another scam on craigslist

[pete42]

There was another scam on craigslist today suppose to be local but; well, just read their answer to my email.

"Hi again, for additional pictures click here: http://imgur.com/a/4mlN
I was recently promoted and we had to move in Bismark, ND and the camper is here with us and now there are a lot of things that have priority now, so this camper has to go.
Due to the fact that we are very busy with our work and we don't stay too much at home, the camper is already at the shipping company and it will be delivered with "express delivery", free of charge for the buyer.
We would like to use Google Checkout for this transaction. I use it before and it's a good service and very safe from what i can tell. They have buyer & seller protection plan and no hidden fees or other costs.
If you are still interested in buying the camper, I can give you the link to my Google Checkout auction page. It’s a buy it now auction so you won’t have to bid.
Also there will be assistance from Google, if you wanna check out yourself.
Thanks,
Wendy"

2003 Casita $2800 yea right this time I'm not going to have fun with them like last time.
most ads have the local town listed where an item is if they ad just says cityA/cityB and not a specific town like the little guy says "forget about It"

pete

[Verna]

The same was posted on the Indy Craig's List this. Yeah, right.....$2800 for a Casita......

[Maureenm]

Apparently, these same folks are spreading the scam across the country all at the same time. The exact same ad also comes up here in Portland in the nearby towns listing. Yuck!

[Oldragbaggers]

Here's one I came across in the Baltimore Craigslist.

Original posting:

very nice Fleetwood 2007 - $2400 ( )
Date: 2012-09-01, 12:09AM EDT

In the rear of the camper is the second tip out.The bathroom has a shower, stool, and a sink.

Location:
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

PostingID: 3242852331

So I asked them for more information. (of course I already knew it was a scam, no contact info, no location, no picture...)

This was the response:

From: Briana Hogan <[email protected]>
Date: September 11, 2012 8:04:53 AM EDT
To: Becky Williams <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: very nice Fleetwood 2007 - $2400 ( )
Reply-To: [email protected]
Hi,

I want to be honest with you, the camper is in perfect condition and looks
great. It has been well cared for and needs nothing.
I have dropped my price to $1,800 (purchase price) since this is an
Urgent Sale! I need to sell it before 25th September when I will
be deployed to a US Forces Japan ( http://www.usfj.mil ) base for an entire year.
I decided that the financial part will be managed by eBay, which means you will
have a 7 days inspection period before committing to buy the trailer. In
this way both of us will be 100% covered during transaction.
If you're interested to proceed email me your Complete Name and Shipping Address to open a case.
They will contact you to explain the entire procedure.

Hope to hear from you soon,
Sergeant nurse Briana Hogan

More info and pictures of the trailer at: http://camper07fleetwood.shutterfly.com/


So I wrote and asked for the location of the trailer, said I wanted to see it before I paid for it.

This was the reply to that one:

"Please take a few moments and read my email, I know it is long but I will explain all the details about the trailer and the transaction.
At the moment I'm stationed in Bethesda, MD. making final preparations before deploying with the U.S. Convoy.
The camper is at our Military Logistic Department from Fort Belvoir near Bethesda, MD. The Logistic Department will deliver it to your home for free. Since the trailer is in a military base you can not go there and pick it up yourself. Shipping may take between 2 to 4 business days depending on the destination. All needed documents will be provided with the camper .
For the payment I would like to use eBay as a third party. They will keep the money into an safe account until you get the trailer and inspect it. The funds will be released to me only if you decide to buy after inspection period. You can inspect the camper for 7 days before committing to buy to eliminate any concerns. If you decide not to buy eBay will refund you and shipping back will be my concern. I think this is more than fair for both of us.
If you're interested to conclude this way please email me your Full Name and Shipping Address to open a case with eBay. They will contact you to explain the entire procedure. You'll receive important guidelines + instructions from them in the next 24 hours.

Thanks "


I'm not going to post my final response here. It wasn't very polite.

[riverfront]

I have a relative there with special military passes - he can go anywhere. I would be more then happy to contact him so you may tell this person of this so you may inspect before money transaction. My part is true. Is theirs?

