Does this sound suspicious to you?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I’m selling something on craigslist to drum up a little extra cash, and I got this response last night. Something is setting off alarm bells in my head (it sounds eerily similar to the money order scams making the rounds). Anyways. Read on…

Dear Seller,Why are you selling this item and if really it is in good condition and also i will pay you extra $50 for to end the posting early bcos of my urgency.I will like to make a quick purchase on the item cos i am using it as a gift to a friends son who is out of the states,he is really going to love it.My method of payment is via Usps Money order.If ok by you kindly get back to me with your full name and address of where you want the money order to be mailed out to so i can proceed with payment immdaitely.I will take all the shipping responsibilities and i will like the item to be shipped via my fedex account once my payment is confirmed.So you wont need to pay any shipping cost cos all the shipping cost will be billed to my account.So once the payment has been approved and you have recieved the payment confirmation,i will send you the neccessary shipping documents.plz get back to me with your full name and address so that i can proceed with the payment with your confirmed email addy.

Is this person setting me up? I think so.

2

I’ve read scams which sound really familiar. Somehow there is a problem with the postal order so something. The sense of urgency makes it sound like a scam.

I’d pass.

3

That sounds far too scammy for my comfort. He pays shipping and will toss in an extra $50? Fine, it’s Christmas and getting around to that time when anything you should be shipping for Christmas should have been shipped already if it’s to have any hope of arriving on time, but even given that I’m not buying it. On the off chance that he’s legit I’d tell him you already have a few people interested in it but that you’ll “get back to him” if the other deals fall through (which of course they won’t.) It’s not worth the risk.

4

I dunno. It could be legit, depending on how rare or hard-to-find the item you’re selling is. He’s proposing to send a USPS money order, which is for all intents and purposes a cash deposit, and is willing to wait until the payment is received and cleared to have the item shipped. And to me, having it shipped via his FedEx account adds rather than detracts from its legitimacy, since it’s not easy to create a dummy FedEx account.

I see no reason this isn’t legit. The only thing I’d be worried about is giving out my home address in case it is some kind of lead for digging out personal information of yours, and would provide my office address instead.

I’d be more worried if he were suggesting a wire transfer and needed your banking account number or something. But a USPS money order is just made out to your name, and you can deposit it at the bank or go to a post office for cashing.

5

What sent up red flags for me is that he referred to you as “seller” and the thing you’re selling as the “item”. Since these are not specific terms, it could be one message sent out to hundreds of people. Smells phishy to me.

OTOH, if he sends you a money order before you ship him the item, I don’t see it as much of a risk.

6

I agree. It sounds pretty fool-proof to me. Is it too personal to ask what you’re selling that is making this guy so orgasmic?

7

I agree, this is what struck me as odd. If I’m trying to buy something from someone online, then I’m definitely going to mention in my e-mail to them what I’m trying to buy, along with specific questions about the item.

Referring to you as “seller” may not be that odd, unless you do have your name in the ad somewhere.

8

I’ll look for more info, but I have seen (on these boards, I believe) that this type of scam involves a money order that is not legit. It can cash through the bank and you’ll think everything is OK but a week or so later the bank will call you and let you know the money order turned out to be counterfeit.
I’ll hunt around for the story. In the meantime, beware. Instincts are usually right.

9

This site details multiple scams - the second one down addresses money orders. Although not the exact scenario you described (your $50 vs. $4000) you would be out of your merchandise if the money order came back fake.

Here is another one (it is a pdf).

This guy may be perfectly legit, but then again…
Also, in my business I ship lots of stuff everyday, sometimes on third party Fed Ex accounts. Guess who gets the bill when one bounces back (the account has been closed or there is some other problem)? You.

10

Also note that if you send something via Fedex and charge the shipping to the customers fedex number, if the number is fake, I believe you would be responsible for the shipping costs. Also, if you cash the money order at the bank and it is fake, I believe you are on the hook for paying the money back. Unless you are selling an unbeliveably rare item, I wouldn’t even think about doing it. If you are selling an IPOD or something, I would wonder why a guy is willing to pay extra for something he can get anywhere.

