Craigslist payment advice

9494runner

9494runner

New member
So boys I'm in a pickle.

Backstory - sold a 3vze on Craigslist and after some banter buyer said she was shipping payment for the motor and that I was to forward money from the check via money gram to the freight co. Well I said no way jose and that she was ENTIRELY responsible for paymemt to the shipping co. Well I recieved a tracking # for the check - 1 day fedex. Guess what shows up.... a certified check for $1,700.... WTF?!??!

I sold the motor for 250 and it only cost me 280 to ship a rebuilt one from NC. So I am not understanding what this 1,200 more is for... honestly I could care less about getting paid for the motor as I want it gone from the shop where it's at..

What do I do..... money gram to shipper, they address and info seems to be to a person and now way I'm getting involved in that...

I have tried to contact her and no response... no # was provided

I told her just pick it up and send me a check for 250... no response again.
 
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I wouldn't trust anything of the sort from craigslist, only cash In hand, and only after I have taken that cash to a bank or gas station to turn into money order which will verify its real money. Anything where they want you to do stuff like you stated , 99 times out of 100 is fraud. Its most likely a fake certified. My brother had this happen to him with a craigslist deal.

I wouldn't do it, but good luck.
 
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9494runner said:
and that I was to forward money from the check via money gram to the freight co.
Click to expand...

Scam. Fake check. Bail out! They probably work at the freight co, or it's a fake company or some shit like that.

Maybe bring the check to the cops or something? Not sure what to do with a fake check...

Edit: your response came as I was typing mine pretty much.
 
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It's signed by the bank - watermarked and everything addressed to me.... people are freaking crazy... honestly I just wanted her to take it. I am not on the hook for 1700 as I am refusing to deposit it....

Just what the hell..... pretty sure I'm going to tear this up because it seems like a scam - cancel the check(flag it as fraud)after its deposited and the money order sent so whoever, in this case me, would be out the amount on the money order.

Should probably turn it over to the cops...

Well... Anyone want a 3vze in need of a rebuild.....
 
Yeah I agree - I'll head over to the police department with the envolope check and emails with the name and address of the person receiving the money gram.

Dunno if they will do anything about it
 
My neighbor had the same thing happen for an old printer he had. I think he was selling it for a couple hundred, and someone sent him a check for $1800 even after he told them NO, show up with CASH and we'll do the deal. I think the guy was trying to get him to ship it somewhere too.

He called his bank and asked about it, and they said it is most likely a scam and suggested he destroy the check and/or contact the police. I think he just ripped up the check, told whoever sent it he had destroyed it and not to bother contacting him again.

IIRC, they provided the shipping information and instructed him to send payment to the shipper, which is most likely a fake account that deposits money to them. Plus you get hit with fees for trying to cash a bad check.
 
It is a scam.

Did you ever talk to "her" on the phone or just via email. If so that is a huge red flag. If you did speak was it via a real phone or just skype?
 
BTW maybe you know this, maybe you don't .....

When you deposit a check, certified or not, it can take the Bank up to 2 full weeks to detect the fraud. They will have already paid you out, more than a week goes by then they call you and tell you that you need to pay them back or face the consequences. You are on the hook for the money.

In this case you would be sending them back the $1,000 stolen money, plus your engine. Wow. :hurt:
 
I don't know what is worse... the fact you ended up with a fraudulent check or the fact that you gave your home address out to an unknown source...

Learn from this and NEVER give your home address to anyone over craigslist or the internet. If you must use mail for shipping stuff on ebay or etsy or any of those vendor sites... use a PO Box as your return address and not your home address.

Turn it over to the police or destroy it and move on.
 
9494runner said:
So boys I'm in a pickle.

Backstory - sold a 3vze on Craigslist and after some banter buyer said she was shipping payment for the motor and that I was to forward money from the check via money gram to the freight co. Well I said no way jose and that she was ENTIRELY responsible for paymemt to the shipping co. Well I recieved a tracking # for the check - 1 day fedex. Guess what shows up.... a certified check for $1,700.... WTF?!??!

I sold the motor for 250 and it only cost me 280 to ship a rebuilt one from NC. So I am not understanding what this 1,200 more is for... honestly I could care less about getting paid for the motor as I want it gone from the shop where it's at..

What do I do..... money gram to shipper, they address and info seems to be to a person and now way I'm getting involved in that...

I have tried to contact her and no response... no # was provided

I told her just pick it up and send me a check for 250... no response again.
Click to expand...

