I’m selling my mountain bike via the Austin Craig’s List. It’s my first foray onto the online, city-wide garage sell. I’m asking $480 for an excellent-condition bike that I purchased new several years back for about $1300.
I received an email yesterday from somebody who said they were interested, and if I still had it. I responded that I did, and he could come by and look at it anytime.
I just got the following email back from him — and for some reason, I get the feeling that there is a scam involved…
Thanks for your reply concerning my inquiry,will you accept money order as a mode of payment?I will be offering you $70 extra to hold the item for me for a week, Please provide your full name,Address and your Phone number so that i can forward it to my P.R.O to make payment to you.To expediate [sic] this transaction,I have concluded arrangement with a moving company.They would be responsible for the packing and picking up of the item.This will make me to be sending you extra fund because the moving company need their payment before embarking on any transaction of picking up item.
I have included their fee in the payment you will be recieving,the amount covers for all logistic needed to pick up the item from you. When you recieve [sic] the money order, get it cashed and deduct the cost of your item and the $70 i offered you for holding it for me, then you will send the balance to the moving company via money gram transfer before pickup can be effected. Let me know if this is ok by you,because i want this transaction to be as smooth as possible. Get back to me so that i will know the status of things.I want you to take the posting off craigslist today.
His language makes me think he’s not local. European would be my guess. Not sure why he’s. Having to send him my full address and phone number is a red flag, as is me having to “money gram transfer” money to some vague moving company. Even if his money order clears.
Does this smell “scammy” to you, or am I just being paranoid?
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No way would I trust this person.
I got a quick response from these guy also Rev George Matthew…It seem kinda of strange so I googled his name….thanks for the heads up!
Be careful I got the same thing.
here is some of his emails that it was sent to me.
1st email
Hello,
Thanks for the prompt response to my inquiry, I am interested buying it and would want to make an immediate purchase . I will like you to withdraw the advert from craigslist i don’t mind adding an extra $20 for you to take the advert down, so that i can be rest assured that am in hand of the item.I don’t have time to come take a look. I will be paying via cashier’s check,and it will be over night payment .You don’t need to bother your self with the shipment ok,i will take care of that.So i will need you to provide me with the following information to facilitate the mailing of the check.
1.Your full name
2.Your mailing address be it residential or postal address
3.Your phone number.
i will have my mover come over as soon as you have the check
Have a great day .
2nd emial
Hello,
This is to notify you that your payment has been issued out ,but there was a slight error i guess we can handle with care which do occur, instead of the actual amount for the item,my secretary made out the check for $2100 she claim that was what i requested but she didn’t get that straight.
So once you have the check, cash it and deduct the money for your goods plus $20 for taking down the advert.
The excess fund should please be sent to my mover via Western Union Money Transfer,this fund will be use in offsetting the cost of the shipment he as undertaken for me recently.
My movers information to send the excess funds will be provided as soon as you have the payment cashed.
Thanks for understanding
I BELIEVE I CAN TRUST YOU IN TAKING CARE OF THIS.
THIS is his email.
Robinson Karl” <[email protected]
I got this scam email (BEWARE):
From: micho folly
Sent: Saturday, 22 August, 2009 3:02:18 PM
Subject: Re: Sleeper Sofa/Hide-A-Bed, Good Condition – $175 OBO – $175 (Scottsdale – Frank Lloyd, 92nd St.)
Hello,
I’m very glad that the item is still available, thanks for the
prompt response and i will love to make an instant purchase, so please
and please do withdraw the posting from Craigslist, i dont mind adding
an extra $50.00 for you to take the posting down from craigslist so
that i can be rest assured that am in hand of the item. I will also
like you to know that i will be paying via check,and it will be over
night payment due to the distance. You dont need to bother yourself
with the shipment ok, i will do take care of that. So i will need you
to provide me with the following information to facilitate the mailing
of the check.
1. Your full name
2. Your mailing address be it residential address
3. Your Phone Number.
Once again, I will like you to know that you will not be responsible
for shipping…i will have my mover come over as soon as you have
cashed the check. Thanks
Hello Jennifer,
Thanks for getting back to me and sincerity, You are to deduct the cost of item bought, $50 for removed the item from CL and another $50 for your transport fare. And have the excess funds wired to my mover because this funds will be use in offsetting the cost of the shipment he as undertaken for me recently and presently. I need my stuff picked up soon and the only thing delaying my mover for the pick up is the funds with you. Please try as much as you can and have the funds wired to my mover today via Moneygram money transfer outlet. You are to deduct the transfer fees from the excess funds you are sending.
Here is the mover’s information to send the money to via MONEYGRAM MONEY TRANSFER;
Name: REGINALD TOWNSEND
Address: 107 S Main Str,
City: Signal Hill
State: CA
Zip Code: 90755
That is all you needed to wire the overage funds to my mover via Moneygram. Do email me the details of the moneygram money transfer once you have the funds wired to her and do let me know when best for my mover to come over for the pick up.
Regard,
Micho
Jnnifer, Micho is a scammer. Send no money to Reginold or this Karen Castigan. She is no shipper. She has people asking them to send her money. This is how she makes her living.
Jennifer do not send any money to any body. They are scamming you. It is not clear how much money he is asking you to dsend. He is just saying deduct 100 dollars and send the balance to his Shipper. Why can’t he send the money to his shipper himself. This Karen Castigan is also a shipper for a woman living in WASHINGTON STATE.
BEWARE. YOU WILL BE SORRY
Good morning Jennifer,
Thanks for the honesty and trust you put through this transaction, I just received a call from Mrs Reginald that she would not be available for the pickup anymore her first son had an accident so i had to quickly arrange with my other mover Mrs Karen in MA. So you are to have the excess funds to her details below:
Name: Karen Costigan
City : East springfield,
State: Massachusetts
Zip: 01104
Get back to me as soon as you have it done this morning.
Thanks and God Bless,
Micho
whatever dude you are full of shit and all you are doing is wasting people’s time. you are a low life sack of shit and you need two things. A REAL JOB and you need to Freakin GET A LIFE.
Do not wire any funds to this Karen Castigan. She is a fraud. I was asked to wire $2000 to her so she can can deliver 20 lap tops to me in NYC. My advice to you is not to send any monney to any body especially if they want to get paid by Western Union.
You should not have given him your name. You should have asked him to wire the money via Westen Union. You should have an alias for such purpose. Like my alias is Faki. When you ask a purpose to wire you your money under your alias you have to give a city and state and the country to which the funds are to be wired and also have to spefify a test Question and an answer to it. Like I used to udse the Question Leader of Thieves, Answer Ali Baba. Actually Ali Baba was not a leader of the thieves. He really stole from the thieves. I simply used the Question. Your question could be name of the flower, Answer Rose or sunflower etc. But now that he has your bame and you have his check do not give him any money or deliver the car until the check clears. Since you set up the asking price it should not matter to him whether your your ad stayed or not. I am worried that he is asking you to remove the ad and giving you an Extra $29. Actually he gave you more than he was supposed to give. This is a common Excuse. He sends you an extra amount and wants you to send the extra back.That is a scam
WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT TRUST MICHO FOLLY OR GIVE HIM ANY OF YOUR INFORMATION!! HE WILL SEND YOU A FRAUD CHECK AND EXPECT YOU TO WIRE HIM MONEY AND WHAT WILL HAPPEN THEN IS Y0U WILL BE STUCK OWING THE BANK A LOT OF MONEY. THIS GUY IS A LOW LIFE LOSER WHO HAS NOTHING BETTER TO DO THAN TO SCAM INNOCENT PEOPLE ON THE INTERNET. WOW HIS LIFE MUST REALLY SUCK! HE ACTED LIKE HE WANTED TO MAKE AN INSTANT PURCHASE OF MY WATER BED AND THEN HE TOLD ME TO TAKE ANOTHER 100 DOLLARS OUT OF THE AMOUNT THAT HE SENT AND THEN HE WANTED ME TO WIRE THE REST TO HIS MOVER VIA WESTERN UNION. DON’T DO THIS BECAUSE IF YOU DO THEN HE WINS. LETS ALL STOP THIS SCUM BAG FROM MESSING WITH ANYONE ELSE. TELL EVERYONE THAT YOU KNOW TO WATCH OUT FOR HIM.
AND YES, THAT’S ANOTHER THING, THE DUDE CAN’T EVEN SPEAK ENGLISH OR TYPE PROPER GRAMMER SO YOU KNOW HE ISN’T RIGHT IN THE HEAD TO BEGIN WITH.
I kindly disagree when you say that someone who is unable to write proper english is not right in the head. I am German, live in Canada and my english is not the very best but that doesnt make me an idiot. This just by the way, the scammer contacted me too, to buy a car and I just put his name into google and this blog is what I found. All the best Jens
i just got an email from this guy-wants to buy my dirtbike, over $2000 using paypal – am wondering about a scam too – googled his email addy and got this…..not feeling okay about it!!
Be Careful!
I just got a similar one. This guy can only pay by paypal and offered more than the asking price.
He thinks that the seller is a fool. He wants to pay the seller not only cost of goods but also shipment cost but wants to use his own shipping company and wants the seller to send him the real shipping cost. Obviously he takes the seller to be a fool. The seller should ask the buy to send him only cost of Goods. No extra money. Just the cost of Goods. He should also tell the buyer to pay the cost of shipment to the shipping company and not to seller.
Financial transactions and incorrect grammar are a bad combination.
Thiss guy gave me an over payment emailing me that he is worried about his money and the movers want to pick up my item. I have bank fees like crazy. I reported him. he is a scam artist
Vinny, Vinny, Of course you’ll not only have bank fees for fake checks they will close your account. I hope you learnt some thing. Never agree to their using their own shipper. Use your own shipper. Tell them that you can’t ship unless they give true address. Also they should pay the cost to you not by check but by Western Union wiring. They can use Money gram to Wire to you. That way if they pay more than the asking price you can return the excess back. But You should only use a check to rturn the excess. Not Western Union or Paypal.
I agree. Something just don’t smell right here.
It’s a scam. There is no way that the person is going to give you cash for your bike, you’re going to be offered a bogus money order or check, or payment via a know scam conduit like moneybrokers.
i sometimes oversimplify, even to a fault…but instead of trying to decipher all this shit. send him an email requesting his phone # and if you can get him on the horn, tell him to come buy with CASH or fuck off!
YEAH I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT THIS WAS A SCAM BECAUSE I TOLD HIM SEVERAL TIMES TO CONTACT ME VIA MY CELL PHONE AND HE WOULD NOT DO IT. FOR FUTURE REFERENCE I WILL ONLY DEAL WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE LOCAL AND PEOPLE WHO BRING CASH. NO CHECKS MONEY ORDERS WILL BE EXCEPTED.
My rule of thumb for craig’s list is: in person, cash only, or no deal.
In person can be really scary too though. I always bring someone along and leave a copy of the person’s address/phone at my house. You never know!!
It’s a common scam. The MO is bogus, but you don’t find out until your bank where you deposited it cancels the deposit. Of course, by then they will have already picked up the merchandise, or had you send it to them at your expense. (“Hey, I have included in the MO some extra money for shipping. Could you go ahead and ship it for me at your expense? Don’t worry, you’ll get it back when you cash the MO.”) I’ve read of some really big ripoffs using this scam!
Robbie…might be interesting if you contacted the police and see what they had to say about this. They might want to set up a sting operation.
I just got the same exact email concerning a box spring and frame I’m selling. I looked up the email and found this.
Sounded like way too much trouble to me for a simple box spring and frame
This is a total scam. I have dealt with a couple of these scammers and they always pull the same thing regarding not being able to pick it up but their secretary will overnight a check and have there shipper/mover pick it up. Then they write back and say a mistake occurred and they mailed a check for 10x the amount of the sale. Here is a copy of the actual email I received:
“Am sorry it took a while for me to get back to you but on
getting the requested information on where and whom to mail the check to,I immediately forwarded that to my accounting officer at the Bank, and the payment will certainly be delivered tomorrow but there is a miss interpretation on the check.
