

As for "U.S. Bank", I presume "Paul" means a bank in the United States, but it also noteworthy to mention there is a bank named "U.S. Bank" that operates throughout a good portion of the country.

 

[Kitzka]

Just wanted to thank the OP for posting this. We are selling our car and have listed on both Craigslist and ebay local classifieds. Recieved a ash offer for a bit under our asking but this posting made me take a good look at the message.

DH is planning to talk with the seller today but he seems much less scammy than the what you posted here.

Good luck to yuor friend.

Lara

 

[Laura24]

and my daughter just got a response to an item on CL she had posted , buyer will send money order, when cashed will arrange with UPS for pickup.....next day, buyer sends an email...oops, my secretary made out the money order for 1850.00 more than it should be. Please send the difference back and keep an extra 100.00 for your troubles!! Yeah right....they just keep trying this scam hoping someone will fall for it.

 

[timmac]

Just wanted to thank the OP for posting this. We are selling our car and have listed on both Craigslist and ebay local classifieds. Recieved a ash offer for a bit under our asking but this posting made me take a good look at the message.

DH is planning to talk with the seller today but he seems much less scammy than the what you posted here.

Good luck to yuor friend.

Lara

Hmmm... I'd say a cash offer for slightly less than your asking price sounds 100% legit, as though it's just a person going through the normal bargaining process

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I posted my parent's vacation cabin for rent last week. I got a response from a woman saying she wanted to rent it for a week starting 7/31. She said we would get a check drawn on a US bank through her husband's employer. After reading this thread, I smelled a scam right away. Thanks, OP, for starting it!

My parents received the check this morning and it was written for $3000 over our weekly rental price. She wanted us to refund the difference immediately via Western Union. And the woman said it was 2 days late because her father had just died and she had to handle the burial (but she's still taking her Lake Tahoe vacation on Saturday!). We played along a little and said since she didn't send the check on time, we didn't have time to send her the keys so we couldn't rent to her afterall. She said no problem. Just refund me the entire check but keep $200 for your trouble. We wrote back saying we would not be cashing the check but we would be happy to return it to her. We said we're just independent owners and we have to be wary of scams and we're sure you understand. She probably knows the jig is up! I'm waiting to see if she persists. My dad is keeping the check and we're keeping the e-mails. We e-mailed a local TV news consumer reporter and asked him who we should report this to.

So, it's definitely a scam. Craiglist posters beware!