Having a business, we get this scam alot. Several years ago we had the exact thing happen a set of tires and wheels. it was $1300 for the set. we took the check to our bank and it checked out good. we deposited it and waited a week to ship the tires and wheels. three weeks later the money was drafted back out of our account. Turns out the bank account number was good, and the name was a real account...BUT they did not belong together.

If you google "craigslist scam" this will be the most common story you hear. It's 100% scam and all you can do is forget about it and move on.
 
ben550 said:
I don't know what is worse... the fact you ended up with a fraudulent check or the fact that you gave your home address out to an unknown source...

Learn from this and NEVER give your home address to anyone over craigslist or the internet. If you must use mail for shipping stuff on ebay or etsy or any of those vendor sites... use a PO Box as your return address and not your home address.

Turn it over to the police or destroy it and move on.
Click to expand...

You do know that you address is public records and a simple Google search will turn up where you live 9 times out of 10 fyi. I do mortgages so you'd be surprised what's available without you directly giving that information on the internet.
 
TOY2G said:
Having a business, we get this scam alot. Several years ago we had the exact thing happen a set of tires and wheels. it was $1300 for the set. we took the check to our bank and it checked out good. we deposited it and waited a week to ship the tires and wheels. three weeks later the money was drafted back out of our account. Turns out the bank account number was good, and the name was a real account...BUT they did not belong together.

If you google "craigslist scam" this will be the most common story you hear. It's 100% scam and all you can do is forget about it and move on.
Click to expand...

Mini thread hijack, apologies to OP...

I know yours was several years ago, but today banks should be able to look up an account and verify everything prior to a transaction taking place. If it costs a couple bucks when requested by a customer, fine, that's cheap insurance. But 3 weeks when everything is done electronically now? Unacceptable to be using 1900 timetables when it's 2015. Banks need to get with the times.

/Rant. :focus:
 
Jernik said:
Mini thread hijack, apologies to OP...

I know yours was several years ago, but today banks should be able to look up an account and verify everything prior to a transaction taking place. If it costs a couple bucks when requested by a customer, fine, that's cheap insurance. But 3 weeks when everything is done electronically now? Unacceptable to be using 1900 timetables when it's 2015. Banks need to get with the times.

/Rant. :focus:
Click to expand...

You can actually call to verify funds. I spoke to one of our credit union reps and he said some will verify with check infomation for the amount on the check.

In this case I elected to give the motor away to a forum member who's picking it up today and that way I can get it out of Eric's shop

:fishing:
 
Jernik said:
Mini thread hijack, apologies to OP...

I know yours was several years ago, but today banks should be able to look up an account and verify everything prior to a transaction taking place. If it costs a couple bucks when requested by a customer, fine, that's cheap insurance. But 3 weeks when everything is done electronically now? Unacceptable to be using 1900 timetables when it's 2015. Banks need to get with the times.

/Rant. :focus:
Click to expand...

This was in 2011 so everything is similar to as it is today. It was with Omni American Credit Union in Texas. It was exactly 20 days (i say 3 weeks) and the money was removed from our acct. I feel two weeks is not even acceptable in the digital age, but even today they do not guarantee its safe after any length of time.
 
I've sold a few things on Craigslist and every time they have been really stand up people. I had one situation I thought was going to be shady as he barely spoke english. He shows up in a caged out toy pickup. Thing was awesome. Bought a bull bar for his sons 4runner from me. I've purchased a few things on Craigslist and this the first time having an issue.

Police are not going to be contacted as it is not a crime to send somebody a check.
 
9494runner said:
So boys I'm in a pickle.

Backstory - sold a 3vze on Craigslist and after some banter buyer said she was shipping payment for the motor and that I was to forward money from the check via money gram to the freight co. Well I said no way jose and that she was ENTIRELY responsible for paymemt to the shipping co. Well I recieved a tracking # for the check - 1 day fedex. Guess what shows up.... a certified check for $1,700.... WTF?!??!

I sold the motor for 250 and it only cost me 280 to ship a rebuilt one from NC. So I am not understanding what this 1,200 more is for... honestly I could care less about getting paid for the motor as I want it gone from the shop where it's at..

What do I do..... money gram to shipper, they address and info seems to be to a person and now way I'm getting involved in that...

I have tried to contact her and no response... no # was provided

I told her just pick it up and send me a check for 250... no response again.
Click to expand...



A lot of times, they'll want you to just send them back the difference and by time you find out, you're out the difference, and the money they sent you, plus possibly your merch.
 
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