FRED PEARLMAN CHARLOTTE, Fred from Craigslist Fred (craigslist alias) FRED PEARLMAN CHARLOTTE (email name) Chad Ruhl (name associated w/ phone #) Keith Taylor (check signer) Craigslist Scam - Bounced Cashier Check Mill Valley California

First, a huge thank you to Jessica for reporting on here about Fred from Craigslist. You saved me a lot of headache. I live in Philadelphia. This was my first ever for sale item on craigslist. I was selling a computer for $500 and Fred emailed me and said he would mail a cashiers check and throw in an extra $50 if I took the post down immediately. He said he could arrange to have his friends pick up the computer for him but would mail the check. I agreed and waited for the check. In that time he texted me that he would send the tracking number and eventually did. The check came. It was a cashiers check for $1,950! I’m kicking myself for not taking a picture of it but it was signed Keith Taylor. It came in a usps envelope with the return address from: Investor Relations Department, ICAHN ENT, 767 Fifth Avenue, 47th Floor, New York, NY 10153-3729. (address probably not related at all to Fred). It was the end of the work day and the bank was about to close so in a confused blindness,

I rushed off to the bank to deposit the check and confirmed with "Fred” that I received the check but didn’t mention the excess amount. The amount of money over what I asked is what tipped me off that it was probably a scam. Also the New York return address, his friends in Philly, and a California area code didn’t help him either. Way too many red flags. I’m from Philly.. we’re suspicious of everyone. The age old saying goes: "if seems it’s too good to be true, it probably is.” It’s d**n near impossible to accidentally get a cashiers check for the wrong amount. I googled the cell phone number to see where his area code was from and wa-la.. Jessica’s ripoff report came up. Also a name associated with the phone number came up:

Chad Ruhl from Mill Valley, California. I considered setting him up to have his friends meet me for the computer and then confront them (and beat them up lol jk.. kind of). Instead I sent my new buddy "Fred” a link to her report and told him he would have to wait atleast a week so that I could be sure the check wouldn’t bounce. He argued that it wasn’t him and that he was willing to wait to prove it. The following day he started texting me about if the check cleared or not. (I literally googled about cashiers checks and they can still bounce up to 2 weeks after the check "clearing” or posting onto your bank account.) I told him he would be waiting until I could confirm with my bank that it would not bounce. I deposited it Thursday the 26th. It bounced Monday the 30th. I told Fred it bounced and he said no, he cancelled it. Either way, the money is gone but I still have my computer. Thanks again Jessica!!