It was claimed that i requested that a check of $3500
be sent to you but i know quite well i only made a request for
just $250 to cover the cost of the Bello AVS-2752HG TV stand.It was
a terrible mistake and i was only informed about this some few minutes ago.
I have been advice by my account officer that when you do finally
receive the check,you should have it deposited at once at your Bank and deduct the money for your good with an extra $100 as a gift from me to offset the cost of your run around while on this.
The rest of the fund should be wired to my mover via ‘Western Union’
as this will be use to offset the cost of the shipment he as
undertaken on my behalf during my move,he will be needing the funds to make it over to your place for the pick up so kindly let me know if i can trust you to handle this with care i will be waiting for a
writing confirmation from you,regards.
Thanks and God Bless
Rev.George Matthew”
Apparently the Rev. George Matthew is a known scammer, google his name.
I just googled this guy and found this site. I haven’t made a transaction with him yet because I thought it sounded fishy. First of all, I’ve never heard of a pastor with an Account Officer (I should know, I used to be a pastor’s wife). If he were to have an Account Officer, he would be part of a large church but I cannot find a church with a pastor of that name.
Here’s the message I received:
Thanks for the prompt response i have instructed my account officer to mailing (overnight) a certified check,while you hold on my behalf. Once you receive this, my mover will come pick up at your place.I will be needing the following information to issue out
the payment . . .
1.Your full name
2.Your mailing address(Physical)
3.Your phone number.
** Please note that the payment will be overnight to your address and it will be delivered within 2 days.I have taken a close look at the AD and am satisfied.I appreciate you saving this for me.Kindly delete the posting as am definitely buying it from you and it would be sad for me to have the payment in the mail only to be informed of the its sale**
OMG, I just rec’vd almost the exact same response in reference to a couch I have for sale. I was surprised that someone was willing to purchase it without seeing it in person. I decided to google his name and low and behold, look at all of these people who rec’vd the same bogus reply. I am truly shocked and thank everyone on here who posted this info.
The person has already sent me a $1450 check. What should I do with it? I am definitely not cashing it.
Jared,
Contact your local police department or the FBI fraud investigative department — and turn the check and all your correspondence with this individual over to them. Definitely do not cash it!
They send you a fake check. You cash it. The bank marks it paid and returns the check back to the sender. I do not know how it happens. But later the bank tries to get the funds from the bank on which the check was written. That bank refuses to pay because the check was fake. So THe receiver has to pay back the funds. Bt the man who wrote the check then knows how much money was in the bank of the person to whom the check was sent. He withdraws the entire amount from the account. Ths man has no money left and owes the bank money. You are lucky You got a check for under $2000 or was it under $1500. I got a check for $29620. It was supposed to be a donation to UNAIDS from WEber Wiliams Read my story: The Number belongs to Wayne william claims to represent Authentic Models, company that gives its address in Eugene OR. He sent to me a fake check as a donation to UNAID (it is a united Nation Organization to receive donation to help Aid Suffers). Only Wayne Willianm Does not represent UNAIDS. HE scams. The check was fake. I was supposed to keep $3000 as my 10% and Wire $3000 via Western Union to some body his brother Erik Williams told me to Wire using Western Union. But my bank told me that the check was fake. What he does is that send fake checks to his victims. When the victims deposit the check in their account the bank assumes the check is genuine and mark the check as paid and return to the sender of the check. The sender has now the number of the bank account to which the fund was added. He withdraws the entire amount in the account by fraud. And later the bank on which the check was written refuses to release the fund. At that time the bank that released the fund comes to the person that presented the check. Now this account is empty. But the bank wants the money. They report the matter to police. This person gets arrested. But the person who got the money is gone. He has closed his account. But I got saved. The bank did not blindly accept the check. They verified if the account has any money. The account had no money. Beware of this swindler. He uses the email address [email protected]/ His partner Erik William uses the Email address [email protected]/. Erik Williams tried to get me to Wire real cash via Western Union Wire Transfer to Karen Costigan, City Est Springfield, State MA 01104 Bewrare
I get lots of fake checks. People who send fake checks do not give their real names. Like I got a fake check for $29670 from one Wayne William , and another check from Jon Alexander . The first check was confiscated by my bank because it said that the system does not recognize the account. I knew the second was fake because it was for over $2000. He wanted me to keep $200 and wire the balance to him. Wayne william wanted me to keep $3000 and Wire $3000 to some body he named. He dis not say what to with the balance. When person asks you to wire some money back it is a fraud.
I also received an e-mail from this guy [email protected]
Thanks for the prompt response i have instructed my account officer to mailing (overnight) a certified check,while you hold on my behalf. Once you receive this, my mover will come pick up at your place.I will be needing the following information to issue out
the payment . . .
1.Your full name
2.Your mailing address(Physical)
3.Your phone number.
** Please note that the payment will be overnight to your address and it will be delivered within 2 days.I have taken a close look at the AD and am satisfied.I appreciate you saving this for me.Kindly delete the posting as am definitely buying it from you and it would be sad for me to have the payment in the mail only to be informed of the its sale**
I just had my encounter with Rev. George Matthew, I quetioned it when I saw the monetary mistake as I am asking $100 for a desk and the cashier’s check was for $3,500. I thought what type of idiots are these people and a Church yet. So I googled his name and lo and behold it’s a scam. Good news is that I have a legitimate party and sold the desk after all. I was sent the following message, similar to above responses from Rev. George Matthew…
Thanks for the prompt response i have instructed my account officer to mailing (overnight) a certified check,while you hold on my behalf. Once you receive this, my mover will come pick up at your place.I will be needing the following information to issue out
the payment . . .
1.Your full name
2.Your mailing address(Physical)
3.Your phone number.
** Please note that the payment will be overnight to your address and it will be delivered within 2 days.I have taken a close look at the AD and am satisfied.I appreciate you saving this for me.Kindly delete the posting as am definitely buying it from you and it would be sad for me to have the payment in the mail only to be informed of the its sale**
I hope you got a real Certified Check. Even certified checks are often fake. You can still suffer. The sender will know where your certified check was deposited. He can forge your signature and withdraw your entire money from the account. Read mystory above. You should not deal with people you do not know. Especially if they are from Craigslist. People lurk on Craigslist just to scam. I advertised for a millking Job. I got no offers for milking Jobs. But I got lots of offers for lots of types of jobs. Most common was for printing Checks using versacheck software using Printer. They churn out hundreds of fake checks and send to unknown people whose names appeared on Craig’s list. One way to know that the check is fake is that it was not hand written but typed and your name and address was written on the check. There is no need for your address to be written on the check. Also the signature is not hand written. But is also printed. It is also not stamped. Also it is not mailed by a person who printed the check. But by a different person.
Okay, I saw this scammer information AFTER I sent Rev. George Matthew my name and address. Stupid me…
On Mar 30, 2008, at 11:02 PM, Rev.George Matthew wrote:
Thanks for the prompt response i have instructed my account officer to
mailing (overnight) a certified check,while you hold on my behalf.
Once you receive this, my mover will come pick up at your place.I
will be needing the following information to issue out
the payment . . .
1.Your full name
2.Your mailing address(Physical)
3.Your phone number.
** Please note that the payment will be overnight to your address and
it will be delivered within 2 days.I have taken a close look at the
AD and am satisfied.I appreciate you saving this for me.Kindly delete
the posting as am definitely buying it from you and it would be sad
for me to have the payment in the mail only to be informed of the its
sale**
I just got the same scenario, I was smart enough to ask him to do paypal if he couldnt pay cash, but dumb enough to give my info. I’m kind of scared to see what is going to happen. This guy is totally a scam. I should have googled him first.
this guy just sent me the same type of response for a bed i was selling, i told him cash only at pickup, didnt hear from him again, he’ll keep doing it as long as people keep falling for it, and its probably not one person its probably a team of scammers, much like those call centers in nigeria emailing people,
GOT THE EXACT SAME REPLY ON MINE. ITS A SCAM!!
WOW…. Same thing a Mack Johnson sent me. Heres his email [email protected]
Thanks for the prompt response i have instructed my account officer to mailing (overnight) a certified check,while you hold on my behalf.
once you receive this, my mover will come pick up at your place.I
will be needing the following information to issue out
the payment . . .
1.Your full name
2.Your mailing address(Physical)
3.Your phone number.
** Please note that the payment will be overnight to your address and
it will be delivered within 2 days.I have taken a close look at the
AD and am satisfied.I appreciates you saving this for me.Kindly delete
the posting as am definitely buying it from you and it would be sad
for me to have the payment in the mail only to be informed of the its
sale.I will also wait for the check to clear before i have my mover
come for the pick u
Thanks
Only if I read this sooner I got scammed out of 1800 bucks anybody have any idea how we can catch this scumbag? Ive been selling things on ebay and craigslist for over 10 years the one time i dont question it, is the time i get burned.
My email, after several missives, read:
The payment will get to you today.I want you to understand that the deal as my secretary as posted the payment already, but there was a slight error i guess we can handle with care, instead of the actual amount $300,she made out the check for $3000 she claim that was what i requested but she didn’t get that straight.So once you have the check please cash it and deduct the money for your goods plus $100 for your run around expenses.The excess fund should please be sent to my mover via western union,this fund will be use in offsetting the cost of the shipment he as undertaken for me recently.
**Please email at once to let me know that i can trust to have the excess funds sent to my mover**.
What is going on with this?
Did you cash the check? It probably is fake. You can try to cash it if some check cashing place would cash it. Do not deposit it into your bank. But if you do do not let it stay there. Cash it as soon as you can and do not keep large amounts in this account since this person know knows your account number and will forge your signature to empty your account. You should close the account preferably. But if you send any thing back do not do it for six months at least.
Hi all -
His name is now Ray Parks…
Thanks for the prompt response. I have instructed my
account officer to mail (overnight) a certified
check, while you hold this item for me. Let me know
when you receive the check and I will have my mover
will come pick up at your place. Please forward me
the following info so I can issue your check . . .
1.Your full name
2.Your mailing address(Physical as Ups does not deliver to P.O.Box}
3.Your phone number.
** Please note that I will overnight the payment,and
you should receive it tomorrow. I appreciate you
holding this for me. Please delete the posting as I
am definitely buying it from you and it would be sad
for me to have the payment in the mail only to be
informed of the its sale**
I’ve had the same scenario happen to me, however I am now knee deep in it, and am curious how I am going to end up getting screwed….
I went through the whole process of receiving the check that has an extra 1600 attached to it for shipping….
I then deposited it….and the next day it cleared!
Then I wired the “shipping” people that money to ship the item….
Then the guy who bought my item asked for a portion of the money back because his mom just died and needed to cover funeral expenses…
He even went as far as to say that since he couldn’t get a hold of me quick enough, he asked the shipper for some money back….and told the shipper that the extra cash would come from me….
ha
He told me not to worry because he sent 1500 by a check that would be ready to cash by the time it arrived here….
uuummmmm shadyyy?
I said “sorry dude….but the money’s spent already….you are now the proud owner of my item”…..
And now I am not hearing from him at all….
I tried to call the number for this shipper guy and tried to look up the address that came with the info for the western union wire to the shipper….it’s a library….
So what now???? I cashed the money….and really did spend it….
Is the bank going to be calling me in a few days and say….ummm sorry buddy….
Or did this scammer screw up??
Just got one of these and googled it which brought me here.
Got the following from my craigslist post from: Tord Ford AND
Todd Ford
Thanks for the prompt response. I have instructed my
account officer to mail (overnight) a certified
check, while you hold this item for me. Let me know
when you receive the check and I will have my mover
will come pick up at your place. Please forward me
the following info so I can issue your check . . .
1.Your full name
2.Your mailing address(Physical as Ups does not deliver to P.O.Box}
3.Your phone number.
