Nia Harris / Wwshoopers@yahoo.com Craigslist Scam! Tried to rip me off using a bad check after delivery of product. Internet

After posting my boat for sale on Craigslist.com I received the following suspicious emails from a supposed potential buyer. The first email seemed fine, though very vague, and on retrospect was obviously an attempt to play on my sympathies as well as avoid direct contact (hence the speech impaired claim). The second email was a response to my reply to the first email and was just as vague; never mentioning the boat specifically. It also seemed too good to be true as this potential buyer was willing to buy my boat sight-unseen and have a delivery person pick it up.

The catch, and what really got me thinking, was that they were planning on paying with a check. I did some homework and found that this exact thing had happened before and, had I gone along with this, the scenario would have played out like this:

Upon agreeing to the terms and emailing this person my address they would have promptly sent a check for the full amount. They would have arranged to have someone pick up the boat shortly thereafter. The check would have cleared the bank at first and I would have happily let the boat go to the delivery driver. Some weeks after all of this I would receive a phone call from the bank stating that the check I tried to cash was a fake and that I was responsible for returning the money. Meanwhile, the new buyer is long gone with my boat in tow.

To avoid getting scammed I replied to the second email very politely asking that payment be in cash or through a PayPal account. I have not heard from this person since. Below are the two emails from this person. Notice that they never mention specifically the item up for sale. Also notice that the grammar in the emails suggests that English is not their first language.

Copy of first email:

Friday, June 19, 2009 10:34 AM
From:
"Nia Harris"
** CRAIGSLIST ADVISORY --- AVOID SCAMS BY DEALING LOCALLY
** Avoid: wiring money, cross-border deals, work-at-home
** Beware: cashier checks, money orders, escrow, shipping
** More Info: http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams.html
Hey is this still up for sale? What's the condition like? And when can I come check it out? I'm located in Maryland but I'll be coming to your town soon, Hopefully it's still available. Love to hear from you soon on it..
Here is my phone number (443) 563-1420 I'm speech disabled though, but you can always leave me a message with your name and email address or send me an email, I will respond to that right away. Thanks.

Nia


Copy of second email:

Sunday, June 21, 2009 12:24 PM
From:
"Nia Harris"
Hi there, thanks for writing back. Sorry I won't be able to come see it anymore. I was gonna be dropping in your town in the next 2 days but my business appointment there has been postponed to last Friday in September. I'm still very much interested in buying this, I need it for my cousin as a gift for her birthday. Can it still be sold to me? I will mail you a bank official check for the quoted price, any repairs will be on me, bearing the consequences of not seeing before buying and also add funds to cover the shipping to where it will be needed. I will prearrange a private shipper to handle the delivery so it doesn't stress you.

I'll be very delighted if I can buy this. Let me know if this is something you can work with and you can email me back with your name, address and a phone number for the check. Thanks.


Nia

Mako44
Jacksonville, Florida
U.S.A.