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Selling my iBook through Craigslist, is this a scam?

beez7777

beez7777

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 5, 2002
758
0
Notre Dame
So today i put an ad up for my iBook on craigslist because i want a macbook, and a little while later i got an email. the whole exhange seems kinda sketchy, but she wants to send a usps money order. i'm wondering where the scam comes in if i don't send my iBook out until i get the money from the money order. here's the exchange (via email):

Her: Hello seller
i am highly interested in this item so is the item still available forsale,if so kindly mail me back so that we can finalize our discusion.i need to know the final price of the package.
ok..................Thanks

Me: yes, the item is still up for sale. where are you located?

Her: Thanks for your reply concerning my enquiry.I am satisfied with the condition of the item and willing to offer you an amount of $1200 including packing materials without you paying for any shipping charges cos i already have an account with FedEx.
I would be glad to make payment with the following payment option :
By sending you a postal money order through my United State Postal Service(USPS) account.
Kindly get back to me with your full name , street address , City , State , Zip-Code , private email address and likewise your phone # .
I need the above requirements as soon as possible so that i can explain the process on how to receive a postal money order via USPS and as well finalize payment immediately.Looking forward in doing business with you.

she didnt ask for any more details besides the general stuff i put in the ad, and didn't ask for pictures or anything. thoughts?
 
Nobody talks like that. It's a generic email. Stay away!

When dealing with craigslist I would do local only.
 
thanks everyone. i was almost positive it's a scam. can anyone explain how the scam works though? if they send a money order and it doesnt work then i don't send the computer. where does the scam come in?
 
beez7777 said:
thanks everyone. i was almost positive it's a scam. can anyone explain how the scam works though? if they send a money order and it doesnt work then i don't send the computer. where does the scam come in?
Click to expand...
The scam is that you send the computer when you receive the money order... and then the money order turns out to be bogus when you go to cash it. By that time, your item is in Africa.

On Craigslist, my rule is cash only, but I'll take a check if I meet the person and feel they're trustworthy. Money orders are RIGHT OUT, and I don't ship anything unless I've received payment through a verifiable process (PayPal) first.
 
beez7777 said:
thanks everyone. i was almost positive it's a scam. can anyone explain how the scam works though? if they send a money order and it doesnt work then i don't send the computer. where does the scam come in?
Click to expand...

I bet if you played along, the person would try to pressure you into sending the computer before you got the money.

Scammer said:
I need the above requirements as soon as possible so that i can explain the process on how to receive a postal money order via USPS and as well finalize payment immediately.Looking forward in doing business with you.
Click to expand...
The scammer already is trying to show a sense of urgency and the need to rush.
 
2 possible scenarios..

1) Because they will most likely try and convince you to send the computer first. 'there were issues with the money order', or 'we sent it already, here's the tracking number', or something else made up.

2) It was a social engineering attempt to get info for later use on indet-theft.
 
This is the typical craigslist scam. I encountered it a lot when trying to sell my old ps2 a while ago.. I actually got the scammer to jack the initial offer up to $1600 over the course of a couple of weeks. I too have no idea what the benefit to the scammer could possibly be, or why they would be willing to spend weeks of almost daily correspondence to get me to bite when I am obviously baiting them for my own personal amusement.
 
Just the language of the message makes it sound non-legit to me. Nobody sounds that weird when they write emails. If the message was more like "Hey, I don't have a paypal account, is there any way I can pay with a USPS money order" I'd be a lot less suspicious.
 
translated from Nigerian scam language to real English said:
Her: Hello seller
i am highly interested in taking your product without paying for it. so is the item still available forsale,if so kindly mail me back so that we can finalize our discusion.i need to know the final price of the package so I know how much to make the counterfeit MO out for.
ok..................Thanks

Me: yes, the item is still up for sale. where are you located?

Her: I think you might be stupid enough to give me your iBook. I live in a slum in Lagos. I am satisfied with the condition of your item and willing to offer you an amount of money that will appeal to your greed. I will provide packing materials without you paying for any shipping charges cos i already have an account with FedEx. It's the least I can do since you'll be giving me the computer for nothing.

I would be glad to make payment with the following payment option :
By sending you a fake postal money order through my United State Postal Service(USPS) account.
Kindly get back to me with your full name , street address , City , State , Zip-Code , private email address and likewise your phone #. I hope to be able to use this information later to steal your identity.
I need the above requirements as soon as possible so that i can explain the process on how I will **** you over. Looking forward in doing business with you, sucker.
Click to expand...

...
 
While it appears to be a scammer, I would email her back, give a fake name (or just your first name or first and middle) and address (Maybe I am wrong, but I don't think much can be done with exchanging a first name and address). Tell her that when you receive the MO and have it cashed, you will ship. While I suspect this will make her run away, if you do get the MO and you get it cashed, you have just sold your machine like you wanted to.
 
Hello everyone, just ran into this topic while I was searching for scammers on the web..
Great topic, now I have a similar case, but this one is saying she will pay me with paypal, and she wants me to ship it to overseas, to another person.

I have an iBook for sale, with slight damage.
This lady is willing to pay $100 higher than what I was asking for it, via PAYPAL. They declined to pay in person considering they are located in west coast (me in east coast).

I am confused. Can anyone scam me through paypal? If they pay me, and I take all of my money from paypal, can they try to get the money back somehow?

Thanks.
 
pablocordoba2 said:
Hello everyone, just ran into this topic while I was searching for scammers on the web..
Great topic, now I have a similar case, but this one is saying she will pay me with paypal, and she wants me to ship it to overseas, to another person.

I have an iBook for sale, with slight damage.
This lady is willing to pay $100 higher than what I was asking for it, via PAYPAL. They declined to pay in person considering they are located in west coast (me in east coast).

I am confused. Can anyone scam me through paypal? If they pay me, and I take all of my money from paypal, can they try to get the money back somehow?

Thanks.
Click to expand...


Sounds like a scam. Over the asking amount, shipping overseas, and shipping to someone else are 3 huge red flags. They can report to Paypal that they never received it, or that it was damaged, and if Paypal sides with them, they'll take the money out of your bank account. I wouldn't risk it.

In fact, thinking about it now, it sounds like they're using a stolen Paypal account since they do want you to ship it to a different person. And then once the real owner of the account reports this charge as fraudulent, Paypal will give him back his money at your expense.

For Craigslist, I would do local pickup with cash only.
 
yg17, that's one thing I didn't think about, they could be using someone else's paypal account. That is a possibility. I don't get the logic behind shipping it to overseas.

Oh, I must add, they also gave me a cellphone number for me to call. I looked up that cellphone number, looks like this person sold a few other things on few other websites including old listings at craigslist.

I am wondering what can I ask them to do, that a scammer won't do.
 
Scam! But I love replying to these. I love how the scammers try to sound pretty formal in the e-mails but the English is usually really broken.
 
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