Why Craigslist is a Pain in the Ass
And its not Craigslist's fault. Its the fault of all of the scammers out there, most of whom are not US based, and the chance at $100 or $10,000 US hard currency is too good to pass up.
It seems the current scam actually involves Paypal, not Western Union for a change, not sure what the angle is, Paypal is usually pretty secure (a good sign though is the fact that no one, ever, in the history of Craigslist that I have experience, has asked to use paypal other than scammers).
Things I love about these:
1) They all have their full and very generic names as their gmail account name. "John Smith" is my personal favorite
2) They barely speak English
3) They want to "buy" the item without even having seen it
4) They want everything ASAP - nothing on Craigslist is ASAP - its As Soon As You Show Up With Cash in Your Hand
Randy recently told me of one which used the address and pictures of a place which was actually up for rent, none of these are that good, but still amusing.
It seems the current scam actually involves Paypal, not Western Union for a change, not sure what the angle is, Paypal is usually pretty secure (a good sign though is the fact that no one, ever, in the history of Craigslist that I have experience, has asked to use paypal other than scammers).
Things I love about these:
1) They all have their full and very generic names as their gmail account name. "John Smith" is my personal favorite
2) They barely speak English
3) They want to "buy" the item without even having seen it
4) They want everything ASAP - nothing on Craigslist is ASAP - its As Soon As You Show Up With Cash in Your Hand
Randy recently told me of one which used the address and pictures of a place which was actually up for rent, none of these are that good, but still amusing.
| show details 1:26 PM (34 minutes ago) |
oh thanks for your quick response,am mrs Grace,am living miami florida,i will like to tell you that am so interested in buying this your item for my son whom schools in oversea there in(west Africa)..and i will be paying you via my paypal account ...so i want to tell you that i will not be able to come for the pickup..i will be paying you $150 for the item and $200 for the shipping down to my son there..so iwill like you to get back to me with your paypal e-mail account,so that i will be able to make the payment ASAP..i am waiting for your response..
Well im sorry,i only deal with paypal and it's safest way to pay
online cos have been scam before and i dont give out my account just
like that..So if u are still willing to sell the item for me kindly
get back to me with your paypal email money request or if you do not
have one.Just log on to this link by setting up a paypal email money
request there:www.paypal.com..So once you are done with that,kindly
get back to me with it so that i mcan proceed with the payment
asap..Looking forward to read from you..
Best Regards,
Catherine.
Sent from my iPhone.
(I especially loved the Sent from my iPhone touch - when it was not formatted correctly to be the tag for the real "Sent from my iPhone")
Then, after I told scammers to go away (in slightly more uncouth terms), this is the response I get:
iyalaya obo iya,ogun apa iya ni,kilon wori iya,baba iya..wakuni,were..
Am okay with the price
Do you still have it with you???
How old is the item,?
Does it work perfectly?
Does it have accessories and box??
Do you have paypal account??Payment will be made Via My PayPal Account
cos its very secure and safe to receive to receive in an online
transaction.Get back to me with your paypal email account so i can
send the money into your account ASAP.
Regards
| show details 10:30 AM (3 hours ago) |
online cos have been scam before and i dont give out my account just
like that..So if u are still willing to sell the item for me kindly
get back to me with your paypal email money request or if you do not
have one.Just log on to this link by setting up a paypal email money
request there:www.paypal.com..So once you are done with that,kindly
get back to me with it so that i mcan proceed with the payment
asap..Looking forward to read from you..
Best Regards,
Catherine.
Sent from my iPhone.
(I especially loved the Sent from my iPhone touch - when it was not formatted correctly to be the tag for the real "Sent from my iPhone")
Then, after I told scammers to go away (in slightly more uncouth terms), this is the response I get:
| show details 4:04 PM (0 minutes ago) |
| show details 1:24 PM (41 minutes ago) |
Do you still have it with you???
How old is the item,?
Does it work perfectly?
Does it have accessories and box??
Do you have paypal account??Payment will be made Via My PayPal Account
cos its very secure and safe to receive to receive in an online
transaction.Get back to me with your paypal email account so i can
send the money into your account ASAP.
Regards
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