# Is this a scam? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 24, 2013, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-scam/664400 "2013-07-24T18:04:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-scam/664400/21 "2013-07-24T21:22:29Z")
Thanks, **Alley Dweller** , I replied stating that I would only accept a Western Union payment and he/she had to pay all of the transactions fees. This was followed by assigning the email address to the spam folder. Don’t expect to hear from them again And that concludes our little adventure with internet fraud. Thanks to all who posted to this thread in response. I really appreciate your efforts. And per the usual, if you guts immediately tell you something is wrong–don’t ignore those feelings. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-scam/664400/22 "2013-07-25T00:53:33Z")
> [@user\_hostile](#): > > I just Googled the email address. Turns out it’s a [scam](http://forums.watchuseek.com/f63/scammer-alert-mike-watson-578152.html). > > I noted the time the email was sent was early in the morning. That told me it wasn’t local. If I accept the current conditions, they’re suppose to send somebody out to pick it up (Mugsy? Guido?), which tells me this is an international operation. > > I’m tempted to play circle jerk with the person. Or am I better off just calling the cops? Or, responding to the scamster with the above link? If you jerked them around, you would probably be ok, but why risk it? If you want to make a project out of it, contact the scam baiters at [http://www.419eater.com/](http://www.419eater.com/) or [http://thescambaiter.com/forum/](http://thescambaiter.com/forum/). Start off with a fake email and you’re good to go! ETA: Woops I see that thescambaiter is under new management. I therefore cannot personally vouch for it. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-scam/664400/23 "2013-07-25T01:44:49Z")
> [@user\_hostile](#): > > I just Googled the email address. Turns out it’s a [scam](http://forums.watchuseek.com/f63/scammer-alert-mike-watson-578152.html). > > I noted the time the email was sent was early in the morning. That told me it wasn’t local. If I accept the current conditions, they’re suppose to send somebody out to pick it up (Mugsy? Guido?), which tells me this is an international operation. > > I’m tempted to play circle jerk with the person. Or am I better off just calling the cops? Or, responding to the scamster with the above link? I’m not disputing this is a scam (the OP made the whole deal sound like it stinks on ice), but the time someone sends e-mail doesn’t necessarily prove where they live. Could be someone who works odd hours or an insomniac, for example. ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-scam/664400/24 "2013-07-25T03:54:15Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > I’m not disputing this is a scam (the OP made the whole deal sound like it stinks on ice), but the time someone sends e-mail doesn’t necessarily prove where they live. Could be someone who works odd hours or an insomniac, for example. Understood. In fact, I worked nights at a local utility during an outage. But when I got the email, something bothered me about it. I’ve used Craig’s List in the past, and didn’t have any problems before. So…the law of averages caught up with me. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-scam/664400/25 "2013-07-25T04:16:34Z")
Glad you listened to those instincts and didn’t get scammed. Happy ending, IMO. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-scam/664400/26 "2013-07-25T04:33:25Z")
Be careful, scanners are alive and well on Craigslist. I’m trying to sell a 300zx on there now and I Jeep getting a jackhole that Jeeps texting that he us in the Navy in California (I’m in Florida) and he really really wants my car (like there aren’t hundreds available in California). He tells me he wants to PayPal me the money and wants me to ship the car. He hasn’t said it yet, but how much you want to bet that he’ll want me to arrange and pay for shipping, but he’ll include that in his PayPal payment. I simply replied, car is yours if you want it. You arrange shipping and make sure the driver has cash to give me when he comes to get the car. Funny, I haven’t heard back from the eager jackhole since. He must have speed out! Do people still fall for these? Not that I’m that smart, but these scams have been in the news for years. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-scam/664400.md?page=1)