I know, I know, if you have to ask it usually is but…
I’m selling a bike. I advertised on Craig’s list. Someone sent a reply saying to contact her at her personal email. So I did and got this back:
“
Sorry for the late reply, I’ve been working really long weeks at work. so
i wont be able to meet with you due to my work frame but 'm
okay with the price and condition as shown on the advert. I’ll
proceed in issuing a cashier check to you and when you receive the
payment and it clears from your bank, i will make arrangement for the pick
up. I will also add an additional $20 to hold it down for me. So get
back to me with below details to mail the check out to you asap…
Name to be on the payment …
Address to mail the check to …
City, state and Zip code …
Final Asking price…
Cell phone # …
And as soon as this is provided, the payment will be overnight to you and i
will let you know when its mailed out.
Thanks”
Scammy or legit? Seems overly complicated for a simple transaction.
You know why so many scammers insist that you send them money via WU? Because they can go to any WU in the world and pick up cash and the payment can’t be reversed or recovered. You don’t have to be a scammer to take advantage of this service. If they pay via WU and you pick up the cash, then by all means hold the bike for them.
And then the cashier’s check will be “mistakenly” sent for something like $1k over what you agreed upon. The funds will show in your account while the cashier’s check bounces all over the world before being returned to your bank. You will think the funds are legit.
The scammer will ask you to send the balance back by WU or some legitimate form of payment you have. Seeing the money in your account will make you believe that the scammer is being truthful, so being the honest person you are, you will pay “back” the balance.
Then when the cashier’s check bounces, you are out the legitimate funds that you paid. The “buyer” will then never be heard from again.
Agree to the proposal, say how sympathetic you are to their work schedule because yours is similar and you have to be out of town for 2 weeks, you’ll hold the bike if they deposit the check now, but deliver when you get back. See what happens.
This is a good suggestion in general, and will save you the trouble of wondering whether anyone is a scam or not. Just say, “No checks – cash in person or WU only.” You’ll immediate know if they’re scamming, either by silence, or some lame explanation of why they can’t do that.
But as for the case of this OP, any time someone comes up with some complicated payment arrangement to buy some regular item used, they’re scamming.
This takes advantage of the fact that when you pay a cheque into your account, it will show up on your statement the following day (I think banks have to clear all cheques by 4pm or something). The fact that it shows on your statement does not mean that the cheque is cleared, that can take days.
The link above strongly urges one to only deal with locals, FTF. They then proceeded to provide examples of long-distance transactions that one should be deeply suspicious of.
Which begs the question: are there ANY safe/foolproof long-distance transaction processes? Their list would seem to cover all of the usual methods I would consider.
I don’t understand #8: wouldn’t that then place suspicion on YOU, the seller?