Craigslist concerns

[65chevysub]

I'm selling some 60-66 panel doors on CL and had a bite but the persons responses have me concerned. He won't refer to the doors as such, only as "the item". Says he will arrange for a pickup as he is in N. Californua(209) area code. Has made up a couple stories about payment. First it was a certified check, now it's a regular check with an additional $25 for holding them. He also said he would come look at them but he isnt even here.
Has anyone here heard of this name:
Collins Beverly?
I am concerned and have notified CL and not giving up the doors until his check clears, if it does arrive. He said he works at a church, then whe he emailed again, he was in a "summit" somewhere.
Anyone else thinks this sounds strange or am I being over cautious?
Thanks

[pwrbrkpadguy]

This planet is full of flakey, weird,sick people. Don't let any stranger come to your house. Conduct all business at your local police or sheriffs dept parking lot. The county I live in has two reserved parking spaces at the sheriff dept just for transactions like this. Protect yourself and your family. Don't let us hear something bad happened . Mike

[65chevysub]

Thanks Mike
I have the doors at a friends hpuse and will have my neighbors keep an eye out for strange people looking around my apartment. I will contact the Police as well and let them know.
I'm just suspicious because of all his answers including when he asked me "why all the questions" when I asked for the VIN and data tag numbers to research for him.

[blown240]

Sounds super flakey. Craigslist is FULL of scammers. I have sold a ton of stuff on it though. Usually if it sounds strange, it probably is....

[padresag]

if something sounds funny it usually is. drop it. having to go to the police station to conduct business sounds like paranoia!
ron

[62step]

If you have to call the police and have people watching over your apartment, it's bad. I wouldn't go through the stress to sell an item like that. I get some of those I'm over seas I'll send a check with a X amount holding fee, and I simply say, No thanks, sorry because I assume it's always a scam.

[goatless]

Write-off that (non-)buyer. In my CL experience, real buyers generally have questions about what they're buying, and some make reasonable attempts at negotiating down the price. When 'buyers' move quickly into purchasing *and* they attempt to use something other than cash to pay, I write them off. Some recent activity:

Them: Is (the item's CL title) still for sale ?
Me: Yes
Them: Thanks for the prompt response, i am interested in buying it, i would be paying you with a Money Order because i wont be able to pay with cash due to tight schedule at work and am willing to add extra $30 for you to reserved it in my favor,i need your name and address for me to issue out the payment, and i promise to wait till you cash the Money Order before we proceed for the pick up at your location, i will be responsible for the pick up, thanks
Me: Sorry, cash only.
(that was the last communication between us)

Another:

Them: Still for sale? (the item's CL title)
Me: Yes
Them: Am paying with check from my bank provide full name, mailing address.I'll add extra $50 to keep the item..Thank you..Scott
Me: Sorry, cash only
(that was the last communication between us)

This particular item, the same in both communiques, was $450. No attempt at negotiating nor asking question about the item was made, and it was missing a major piece, as mentioned in the ad.

[spacedebris]

I've had much the same experience as goatless. So much so that I've started adding...


Cash only. Will not remove listing until paid. Will not hold item, first come first serve.

To the bottom of all my ads.


Too many scammers saying that they will buy, you remove the ad and then they do not show up. Or they pay by Check that bounces. I even had one that paid by certified check then after he left with the BBQ (what I sold him) he called the bank and claimed the check was stolen by me. Nothing came of it as he gave a false name and address but I was still out the money. Usually if they start giving excuses of why they cant do this or that or want you to make concessions, then it is likely a scam of some sort. Its a shame that we cant take people at their words but thats the way it is.

No, If I were you, I'd tell them cash only and if someone else showed up with cash before they got there they would be SOL.

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by 65chevysub

I'm selling some 60-66 panel doors on CL and had a bite but the persons responses have me concerned. He won't refer to the doors as such, only as "the item". Says he will arrange for a pickup as he is in N. Californua(209) area code. Has made up a couple stories about payment. First it was a certified check, now it's a regular check with an additional $25 for holding them. He also said he would come look at them but he isnt even here.
Has anyone here heard of this name:
Collins Beverly?
I am concerned and have notified CL and not giving up the doors until his check clears, if it does arrive. He said he works at a church, then whe he emailed again, he was in a "summit" somewhere.
Anyone else thinks this sounds strange or am I being over cautious?
Thanks

I am 99% sure it will arrive but I am also 99% sure it will be worthless, Only deal in cash, when picked up in person.... Put it in your ad. That will stop that garbage.

LockDoc

[goatless]

I don't believe I'd be too concerned about someone coming by your place (assuming they don't have your address). My guess is that once they realize you're not playing their game, they'll move on to the next CL mark, a belief based on this: http://freethoughtblogs.com/singham/...so-successful/. If I sell something on CL, and I get a response offering to pay by money order, I assume it's a scam, respond cash only, and stop there. That's very efficient for the scammer. He or she has wasted very little time, and can go on to the potential victim.

