Craigslist Scammers

I listed my Nikon 24/1.4 on Craigslist yesterday. Imagine how pleased I was this morning when I received an email asking "Is it still for sale?"

After I replied that it was, the "buyer" told me that he'd pay me $1400 instead of the $1200 I was asking, if I'd be willing to mail the lens. It was to be a gift for his brother.

I've been around the block more than a few times, and my spidy-sense perked up. The "buyer" asked for my PayPal account name so he could immediately send me the funds. I gave him a phoney address. Surprise...... I never heard back from him.

You have to be pretty sheltered to not recognize a scame when you see one. I don't know how these guys get away with it, but they do.

I always see the "Buyer Beware" warnings. The Seller should also be aware of scams.

Craiglist is famous for scams. Fortunately I live a few blocks from the Sheriff Station and that's the address I give a prospective buyer to meet me at. Been stood-up a couple of times, but that is better than being stabbed or shot by a crook.

They 'get away with it' simply due to sheer volume. Even if the manage to scam 0.01%, if you send out 1,000,000 emails a day (easy to do with a computer), you find a whopping 100 victims.

Haven't had that one happen yet, only the old standby with the cashiers check that also pays the shipper. I've heard of similar scams on Ebay, but thought Paypal was a little better than that.

This isn't the first time. I like to phish them with dumb questions and "lost replies".

The longer I can keep them hanging, the more fun I have.

When dealing on Craigslist, it's strictly face to face cash only.

Some of these guys can't even spell, what are they going to do with a high quality Nikon lens?

Sometimes I'll reply with a totally nonsense reply.

"Yes, I still have it for sale. I have replaced the paper clip since I posted the ad, and it has been sent to a certified repair shop to replace a broken trunnion girdlespring. It functions as designed, but may need to have the reciprocating dingle-arm calibrated."

So Ted, the Nigerian Prince is not getting his new lens??? layful:

I won't use Craigs anymore. Too many Princes out there trying to scam. No offence to any real Nigerian Prince's reading this. :stupid:

TedG954 said:

This isn't the first time. I like to phish them with dumb questions and "lost replies".

The longer I can keep them hanging, the more fun I have.

When dealing on Craigslist, it's strictly face to face cash only.

Some of these guys can't even spell, what are they going to do with a high quality Nikon lens?

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That is the only way I will sell or buy on Craigslist. Cash and face to face. When I sell I tell them I want to make sure they know the item is in good shape and meets their needs and standards. The real reason is I want to see the cash in my hand first. It just protects us both.

Don Kuykendall said:

That is the only way I will sell or buy on Craigslist. Cash and face to face. When I sell I tell them I want to make sure they know the item is in good shape and meets their needs and standards. The real reason is I want to see the cash in my hand first. It just protects us both.

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Face to face is fine. But always:

1. Bring a friend with you
2. Meet in a brightly-lit, open public area. Preferably one with security cameras. Police stations are an ideal choice.
3. Notice and remember things like auto plates and a physical description of the person you're meeting. This way if things go south, you've got something for the local constabulary to go on.

And this is just me, but I pack heat when I go.

480sparky said:

Face to face is fine. But always:

1. Bring a friend with you
2. Meet in a brightly-lit, open public area. Preferably one with security cameras. Police stations are an ideal choice.
3. Notice and remember things like auto plates and a physical description of the person you're meeting. This way if things go south, you've got something for the local constabulary to go on.

And this is just me, but I pack heat when I go.

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I meet in a park/creek walk that is directly behind the police department here in my small town. I also do volunteer work for the police department so everyone in the department knows me. That helps in a small town like mine.

And I always carry. If I am out shooting in the woods by myself I open carry. I love Alabama

RocketCowboy said:

Haven't had that one happen yet, only the old standby with the cashiers check that also pays the shipper. I've heard of similar scams on Ebay, but thought Paypal was a little better than that.

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Paypal's protections protect the buyer, for the seller.. eh, not so much. You pretty much have to be able to prove beyond any doubt that you actually shipped the item and it was received. Most of these scams rely on you sending the package overseas - so it can't be tracked. They wait for you to ship, give it a bit and then reverse the charges on paypal. Since you can't prove they received it, Paypal will side with the buyer.

Some of them are just phishing for your paypal account so they can try a brute force login, it varies.

My standard practice on craigslist I put right in the ad that I'm only interested in dealing with local buyers paying cash. If I wanted to ship, I'd go to ebay.

Second thing is, I never respond to any email in which they ask "is this item" still for sale, or any in which English is obviously an issue for them. Scammers send out generic emails like this, however real buyers will almost always mention your item specifically.. I saw your camera for sale and...

So if the email doesn't include any specific references to your ad or the item your selling, odds are very very good it's a scam.