OT: selling cars scam on craigslist,anything going on?

[cmg]

so i'm looking for a car on craigslist and i come across 2 too-good to true deals. i send a text message and they both tell me their at work, one was sunday night, but the body of the response was worded exactlly the same except for the name of the seller and car make and model. Both sellers are women. the flags are up. any scams involving phishing for my e-mail address info.? is this an identiy theft scam? how does it work?

[AngryScientist]

i had the same experience when i was looking for a Jeep last year. seemed the scams outnumbered the legit listings. it's easy to tell they are scams after the first communication, but it turns into a very real waste of time when you are car shopping.

i dont know exactly what the hook is, but i suspect when you are ready to close the deal, you will be asked to wire money into the persons agents account, blah blah blah...

[cmg]

both didn't have an address listed in the map, both were women, both cars were 2 grand below where they should be. yea, not responding. sent them my mobile number but no discussion, just hi i'm at work selling 2006 with 75K miles for $2k send me your email and i'll forward pics. suspicious, i wonder if someone can buy a Ferrari with my bad credit.....

[eddief]

an amazing amount of bad juju at that place. cover your butt.

[jlyon]

Most I have seen will then say they are out of the area.

Before they ask for money I usually say good my brother lives there (Where ever they say they are) and I will have him come look at the car.

Then I never get another response to ever get to see the car.

[rzthomas]

Generally, if it's too good to be true...

[dave thompson]

Very often craigslist scammers will have a quite prominent e-mail address or text number displayed in the body copy of the ad and nothing in the reply button so you can't reply to them through craigslist. This is a red flag for me.

[staggerwing]

My scam radar is ON while cruising Craigslist. However, just last year I purchased a S2000 from a couple 265miles away, that was almost too good to be true.

Popped up on a random search on a Sunday evening, and was mine 5 days later; 2006, garaged under an additional car cover, 25k miles, driven carefully by a middle aged lady. The gentleman was a bit fanatical, even replacing the old battery with a genuine 'Honda' labeled part. Drove a 1-way rental from Cincinnati to Memphis, where the son of the owner came over to pick me up. Very pleasant experience.

Keep looking. There are honest sellers and decent buys to be found. Of course, the best deals show up in times of least need, and visa versa. Might consider casting your net a little wider too.

[oldpotatoe]

so i'm looking for a car on craigslist and i come across 2 too-good to true deals. i send a text message and they both tell me their at work, one was sunday night, but the body of the response was worded exactlly the same except for the name of the seller and car make and model. Both sellers are women. the flags are up. any scams involving phishing for my e-mail address info.? is this an identiy theft scam? how does it work?

If you can't deal face to face with a FS on Craig's list I would stay away...and cash and original title....all in person.

[Mikej]

If you go to look at a car and there are 3 dudes waiting in a dark garage...Its a scam....

[Jgrooms]

Too good to be true is always first warning. Texting a couple pics shouldn't be an issue.

I'd have a phone conversation before any F2F & suggest meet 1/2 way at a public space of your choosing.

If that's an issue, move on.

[Ken Robb]

I am particularly amused by the ads for cars/motorcycles stating "test rides/drives only if I have your cash in my hand". Who is going to meet a stranger with thousands of dollars in cash just to see if he wants to buy something? OK, maybe your stupid brother-in-law but who else?

[FlashUNC]

Just don't get murdered.

[tiretrax]

Ask to meet at a bank. Most have off duty cops inside. I'd ask the cop to keep a lookout. If you're looking for a used car, dealers are getting flooded now as the model year ends - new cars coming in, need to clear out current year, and trades. Also, it's still the height of summer and people on vacation. I got a whopping deal from at a new car dealership, so don't give up on them (I also got them to do some after-sale repairs even though I took it as-is).

[Louis]

Ask to meet at a bank. Most have off duty cops inside. I'd ask the cop to keep a lookout.

Around here some of the police precincts offer a "meet your CL person in our parking lot" service.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/after-craigslist-killings-police-offer-stations-as-safe-havens/article_78d9c502-3c0a-5c36-a510-9ba04bf97b43.html