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#1
02-24-2017, 10:44 PM
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Craigslist buyer offering cashier's check: Scam?
I'm selling a nice vintage De Bernardi frame in the Classifieds forum here, and also posted it on the local Craigslist. Received an email shortly after posting the ad from someone inquiring if it was still available. When I replied yes, they sent me the following message:
"The payment method i will adopt will be Cashier check and i hope thats fine by you. When cleared, I will have it picked up.. All i need to get the payment sent out is Name, Address and phone number so i can send it out soon enough..." Does this look legit? Sounds fishy to me. I know there are various scammers that follow Craigslist ads, and it seems like I've heard to refuse cashier's checks. 
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#7
02-24-2017, 11:45 PM
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For something that's "only" $350 tell them that you'll gladly sell them the frame, but will accept only cash, and will do the transaction in the parking lot of the local XYZ. (choose a site nearby that's very busy)
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#9
02-24-2017, 11:53 PM
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Scam
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#10
02-24-2017, 11:53 PM
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One approach for you if the buyer insists is to go with them to the bank while they buy the cashier's check, then have the bank cash out the check right there.
Sometimes, like with PayPal's Invoice option, the buyer wants a record that money was paid for an item. However, this is typically more common with used cars than bike frames. Yes, this is likely a scam. But you can call the bluff if you wish.
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#12
02-25-2017, 01:51 AM
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What possibly follows
I was the target of an attempted scam on Craigslist several years while selling a $1400 item. Reading this, I was trying to determine how the scammer benefits from sending you a cashier's check and him not receiving merchandise until it is cleared. Based on my experience with my scammer, I think what you are seeing is the earliest stage of the scam.
The biggest tip off in what you have so far is that he will have the frame picked up. Note that he does not intend to come himself. Scams often say they are using an agent to pick up the item while the scammer deals with you for the payment. What I expect to see next is that if you send him your information, he will tell you that he is sending you a cashiers check for more than your asking price. He'll tell you that the check includes the pickup agent's fee, ask you to wire the extra amount to him, and then you keep the amount of the check. For example, instead of check for $350, he'll say that he has sent you a check for $500 and ask you to wire him $150 to cover the pickup agent's fee. Then you get to keep the $500, thus clearing your asking price of $350. Of course what he is after is for you to wire him $150. The rest is all fake. He isn't telling you the full process now because he wants to reel you into the process step by step. If he lays it all out now, he's less likely to keep you on the hook. I wouldn't send him any additional information at all, because he will continue to try and hook you and even threaten legal action over you scamming him; all in an attempt to get you to wire him the money to make it all go away. Here is what happened in my case: 1. Craigslist ad for $1400 item (my wife's old weaving loom). 2. Response saying she wants to buy, is out of town, and will have it picked up through her personal pickup agent. Is Paypal OK? If so, please send email address for Paypal payment. 3. Not seeing any threat in giving someone my email address, I send it. 4. Response telling me that she has placed $2200 in a "hold" status to my Paypal account. Tells me to please wire $800 to cover the pickup agent's fee. Once they have received the $800, they will release the $2200 from the Paypal "hold" status into my account and pick it up. 5. Me: !?!? Called Paypal security to ask if there was any such thing as a "hold" and if they saw any suspicious activity in my account. Paypal said: "Oh my gosh....no....no such thing. Please send us all contact information with this person and watch your account carefully." 6. I did not respond further to the "buyer" 7. I continued to receive emails from the "buyer" asking when I would send the money. When they heard nothing further from me, their messages became pretty hostile with threats of arrest, lawsuits, and accusations that I was scamming them. 8. I finally answered them and told them that I knew their deal. 9. No further contact as they knew that they had lost this particular fish. I'm sure they had other fish on other lines to tend to. So, anyway. I don't see any reason in your case why a cashier's check would be a necessary part of the transaction. It is generally the recipient of payment that demands a cashier's check, not the payer. Again, I think if you continue contact, the scam will gradually unfold leading to them asking you to wire them money. Last edited by bikemoore; 02-25-2017 at 01:57 AM.
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#14
02-25-2017, 06:21 AM
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Quote:
__________________
Chisholm's Custom Wheels Qui Si Parla Campagnolo
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#15
02-25-2017, 06:27 AM
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"The payment method i will adopt will be Cashier check and i hope thats fine by you. When cleared, I will have it picked up.. All i need to get the payment sent out is Name, Address and phone number so i can send it out soon enough..."
Don't tell them a thing,that has scam written all over it.
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