Online scaming going on

[harvey lee]

I was selling a trailer in this forum and I recieved a e-mail from a fellow that wanted to buy it.

He was going to pay me for the trailer and also add in the shipping costs for the shipping that I was toi give to the person who was to pick it up.

I took the check to the bank and waited for it to clear. 3 days later, I get a call from my bank that this check was a fake. Glad I did not send the trailer down the road until the check cleared the bank.

My Vet was telling me this am that people are doing the same thing purchasing dogs from kennels and private people who have dogs for sale. Like 5 different scams in my area in the past 2 weeks.

Beware that any sale you make has cash or a money order and I would have the bank check those funds to make sure they are ok as some have also been using copied hundred dollar bills.

Please be very careful with any sale that involes any type opf funds including cash.

This is a true scam and no joke.

[goose89]

Good points Tom. I have a freind in the boat business and he's repeatedly told me to have the money / funds verified by the bank before letting your property go down the road. He's got a couple of horror stories involving cashiers checks, and even "cash" as you say. It could be counterfiet.

I'm pretty sure I narrowly avoided a scammer from CA that really wanted to buy a camper from me last year. He sounded good, gauranteed the money order would be good (drawn from a US bank), ect, ect. Only thing he wouldn't do was wire the money directly into my account. No deal.

It sucks you can't trust anyone. Most are honest, IMO. Too bad we have to make each other jump through hoops like that, when a "spit and a handshake" used to be all that was needed.

[harvey lee]

I agree that the day of a handshake is long gone.

Now when I sell something of value, I will have to bother the buyer to go to the bank with me to verify his funds. Seems like a pain but if you do not, you could get burned badly with no recourse at all.

I also asked this buyer to wire the funds to my bank and he said he woulkd rather send the funds. That did set the alarm off but I thought I would wait and take the check and see if it would clear the bank.

[pureinsanity]

Another thing to add is go to the store and get a money marking pen. Ive seen these scams and also other things like it.

When I sold my dirtbike to a guy in canada I needed to get some paper work for him for customs but also he was buying 8 bikes in one day and paying all cash. He gave me 2600 cash US Dollar, and needed directions. So I went inside to get a piece of paper and gave the money to someone inside the house so they could mark every bill to make sure they were real. I got a text saying we were good to go and away he went.

always always be careful dealing with cash, check, and do local pick ups unless its through e bay than do shipping.

[fishfearme]

Too many meth heads up on the back 40 Harv? If they don't show up in person I wouldn't give them the time of day. It's all just common sense people.

[harvey lee]

Yes, but they can show up to your door with phony cash and bad cashiers checks.

I wouls also say that if you believe it's just meth heads, you are very mistaken. This is a racket that many are making tons of money on. They are not dumb people.

Don't kid yourself.

Thats why I said one needs to check everything. There is nothing safe anymore and it's that simply.

[mainbutter]

I agree that the day of a handshake is long gone.

It never existed. There were scammers 50 years ago, there were scammers two hundred years ago, there were scammers a thousand years ago.

Deception, lies, and fraud used for personal gain is nothing new to human society.

[fishfearme]

The credit card fraud is the money making racket as of now. Counterfit money is not that common and easy to spot if you know how to inspect a bill. The marker will not work if the bills have been bleached and reprinted. I would never take a check! Thats just plain stupid. And don't kid your self about meth heads, they are real people who will sell your aluminum trailer for scrap.

Yes, but they can show up to your door with phony cash and bad cashiers checks.

I wouls also say that if you believe it's just meth heads, you are very mistaken. This is a racket that many are making tons of money on. They are not dumb people.

Don't kid yourself.

Thats why I said one needs to check everything. There is nothing safe anymore and it's that simply.

[Wes Ellis]

I was looking on [Note-from-admin-Please-don't-send-folks-there], seen a John Deere tractor. Only wanted $5000. for it,his dad died and just wanted to get rid or it.I called a dealer and he said that tractor was worth $30,000. It was a skam.They wanted $2500.DOWN AND i COULD PAY THE REST WHEN THE TRACTOR WAS AT MY DOOR.Had a HSO-Classifieds act set up.Fale.They copied the e bay page . If you get any one thats wants to pay more so you can pay the shipper.Be care full.It is probly a skam.Wes

[TooTallTom]

I guess that's one good thing about selling through this site versus CraigL: You can check up on someone who's responding to your ad by looking at other posts they've made.

If someone has just signed up and is offering to buy something (or is selling something) I'm going to look at them a little more skeptically than someone who has a bunch of posts on random topics on the site.

[castmaster]

Good to give folks a heads up for sure. One thing to remember though when asking someone to wire funds directly to your account, they have no way of knowing whether you are a scammer on your end either.

