Craigslist Scammers...

[Specularius]

I have to climb on a soapbox here.

Is there a group that spends the day trying to setup someone selling there stuff on craigslist to scam them? Key words like "for an effective conversation" and "to interrogate you" just screams that you are not truly interested in buying my TC.

What are some good ways to waste their time?

[Wanderin_fool]

Unbelievable! I have a utility trailer for sale and a guy contacted me today. Similar story to when I sold a quad. "just what I need. Im out of town so a friend will bring a check" I called BS and both times no further response. Really? You are trying to scam me on a $2000 trailer!? I just hope Karma gets them.

[Bedlam]

sleepy wrote:
Are there any truck camper stuff on there?

People have bought 19.5 wheels, tie downs, turnbuckles and receivers through CL. I have sold vehicles and RV's through CL as well as many other items. I have also delivered items post payment to the local area (large projection screen television, couch/loveseat combo, dune buggy, ...).

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

Also - when in doubt: a few local police stations in our area have offered to be "Craig's List seller meeting-points". I'm sure most police departments would, if asked.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

TCdude wrote:
I've had amazing experiences using craiglist both selling and buying. In fact my current truck and camper were both purchase from private sellers on CL for a substantial discount compared to buying from an RV lot or Car dealer. My best advice is get the phone number and have a real conversation with the person before meeting. It's very easy to sniff out scammers and degenerates with a short phone conversation.

I agree!! Happy Craig'sLister here. Sold our 5er to the first caller the day after we posted the ad - super-nice people!

If I'm looking to buy something on CL and email is the only option, I'll make my inquiry very "friendly": "Hoping to take my grandkids fishing with this boat" or something like that. The scammers tend to be impersonal....

[sleepy]

Are there any truck camper stuff on there?

[deltabravo]

Wanderin fool wrote:
Meeting somewhere is nice, but Im not hauling furniture to a public place.

Ditto.

Big items (vehicles. trailers, etc) I will have the buyer come to my house.

Small items that I can take somewhere, I will - primarily as a convenience to the buyer, so they don't have to drive as far.

[deltabravo]

I've sold more than I've bought on CL.

My first cargo trailer was a successful sale in 2010.
A motorcycle in 2006.

I sold my Desert Fox toy hauler in 2009 on CL.

Sold my 6x12 cargo trailer last year (I missed it already!!)

I've sold a lot of garage sale type items over the years.

Right now I have about 30 ads on CL.

I've never had a problem, but I play it smart.

I don't put my phone number in the ad or part of the "contact info"
That's mostly because I'm rarely near my landline. I won't ever put my cell phone, because people have this infatuation of trying to contact others via text messaging. I'm an avid text messager, but I won't use my cell phone for CL ads.
I do put an email for the contact info. It's an MSN / hotmail account, which I have set up on my Android phone, so I get notified just as soon as someone emails me, then I will usually answer them back, or call them if they send me there phone number.

I NEVER rely solely on email as the method of arranging a meet-up, whether at my house or a public location. At some point, I expect to talk to the prospective buyer.

[deltabravo]

RichandLiz wrote:
Think smart. Be smart. If it don't feel right, don't do it. Ain't worth the $ either way.

That sums it up right there.

In some cases, buyers set themselves up for failure...
case in point, a local person (Spokane area) had a cell phone she wanted to sell. It wasn't CL she listed it on, but on a Facebook For Sale group.... which is the new up and coming thing to do. So she arranges to meet up with a buyer, and some ridiculously late hour and road the bus from Cheney to Spokane. THAT would raise a red flag right there. NEVER MEET after dark, let alone that late in the evening!!!

She handed the phone to the guy, he took off running.... and she misses the bus to get back home to Cheney.

Story here: http://www.kxly.com/news/spokane-news/beware-when-buying-on-facebook/31370968

And a number of years ago a guy in Washington state listed a diamond ring for sale on CL. A bunch of thugs showed up (3 or 4 of them).... the seller ends up getting shot in his house.

Google "James Sanders Murder".

basic info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_James_Sanders

[Wanderin_fool]

Meeting somewhere is nice, but Im not hauling furniture to a public place.

[Old_Days]

I sell a lot of stuff on CL,you have to know how to read people. First never bring them to your house go to a gas station and stand under the outside camera. Only cash. never post your phone number, ask for the buyers number. Do a search on the number if you have any doubt. Yesterday was a good day to sell $425.00 worth of old fishing stuff.

[RichandLiz]

I've used CL several times for buying and selling. Always cautiously. I use a limited use email account and ask that a phone number be included in the reply. A quick search usually turns up suspicious numbers. Also let suspicious replies go unanswered. Most suspicious emails were when selling a car, but did sell it locally on CL.

I even had a successful experience selling and shipping a set of towing mirrors. This came after several email and phone correspondances. Of course we were both initially hesitant but worked it to where we were both confident. All went well.

Think smart. Be smart. If it don't feel right, don't do it. Ain't worth the $ either way.

[401nailhead]

Part of my part-time activities include buying and selling antiques, and selling some extra season tickets. So I legitimately deal on Craiglist often. This is also one place my wife advertises her estate sales for her own business. We follow a couple rules: always use the encrypted craigslist email addresses, request and offer real email addresses only after some trust with a contact is established, we don't reference our phone numbers or home address, and we completely ignore generic responses that don't reference the items involved, or want some extreme favor. And we do the wise bit about meeting near police or fire stations, when needed.

Lastly, and I don't think this was mentioned: if you ever sense trouble or danger on anything over the internet, reference IC3 and this website:

http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx

Check it out, just for your own awareness. I don't know how backed up they might be, but reference to them is a strong tool. Someone once started harassing me with some messages regarding some concert tickets I was looking to buy. Have no idea why. I sent him the IC3 website, and reminded him that law enforcement officers usually don't take games lightly, but he was welcome to test that if he wished. Last I heard from him. IC3 should be a good reference to provide to any potential scammers in the US, but probably won't work as well on overseas contacts.

[Naio]

sleepy wrote:


I think Naio is feeding some BS

says he Used Craigs List about 100 times... maybe more


That is a lot of buying... or selling... or scaming

I looked at his other posts

What could a person living in a van much of the time do with that much stuff? Unless it's green and folds.

Where is all of this stuff shipped to.... or from.

Wow, paranoia much?

If you had read more closely, you would see that this winter is the first time I've traveled in my mini-RV.

Back at my S&B I am a business owner, which involves some buying and selling. I also give away a lot of stuff on the Free section of CL -- it's great for decluttering, and people will haul the stuff away for you! I even got rid of some ugly bushes at one of my houses and the recipients dug them up. I replaced them with prettier, fruit-bearing ones. Saved me a lot of trouble.

Staying at some friends' place this winter, I helped them clear out their garage by listing stuff on CL, meeting with the buyers, etc.

Oh, and I bought the minivan on CL, and sold my car there. One of my siblings bought a house on CL.

Now, do you feel better?

[sleepy]

Naio wrote:
Dang, people, either you live in areas where CL is full of scum, or you worry far too much.

I've used CL about a hundred times, maybe more, in several parts of the country, and no problems. The very rare scammers are easy to spot, just like anywhere else in life. Most people are honest, nice, and friendly -- also just like anywhere else in life.

The internet is not some special place where only evil people hang out. It's full of the same folks that are here on rv.net.

I think Naio is feeding some BS

says he Used Craigs List about 100 times... maybe more


That is a lot of buying... or selling... or scaming

I looked at his other posts

What could a person living in a van much of the time do with that much stuff? Unless it's green and folds.

Where is all of this stuff shipped to.... or from.