Beware of the Money Order:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adva...m#Fake_cheques

Fake Cheques

Fraudulent cheques and money orders are key elements in many advance-fee scams, such as auction/classified listing overpayment, lottery scams, inheritance scams, etc., and can be used in almost any scam when a "payment" to the victim is required to gain, regain or further solidify the victim's trust and confidence in the validity of the scheme.[33]

The use of cheques in a scam hinges on a US law (and common practice in other countries)[citation needed] concerning cheques: when an account holder presents a cheque for deposit or to cash, the bank must (or in other countries, usually) make the funds available to the account holder within 1–5 business days, regardless of how long it actually takes for the cheque to clear and funds to be transferred from the issuing bank.[34] The cheques clearing process normally takes 7–10 days, and can take up to a month when dealing with foreign banks. The time between the funds appearing as available to the account holder and the cheque clearing is known as the "float", during which time the bank could technically be said to have floated a loan to the account holder to be covered with the funds from the bank clearing the cheque.

The cheque given to the victim is typically counterfeit but drawn on a real account with real funds in it. With a piece of software like QuickBooks or pre-printed blank cheque stock, using the correct banking information, the scammer can easily print a cheque that is absolutely genuine-looking, passes all counterfeit tests, and may even clear the paying account if the account information is accurate and the funds are available. However, whether it clears or not, it eventually becomes apparent either to the bank or the account holder that the cheque is a forgery. This can be as little as three days after the funds are available if the bank supposedly covering the cheque discovers the cheque information is invalid, or it could take months for a business or individual to notice the fraudulent draft on their account. It has been suggested that in some cases the cheque is genuine — however the fraudster has a friend (or bribes an official) at the paying bank to claim it is a fake weeks or even months later when the physical cheque arrives back at the paying bank.

Regardless of the amount of time involved, once the cashing bank is alerted the cheque is fraudulent, the transaction is reversed and the money removed from the victim's account. In many cases, this puts victims in debt to their banks as the victim has usually sent a large portion of the cheque by some non-reversible 'wire transfer' means (typically Western Union) to the scammer and, since more uncollected funds have been sent than funds otherwise present in the victim's account, an overdraft results.

[truckster]

My ads state "Cash only, no trades."

['63GENIII]

It sounds like a scam to me. Anytime someone says that the will have "an associate pick up the item", will "send extra money" blah blah blah. Its a scam. If someone wants it bad enough, they will be willing to meet at a public place to so you can size each other up and make sure everybody is legit. I'd lose that guys # just from your description so far.
Chris

[65chevysub]

Originally Posted by goatless

Write-off that (non-)buyer. In my CL experience, real buyers generally have questions about what they're buying, and some make reasonable attempts at negotiating down the price. When 'buyers' move quickly into purchasing *and* they attempt to use something other than cash to pay, I write them off. Some recent activity:



Another:


This particular item, the same in both communiques, was $450. No attempt at negotiating nor asking question about the item was made, and it was missing a major piece, as mentioned in the ad.

This is almost exactly wht this guy did. Extra $25 to hold it blah blah blah. I asked him where he was just to see what his answer was and excuse number 3 came that his wedding was putting it on hold. I told him transaction us cancelled and CL has been notified of his actions.
We will see what happens now if he even answers

[TJ's Chevy]

Some of these pos's persist on to. I had one where I emailed him saying "Unless you are willing to purchase my item in person it is NOT for sale." Again I get an email "If you'll Please just give me your ID, address, total price ect ect...I'll have my shippers out asap to pick up the part." I finally emailed him back saying "Game over buddy. I know who and what you are. if you persist in this I'll report it."(to who I thought. lol). But the emails stopped coming. So I Rarely use C/L anymore. Prefer to use this forum as the members are Real here.

[tommys72]

Don't put your full number on the ad, you need to spell out one of the numbers. That keeps the spammers and scammers away

Like 314-five 13-xxxx

[65chevysub]

Thanks for the replies everybody. The yo-yo now says the check was delayed because of his upcoming wedding. That's when I said transaction is now cancelled and CL has been notified. He has teied to contact me but I' m ignoring him and it seems to have stopped.

[franken]

Press delete.
The basics: Don't put a number or address in CL ads and use an email address you can delete (your ISP will let you create multiple addresses).

[Acsb1]

Yes replies like that are total scams. Never reply to any of those

[65chevysub]

I'm glad I trusted my insticts with this. I got his check today for $2150.09 for a $200 pair of doors. It was drawn on a closed account. The only things that are legit are the bank: PNC Bank, and Associates Title Inc. The address for the title company is their old address. They are in a new building, and have had several calls about checks from the address. I' ll try to post some pics of sections of the check including his supposed signature so everyone can see. Thanks again to everyone who replied. I'm ahead of the game as I still have the doors and didnt cash the check.

[KIC]

I recently posted my son's bike on CL. Stated CASH ONLY LOCAL SALE ONLY

I kept getting the "I will pick up your item after work bla..bla..bla"

Never called the "item" by name. Always wanted me to respond by email.

I am at work please email me my respond
I am using my girlfriends phone please email at...

I was told that they also do it to get your real email that will show if you respond to the CL email they send.

I just ignore them all

ALL SCAMS...

[leddzepp]

Use of the word "item" is an immediate indicator of spam, as well as words that are used out of context.

[cableguy0]

Its absolutely a scam. You can spot the emails a mile away. They never say anything but " the item" talk about meeting like you already set something up. Long time scam. Terrible idea to give them your address and phone number.