I know I would never wire $ to someone selling something in an online classified, or any classified ad for that matter.

[pureinsanity]

[Note from admin, please use the "Contact Us" link for forum policy questions, thanks]

[harvey lee]

My simple point is to be very, very careful about doing any business online. That goes for FM here also. This is where I had the add, yet it still almost went wrong.

If I had not held the check and waited for the bank to tell me it cleared, I would be out.

I now will be all the more careful with any transaction online. Way too many crooks out there trying to rip one off. Another reason I will not do any business on [Note-from-admin-Please-don't-send-folks-there].

I almost got scammed 2 years ago with another sale but I caught that one before any money changed hands. That sale was for thousands.

[harvey lee]

My bet is they do not allow it as there have been to many others ripped off.

From what I have heard about crags list, I would stay away from that one.

[harvey lee]

Fishfearme

I would bet that fraud today is way worse than 50 years ago. There are so many new ways to rip people off. With credit cards, debit cards and others, it's all new compared to 50 years ago as you state.

I would bet that scamimg is considerable worse than 50 or 100 years ago.

[shedzbo]

Scamming is out of control because there nothing is done to these people!

A slap on the wrist and on your way; 100 years ago they would have been shot or hung!

By the way it’s most likely the parents fault for the way they are.

[Froggy4371]

Take it from me as someone who deals with this almost daily. It is called the Nigerian Money Scam. Almost Always cashers checks are fake. They also never meet face to face and most of the time want to pay you extra for your troubles such as having to send money back, or keep some for paying the pick up company. There are thousands of these style operations. Rule of Thumb IF IT SOUNDS TO GOOD TO BE TRUE IT IS!!!!

Froggy

[Whisker Warrior]

Fishfearme

I would bet that fraud today is way worse than 50 years ago. There are so many new ways to rip people off. With credit cards, debit cards and others, it's all new compared to 50 years ago as you state.

I would bet that scamimg is considerable worse than 50 or 100 years ago.

Your probably right based on more ways to scam people but the idea and drive has been alive forever....Ponzi scheme i believe was perpetrated in 1929 just before the huge stock market crash and basically was repackaged by Madoff for his recent scheme.....Very sad but no surprise....

[ROOOOSTERFISH]

I only do business with people I know and can trust. Trust is the big word because there is very few people that I trust anymore.

[goblueM]

i've sold and bought many things on Crag list and the like - my rule is that I'm meeting you in person, for cash

i only got scammed once and it was because I talked on the phone with a guy, he sounded great, said all the right things, and then I foolishly didn't do an in person transaction. That learned me up good

definitely have to use your instincts to figure out when somebody is BSing you

[Capt. H (Ret.)]

I have sold one item on this site and everything went well. I sold a portable fish house to a fellow in the Cities. He came to my house (northern Iowa) inspected the house and gave me cash. He didn't even ask to write a check and mentioned in the telephone call that he would meet me in a public place instead of my residence to complete the transaction which tells me he's been around the block on some of this stuff!! I would have done it the same way-no check just cash.

[Bigbartguy]

anytime someone wants to buy it sight unseen with check and for you to ship it - run the other way.

Most folks deposit the check into their account and once the bank 'clears' the deposit, think they are ok and send off the 'extra' that the buyer gave them.

The bank 'clearing' the deposit just means the bank released funds to you....it does NOT mean that the check actually cleared. Can take 7-10 days for it to actually clear.

[Tom Buckles]

I was transferred out of Minnesota in 2005 to move to Florida. At the time, I had a Crestliner Fish Hawk 1850 with a 150hp on it. It was a little over 2 years old. I bought it new and got a steal of a deal on it. Out the door, I paid $17,120.00. I fished this boat hard for my last 2 years in Minnesota and it had lots of wear and tear. When I got down south, I wanted to get a salt water rig, so I decided to sell my Crestliner. I put it on HSO-Classifieds with a starting bid of $8000 and a buy it now price of $17,000. I only put the buy it now price on there to show what I paid for it. I would have been happy getting $12,000 for the rig. Within an hour of the auction starting, I got a phone call from a guy in Atlanta who asked if I would meet him half way to Atlanta if he used the buy it now option. I thought he was nuts paying that much, but I told him if he deposited $500 into my paypal account and brought the rest in cash, I would do it. At first he said that he didnt want to carry that much cash. I thought it was a scam, but then he recommended that we meet at Wells Fargo and after seeing the boat he would go in and take out the cash. Needless to say, about an hour later he called and told me that he deposited $500 to my paypal account. The next day, I made the 3 hour drive and met him to complete the transaction. When it was all said and done, I had the boat for over 2 years and only lost $120 after selling it. The deal almost seemed too good to be true and until I had the cash in my hand, I thought it was going to be a scam.