I got a good offer for my C2D iMac from Craigslist. Should i be weary of this? Does it sound fishy?
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Help -- is this a Scam??
- Thread starter MBHockey
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Offering more than you asked for is always a sign of a possible scam - it's to appeal to your greed and cloud your judgement.
Ignore this offer.
Ignore this offer.
to be fair, i told him i wanted, lowest 2500 (initially). Then, I told him i had 4 other people interested (which is true).
I've decided not to do anything with BidPay. If he wants to PayPal me 3000, then that's fine. We'll see what he says.
Also, this iMac is fully upped -- not the stock 24".
He could get it from Apple for about 3150.
I've decided not to do anything with BidPay. If he wants to PayPal me 3000, then that's fine. We'll see what he says.
Also, this iMac is fully upped -- not the stock 24".
He could get it from Apple for about 3150.
It's a scam. He's going to send you a fake payment (through an alternate email that looks like a BidPay email), or one with someone elses account, and when that falls through, you're held responsible for the money--not him.
The buyer's also almost certainly going to ask you to ship it to nigeria or some other country way outside of your local craigslist board.
Offering a really high amount is a pretty common practice scammers like this use, as it encourages you to just say "hell yeah!" and have a lot of patience when it comes to not getting your money.
The buyer's also almost certainly going to ask you to ship it to nigeria or some other country way outside of your local craigslist board.
Offering a really high amount is a pretty common practice scammers like this use, as it encourages you to just say "hell yeah!" and have a lot of patience when it comes to not getting your money.
Sounds to the word (specially the part bought him providing shipping and you canceling ad) like a scam that was tried on ebay to get my sons PSP. Traced the full http,contacted ebay and paypal-guy even spoofed the paypal site and confer letter
RUN AWAY!!!!!!!! Better safe than sorry.
ken
RUN AWAY!!!!!!!! Better safe than sorry.
ken
Thanks everyone. I agree.
I told him if he wants it, to paypal me 3100 dollars.
He hasn't responded.
Maybe i should mess around with this guy, since he likes scamming people. not sure how
that powerbook scam was legendary. i could never repeat such a great act.
Shard, i didn't do it, i was just asking because i thought it was odd!
Shard, i didn't do it, i was just asking because i thought it was odd!
Shard, i didn't do it, i was just asking because i thought it was odd!
I wasn't implying that you did, I was just speaking in general - apologies for any confusion.
It is a scam, my roommate got a very similar sounding email with almost the same instructions when he sold his XBOX360 on ebay... The guy offered an outrageous amount of money.
SCAM!
SCAM!
It is a classic scam letter.
Be wary anytime a 'buyer' supplies too much detail about how the sale is totally risk free for you. Also, the 'prepaid FedEx shipping label' is a hallmark of these scams, one way or another it's engineered so you cannot get back the shipment or trace where it went. It also means you don't have a real address to check out.
Paying above asking price is also classic scam. As is 'sending you a certified cheque from another company', which will be a forged or altered cheque that will bounce back on you 2 to 5 weeks later. Double ditto if the cheque is more than the sale amount and they want you to send them the 'change'.
Don't tempt fate by proposing PayPal or in some other way trying to game the scammer. Could be they have a stolen PayPal account ready to go and you will end up just as %$*@#ed.
On craigslist; just trash any responses you get from outside your local area. What is a legitimate buyer doing trolling a local classified 3000 miles away?
Insist on face-to-face on any Craigslist transaction.
Be wary anytime a 'buyer' supplies too much detail about how the sale is totally risk free for you. Also, the 'prepaid FedEx shipping label' is a hallmark of these scams, one way or another it's engineered so you cannot get back the shipment or trace where it went. It also means you don't have a real address to check out.
Paying above asking price is also classic scam. As is 'sending you a certified cheque from another company', which will be a forged or altered cheque that will bounce back on you 2 to 5 weeks later. Double ditto if the cheque is more than the sale amount and they want you to send them the 'change'.
Don't tempt fate by proposing PayPal or in some other way trying to game the scammer. Could be they have a stolen PayPal account ready to go and you will end up just as %$*@#ed.
On craigslist; just trash any responses you get from outside your local area. What is a legitimate buyer doing trolling a local classified 3000 miles away?
Insist on face-to-face on any Craigslist transaction.
If you're bored you can send him a P-P-P imac. I think it would be great. Make sure to make the shipping COD. I love messing with these people. Make sure to converse with him in the same broken english he will probably write to you in when he emails you when you bite. If everyone just starts to answer these bastards and messes with them, it won't be worth their trouble and they will quit tricking your parents!!!