** Please note that I will overnight the payment,and
you should receive it tomorrow. I appreciate you
holding this for me. Please delete the posting as I
am definitely buying it from you and it would be sad
for me to have the payment in the mail only to be
informed of the its sale**
Just a note – I got an identical message from a “Tord Ford” regarding a dresser I was advertising on Craigslist. I googled him and found that I was not alone. I am reporting this to Craigslist.
Same thing happened to me. With the Todd Ford. Funny how someone is purchasing such cheap furniture but has all of these so called “movers” and “account managers”…TOO SHADY. He also tries very hard to sound proper, but his grammar is quite horrible….This is the load of crap he sent me.
“Thanks for the prompt response. I have instructed my
account officer to mail (overnight) a certified
check, while you hold this item for me. Let me know
when you receive the check and I will have my mover
will come pick up at your place. Please forward me
the following info so I can issue your check . . .
1.Your full name
2.Your mailing address(Physical as Ups does not deliver to P.O.Box}
3.Your phone number.
** Please note that I will overnight the payment,and
you should receive it tomorrow. I appreciate you
holding this for me. Please delete the posting as I
am definitely buying it from you and it would be sad
for me to have the payment in the mail only to be
informed of the its sale** ”
“Hi Janessa,
Am sorry it took a while for me to get back to you but on
getting the requested information on where and whom to mail the check
to,I immediately forwarded the information to my account officer at the Bank,
and the payment will certainly be delivered very soon but there is a
mistake on the check.
It was claimed that i requested that a check of $3110
to be sent to you but i know quite well i only made a request for
just for $110 to cover the cost of the Wall Unit/ Hutch.It was
a terrible mistake and i was only informed about this some few minutes ago.
I have been advice by my account officer that when you do finally
receive the check,you should have it deposited at once at your Bank and
deduct the money for your good with an extra $100 as a gift from me to
offset the cost of your run around while on this.
The rest of the fund should be wired to my mover via ‘money gram’
as this will be use to offset the cost of the shipment he as
undertaken on my behalf during my move,he will be needing the funds
to make it over to your place for the pick up so kindly let me know if
i can trust you to handle this with care i will be waiting for a
writing confirmation from you,regards.
Thanks and God Bless”
BE AWARE OF THIS. I had put this item on craigslist.
I just got another one so this guy is still doing it! His name is Ray Parks and this is the email…I was stupid to give him my information as well
Am sorry it took a while for me to get back to you but on
getting the requested information on where and whom to mail the check
to,I immediately forwarded the information to my account officer at the Bank,
and the payment will certainly be delivered very soon but there is a
mistake on the check.
It was claimed that i requested that a check of $3125
to be sent to you but i know quite well i only made a request for
just for $125 to cover the cost of the Pier One Room Divider/Dressing Screen.It was
a terrible mistake and i was only informed about this some few minutes ago.
I have been advice by my account officer that when you do finally
receive the check,you should have it cashed at once at your Bank and
deduct the money for your good with an extra $100 as a gift from me to
offset the cost of your run around while on this.
The rest of the fund should be wired to my mover via ‘money gram’
as this will be use to offset the cost of the shipment he as
undertaken on my behalf during my move,he will be needing the funds
to make it over to your place for the pick up so kindly let me know if
i can trust you to handle this with care i will be waiting for a
writing confirmation from you,regards.
Thanks and God Bless
I got one from Ray Parks as well. The initial email seemed normal, but the follow up ones are exact duplicates of the ones everyone describes but all of them came from different gmail accounts (nice to know gmail is SO secure). [email protected] / [email protected] / [email protected] – So do the checks clear? What exactly is the scam? anyone just pocketed the mistaken extra cash?
Glad I googled this Ray Parks character before I sent him my info. Thank you all for posting these things so that others can be aware of what’s going on!!!!!!!!!
Apparently Ray Parks is still at it:
From: Ray Parks [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, August 28, 2008 12:25 PM
To: *********
Subject: Re: Large dresser w/ mirror – $225 (Glover Park)
Thanks for the prompt response. I have instructed my
account officer to mail (overnight) a certified
check, while you hold this item for me. Let me know
when you receive the check and I will have my mover
will come pick up at your place. Please forward me
the following info so I can issue your check . . .
1.Your full name
2.Your mailing address(Physical as Ups does not deliver to P.O.Box}
3.Your phone number.
** Please note that I will overnight the payment,and
you should receive it tomorrow. I appreciate you
holding this for me. Please delete the posting as I
am definitely buying it from you and it would be sad
for me to have the payment in the mail only to be
informed of the its sale**
Ray Parks tried to get me as well. I’ve reported him to both the FBI/Internet Scams department and to an Internet Scamming Agency. I encourage others to do the same. He did send me a check, which I will be holding as evidence until they prosecute this guy and jail him until further notice. I’ve also notified Craigslist of this, so hopefully more people will know before they are scammed as well!
Just got an e-mail from Ray, so sad that this is not real, I really wanted to sell my item! But it was too good to be true, he offered to pay my asking price, no haggling. But the whole account officer sending a certified check seemed fishy. I didn’t see how someone could mess with a certified check, unless its from some bogus bank. I gave him my address already, we’ll see what happens.
I got an email from Ray as well… Smells like a scam.
Have fun with this I tracked the address and ID of the owner of the house
Contact Wichita Police and tell them
The address for the scammer belongs to the REAL NAME:
Clark Adam
1317 S Vine St, Wichita, KS 67213
Parcel: 129-30-0-43-04-004.00
I got one too … same exact email from Ray Parks. thanks Google and Urban Grounds, I’ll be deleting this email:
From: [email protected]
Thanks for the prompt response. I have instructed my
account officer to mail (overnight) a certified
check, while you hold this item for me. Let me know
when you receive the check and I will have my mover
will come pick up at your place. Please forward me
the following info so I can issue your check . . .
1.Your full name
2.Your mailing address(Physical as Ups does not deliver to P.O.Box}
3.Your phone number.
** Please note that I will overnight the payment,and
you should receive it tomorrow. I appreciate you
holding this for me. Please delete the posting as I
am definitely buying it from you and it would be sad
for me to have the payment in the mail only to be
informed of the its sale**
The scammer is now using the name Sean Parker ([email protected]). I got the same email about the account manager and mover in response to a Craigslist posting of mine.
I am trying to sell a freezer on Craigslist, got the same text as many are citing above from “Rev.George Matthew”
Google – gave me this, and a couple of other blogs saying about the same thing.
The only religous listing I found was a Rev.George Mathew; Trinity Mar Thoma Church; Thittamel Chengannur- 689 121 (Tel) 0479 2452734 – as a member of the “Metropolitan’s Navathy Project Committee” which appears to be part of the “Mar Thoma Syrian church” that looks like it is based somewhere in India, home page
http://www.navathy.org/default.asp
Note that I am NOT saying there is (or is not) any connection between the scammer and the above person…
I’ve reported the person to gmail and CL, not that it is likely to make much difference. I may try to report it to the IC3 web-fraud complaint site, but I doubt it will do much good, as there wasn’t actually any crime committed since I didn’t fall for the scam.
I did send the Reverend a message saying cash only, but I’m not holding my breath waiting for him to call me back…
ART
Praise the lord for Google and not the Rev.George Matthew!
His email to me sounded a bit fishy so I am glad I did a little checking around. Thanks to everyone who has posted so far, you are all the warriors who help win the war against scammers.
I got a similar mail from Rev. George yesterday for a craigslist item I posted. As D. Murphy says…thanks to Google and this post. Confirmed my suspicions.
The Rev is still at it. Here is what I received Sept 20, 2008.
Thanks for the prompt response. I have instructed my
account officer to mail (overnight) a certified
check, while you hold this item for me. Let me know
when you receive the check and I will have my mover
will come pick up at your place. Please forward me
the following info so I can issue your check . . .
1.Your full name
2.Your mailing address(Physical as Ups does not deliver to P.O.Box}
3.Your phone number.
** Please note that I will overnight the payment,and
you should receive it tomorrow. I appreciate you
holding this for me. Please delete the posting as I
am definitely buying it from you and it would be sad
for me to have the payment in the mail only to be
informed of the its sale**
Didn’t fall for it!
Add Gere Wilhem to the list of scam artists. I heard from both the Reverend and Gere. I was selling a piece of furniture but Gere wrote back saying he wanted to buy the guitar I had listed and if I would remove the listing immediately from craigslist, he would pay me a bonus for doing so plus his e-mail contained the same language as mentioned above – the acount officer, overnight payment, etc.
And luke greg also.
The Reverand sent the same email to me today as well so he is definitely still at it. Thanks to everyone for posting this stuff so more people don’t get caught in this scam.
Thank you, thank you google for being there when I was contacted by Rev Matthew. When something sounds too good, you just know it is a sham. Imagine wanting to buy an expensive dining room set without seeing it, but will send a certified check overnight. You want to trust people, but people like the Rev Matthew and his associates are just plain “crooks”.
Hope everyone checks google as much as possible. Great job of keeping people informed. Thank you again.
I was contacted by this A-hole to. I sent name and address before I found this site….I had a feeling it was weird… I sent an email to him with a link to this. If I get a check I will save for the police. Below is what he sent me.
Thanks for the prompt response. I have instructed my
account officer to mail (overnight) a certified
check, while you hold this item for me. Let me know
when you receive the check and I will have my mover
will come pick up at your place. Please forward me
the following info so I can issue your check . . .
1.Your full name
2.Your mailing address(Physical as Ups does not deliver to P.O.Box}
3.Your phone number.
** Please note that I will overnight the payment,and
you should receive it tomorrow. I appreciate you
holding this for me. Please delete the posting as I
am definitely buying it from you and it would be sad
for me to have the payment in the mail only to be
informed of the its sale**
I wish I would have saw your blog before I even bothered responding to Good Ole Rev Matthew. I was new to Craig’s List and was selling a coffee table. I was so happy to receive a response…but it sounded a bit fishy from the start. I have since contacted the FTC about the scam. I will be more careful next time!
Below is the email Rev. Matthew sent me:
Hi,
Am sorry it took a while for me to get back to you but on
getting the requested information on where and whom to mail the check
to,I immediately forwarded the information to my account officer at the Bank,
and the payment will certainly be delivered very soon but there is a
mistake on the check.
It was claimed that i requested that a check of $3950
to be sent to you but i know quite well i only made a request for
just for $150 to cover the cost of the ITEM.It was
a terrible mistake and i was only informed about this some few minutes ago.
I have been advice by my account officer that when you do finally
receive the check,you should have it cashed at once at your Bank and
deduct the money for your good with an extra $100 as a gift from me to
offset the cost of your run around while on this.
The rest of the fund should be wired to my mover via ‘money gram’
as this will be use to offset the cost of the shipment he as
undertaken on my behalf during my move,he will be needing the funds
to make it over to your place for the pick up so kindly let me know if
i can trust you to handle this with care i will be waiting for a
writing confirmation from you,regards.
Thanks and God Bless
Rev. George Matthew is still at it…got the very same e-mail today about “account officer” (whatever that is) sending a certified check via UPS tomorrow. Ok, how does this scam actually occur? From the prior people writing in, seems like checks are really clearing. Where is this money coming from? Just curious. I contacted Craigslist too.
By the way, it kills me to see a jerk like this throwing in a “Godly” title. What a scum bucket.
Glad I Googled Rev George Matthew before I responded to his inquiry. That’s become a habit and one I will certainly keep up after this! Thanks all for the heads-up!
- Agnes in Boston, MA
I just got the same scam as many of the people above. Thankfully, I goggled the name before doing anything and found this site. I wrote back directly accusing “the Rev” of being a scam. Not surprisingly, I have not head anything back. Thanks to all of you for taking the time to write about this guy.
Eyes wide open…
Well, the honorable Rev George Matthew is back. This time with a musical interest. I just got the same inquiry as many previously. It seemed a bit strange. Thanks to all that have posted, You have saved me a lot of greif. Ironic that the proceeds were going to charity, yet they still try to scam it. What’s up with that!?
