Stupid Car Scammers!

The BBQ Pit
1

I posted my car for sale on craigslist, and I seem to have fished out a cashier’s check forgery scam. This is not the first that Craigslist has heard of this sort of thing:
http://chicago.craigslist.org/about/scams.html

Here’s the email I got:

This really doesn’t do it justice - the email was in about 5 different colors, with mismatch HTML tags all over the place. I cleaned it up so as not to submit the Teemings to it’s full horror. I wrote “Susan” back just for fun, and got this back:

Ok, first of all it ain’t a truck, unless Honda made an Accord with a half bed or something and I somehow missed it. And even if I hadn’t heard of the cashier’s check scam, how the hell would this make sense? If this client of yours owes you money, why doesn’t he give you the $4000 and then me the $2000?

And pick up a grammar book, you fucktard!

I would totally have worked with the cops on flushing this person out, but I have not idea how to go about doing that. I think what pisses me off the most is that people actually fall for this crap. Idiots.

2

Interesting. I listed my truck on craigslist about a month ago and promptly received a scam E-mail. The name was Susan Roy, but the E-mail came from some other name like Katherine or something. I just replied and told them to fuck off.

I hate to think that some people actually fall for this crap.

Sam

3

Have you tried forwarding the e-mail to the police? They may be able to trace it back to the originator.

It’s a ridiculous attempt at a scam. I wonder how many people fall for it?

4

I posted a complaint with the FTC, who seem to handle this sort of thing. The FBI may be interested due to wire fraud, or maybe even the Secret Service.

This works because people think that Cashier’s Check == CA$H. I can’t blame them, I thought that until I started hearing about this scam. Why does it take a week for the check to actually clear? And why do they let the customer’s think that the check has cleared when it hasn’t? Kind of crappy.

5

I was trying to sell a car in AutoTrader.com for a while, and got four or five of these sorts of emails. As a rule, I won’t do any business with someone who obviously can’t spell (a typo here or there is okay, but if every other word is spelled wrong, no way).

6

If you really want to do something about it, engage them. When you have engaged them, and have worked the deal to receive the cashier’s check, give them a phony name and address, and keep the authorities apprised of what’s going on. Once you’ve gotten the phony check, let them(FBI, FTC, SAG), know everything and you’re an instant hero.

Otherwise, ignore it and move on to a real buyer. Personally, I’d move along…

Sam