Scam on Craigslist

[GDane1]

Wanted to share a recent scam I experienced. I recently listed my LP Custom on Craigslist here in Reno, NV and on this forum. Received an email from someone wanting to buy it. Initial email sounded local and genuine asking all the right questions. Gave him my price and here is the email he sent back:

"Thanks for the mail , i am okay with the price and the condition, will be making the payment via cashier check so i will need your full name that will be on the check and your full address with your phone # where you can easily receive the package via couier and i will arrange for the pickup myself.
NOTE ....And also the payment i will be sending will be in excess this you will give to the cargo company when they contact you for the pickup.All you need to do is to get the payment verified in your bank and faithfully deduct your own money as soon as you have the cash and send the remaining to the cargo company for them to come for the pick up.please get back to me if you are okay with this and i will implore you to remove the ads off craigslist because i really want to purchase
this asap
Regards"

I checked the email address he sent it from and it is located in England.
Thankfully my radar was up and I sent him an email back saying he could have someone hand deliver cash to me for the guitar otherwise I wasn't interested in his offer. Watch out. Apparently this is a very typical scam. Haven't heard back.

[markus]

Yup, that's indeed a very typical scam.
Usually your bank will figure out that the cashier's check is fake, but by that time you have already given part of the money to the "cargo company", which is how the scam apparently works in the scammer's side.
Good thing you were on your toes! Nicely done!

[dannopelli]

Great Post! Thanks!

[marsodude]

This is good "worldwide" information.

Thanks for posting so we can all learn.

[picnic]

I love these idiots who sit in a coffee shop all day somewhere in England, read CL and then send you a boatload of bogus USPS Money Orders for your item. I was selling a Peavey amp for $250 and received 3 MO's for $900 each. Buyer instructed me to deposit checks in my account and wire transfer the balance, minus $100 for my troubles to his account. Wow! $350 for a SS Peavey, my ship had come in!
I was to ship the amp off to Texas and live happily everafter. My buddy is a cop and has dealt with internet fraud cases. I took the MO's to the post office and was told they were fake. The only thing funnier than the buyer's dopey scam was his broken english and typos.

[marzzz]

Unfortunately, a very common scam- every time I listed something on CL I would get hit with this. "Cash only, local pickup only" usually puts a stop to it.