[Oldragbaggers]

This post is clearly a scam. First,the email address she uses is suspect. She makes is resemble a USFJ email, but it isn't quite right. The price is highly suspect for such a nice trailer, and the photo link is to pictures from a dealer website. Plus she lists it for sale under the category "rv dealer", and it was listed in about a dozen places that I found. This person is on a fishing expedition. I just hope she hasn't hooked too many.

[CarlLaFong]

And there is no such rank as "Sergent Nurse". Military nurses are officers

[Bigwoods]

Here is one my daughter almost fell for. 2006 Freightliner Sprinter. Car was supposed to be in Tacoma but Carfax said it has sold in No. Carolina in June.


Hi again Amanda,

I have a friend in Tacoma who owns a shipping company and he will deliver the vehicle to buyer's address for me so there will be no shipping cost . Here you have the VIN# : WDRPD644865966952. We can do this transaction through Google Checkout escrow service because I've used them several times in the past as a seller but as a buyer also and all my transactions ended successfully. The payment process will be very simple. It will all be handled by Google Checkout. So mainly you have know that you will have to send a deposit to Google Checkout and they will handle our case and they will hold the funds until you receive and inspect the vehicle. ONLY AFTER you receive the vehicle and you inspect it (for 5 days) they will release the payment to me. The inspection time will begin as soon as you receive the vehicle at your requested address. During all this time Google Checkout will hold the funds into a trust account. So as you can see this is not a blind transaction, you will see and inspect the vehicle before decide to buy it. If for any reason you will not be satisfied with the vehicle, you will only have to notify Google Checkout and to ask for a refund and the vehicle will be shipped back on my expense but I assure you this will not be the case for a refund because you will love the vehicle from the first moment you will see it.

If you accept the price and If you are interested in going ahead with the transaction, I will need your full name and shipping address so I can open a case with Google Checkout and declare you as a possible buyer . As soon as I have your details I will ask Google Checkout to contact you with further information regarding shipping and payment. The shipping will take no more than 2 days.

I have few others interested buyers so please let me know ASAP if you are interested .

Thank you ,

Martin

[Oldragbaggers]

The wording of all these ads is so similar it makes you wonder if it isn't the same person doing them all.
I found numerous threads about the one I posted earlier saying the perpetrator has been posting this over and over for a very long time, all over the country. It gets reported, it gets removed, it gets reposted. They must be successful at least occassionally or they probably wouldn't keep at it.

[ssrjim]

So I shouldn't expect the car hauler any time soon?

[Kathy53]

Here is another scam not a trailer but an RV.

(Western Kentucky)

http://westky.craigslist.org/rvd/3264976375.html

Central Louisianna

http://cenla.craigslist.org/rvd/3267436790.html

[GerryS]

Based on the numbers of scams I've seen on Craigslist I am convinced Craigslist IS a scam. I think when it first started it was a good idea, but the crime moved in as soon as they realized the are no police....as long as you have an email address it's the new frontier...

To paraphrase a tv/movie...."no law, no law at all, in deadwood"

[GPW]

I’ve used Craig’s List successfully a number of times , but only locally , where I could go and inspect the goods First ... No personal inspection , No deal !!!

Scams all over the place these days .... BEWARE !!!

[Oldragbaggers]

I'm with GPW. I have bought several things off of Craigslist including my trailer frame and some nice Coleman. But I have to go and see the item and it's a cash transaction. I'm not giving anyone any of my personal information (I have read that a lot of these transactions where they want your personal information so they can open an "excrow account" though google pay or eBay or Paypal are actually identity theft scams) and I am not paying for anything until I am in physical possession of it. There's no other way I would even consider buying anything through Craigslist.

[pete42]

my 4 wheeled mobility scooter is having some problems so instead of not having a scooter
I checked craigslist and found not only a scooter but a lift as well both for $400
like Glen says inspect before buying I'm happy seller was happy
he ask $500 I offered $350 he said $400 I paid $400 both happy.

pete