This is what I received after my initial response:
Thanks for the prompt response. I have instructed my
account officer to mail (overnight) a certified
check, while you hold this item for me. Let me know
when you receive the check and I will have my mover
will come pick up at your place. Please forward me
the following info so I can issue your check . . .
1.Your full name
2.Your mailing address(Physical as Ups does not deliver to P.O.Box}
3.Your phone number.
** Please note that I will overnight the payment,and
you should receive it tomorrow. I appreciate you
holding this for me. Please delete the posting as I
am definitely buying it from you and it would be sad
for me to have the payment in the mail only to be
informed of the its sale**
I have a listing on Craigslist and got an email from this same person. I thought is was a strange name and email so I googled it and found this site. Too bad I didn’t find this blog before I replied that the item was still available.
There’s a new signatory on this scam: I received the same email (albeit slightly different) from a Sharon Deed. This after I already got the Rev. George Matthew email. I just googled her and didn’t find anything so i thought I would post the info.
First Email:
hi there is this item still available? i would love to make an instant purchase of the this item listed above for my sister whose birthday comes up soon besides, she is moving into her new home.thanks
I replied it was available and to call to discuss (ok, I stupidly gave out my phone number).
Second Email:
Thanks for the prompt response and i will love to make an instant purchase, so pls do withdraw the advert from Craigs list, i dont mind adding an extra $50 for you to take the advert down from Criags list, i want to be rest assured that nobody else gets a hold of the item. I will also like you to know that i will be paying via company certified cashier check, and it will be over night payment due to the distance. i will take care of that.So i will need you to provide me with the following information to facilitate the mailing of the cheque
1.Your full name
2.Your mailing address
3.Your phone number.
I am located in Ohio but currently on a business trip to the UK. I just want to purchase the item for her as a surprise birthday present as this day is around the corner. I would also like to pay a.s.a.p I will be sending my mover to come pick up the item. but i hope that it is still in a very good condition. Bye
I won’t be replying this time.
I got teh exact same wording from a Sharon Walter about how her secretary made a certified check for around 12X the amount and told me to keep ane xtra $50 for my running around and refund the rest to her mover via western union.
i told her i don’t play games. no deal. she had also asked for my full name, address and phone number and cell number. another guy named William Perron tried the samething, saying send all info andhe would send ceritifed check and his mover would pickup. i also told him no deal. it’s bad enough these losers have our names. don’t give them anymore!
Well, it looks like the good ole’ Rev. George Matthew is still going at it. I just got a response 2 days ago on a desk i’m selling on Craigslist, Los Angeles. UPS attempted to deliver a check today, thank God I was home to refuse it!!! He’s a scammer for sure! The check was sent from someone in Utah!
I was also just recently contacted by this degenerate. My wife told me to google him first and I found all this great stuff. Here is what he sent me.
Thanks for the prompt response. I have instructed my
account officer to mail (overnight) a certified
check, while you hold this item for me. Let me know
when you receive the check and I will have my mover
will come pick up at your place. Please forward me
the following info so I can issue your check . . .
1.Your full name
2.Your mailing address(Physical as Ups does not deliver to P.O.Box}
3.Your phone number.
** Please note that I will overnight the payment,and
you should receive it tomorrow. I appreciate you
holding this for me. Please delete the posting as I
am definitely buying it from you and it would be sad
for me to have the payment in the mail only to be
informed of the its sale**
This guy is 100% fraud. He sent me 5 same emails by using different email accounts. See below:
Hi,
Am sorry it took a while for me to get back to you but on
getting the requested information on where and whom to mail the check
to,I immediately forwarded the information to my account officer at the Bank,
and the payment will certainly be delivered very soon but there is a
mistake on the check.
It was claimed that i requested that a check of $3899
to be sent to you but i know quite well i only made a request for
just for $899 to cover the cost of the ITEM.It was
a terrible mistake and i was only informed about this some few minutes ago.
I have been advice by my account officer that when you do finally
receive the check,you should have it cashed at once at your Bank and
deduct the money for your good with an extra $100 as a gift from me to
offset the cost of your run around while on this.
The rest of the fund should be wired to my mover via ‘WESTERN UNION’
as this will be use to offset the cost of the shipment he as
undertaken on my behalf during my move,he will be needing the funds
to make it over to your place for the pick up so kindly let me know if
i can trust you to handle this with care i will be waiting for a
writing confirmation from you,regards.
Thanks and God Bless
Here he is again! He tried the “certified-check-if-you-send-me-personal-info” scam for an item I posted on craigslist. My husband traced his IP address as far as he could: ending up in Nigeria (vgccl.net) via Hong Kong (pccwbtn.net).
He used two different email addresses for each email sent:
Rev.George Matthew [[email protected]]
georgematthewxx2 [[email protected]]
The text of the emails follow:
(email1)
(email2)
I received the exact same set of two emails this afternoon from
Rev.George Matthew [[email protected]]
and georgematthewxx2 [[email protected]] in response to an ad for the desk I’m trying to sell on craigslist. Thanks to everyone for posting this info — it saved me from getting dragged into his mess.
Shit! I got the same note. I did send my phone number but if he calls, I’ll call the police right away and report him. Has anyone heard back from Craigs List re: how they could stop people like this? It’s such a great venue to sell items, until you come across someone like this. Sellers beware!
The “Reverend” strikes again!!
I posted a sale item on Craigslist this morning, and sure enough I got a response exactly as those listed above…
Thanks for the prompt response. I have instructed my
account officer to mail (overnight) a certified
check, while you hold this item for me. Let me know
when you receive the check and I will have my mover
will come pick up at your place. Please forward me
the following info so I can issue your check . . .
1.Your full name
2.Your mailing address(Physical as Ups does not deliver to P.O.Box}
3.Your phone number.
** Please note that I will overnight the payment,and
you should receive it tomorrow. I appreciate you
holding this for me. Please delete the posting as I
am definitely buying it from you and it would be sad
for me to have the payment in the mail only to be
informed of the its sale**
He should at least correct his grammar!! Glad I was smart enough to “smell fishy” and googled his name…
Wow, I got the same e-mail from this scammer. Am selling an air conditioner and he responded with the exact same script! No one, absolutely NO ONE will buy something like A/C without trying it out first. Told him he can send a cashier’s check or one drawn on a local bank and wait until it cleared before taking the unit. Also asked him for HIS contact information – company, address, and telephone number.
Not surprisingly, no response. Beware of this guy. He’s obviously playing the odds by using the same scam and the same handle, looking for the one greedy sap who will accept him.
The “Rev.” is still looking for a sucker on Craigs list. Failed here.
The Rev. is trying to buy my dining room table which was posted on Craigslist for $500 but oops he sent me $3500 by mistake. He wants me to deposit the cashiers check and keep $600 ($500 +$100 for my time) and wire the rest via Western Union to his movers.
Sweet! I just got an extra $100!
I mean is there a way for us to report these people?
Here is another one with Robin Stovall and following email address: [email protected]
Hi,
Thanks for the response.l will like to inform you that l will be
paying with cashier’s check and as for the shipment.My shipper will
come for the pick up at your location upon your confirmation that the
payment is received and clear and l will like you to remove the item
from craigslist.I would have loved to come and view the item,but am
not chance to do that now but am satisfy with your discription of the
item. i will like you to give me the following so that your payment
can be forwarded to you……………..
1….your full name to be on the check
2..your full contact address to send the payment to
3..your zip code
4.your mobile and land line number to reach you.I will be expecting your mail.
Robin Stovall
October 17
Just received the same 2 kind of emails from the Reverand.
Unfortunately, I replied to the second with the info he requested – can they utilize this for any bad purpose?
Right after I sent it – I googled his name because something didn’t smell right.
Feel stupid for initially trusting this fake.
How can I try to bust him?
Just got the same e-mail from this scammer (“instructed my account officer to send you a certified check. . . you’ll receive it tomorrow. . .” etc. etc.). I replied cash only. Then after looking at his terms again, I wondered how he was going to get a certified check on a saturday night and overnight it to me for receipt on sunday, anyway. I emailed him back and said I would not do business with him. After that, I googled his name and found this blog. What a jerk!
Well…I just got the same email as the above. He is now wanting a sewing machine that I just listed on Craig’s list. I sent my address and then realized this must be fraud..I should of googled his name first. Thanks for posting about this person
Alert – scammer is also using another alias:
Arnau Riera (same MO wants address, phone and promises to send a check and schedule a pick up – sight unseen)
Below is the most recent email from the “Rev.”
apparently my doorman signed for the delivery
any ideas on how to bust?
FBI?
Already spoke to local police – don’t think they will bother
Here is his most recent email – googled his CA contact with no luck;
Hi,
Thank you for the understanding in this transaction all you have to do now you have the
check is to take it to your Bank and have it cashed you will then withdraw the money for
your item plus an extra $100 for the run around after which you will be sending my shipper
the excess funds via money gram today.Please let me know your schedule for the week so
that she will know the best time to come for the pick up and do take good care of my item
till she comes.Here is my shipper’s information to send the money to via money gram ….
the money gram charges should be deducted from the money
Name…………..Monica N Lee
Address………..140 Warren Hall #7360
City……………Berkeley
State……………CA
Zipcode………….94720
She informed me that the only thing holding her up is the shipping funds.Afterward i will
require the following information from you…….. 1.Reference number which is the 8 digits numbers on the money gram receipt 2.Sender’s name and address used in sending the money 3.Actual amount sent.
Ps.
YOU ARE TO DEDUCT THE MONEY GRAM CHARGES FROM THE MONEY.IF YOU DONT KNOW HOW TO GO ABOUT SENDING A MONEY GRAM LET ME KNOW
Thanks and God Bless
These people are a piece of ****
Let me know if anyone has ever been busted – curious to see what the check looks like
Got the usual email from the Reverend.
I decided to turn things back on him!
I asked for his address to mail him a check for $550 to help with his congregation. I asked if he could send me $100 of the proceeds when he was able to cash it. I signed the letter Dr. Seymore Butey. Hopefully I hear from this loser!
Someone earlier thinks his real name and address is:
Clark Adam
1317 S Vine St, Wichita, KS 67213
Not sure, if someone lives close to there, check it out.
Apparently these scammers are not very creative. I got the following e-mail from Destiny Nelly David @ [email protected] and she used [email protected], :
Hello ,
Thanks for your quick response, I am quite satisfied with the
condition of the item and price.Am very much interested in buying the
item from you and I would like to make an outright purchase
immediately so I will advice that you withdraw the advert from the
web. I don’t mind adding $50 for you to do that. I will be paying with
a certified bank check.
Furthermore my mover will be coming over for the pick up as I
might not be available to come for the pick up myself but am OK with
the information from the ad. I will need the following information
details to make payment arrangement done asap.
1,Your full name to be on the Payment.
2,Your mailing address including zip code.
3,Your phone number both land and mobile.
I will be awaiting your response which should entail these information.
Best.
I also received this from Andrew Cole [email protected] and [email protected]:
Thanks for the prompt response and i will love to make an instant
purchase,so please do withdraw the advert from Craigslist.I dont mind
adding an extra $50 dollars for you to take the advert down from
criagslist so that i can be rest assured that am in hand of the item.
I will also like you to know that i will be paying via check,and it
will be an over night payment due to the distance .You dont need to
bother your self with the shippment ok,I will take care of that.So I
will need you to provide me with the following information to
facilitate the mailing of the check.
1.Your full name.
2.Your mailing address,be it residential or postal address.
3..Your phone number.
**Once again ,I will like you to know that you will not be responsible
for shipping.
I will have my mover come over as soon as you have cashed the check**
Do Have a nice day,
My Warmest Regard
Yup, I got the same scam from “Destiny Nelly David” at [email protected]. I thought the name seemed fishy! I’m glad I found this website, thanks!
Here’s what his response was:
Hello ,
Thanks for your quick response, I am quite satisfied with the
condition of the item and price.Am very much interested in buying the
item from you and I would like to make an outright purchase
immediately so I will advice that you withdraw the advert from the
web. I don’t mind adding $50 for you to do that. I will be paying with
a certified bank check.
