Odd (but common) Craigslist Response

RVTECH · May 13, 2012

What is up with the following response I got for an item I have up for sale:

I will offer you $250 so as to remove the item from craigslist as soon as possible.I will be paying through PAYPAL because i have a verified account with paypal.So kindly get back with your paypal email address so i can make payment into your paypal account.Once payment clears,shipment will be handled by me through my personal (EMS)Express Mail International,so you don't have to pay for shipment.Get back to me if my approval is granted.I would like to see the pictures please.....................

$250 is more than what I am asking for the item. Has anyone 'dangled the carrot' on one of these responses? What happens next? They start asking for personal information or what?

Michaelkelley · May 13, 2012

Scam, scam, scam.

Cougfan2 · May 13, 2012

Michaelkelley said:
Scam, scam, scam.

+1

PhysicsGuy · May 13, 2012

Definitely reeks of a scam. I assume there may be some way they can use the paypal transaction as a scam. Quick google search comes up with these examples:

1 - they send you an email saying money has been sent but due to new security measures it will not be credited until you send the tracking info. So you send the item, email the tracking info, then check Paypal and there is NO money in your account. You call Paypal who tells you they never emailed you, there was no transaction and they NEVER ask for tracking info before crediting your account
2 - they send you money from a hacked Paypal account, you ship the item, then the real account holder discovers the theft, reports it to Paypal and the money is refunded from your account
3 - they send you a fake Paypal email saying money has been sent but you have to click on a link to verify the transaction - which leads you to a fake but real looking Paypal log-in page that you log into -- and you just got your account hacked
4 - they send you money from a real Paypal account, ask you to ship to a certain address, then file a chargeback. If you did not check with Paypal that the address they gave you was the "verified" address and you sent anywhere but the verified address, they claim they never received the item and Paypal refunds them. It doesn't matter if you have proof it was delivered to the other address along with an email from the buyer telling you to ship to that address. If you ship anywhere but the verified Paypal mailing address, you have NO protection and Paypal will always side with the buyer

RVTECH · May 13, 2012

Yep - just have been wondering about this style of response and where it was going. I never considered the above examples.

JackFrost · May 13, 2012

I used to screw with these sob's and write back all kinds of responses and just laugh at the ridiculous crap they would come up with! Pretty entertaining but also really p1sses me off when I think about how many people are out there trying to srew me over! B@ST@RDS!

Longshot34 · May 13, 2012

My brother got nailed on one of these scams years ago when they first started hitting.

Sun195 · May 13, 2012

For a good laugh, listen to this:

Act One. Hanging In Chad. | Enforcers | This American Life

Three guys who go by the names Professor So and So, Jojobean and YeaWhatever spend part of each day running elaborate cons on Internet scammers. They consider themselves enforcers of justice, even after they send a man 1400 miles from home, to the least safe place they can bait him: The border of Darfur.

Mason3379 · May 13, 2012

Don't even bother sending a reply. When you reply they have your email address. I have played this game and sent several nasty grams back to scammers. Just seems to open the door to more spam than anything. But it can be fun sending some stern replies. My last one was a bit over the top, I wish I would have saved it....I would share!

The B · May 13, 2012

tacticalinsertion7923 said:
Don't even bother sending a reply. When you reply they have your email address. I have played this game and sent several nasty grams back to scammers. Just seems to open the door to more spam than anything. But it can be fun sending some stern replies. My last one was a bit over the top, I wish I would have saved it....I would share!

I have a separate email address I use just for that purpose... It DOES get a lot of spam, in the interim.

sheepdip · May 13, 2012

I had a similar craigslist experience, item for sale was an atv. great price, seller wanted to do the deal through amazon payments. i was suspicious so i signed up for amazon payments and called a customer service rep. he said that amazon payments does not do those kind of deals and if i had sent the money it would have been gone. said definately a scam. i sent the seller the finger, that was the end of that.