OT: Alertpay?

[92degrees]

I'm selling something through craigslist and received this today:

Hello thanks for your reply, I will be needing this item for my son for his wedding before the ending of the month,therefore i will be needing it as soon as possible.he is located at florida and I am ok with the specs and will like to make an immediate payment,i will be paying you through AlertPay dispatch payment which is very clear,easy and safe method of an online payment,the money will be delivered to you at your doorstep in cash immediately the payment is made and and shiping which would be confirmed by alertpay, reciept of confirmation would be sent to you via mail by the AlertPay,therefore you dont need to signup before getting paid.I will be offering you $XXXX plus shiping for the item to hasten the transaction and also get the posting off craiglist.I will be needing your full name and address and also your phone number to make the payment on your personal information as the recipient.Do mail me back with payment information if you accept my offer.Thank you and Best Regards.

Is this legit? I've never heard of anything like alertpay?

Thanks.

[William]

I'm selling something through craigslist and received this today:

Hello thanks for your reply, I will be needing this item for my son for his wedding before the ending of the month,therefore i will be needing it as soon as possible.he is located at florida and I am ok with the specs and will like to make an immediate payment,i will be paying you through AlertPay dispatch payment which is very clear,easy and safe method of an online payment,the money will be delivered to you at your doorstep in cash immediately the payment is made and and shiping which would be confirmed by alertpay, reciept of confirmation would be sent to you via mail by the AlertPay,therefore you dont need to signup before getting paid.I will be offering you $XXXX plus shiping for the item to hasten the transaction and also get the posting off craiglist.I will be needing your full name and address and also your phone number to make the payment on your personal information as the recipient.Do mail me back with payment information if you accept my offer.Thank you and Best Regards.

Is this legit? I've never heard of anything like alertpay?

Thanks.


Smells fishey. Sounds like a scam I've read about before. I say beware.




William

[stevep]

reeks of scam

[William]

Craigslist is a great resource for selling things, finding apartments, locating services and meeting people. Most of the time transactions go smoothly and both seller and buyer are satisfied with the Craigslist experience. Danger awaits the unwary buyer or seller on Craigslist. Most these scams follow the same pattern you see on eBay and other online auction sites. Try posting that you have a piece of jewelry or some other easily-mailed valuable item for sale and the first response you get will probably be someone trying scam or trick you out of your money.


Nigerian Scams are just the beginning




Emails from Nigeria offering you more than your selling price if you accept their check or money order are typical. The fact that this is a scam may seem obvious but there are lots of variations on this theme that fool people every day. Don't add your name to the growing list of Craigslist fraud victims. Be smart, be aware and if in doubt ask your friends or someone with internet savvy what they think if things sound fishy. This page details a few common Craigslist scam but no list is ever complete because new versions of old scams appear all the time. Once you know the common themes these criminals use you can usually spot them a mile away and they become little more than a subject of amusement.

To help avoid these scams Craigslist suggests that you keep all transactions local and don't do business with people that live beyond your local area. You are also urged to use caution and common sense as you should with all online financial transactions. I once received an offer for a purchase where the person said they lived in California but requested that I email the item to somewhere in Oregon. Now what's wrong with this picture? Offering more than what you asked for is another odd piece of behavior. Who would make such an offer? Poor grammar and misspelled words are other clues. In the offer I mentioned earlier both Oregon and California were misspelled and English was obviously not their native language. It seems easy enough to spot these doesn't it? Yet why do so many people fall for these Craigslist scams?


Craigslist provides the following advice to anyone using their service:
Trust your instincts
Deal only with local buyers and sellers
NEVER wire funds to a distant buyer, via Western Union or any other carrier
Be wary if the other party wants to use an escrow service such as BidPay, Squaretrade, or even PayPal
NEVER give out personal financial information (eBay or PayPal info, checking account number, SSN, etc.)
always remember the most important rule -- BUYER BEWARE

This advice applies to online services other than Craigslist. There are three patterns that most Craigslist scams follow:
The buyer or seller lives beyond your local area
The buyer or seller offers to complete the transaction with a cashier's check, U.S. Postal Service money order, Western Union, or escrow service (BidPay, Squaretrade, etc.)
Offers to meet face-to-face to complete transactions are refused

If you happen to see an item posted for sale on Craigslist that you think may be part of a scam you should send an email to "abuse@craigslist.org" and give them as much detail as you can about the listing. Make sure you include URL (or 8 digit post ID number) in your email.