Furthermore my mover will be coming over for the pick up as I
might not be available to come for the pick up myself but am OK with
the information from the ad. I will need the following information
details to make payment arrangement done asap.
1,Your full name to be on the Payment.
2,Your mailing address including zip code.
3,Your phone number both land and mobile.
I will be awaiting your response which should entail these information.
Best.
I submitted a complaint to the FTC.
Look out for this guy!
i just posted an ad for some dj needles and guess who offered the same shifty type of deal, Mr Andrew Cole! The ad cleary said cash only/pick-up only but he obviously didn’t read the 2nd line in my 2 line ad. the deal is not going to happen.
[email protected] sent me the same email as the ones above. Essentially, certified check, sending movers, blah blah blah. I told him/her to go to hell. Does this person think that I am an idiot??
I am, however, grateful to this website for confirming my suspicions.
Thanks
I got the same email from a Destiny Nelly David.
Reported to authorities
Same for me – I wish I had not sent my information. I got this one that follows. I talked to my lawyer and he said only in-person, cash transactions that bank checks are easy to make. I just wish I had not bought into it before i looked. I had a gut feelingsomething was fishy – should have listened to it. Thank goodness, there are a couple more people interested in my furniture.
Hello ,
Thanks for your quick response, I am quite satisfied with the condition of the item and price.Am very much interested in buying the item from you and I would like to make an outright purchase immediately so I will advice that you withdraw the advert from the web. I don’t mind adding $50 for you to do that. I will be paying with a certified bank check.
Furthermore my mover will be coming over for the pick up as I might not be available to come for the pick up myself but am OK with the information from the ad. I will need the following information details to make payment arrangement done asap.
1,Your full name to be on the Payment.
2,Your mailing address including zip code.
3,Your phone number both land and mobile.
I will be awaiting your response which should entail these information.
Best.
the email was [email protected]
Not that it this will solve the situation, but it can help: why don’t you send a complaint to yahoo and google about the use of the yahoo and gmail free accounts so that they close them? At leat you will compel these people to apply for a free account again and again … and change name and other detail each time.
I just got the same thing from someone using email addresses [email protected], and [email protected].
Here’s the next adventure with this scam artist. I came very close to doing this deal until I googled his name. Thank you, Lord. And thank you for your website.
This email was received from [email protected]:
Hello DAREN,
Thanks for getting to me so quickly.This is my first time buying from craigslist,a friend recommended that i get very good and cheap items here.Out of curiosity i just want to know the condition of what am buying becasue i might not be available to pick it up my self due to my kind of job but once i have your words that it’s in good condition,I would have to make your payments posted to immidiately.Please i would need your full name and address to enhance payment delivery via certified cashiers check. I really appreciate your response anyway,I hope to read back from you again.
Regards.
Gere.
Thank goodness I gave this guy my PO BOX address and a work phone number to call me. He never called. This thing kept getting dragged out and started to smell fishy. I sent him an email today stating that I will only deal locally and that he was too difficult to contact. That was a close one…
Another response by andrewcole200.
Thanks for the prompt response and i will love to make an instant
purchase,so please do withdraw the advert from Craigslist.I dont mind
adding an extra $50 dollars for you to take the advert down from
criagslist so that i can be rest assured that am in hand of the item.
I will also like you to know that i will be paying via check,and it
will be an over night payment due to the distance .You dont need to
bother your self with the shippment ok,I will take care of that.So I
will need you to provide me with the following information to
facilitate the mailing of the check.
1.Your full name.
2.Your mailing address,be it residential or postal address.
3..Your phone number.
**Once again ,I will like you to know that you will not be responsible
for shipping.
I will have my mover come over as soon as you have cashed the check**
Do Have a nice day,
My Warmest Regard
I just had the same experience, I am selling an entertainment center and he wants his secretary to send me a cashiers check and a moving company to pick it up. I was stupid enough to give him my address. I just googled his name because I had a funny feeling. Now I find this.
Hello,
I appreciate your response to my inquiry. Am interested in buying
it from you. I would love to come and check it myself but I just got
married and am presently on an honeymoon trip to Hawaii with my wife.I would love a surprise change of furniture in our home on our
return.Pls do withdraw the advert from craigslists as i dont mind
adding $50 for you to do that, so i can be rest assured that the item
is held for me. I should believe it is in good condition as stated.
I will be making the payment via a Certified Check, which my
secretary will mail across to you. I’ll be picking the item from you
with the aid of my mover. My Mover will be coming to pick it from you
once the Certified Check has been cashed. Pls I will need both your
full name and physical address along with your phone number to issue
out the
payment.
Thanks and compliments of the season.
Dr.Gere
I recieved a scam myself
Thanks for the prompt response and i will love to make an instant
purchase,so please do withdraw the advert from Craigslist.I dont mind
adding an extra $50 dollars for you to take the advert down from
criagslist so that i can be rest assured that am in hand of the item.
I will also like you to know that i will be paying via check,and it
will be an over night payment due to the distance .You dont need to
bother your self with the shippment ok,I will take care of that.So I
will need you to provide me with the following information to
facilitate the mailing of the check.
1.Your full name.
2.Your mailing address,be it residential or postal address.
3..Your phone number.
**Once again ,I will like you to know that you will not be responsible
for shipping.
I will have my mover come over as soon as you have cashed the check**
Do Have a nice day,
My Warmest Regard
Just got the same email from [email protected].
Total scammer. Just told him to pay me via paypal- I don’t expect to hear from him again.
ugh.
I just got the same thing tonight for a bed and mattress. Seemed strange to agressively go after an item the way they did.
Attempted to sale an item on craigslist. It was my first time so I really didn’t even think to google the email address (which I will start doing from now on.) But I gave him my address etc. and he sent me a check for over the amount. The check even looked fake. So I offered to send the check back to him and have him send me a check for the correct amount.
Here comes the deal breaker…
“Danny,
Thanks for your update towards the confirmation of the reception of the payment so sending back the check won’t be the best and appropriate method to deal with the purchase …..Sending money through western union Money Transfer is the simplest and fastest…all you will have to do is to go to western union after deduct the money for the item and the running around expenses .
You will send the excess funds to the Mover’s information given to you ,dont forget to deduct the western union charges from the excess funds you will be sending to the mover.
Have a great day ,am waiting for your response asap.
Andrew Cole.”
So right then and there I destroyed the check and thanked the man for his time. You’d have to be extremely high to continue on with the transaction after all that bullshit. I find it hilarious that he capitalized “Money Transfer,” and not “western union.”
His name is now “Karl Eddy” ([email protected]).
I was selling something on craigslist and got the same email as above. It sounded fishy so I copied and pasted a few words from his email and came across this web page. I’m so thankful I didn’t send him any info!!
I googled the name Gere Wilhem and found this site.
I am selling a piece of furniture on the Baton Rouge Craigslist and was contacted by Dr. Gere Wilhem. (notice he is going by Dr. instead of Rev. now) I thought it looked fishy so I did a search.
I am also being contacted by a Luke Greg and the emails are very similar asking for personal info and wanting to send a check and moving truck. I also noticed that each time they send an email their email address changes.
Thanks for posting this so others will see the scammers before making a big mistake.
FYI – I refused to follow either of their instructions.
The same thing just happened to me. I got an email from some man wanting to buy something I had on craigslist. The way he said things in the email,he is not from the states. He said he would call me but he has a stammer…does he mean studder. I only sell things to people that are local for that reason. I could tell he was not legit because he wanted all my info,name all my phone numbers,bank account numbers and etc. No way no how. My neighbor hada similiar thing happen to hear but she was trying to sell one of her puppies and she went through with it all and the bank let her know it was not a legal transaction and everything. Watch out for the people who are trying to scam…It is a great thing the internet but it can get scary when you come across a situation that could end very badly. Needless to say I erased the email and didn’t do anything he said.
OH yeah his name on the email was william perron so watch out!!! I hope these people that are scamming get caught…what goes around comes around!
Beware: he is now [email protected]. Same bogus e-mail come on.
Just received one of those emails from Gere Wilhem [email protected]. Told him no checks and I don’t give out my personal info.
Hello,
Thank you for the reply to my mail inquiry am quite satisfied with the condition .Am very much interested and i would like to make an outright purchase, so i will appreciate it if you can withdraw the advert from the web.Actually am a bad stammerer I would have call you, I will be paying with a certified check.Furthermore my mover will be coming over for the pick up..as i might not be available for the pick up myself but am OK with the information from the ad.I will need the following information details to make payment arrangement 1,Your full name to be on the Payment.2 ,Your postal address.3,Your phone number both land and mobile.4,Your postal code.????
I will really appreciate it buying this item from you.So you get me the required information for your payment to be issued asap.
Best Wishes
I got the same bogus email from [email protected].
Thanks for the prompt response. I have instructed my
account officer to mail a certified
check (overnight), while you hold this item for me. Let me know
when you receive the check and I will have my mover
will come pick up at your place. Please forward me
the following info so I can issue your check . . .
1.Your full name
2.Your mailing address(Physical as Ups does not deliver to P.O.Box}
3.Your phone number.
** Please note that I will overnight the payment,and
you should receive it tomorrow. I appreciate you
holding this for me. Please delete the posting as I
am definitely buying it from you and it would be sad
for me to have the payment in the mail only to be
informed of the its sale,also am deaf and will like to be contacted via email**
I would be interested in knowing if any of you who cashed the check have had any identity theft problems or bank/credit problems. Once you cashed he check that check is routed back to the issuing bank with your bank account number on it. Now he has your account number, name, address and phone number….WOW! He can call your bank, order new checks but say you’ve now moved to a new address. Suddenly, your bank account is empty.
also found the following on craigslist: FAKE CASHIER CHECKS & MONEY ORDERS ARE COMMON, and BANKS WILL CASH THEM AND THEN HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE when the fake is discovered weeks later.
Thank you, everyone, for posting this information. I, too, was contacted by the scammer, this time calling themselves Destiny Nelly ([email protected]). I specifically requested cash in my craigslist ad, yet they responded with a bank check request, which I thought was fishy. I am glad to hear that this scammer is being posted on all of these forums.
Destiny Nelly is still at work. I got the same type communication from “her” about a bedroom set in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. Luckly for me I googled the name before responding. Guess we have to check out everyone and everything first! I had originally put cash or like transaction and immediately changed it to cash only.
The name is now “[email protected]”.
michofolly almost had me too. I had 2 items he replied the exact same response even after I replied to one also and then asked if he wanted the other item. Got that funny feeling so I thought I would google his email. Good thing I did. I had already given my information, but sent another email to forget it I wasn’t going to sell them anything. I won’t be giving information so easily next time that’s for sure.
YEp. just got the micho folly. i feel so stupid because i gave him my info. THEN i googled his name [email protected] and this website came up. so i immediatley emailed him back and told him sorry i already sold it! get a life guy
I got an email from Micho Folly which was very similar. I sent him my information, which was dumb. I searched for his name in google and found this site a couple hours later because something about him just didn’t feel right. I have emailed him and told him that I will destroy and checks written to me, and that I will not be selling him anything; he has not replied.
This [email protected] guy contacted me too. This is a scam! Good thing I didn’t give him any personal infomation. He needs to be stopped!!!!
As I have seen above this is the same email he sends everyone! Beware!!!
Hi…I’m very glad that the item is still available, thanks for the prompt response and i will love to make an instant purchase, so please and please do withdraw the posting from Craigslist, i dont mind adding an extra $50.00 for you to take the posting down from craigslist so that i can be rest assured that am in hand of the item. I will also like you to know that i will be paying via check,and it will be over night payment due to the distance. You dont need to bother yourself with the shipment ok, i will do take care of that. So i will need you to provide me with the following information to facilitate the mailing of the check.
