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Almost scammed on Craig's list 2012 MBP for $600

Craiglist/Interparcel Scam - Macbook $610

I also emailed a seller on Craiglist (Seattle) about a Macbook Air for sale. I got an email back today:

Hi, I am getting back to you regarding the 13" MacBook AIR from Craigslist

My name is Jessica and I am now in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
The MacBook is still available and I hope you are still interested.
I am selling the MacBook for US $600. I have attached some pics with it to this email.
It's 1.80 GHZ i7, has 4 GB of RAM, 384 MB of Video Memory and 256 GB SSD (works 5 times faster as a normal HD) of storage.
The MacBook was bought brand new from Apple a couple of months ago.
About the MacBook I can say it's in perfect shape, as I used it only for a few weeks. Included in the $600 price is everything that came with the MacBook and also the warranty papers.
I tried to be as thorough as I could with the presentation so you can have all the info if you decide to go ahead and buy it. So what do you think? Do you want my MacBook?

Thanks,
Jessica


Then I received this email today after I inquired about shipping:

Hi,

I was checking for a way to make the exchange from here to you in the US and I came across this option, which is a very good way to make this exchange.
It's provide by a company called Interparcel and it will help us with this transaction.
They seem designed specifically for internet transactions, they handle both the payment and delivery part of this transaction. They seem pretty nice and trustworthy and they provide a service that we can use for our exchange.
The link below is from Interparcel website and it explains their procedure. Please check the link and the procedure and let me know if you agree to the terms.

http://www.ship-interparcel.ca/en_language.internet.transactions/third.party.html

With this procedure Interparcel will deliver the macbook to you, receive your payment and I will receive the payment for the macbook only after you instruct them to do so.
I will pay the shipping.
Let me know if we can proceed.

BE CAREFUL WHEN DEALING WITH CRAIGSLIST OR ANY OTHER INTERNET TRANSACTIONS!
 
There's one simple rule to obey while using Craigslist. In person and in public transactions ONLY.

Also this ad screamed scam at me. It contains the tone of a salesman and throws quite a few pitches. Not talking down on people, but most people aren't going to be using language and structure like this.
 
Any time they talk about shipping and taking payment via western union, automatic scam. I usually tell them they've been reported to the local police dept.
 
zipur said:
I found a great deal on Craigslist for a two month old MBP with 256 SSD mouse and exteran keayboard plus Ms office. I couldn't help myself so I emailed them and received this.

"Hi, I am getting back to you regarding the 15″ MacBook PRO from Craigslist My name is Emily and I am now in Vancouver, BC, Canada.*The MacBook is still available and I hope you are still interested.I am selling the MacBook for $600 USD. I have attached some pics with it to this email.*It’s 2.50 GHZ i7, has 8 GB of RAM, 1 GB of Video Memory and 256 GB SSD (works 5 times faster as a normal HD) of storage.*The MacBook was bought brand new from Apple a couple of months ago.*About the MacBook I can say it’s in perfect shape, as I used it only for a few weeks. Included in the $600 price is everything that came with the MacBook PRO and also the warranty papers. I tried to be as thorough as I could with the presentation so you can have all the info if you decide to go ahead and buy it. So what do you think? Do you want my MacBook?

I was checking for a way to make the exchange from here to you in the US and I came across this option, which is a very good way to make this exchange.
It's provide by a company called Interparcel and it will help us with this transaction.

They seem designed specifically for internet transactions, they handle both the payment and delivery part of this transaction. They seem pretty nice and trustworthy and they provide a service that we can use for our exchange.
The link below is from Interparcel website and it explains their procedure. Please check the link and the procedure and let me know if you agree to the terms.
Thanks, Emily

Image
Once I said yes I received an invoice which was very professional looking.
The invoice asked me to send the $600.00 to InterParcel and then they would send the MBP to me, if accepted they would send the money to the seller.

Then searching google I found the exact same verbiage warning people about this scam.
http://www.jurinnov.com/craigslist-scams

Be warned, trust no one.
Click to expand...

So true. I've used craigslist for a very long time, and the surge of scams and phony posts have gotten really bad over the last year or so. That goes double when searching for Apple products.
 
I just wanted to say that I've bought and sold several Macs on craigslist and I've never had a problem. I always meet the person locally, at a public place and always deal in cash. I have gotten some terrific deals and have actually made a profit on some of the items I've sold. A little common sense goes a long way.
 
I received the same exact message from the same person for a maxed out 2011 MBA a few months back and I knew immediately it was a scam. I NEVER authorize shipments of my products I sell nor do I send money to complete a transaction online contacted by a craigslist seller. It is just a BIG RED FLAG.
 
Only once I sold something on the internet which wasn’t on Amazon (I sell a lot there and have gotten scammed but Amazon always takes cares of those who do right); anyhow, I got lucky as the buyer was actually nice and respectful and paid on time (thought he did make a story about his girlfriend leaving him and what not).
 
OS-SEX said:
I just wanted to say that I've bought and sold several Macs on craigslist and I've never had a problem. I always meet the person locally, at a public place and always deal in cash. I have gotten some terrific deals and have actually made a profit on some of the items I've sold. A little common sense goes a long way.
Click to expand...

Yup, I'm currently looking for the right time to get a rMBP and a lot of listings here have it around 1800-2000. Not bad.
 
I'll pay $4000 for your macbook pro. Can you ship to Nigeria?

To me Craiglist is a face to face cash only transactions.

In fact I just bought a Late 2011 15" macbook pro with hi-res antiglare screen with Apple Care all the way to February 2015 with box, receipts and everything included for $1300 this past week on Craiglist.
 
I had this same scam when I was looking for a new car. There was a deal that was too good to be true and the woman first said the car belonged to her son that died... then she said it's actually on a boat in Seattle and I could pay for it through a wire transfer. No thanks. These are pretty obvious scams when they don't offer you to come and see it.
 
We have a similar website in Australia called Gumtree. I have successfully sold and bought a MacBook through the site - but meeting up for the exchange is a must.

I faced an attempted scam when I went to sell my MacBook - A person from Nigeria was going to buy it. He sent me a fake email which said that $1100 had been put into my PayPal account - I then had to transfer $300 into his western union account to cover shipping (the sale price was $800, so he 'transferred' me extra to cover the courier). Apparently he couldn't pay the courier because he was in the navy and had no access to the Internet... But he was able to email me and send me money to my PayPal account. It was all quite entertaining really.
 
You needed to search the internet to realize this was a scam? :confused:

Well I'm glad you at least researched it first.
 
noisycats said:
This is not the best tip. Both are decent sources if you know what you are doing.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I could get "scammed" at Best Buy due to their lack of knowledge about what they're selling. Some kid tried to convince me that I should get Geek Squad (more like noob squad) and antivirus software on a Mac. No one should get Geek Squad regardless of Mac or PC...
 
I can't believe folks fall for this. Heck, even Craigslist tells you flat out "Do not deal through the mail. Only deal with local buyers." The good word is out there for folks that aren't really living in the year 2012.

So, if someone falls for this and gets scammed, it doesn't even bother me in the slightest. Perhaps next time they'll slow down and pay attention.

Unfortunately for some, lessons have to be learned the hard way.

Bryan
 
I would edit the website address out of your post. It is a fake/scam that someone created.
 
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