1. Know the Scam
Be suspicious of any emails or letters that:

Come from a buyer claiming to be located far away, usually in a foreign country or out of state, who is interested in your goods sight unseen and tries to work through a third party, such as a secretary or associate.


The email conveys a sense of urgency for you to wire the money, but there are no questions about picking up the item for sale. "These people never really attempt to get the merchandise," says Grant. "They never really make any shipping arrangements. They're not interested in getting the goods — they're interested in getting the money."


You are sent more money than you're owed. "If someone is paying you and as part of the deal they want you to wire money somewhere, it's a scam," says Grant.

Variations of the check-fraud scam include a lottery or sweepstakes notice ("you are the winner of a cash prize, but in order to receive your winnings, you must pay a fee to cover taxes" and the like) and work-at-home offers (you have to process checks for clients, basically cashing checks you receive and keeping your share).

[92degrees]

Understood. I'm the seller, though? He's sending me the money. I can't get a bead on how alertpay works...exactly when do I ship the item...when the money arrives? The guy is in-state. I think I'll suggest meeting in the middle but that kinda scares me sometimes too.

[Sandy]

I would tell him (or her) to have his son postpone the wedding for a month. Then you could get your money through more normal methods and the son would be more sure the match was made in heaven. :rolleyes:

I did a quick google of AlertPay and it does appear that such a company exists. Money can be sent through AlertPay but the method of receiving it is NOT described as given by the initial post.

No transaction yet and he or she wants your name, address, and phone number. I would not do it. I agree with the others. Leave it alone.


Sandy

[39cross]

Is this legit? I've never heard of anything like alertpay?
Thanks.Alert...SCAM! If the guy really wants it you can make other arrangements, otherwise forget it...IMHO.

[92degrees]

Yeah, I agree guys...I sell lots of stuff and have dealt with some funky arrangements but I can't wrap my head around this one yet. I'm waiting for a call from him :rolleyes:

[dwightskin]

AlertPay is an alternative to Paypal.

https://www.alertpay.com/info/SendMoney.aspx

But it doesn't offer anything resembling what that buyer says. It's just like paypal in that it transfers between AlertPay accounts. Nothing about " your doorstep in cash immediately the payment "

Do not continue to communicate with that buyer.

[Sandy]

Yeah, I agree guys...I sell lots of stuff and have dealt with some funky arrangements but I can't wrap my head around this one yet. I'm waiting for a call from him :rolleyes:

Maybe he is going to invite you to the wedding...and ask you to pay for it before the ceremony..... :) :)


Sandy

[jth3rd]

scam :no:
my friend was selling rings and had this offer made so it is a scam

from dr. louis pen

louispen2009@hotmail.com

Hello thanks for your reply,
I will be needing this item for my son for his wedding
before the ending of the month,therefore i will be needing it as soon as possible.he is located at Ohio and I am ok with the specs and will like to make an immediate payment,i will be paying you through AlertPay dispatch payment which is very clear,easy and safe method of an online payment,the money will be delivered to you at your doorstep in cash immediately the payment is made and and shiping which would handle with my shiping account has been confirmed by alertpay, reciept of confirmation would be sent to you via mail by the AlertPay,therefore you dont need to signup before getting paid.I will be offering you $3100 for the item to hasten the transaction and also get the posting off craiglist.I will be needing your full name and address and also your phone number to make the payment on your personal information as the recipient.Do mail me back with payment information if you accept my offer.Thank you and Best Regards.

[PCR]

Hold onto your wallet, back away. This is a scam.

[giordana93]

RED FLAG!

even "money orders" aren't always what they seem: you send the item, cash the MO, it's fraud, you got no merchandise, you are a screwed seller. Ebay obvously wants you to use their paypal, but read through the scam articles on their site and be aware of the many forms scams can take. Unreal. I would not touch this with a 10 foot pole and surgical gloves.. (sorry it's late, can't be more creative)
cheers,
mr

[dave thompson]

AlertPay is a Canadian based company similar to PayPal.

The wording in the e-mail is a "good-language" duplicate of many scam e-mails that I have received when I've offered goods on the internet. Too many red flags in the message to you. Stay away!

[rwsaunders]

I received this response recently on CL.

Good afternoon,

Are the components still available? They're exactly what I'm looking
for. Where can they be picked up? Thanks much!

Needless to say, I did not respond.

[92degrees]

Thanks guys, this buyer went by the wayside as soon as I insisted on a phone conversation. sR