1. Your full name
2. Your mailing address be it residential or postal address
3. Your Phone Number.
Once again, I will like you to know that you will not be responsible for shipping…i will have my mover come over as soon as you have cashed the check. Thanks
I received the same emails from this Micho Folly!!!!!!
Hi…I’m very glad that the item is still available, thanks for the prompt response and i will love to make an instant purchase, so please and please do withdraw the posting from Craigslist, i dont mind adding an extra $50.00 for you to take the posting down from craigslist so that i can be rest assured that am in hand of the item. I will also like you to know that i will be paying via check,and it will be over night payment due to the distance. You dont need to bother yourself with the shipment ok, i will do take care of that. So i will need you to provide me with the following information to facilitate the mailing of the check.
1. Your full name
2. Your mailing address be it residential or postal address
3. Your Phone Number.
Once again, I will like you to know that you will not be responsible for shipping…i will have my mover come over as soon as you have cashed the check. Thanks
Micho
THESE PEOPLE REALLY NEED TO BE STOPPED!!!! Glad I looked up their info before taking things any further—I did give my name, address, etc—but at least I informed them that I am not completing the transaction–So frustrating!!!!!
DAMN! I just got this same email, except mine has bad spelling, like he’s from Eurpoe or something. I am so glad that I googled this. I replied to him asking for a cashier’s check or money order, so I doubt I’ll be hearing from him again. How do you stop people like this?
My girlfriend just got a check from this scam and im wondering how to scam this guy back. It sounds like some of the checks are going through so why not open an account with it then immediately take the money out and close the account or something similiar.
You can do that but be careful you dont want to screw yourself over with the bank! And plus do you want to stoop down to his level? This guy is aweful!!!
I think he has an alternative email michofolly5 which just replied to me.
Also, do not attempt to deposit any checks you get from this guy. When the bank realizes they are fake, which they will. They will hit you with HUUUGE fees. If you withdraw it before the bank realizes its fake I’m pretty sure its a felony.
Be extremely careful. These people are best left alone.
Elizabeth Stanton” <[email protected] emailed me again the same email about tires we are selling on craigslist. This email address does not come up as a spammer or a bad craigslist guy. Stay away from this guy!
I have not heard from the Micho Foly! Beware of him!
Rev. George is still at it. Got this email last night…Thanks for the prompt response. I have instructed my
account officer to mail a certified
check (overnight), while you hold this item for me. Let me know
when you receive the check and I will have my mover
will come pick up at your place. Please forward me
the following info so I can issue your check . . .
1.Your full name
2.Your mailing address(Physical as Ups does not deliver to P.O.Box}
3.Your phone number.
** Please note that I will overnight the payment,and
you should receive it tomorrow. I appreciate you
holding this for me. Please delete the posting as I
am definitely buying it from you and it would be sad
for me to have the payment in the mail only to be
informed of the its sale,also am deaf and will like to be contacted via email**
Googled first…asked for a phone call and cash…
Please be advised that this scam is also being used to target private sellers of automobiles. I have even heard of this scam targeting private sellers of dogs and horses. Furthermore, it is not just a handful of scammers out there that are doing this. This has turned into a generic “cookie-cutter” scam, used by a great number of lowlifes without enough imagination to even slightly “personalize” their own twist on this vile crime.
Please also be advised that there is a great deal of money order and cashier check scams out there. IT DOES NOT JUST TAKE A FEW DAYS FOR A CASHIER’S CHECK TO TRULY CLEAR — IT TAKES WEEKS! What usually happens is that the seller feels confident after his or her own bank has cleared the check a few days after s/he deposited it. Since the funds have been released into his or her account, s/he feels perfectly secure in sending the surplus amount, upon request, to the buyer’s “shipper”. Unfortunately, a few weeks later the seller learns from his or her bank that the check was fraudulent — and that s/he is the one who is liable for reimbursing the bank for the missing funds.
My husband has been advertising one of our cars on Craig’s List, as well as online. A couple of weeks ago, he was contacted by someone with the supposed name of “Lisa Webley.” The fact that she was willing to purchase a vehicle sight unseen AND the fact that she was so anxious to send him a cashier’s check without even haggling over the price or even requesting further photos and more details set off alarm bells. So, I Googled various types of private car seller scams until I found a site that practically had a verbatim description of the e-mails. I wish I could find that particular site again to post here. However, I am posting some other links below that I URGE ANYONE SELLING ANY ITEM WHATSOEVER to read.
Luckily, we were suspicious enough to do some research. When the check arrived the next day, we left the envelope sealed and turned it, along with all the e-mail correspondence, over to our local police. We have not responded to any more of the e-mails.
In my husband’s last e-mail to the scammer (the night before the check arrived), he informed “her” that he would have nothing to do with paying the shipper and that “she” would need to make direct arrangements with the shipper herself. Yet the check sent was still several thousand dollars over the listed price of our car. (We used a flashlight to read the check enclosed within the sealed envelope).
I also wanted to note that I somewhat regret not turning the check over to the FBI instead of to our local police, as we have not even been contacted by a detective to follow up on this. That is a shame because, had there been a timely investigation, it might have been possible for the London police to go check out the address where the money was supposed to have been wired. However, I suppose it is likely that the FBI’s fraud investigation department would not have placed a high priority on investigating this case either.
The bottom line: Please be exceedingly cautious when you seek, as a private seller, to sell to the public. Be equally cautious, as well, when you seek to buy from a private seller. The scams run both ways.
Best of luck to you all!
SCAMS TARGETING SELLERS:
http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/cashier.asp
http://www.thebiglot.com/info_Car-Buying-Scams.asp
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveonaCar/6WaysToSteerClearOfCarSaleScams.aspx
http://blogs.cars.com/safe/scams_against_sellers/
SCAMS TARGETING BUYERS:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/04/online_car_scam.html
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/03/military_car_scam.html
Thank you! I just got a “Do you still have “this item” posted from him. I wrote back, “If interested, send me your phone number.” No reply
Well I just got a reply. This is from Boston Craigslist. So now he is “deaf” and thus can’t talk on the phone. He is also pretty presumptive re deleting my listing.
From “The Rev”
Thanks for the prompt response. I have instructed my
account officer to mail a certified
check (overnight), while you hold this item for me. Let me know
when you receive the check and I will have my mover
will come pick up at your place. Please forward me
the following info so I can issue your check . . .
1.Your full name
2.Your mailing address(Physical as Ups does not deliver to P.O.Box}
3.Your phone number.
** Please note that I will overnight the payment,and
you should receive it tomorrow. I appreciate you
holding this for me. Please delete the posting as I
am definitely buying it from you and it would be sad
for me to have the payment in the mail only to be
informed of the its sale,also am deaf and will like to be contacted via email**
this is the exact email he sent me.
OMG THIS GUY IS FULL OF SHIT! LETS ALL DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT AND SEND HIM TO THE FEDERAL PENN!!!! THATS WHERE HIS ASS BELONGS!!! He is wasting our time and trying to steal money from us so that we will have to end up owing the bank several thousands of dollars and if we don’t stop him, then nobody else will. If you have a fraud check or emails similar, please send them to the FBI like I’m going to so that this Bastard goes DOWN!!!!
I also like his “one size fits all” post. He never mentions what “the item” is – in this case a heavy table because it has a marble inlay. UPS HA!
Speaking of scams and criminal schemes, sometimes they backfire on the perpetrator. It doesn’t get much better than this:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32145277/ns/us_news-weird_news/?GT1=43001
I would love to have seen this jerk’s expression when he realized who he was attempting to victimize. Too bad this doesn’t happen more often.
Wow, I just got an email from BOTH the Rev.George Matthew & Matt Stubbs. Something seemed fishy so I google’ed their names and came upon this thread.
The silly part is I’m selling a personal training package so I get some e-mail about movers and account officers! Apparently The Rev. doesn’t realize you can’t use moves to transfer an Equinox personal training package.
Should I call or report this? Since I wasn’t actually frauded I’m not sure if any of this would be of help or not!
I can’t believe the FEDS aren’t involved yet!
You can add my experience to the list:
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:51:58 -0700 1 of 3
From: “Rev.George Matthew”
Subject: Re: Loft Bed – $400 (Rocklin) Date: 2009-07-27, 8:32AM PDT Reply to: [email protected]
Thanks for the prompt response. I have instructed my
account officer to mail a certified
check (overnight), while you hold this item for me. Let me know
when you receive the check and I will have my mover
will come pick up at your place. Please forward me
the following info so I can issue your check . . .
1.Your full name
2.Your mailing address(Physical as Ups does not deliver to P.O.Box}
3.Your phone number.
** Please note that I will overnight the payment,and
you should receive it tomorrow. I appreciate you
holding this for me. Please delete the posting as I
am definitely buying it from you and it would be sad
for me to have the payment in the mail only to be
informed of the its sale,also am deaf and will like to be contacted via email**
BTW, he was using [email protected] as his email address.
OH TRUST ME THE FEDS ARE GETTING INVOLVED SOONER THAN YOU THINK CUZ I AM GOING TO Personally get ahold of them tomorrow regarding my fraud check and all of the emails that showed exactly how many days he bugged the shit outta me and he seriously bothered me for like 3 weeks until I found out that it was a scam………HE really has nothing better to do than scam innocent people on the internet. WOW! OK, his life must be really sucky and sad!! What a freakin loser. I swear if it’s the last thing I do, I am so gonna get him BUSTED!!!
Jennifer,
I just received my $850 moneygram from Fred Stubbs today. I assumed he really just wanted my item taken off Craigslist and that he would never actually send “money” but now that he has and WE KNOW he and his cronies are bad news my husband and I want to make sure this gets handled by the authorities.
Did you have any luck?
Thanks,
Dixie
Here is my experience with the aformentioned scammer:
mailed-by gmail.com
hide details 11:55 AM (3 minutes ago)
Reply
Follow up message
Please forgive me if I am wrong but this seems like a scam to me. Unless you can prove otherwise, I am reporting you to Craig’s List. Have someone who can hear call me: 914-377-6060.
- Hide quoted text -
On Mon, Jul 27, 2009 at 6:28 PM, Rev.George Matthew wrote:
Thanks for the prompt response. I have instructed my
account officer to mail a certified
check (overnight), while you hold this item for me. Let me know
when you receive the check and I will have my mover
will come pick up at your place. Please forward me
the following info so I can issue your check . . .
1.Your full name
2.Your mailing address(Physical as Ups does not deliver to P.O.Box}
3.Your phone number.
** Please note that I will overnight the payment,and
you should receive it tomorrow. I appreciate you
holding this for me. Please delete the posting as I
am definitely buying it from you and it would be sad
for me to have the payment in the mail only to be
informed of the its sale,also am deaf and will like to be contacted via email**
I got an email from Rev. George Mathew. HEADS UP! IT’S A SCAM! Unfortunately, I didn’t see these postings until after I gave him all my information. UGH!
His email address is now:
[email protected]
I got another scam from Robinson Karl:
[email protected]
Do not send him your information!
Agreed, that [email protected] is a scammer. Same ploy on August 5
Another email address being used [email protected] claiming the name Ruth Roche. Be careful. I want to do something about this…What should I do after receiving the fake check today?
Well I got another one on the Boston list. This time the name used is Kate Tiffany at gmail.
I’m really curios why they want the ad taken down so badly. Are there legal implications if it is not listed?
The number listed is a Seattle number and goes straight to voicemail with no ID.
Message below
________
Am okay with the price of this Unit and the condition of items
and we will like to make an outright purchase of this particular item
immediately because we are in need of it and we want to get as soon as
possible, I anticipate that a Money Order or certified check will be
sent to you via express mail or ups or Fedex as the mode of payment,
concerning the pickup, i will be responsible for that, where the mover
will come for the pick up at your location upon your confirmation of
receiving the payment and i want you to remove this Unit from the AD
now. So i will send the payment which will include the pick up
charges, in which you will make payable to the mover via money
gramm/Western union immediately after you have receive the payment and
you will be compensated with $10 extra for your running around to the
money gram/Western union outlet to avoid the delay. And I would
really love to come for the viewing but due to my work frame that
might not be possible..I want you to provide the
following payment information.
full name …………………………………….
full home address (physical
City…………………………………………
state…………………………………………
zip code……………………………………….
tel#…………………………………………..
