Crank Yanker On Craigslist

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I’m currently trying to sell some things on Craigslist. I have used Craigslist in the past with much luck,…until now. I’ve got some chain yanking asshole playing games. He shows up in my e-mail as killskull 55. Ol’ killskull 55 is pretending to be interested in buying an old 70s Singer sewing machine I have for sale.

Here is his first inquiry about the sewing machine on Dec 9th…

Hello, My name is Marty. I’m interested in the sewing machine. Is it still available? Please email me back asap & let me know. Thank you. Also, if available, please let me when & where I can get it. Again, thank you for your time. Sincerely, Marty.

(I think I tried to respond to that first e-mail but could not.)

Two days later (Dec 11th) he sent a second e-mail…

Hello, my name is Quanta. I am very interested in the sewing machine for my mom for Christmas, but I don’t get paid until this Wednesday. I am hoping I can get you to hold it for me, please. I’d really appreciate it very much. If you can do that for me, please let me know where to go on Wednesday to pick it up and pay you, of course. Thank you very much for your time.
Sincerely, Quanta Dolinger.

(I think I tried to reply, but once again could not.)

I was going to tell him the sewing machine had been sold, even though it had not and the Craigslist ad would still be there.

Today (Dec 12th) I get a third e-mail from this clown…

Hello again. I live on the Southside of town. I apologize, I forgot about sending you this email and my son sent you one yesterday. His name is Quanta Dolinger. He wants to be the one to get the sewing machine, as he told you I’m sure, for me for Christmas. Please don’t let him know I have contacted you, as I don’t want to spoil his surprise to me. Just let him know if it still available and when, where, & how he can get it from you, please. Thank you again for your time and understanding. Sincerely, Marty

I have a couple of questions I hope someone can help me with.

  1. Is it possible for people replying to Craigslist ads through the anonymous system to block your responses to them?

  2. Is there some way to block this asshole?

  3. If not, is there a way to report this to Craigslist? I’ve only seen where you can report phishing, which this is not.

Thank you for any help! Saucy

P.S. I googled Quanta Dolinger. Didn’t see much, except a Facebook profile for that name. I don’t belong to Facebook, so I was wondering if someone here could check it out if possible.

2

Notice the lies, the name changes Marty to Quanta and back to Marty, and the lie from/about his Mom.

3

What does it mean that you tried to reply but could not?

4

Perhaps I’m dense, but I’m not seeing the scam with this. He’s not asking for your private email (which is usually what scammers do) or your phone number. The emails are a bit confusing, but I’ve gotten similar responses from people whose first language isn’t English.

5

I don’t believe I was able to respond to his e-mail. I think it went to drafts. I could try again (if you think it’s safe to do so) and see what happens.

6

Quanta doesn’t have much info on Facebook, but the friends of his I checked all seem to be from Tucson.

7

They are pretending to be two different people using the same e-mail. The Mom uses the killskull 55 e-mail too??? Then wouldn’t she know about the sewing machine?

8

This could be real or could be fake. I’m pretty sure sending an email through the Craigslist system is safe because it automatically anonymizes your email address, plus if you don’t include any personal info than even if they get your real email all they can do is spam you (which is annoying but not dangerous).

I would email them back. I’ve sold or given away dozens of things on Craigslist, and while I’m sure some scammers have tried to contact me, with just a little common sense I’ve never been successfully scammed.

9

If you’re worried about this person, then arrive at a price, arrange a public exchange place, and take the biggest guy you know with you.

10

Does it show when the account was started? The town is right though.

11

2017 I believe

12

Thanks, I think I might try again.

13

The “can you hold it because [sob story]” emails are so common I usually ignore them. Just like the ones that say “I’m overseas” or “My husband is in Iraq and I want to surprise him”.

Personally, I just sell to the first person that shows up with cash in hand.

14

Same here. Can I hold it? Nope.

15

:smile:

I’ll tell him to meet me at the police station right down the road.

16

I agree about potential buyers who ask you to hold it – I always answer “if it’s still here when you’re ready, you can have it, but I’ll be selling/giving to the first person who can come get it (and pay, if it’s not free)”.

17

That’s actually a good idea. Might be good to call the non-emergency line of the station to let them know in advance.

18

I usually ignore those or tell them to forget it. I haven’t had too many fakers.

19

Sometimes I explicitly state that in the listing, otherwise everyone that wants to buy it doesn’t get paid until next week.

I’m not sure if that was meant to be a joke, but it’s pretty common. A lot of police stations even have a specific area in the lot (presumably an area with good lighting and camera coverage).

20

Yup, same here. I usually say “shoot me an email when you’re ready and I’ll let you know if I still have it” (but, to be honest, if I’ve already sold it I likely won’t even reply to the email).

Swing through their lot or check their website. I’m seeing more and more of this…