11

What they do is send you a money order for several hundred dollars more than what you asked, then ask you to send them back the difference. Then it all comes back on you later. This was tried on me once and my ex several times.

12

Definitely a scam. You’ll wind up without your “item” and without the money. Don’t do it.

13

Hmmm…who knew? I would think there could be some way of verifying the transaction…calling the post office or what have you. Or FedEx to verify the existing account. But based on all this info here, it sounds like it’s not worth the trouble.

14

I say tell him you’ll do it, but don’t actually take the auction down. Then when you receive the money order and it is much more than agreed and he wants you to send him the difference, tell him you have someone at the Post Master General’s office you’d like for him to talk to.

15

It’s a scam. The chances of receiving a fake money order is high to certain, plus what’s with the “end posting early?” That’s how Craigslist works. It’s not an auction, there’s no obligation or expectation to keep the posting up for the full 45 days. Combined with out-of-country shipping (the fact that a potential buyer on CL is asking for shipping at all is highly suspicious), charged to an account (why isn’t he just sending you extra to cover shipping, like everyone else would), extremely poor spelling and grammar, you have all the parts of the classic eBay/CL scam.

You can verify postal MOs with the Post Office, but you have to have the MO number available when you call. I expect a similar thing applies to verifying FexEx accounts. The thing is, verifying all this stuff is usually not worth it when compared to accepting another, less suspicious offer.

It works like this:

“Buyer” spams listings with an enticing offer, offering extra money to sweeten the pot. Response never mentions any specifics about your item, and could reasonably describe most any item for up for sale.

You agree, and receive a fake money order or cashier’s check.

You deposit the fake instrument, and initially receive payment.

You ship the item to the “buyer.”

Later, the bank discovers the instrument is fake, when the purported issuer refuses to pay it. This can happen several weeks or even a month or so later.

Your bank holds you responsible for the fraudulent amount, and expects you to pay it back. You have little to no recourse against the bank, as the bank is generally within their rights to rescind the initial payment.

The “buyer” has successfully received your item for free

In general, signs that indicate scams:

You receive the response very soon after you posting, in the first few minutes or hours after you post.

On CL, any request for shipping. CL is locally oriented. (Though, in-locality shipping is probably OK if it’s the only suspicious request).

Offers of additional money for “expedited” service or ending an auction early.

Offer to overpay by whatever monetary instrument offered, with you sending the overpayment back, by MO/Western Union/whatever. THIS IS NEVER LEGIT!

Offer to pay by wire transfer/Western Union/etc. If you plan to accept this type of payment, you need to be fully aware of how the process works. Most legit buyers don’t use wire transfers, anyway.

Poor spelling/grammar

Vague, generic references to the item up for sale.

16

Sounds like a scam to me. Craigslist even has a page about common scams. Third down the list: “FAKE CASHIER CHECKS & MONEY ORDERS ARE COMMON, and BANKS WILL CASH THEM AND THEN HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE when the fake is discovered weeks later.”

17

Ask them for a phone number so you can call them and talk about the transaction.
If they are legit and really interested they shouldn’t have a problem with this.
My guess is that they won’t want you to contact them.
If they do happen to let you call them ask a lot of questions about the item your selling them. Why they’re interested in it? What others have they seen for sale? Where else have they looked buying?
If they seem pretty clueless and uninterested in the item they’re buying from you and more interested in the money transaction I would pass.

18

It not suspicious at all, but to ease concern I will offer a chance for me to help seller by providing for nominal fee I will investigate buyer of item and legitimate money order. all I need is credit card number and social security number. you are most welcome.

19

Let me quess Gangster Octopus, you also live in a little known nation that is in the midst of a civil war, your father is a billionaire banker, monies are not safe there, you need my help transferring 100 million to the US, and for my help you will pay me 1% or 1 million dollars??

20

No that’s me, Gangster’s father is the oil prince who’s money is unsafe because of a recent coup in his country.