As soon as this
is provided i will let you know when payment is mailed out and i will
update you on when you will receive the payment and give you
instructions on what to do.Here is my number incase you want to speak with
me 206 202 2980…thanks and i hope we handle this in good faith.
Thanks.
This has just happened to us but thank God we caught onto this idiot before it was to late. His stuid grammar and comunication skills are really bad. From ready the e mails above, and the ones he or she sent to us, he has realy slacked off be advised he is using the name MATHEW ANDREW right now. We are sending everything we have checks and e mail to FBI and police department where we live and supposable California where he claims to be. ???????????????
Good because he almost scammed me out of over 1,000 dollars that I would have owed the bank but thankfully I decided to check it out by taking the check to the bank. sure enough, they said it was a fraud check so, We are getting up early in the morning and sending all of his emails as well as a copy of the check he sent us to the FBI so it’s only a matter of time before we BUST him in his BALLS!!!! Hope he Enjoys getting raped in the butt in the Federal Penn!!! GOOD LUCK MICHO!!!
I have recieved an email from this guy too.
Thanks for the response.I am willing to pay your asking price.I will pay by a money order as its the only way i can pay you at the moment.I will make arrangement for the pickup after payment have been received by you.I don’t mind adding an extra $30 so you can keep it in my favor.I would have loved to come take a look at it but i am presently out of town,send me some pictures.Reply with your name,phone # and mailing address where payment will be sent.I will let you know how i intend to pick it up.Please take the posting off craigslist today and consider it sold to me.
Expecting to hear from you soon.
Warm Regards.
Hi,
I have given my partner the go ahead to mail payment to the address you gave me.You should receive payment within the week.Once payment is received we can proceed with the pickup.Thanks for your understanding and patience.I would like you to take the posting off CL today.
Warm Regards.
Read this
Hello,
How are you doing,i hope you are fine and alright.I have been busy myself but doing great.There is something i think i must bring to your notice.After a reconciliation of my account,i discovered that somehow my partner must have over paid you.The payment that was meant for another transaction was sent to you and the one meant for you was sent to another,however i want to believe i wont have a problem with you.
Please once you receive your payment,i will like you to deduct your money and send the remaining via western union to the manager of the shipping company that will help me with the pickup.I will provide the info you need to complete the western union transfer once you receive payment.Thanks once again for your understanding.
Warm regards.
If you get this email most of this is from Europe area. I notice two IP address 209.85.218.161, 209.85.218.163, 209.85.220.167 in that email properties. but they change all the time but they all are from Europe area.
This guy is either foreign or extremely RETARDED!! My guess is both!!
I think there are a number of people doing this. This scam has been out there for a long time in various forms. The writing styles in the ones that are different from the “original script” vary. Also copy cats may just copy the original message. I suspect if we put our locations together we would find it is happening throughout CL.
I’m wondering if it is certain categories. I got mine in furniture by owner.
It’s a good thing I googled this bastard’s name. He has a new address: [email protected].
Here’s the email that I received:
A good way to get back at the scammers is to get a bunch of guys take huge dumps in a box and have the crooks come pick it up.
I like so many here first discovered how widespread this is on this thread. Since i first posted , I have received many similar responses to posts on Craigs list.
First I think there are many people doing this now. I notice some patterns in the ones I have received. The name used has been different in each one. They target more expensive items. They never ask relevant questions and often if they do ask anything it is something clearly answered in the ad. Their posts often simply ask if it is still available – they may be using some kind of search program as I got one yesterday very soon after I posted it and as most of them say “Is the item still available” They never mention what the item is. And there is usually the request to answer soon or ASAP. Any particular interest in the item is never expressed.
I’m selling an item on Craigslist and something didn’t feel right when I was contacted by a buyer so I just googled this and low and behold I think I’m being scammed.
The persons name is Michael Gere,
michlgere2040@gmail, michaelgere2040@g-mail. So far I only gave up my name,address and ph# thank goodness.
The latest scam. This week I have gotten about 10 of these telling a sob story and then the big discovery of how to make money on CL. Each URL is different and I have not clicked on any of them Wondering if anyone has clicked through.
One example
I saw that stuff you’re selling to get some extra cash. I thought i’d help you out and let you know about my brother in-law who got laid off because of downsizing last month. He was put in a horrible situation since he has 2 kids and a wife to care for. With no job he looked for an alternative, and he found it. Now he’s making an extra 5000$ a month.
He made a blog about his whole experience and it has gotten a ton of publicity. If you have 10 seconds of your time to spare I bet you’ll benefit from reading his blog. God bless you and I hope you have a great week!
Oh here’s the link to it: http://www.hanson-1blog.net
This is a sampling of the one I am getting now
From [email protected]
Hey!
I read about that stuff that you are selling on CL to bring in some
more funds. I really thought i’d help you out and tell you about my
brother in-law who was laid off due to downsizing last Monday. He was
in serious trouble since he has a couple of children and a wife to
take care of. With no work he became desperate for a solution, and he
found it. Now he’s bringing in an incredible 6000$ a month.
He built a website all about his amazing tale and it’s created a heap
of attention. If you’ve got 20 seconds of your day to spare I bet
you’ll benefit from studying his blog. Thanks a lot and I really hope
you have a good week!
Before I forget, here is the website link to it: http://welldonematt.com
It’s OK to tell your family!
_____________
I looke dup the domain in this one and found: Register Best of Best free domain Name(you.co.cc).
From [email protected]
Hi,
I observed your ad, I’m a parent too, hope you don’t mind the email, I
just like to help as many people as I can.
This is how I manage to cover my house payments: busymoms.co.cc
.
I’ve been using it for few weeks now, and have already generated over $950.
Take care!
____________
From [email protected]
I saw that stuff you’re selling to get some extra funds. I thought i’d
help you out and let you know about my brother in-law who got laid off
because of downsizing last month. He was put in a horrible situation
since he has 2 kids and a wife to care for. With no job he looked for
an alternative, and he found it. Now he’s making an extra 5000$ a
month.
He made a blog about his whole experience and it has gotten a ton of
publicity. If you have 10 seconds of your time to spare I bet you’ll
benefit from reading his blog. God bless you and I hope you have a
good week!
Oh here’s the link to it: http://mattgotlucky.com
__________
From [email protected]
Hello,
My name is Shareese and I am a stay-at-home and mother of 2 girls
living in boston.
My younger girl just turned one and started going to day care so I
recently started looking for a p/t job as we really needed the money.
I probably don’t have to tell you how difficult things are right now especially
here at boston for a young mother.
It’s truly difficult and I almost gave up and requested government support
but as luck would have it I stumbled upon a website that completely changed my life
Now, 3 and a half months later I made more in a month working on
my computer than my husband makes in 6 months.
I even got a featured article from the local newspaper so i wanted to
share it with you. If you wish you can see it here:
http://work.plumega.com
Kind Regards,
Shareese Jackson
______________
A new twist: First line is exactly as it arrived and subject said “oak crib” – I was selling an ash Bunk bed.
From [email protected] (but signed Hannah)
Hi,
I saw your item [title]
on craigslist. I am interested in getting it. I`m wondering if you are ok with trading for it?
I have $100 worth of grocery coupons the I got from http://www.llctrade.com/?mn=881 (copy and paste this link to your borwser) that I would be willing to trade .
Of course you could fill out the form and get your own but I have already done this and I have the coupons
with me now.
Let me know if you are up for a trade.
Thanks,
Hannah
glad i googled him – sounds like he is known for this
Hello,
I’m very glad that the item is still available, thanks for the prompt response and i will love to make an instant purchase, so please and please do withdraw the posting from Craigslist, i dont mind adding an extra $50.00 for you to take the posting down from craigslist so that i can be rest assured that am in hand of the item. I will also like you to know that i will be paying via check,and it will be over night payment due to the distance. You dont need to bother yourself with the shipment ok, i will do take care of that. So i will need you to provide me with the following information to facilitate the mailing of the check.
1. Your full name
2. Your mailing address be it residential address
3. Your Phone Number.
Once again, I will like you to know that you will not be responsible for shipping…i will have my mover come over as soon as you have cashed the check. Thanks
Micho
I can’t beleave that the police/FBI etc have not caught this scumbag! Who do you report this to? Who will do something about it?
Scam name: Matt Stubbs
[email protected]
[email protected]
The first email started on 9/27/2009 regarding the sale of my boat. Just read the messages and the scam will unfold. I only supplied him my name, address, and phone number. I’ve asked him twice for his contact information which he has never sent.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MATT WRITES EMAIL #1
Hello,
Is this item still for sale?
Reply asap.
Regards.
Matt.
MATT WRITES EMAIL #2
Thanks for the response.I am willing to pay your asking price.I will pay by a money order as its the only way i can pay you at the moment.I will make arrangement for the pickup after payment have been received by you.I don’t mind adding an extra $30 so you can keep it in my favor.I would have loved to come take a look at it but i am presently out of town,send me some pictures.Reply with your name,phone # and mailing address where payment will be sent.I will let you know how i intend to pick it up.Please take the posting off craigslist today and consider it sold to me.
Expecting to hear from you soon.
Warm Regards.
MATT WRITES EMAIL #3
Hi,
I have given my partner the go ahead to mail payment to the address you gave me.You should receive payment within the week.Once payment is received we can proceed with the pickup.Thanks for your understanding and patience.I would like you to take the posting off CL today.
Warm Regards.
MATT WRITES EMAIL #4
Hello,
How are you doing,i hope you are fine and alright.I have been busy myself but doing great.There is something i think i must bring to your notice.After a reconciliation of my account,i discovered that somehow my partner must have over paid you.The payment that was meant for another transaction was sent to you and the one meant for you was sent to another,however i want to believe i wont have a problem with you.
Please once you receive your payment,i will like you to deduct your money and send the remaining via western union to the manager of the shipping company that will help me with the pickup.I will provide the info you need to complete the western union transfer once you receive payment.Thanks once again for your understanding.
Warm regards.
The Sad part is…..Nothing will be done about it and he will continue to obviously get away with it because I called my local police department and I also contacted the FBI Via the internet and provided them with all of the vital information that they asked for. I told the police department that I even still have the return address envelope as well as the UNCASHED check that is FRAUD that he sent and I also have all of the emails showing that this dude bugged the crap outta me for over a month and they said they couldnt do anything about it. I was like, OMG isn’t what he is doind illegal? he is scamming people! Just call his BLUFF, and tell him to bring cash or F*ck off!!!
This is an almost exact string of emails I received. I am almost hoping I do receive a fraudulent money order from him so that I can go to the police or district attorney’s office..someone has to care right?Probably not.
Sorry to say this guy is STILL at it! ChrisMcneely has sent me an exact duplicate of your first letter in re: a set of patio furniture. His letter sounded a little “off” so I replied that I didn’t want to sell until he had seen it and could give me cash at that time. Now I’m seeing here that my instinct was correct. What a guy!!
Was selling an old TV for 50 bucks on craigslist, first two emails I got were these scams. I’m pretty hip and internet savvy, but for those that arn’t, this is the newest hoax running around on craiglist. What’s really funny is that in the email craiglist gives a warning not to buy into work-at-home. Because obviously something this great isn’t on TV and some random dude has a bleeding heart to tell everyone on craiglist. Watch out, or else..
——————————-
I really just had to tell you that you should not have to let go of your things so that you can make ends meet. I know it probably stinks to have to sell your things and I know what it’s like to feel down in this economic crisis. Last month I had no choice but to get rid of my son’s Playstation just to make the mortgage. Those were most definitely the most horrific times for the family.
I live in inlandempire too and my friend was recently let go due to the financial crisis. However, he has found out an easy way to make a good living on-line and it totally helped me to get this handled. I felt I should come back and share it with everyone who might be facing these horrible times. I guarantee that it is definitely worth 10 seconds of your day.
Virtually everyone he has spread the word too have been so successful and if these folks can do it so can you.
Before I forget here is the link http://jar.im/mdp
I sincerely hope that it’s of interest. It’s OK to show your family!
Yep. I had a sinking feeling I was being scammed also. I googled the name and your blog came up immediately. Sooo irritated.
Same deal, I just got the email from Mr J Benson.
Any reply like that is a SCAM!!!!
If you care to reply at all, just tell them to send the cash with their “mover” and SHAZAAM…they are gone!!! I sell a lot of items on CL and what I do is to put in the listing that replies without an “answerable” phone number will be ignored and discarded. You can usually tell by the number if it’s local or not. It makes it much easier to weed out the scammers and tire kickers and get to the more serious buyers. CL is a great place to sell but it is also fertile ground for scammers and those that when you reply collect your email and sell it to spammers.
Thanks for the prompt response am quite satisfied with the condition .Am very much interested and i am really okay with the item and i will love to make an instant purchase,so please do withdraw the advert from Craigslist and considered it SOLD to me,I will add $30 to the purchase price, for you to hold it for me.I would have loved to come take a look myself but i am a very busy but i’m okay with the item. I will be paying you by money order. It will take 2 -3 days for the payment to get to you, it will be sent via courier service due to the distance. You don’t need to bother your self with the shipment okay, i will take care of that, so i will need you to provide me with the following information to facilitate the mailing of the Money Order/ Check, so that I can have my assistant get the Payment ready.
1. Full Name to write on the Payment
2. Address where payment will be sent to not P.O BOX (b’cos my courier
service does not deliver to p.o box)
3. City
4. State
5. Zip Code
6. Home or cell Phone Number
Once again ,I will like you to know that you will not be responsible for shipping i will have my mover come over for the pick up as soon as you have cashed the Payment.
i got the same email too here is his address [email protected] and this is what i got Thanks for the prompt response to my mail. I will be buying it fromyou so please kindly withdraw the advert . Please to be informed thati will pay you with a certified bank check and once you have thecheck cashed at your bank then i will arrange for the pick up at yourplace..I will need the following details to mail the payment as soonas possible. Name to be on the check____Home address____City____State____Zip Code_____Cell phone #______ Please get back to me asap. Thanks.
I got same thing…
Hello,
I’m very glad that the item is still available, thanks for the prompt response and i will love to make an instant purchase, so please and please do withdraw the posting from Craigslist, i dont mind adding an extra $50.00 for you to take the posting down from craigslist so that i can be rest assured that am in hand of the item. I will also like you to know that i will be paying via check,and it will be over night payment due to the distance. You dont need to bother yourself with the shipment ok, i will do take care of that. So i will need you to provide me with the following information to facilitate the mailing of the check.
1. Your full name
2. Your mailing address be it residential address
3. Your Phone Number.
Once again, I will like you to know that you will not be responsible for shipping…i will have my mover come over as soon as you have cashed the check. Thanks
Guys, okay. So this dude has changed his name. Tell you friends. He is using the same Karen Costigan person. I put a guitar up. He sent me a fake $1800 Check. I went to the bank. Everything is the exact same. I then called the company, and talked to a Marcus Philips. Because that is what he said his name was. Yet, he hung up on me three individual times.
From: Luke Greg [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: May-09-10 9:37 AM
Thanks so much for the mail,I would like you to know that i am really
interested in buying it,I am willing to offer you $1,500 for
it,please let me know if you accept my offer? am buying the good as a
birthday gift for dad and i am at sea at the moment as i am a marine
engineer and due to the nature of my work,phone calls making and
visiting of website are restricted but i squeezed out time to check
this advert and send you an email regarding it. I really want the good
to be a surprise for dad so i wont let him know anything about the
good until it gets delivered to him , i am sure he will be more than
happy with the good.I insisted on paypal because i don’t have access
to my bank account online as i don’t have internet banking, but i can
pay from my paypal account, as i have my bank a/c attached to it, i
will need you to give me your paypal email address so i can make the
payments asap for the good and pls if you don’t have paypal account
yet, it is very easy to set up, go to http://www.paypal.com. and get it set
up , after you have set it up i will only need the e-mail address you
use for registration with paypal so as to put the money through.I have
a pick up agent that will come and pick the good up after i have made
the payments.
Wow, Luke Greg really loves his dad, he’s buying all these presents for him. I’m selling a 2010 camero, and he’s buying that for his dad too
And he’s buying an antique slot machine from me for him as well.
I want to know how the scam works thru paypal. Is it an unverified account or something that he sends money thru,or a fake email address that appears to come from paypal?
Another scam artist… see below:
From: [email protected] Luke Greg
Thanks for the response I believe i should come to see this before i could buy, but i am busy at work as i am a marine engineer and i am send to follow the Navy Tug LE FOUR Y-647 ship if there may be any problem so i am very busy and can’t come or call for now.And i will love to make an instant purchase and i will be willing to give you $200 plus the asking price i will be paying by PayPal service to cover the cost of the item while you hold on my behalf. Once you have this,my mover will come pickup at your place.I will be needing the following information to issue out the payment . . .
1.Name on your PayPal account
2.Home address
3.Telephone
4.Your PayPal email address
5:Final asking price to add the $200 with
** Pls note that the payment for the item will be send to your PayPal account from mine asap. I have taken a close look at the advert and
am completely satisfied i really need this and will appreciates that you help save this for me till the payment made as it will save me some extra cost.And also if you did not have an account with PayPal you can easily register with them at http://www.paypal.com it is fast,save,easy and secure for receiving money online***
Header Information:
His name is Luke Greg and wants to pay an extra $100 over the asking price of an 18 year old truck I have posted on Craigslist. Here is the correspondence:
HIM – Thanks so much for the mail,I’m satisfied with the condition of the vehicle…I would like you to know that i am really interested in buying the item,I am willing to offer you $4,600 for it,please let me know if you accept my offer??payment will be through paypal and the pick up will be arranged by me as i will have my agent come down to pick it up…i will be waiting to hear from you,and i will like you to send me the name and email address on your PayPal account to send the payment.And if you did not have PayPal,you can register at http://www.paypal.com as it is easy fast safe and reliable to receive money online.
Best Regard
ME – Is there anything else that you would like to know about the vehicle?
HIM – Hello,thanks for your mail…I am even happy that you can get back to me.I want you to know that it is not convenient for me to pay you by
cash or any other form of Payment….Due to the love i have for this good i also wish to see it but i can’t leave this place for now,and also i
did not bring my credit card from home,and the only way i can do this is by PayPal….You have to understand as my position that i have to
secure my name and i will never depend on some ells money to live never do something bad ok..Also PayPal is very easy fast safe and
reliable and i will be the one to pay all the PayPal charges…So your own is to register with them and get your money…Please do that and
get back to me with the name and email address on the PayPal account you open so that i can pay you as soon as possible.
ME – an I ask where you are from? Why you would not want to see the vehicle or know anything else about the vehicle? I have no problem accepting payment through Paypal but am not quite sure how it is you would sign the necessary papers?…
And I haven’t heard anything since my last email… Huge scam?
I thought I’d add the name of Jon Alexander among the scammers. He lurks in Craigslist to find his victim. I put in an ad to find a job of milking the cows. I did not hear from any farmers. But I heard from lots of Scammers. This Jon Alexander was one of them He said he is stationed in England but exports his stuff to USA. But he has trouble to cash the checks. He said he needs some body to cash his checks. He will pay 10% commission. I gave him my name and address. He sent me a fake check. It was confiscated by the bank. But I should have known the check was fake. He wanted me to keep my commission of $200 (less than 10%) and wire the balance of the money to Daymara Ochoa, 9350 W 89th Ave #905, Hileah, FL 33016. How come his contacts can wire the money to New T=York but not to Florida. It is a shame that he is victimizing people who are looking for jobs.
[email protected] is a scammer. He lurks in Craigslist looking for his victims. If a person puts an ad looking for a job this guy Ray Clark will offer him the job of cashing the fake checks. He told me that his checks can’t be cashed in London. So He needs some body to cash his checks in USA. I agreed to cash his checks in USA. Actually I did not agree to cash his checks. I did not even give him my real name and my real address. I just wanted to see to whom he wanted his money sent. He said he wanted his money sent to Daymora Ochoa. 9350 W 89 Ave #905, Hileah, Fl 33016. He wants me to cash the fake checks and have the money wired to a person who looks like a black. There used to be blacks in London doingt the scams. Now they have come over to the United States. He says his checks are legit. I’m sure he has people sitting with a Versa check enabled printers churning out fake checks.
okay so this guy name Luke Greg just msged me sayin this:
Thanks so much for the mail,I’m satisfied with the condition of the vehicle…I would like you to know that i am really interested in buying the item,I am willing to offer you $12,300 for it,please let me know if you accept my offer??payment will be through paypal and the pick up will be arranged by me as i will have my agent come down to pick it up…i will be waiting to hear from you,and i will like you to send me the name and email address on your PayPal account to send the payment.And if you did not have PayPal,you can register at http://www.paypal.com as it is easy fast safe and reliable to receive money online.
Best Regard
Huge Scammer
This guy is offering to pay you through Paypal. Since the Cst of the item is $12,300 Paypal is the only way the cost of the item can be paid. I believe Western Union does not allow wire transfers of more than $5000. Like the guy says if you do not have a Paypal account open a Paypal account. Then tell himthat he should pay you through paypal. But you should tell him to have the car picked up only after Paypal has confirmed that he has Added the cost of the item to your Paypal account.
okay so Luke Greg replied to my email after i said send me your phone number so i can talk to you in person
here is what he said :
Hello,thanks for your mail…I am even happy that you can get back to me.I want you to know that it is not convenient for me to pay you by
cash or any other form of Payment….Due to the love i have for this good i also wish to see it but i can’t leave this place for now,and also i
did not bring my credit card from home,and the only way i can do this is by PayPal….You have to understand as my position that i have to
secure my name and i will never depend on some ells money to live never do something bad ok..Also PayPal is very easy fast safe and
reliable and i will be the one to pay all the PayPal charges…So your own is to register with them and get your money…Please do that and
get back to me with the name and email address on the PayPal account you open so that i can pay you as soon as possible.
this guy really thinks people are stupid?
He is the lowest of the low lifes!! They ALL are, did you report this to PayPal also? I have.
ah Im glad I googled this Luke Greg scammer’s email address. I just received this email. He was offering 300 moer than what i was offering so knew this was a scam from the get-go. He wanted my name and paypal account address. It must be a HUGE scam!
Thanks so much for the mail,I’m satisfied with the condition of the vehicle…I would like you to know that i am really interested in buying the item,I am willing to offer you $2,500 for it,please let me know if you accept my offer??payment will be through paypal and the pick up will be arranged by me as i will have my agent come down to pick it up…i will be waiting to hear from you,and i will like you to send me the name and email address on your PayPal account to send the payment.And if you did not have PayPal,you can register at http://www.paypal.com as it is easy fast safe and reliable to receive money online.
Best Regard
I have been dealing with this guy for a few days now and today I get this message: I just want to know more about it to make sure its in good condition
so can you assure me i will not be disappointed???And also ,I need to
inform you about this,just received an email from my pick agent…am
most sure i did not include that in my previous email,They said they
won’t come for the pick up unless i pay him the agent commission fee
first in order to be able to schedule a pick up time.I am a Chief
Engineer as my position on the sea here,the ship i am on is the Fleet
Aircraft Carrier.I am so busy and can not pay the agent fees from here
as they Requested that i pay them with Western Union.So what i will do
here is that i will send the payment in the total amount of $7,100.So
once you receive the confirmation of the payment from PayPal,you will
deduct the promised amount for the good which is $6,100 and the
remaining $1,000 will be send down to my agent By Western Union.I have
tried to paid it direct here but there is no Western Union on the
ship,So i believe you can handle this for me.
Get back to me so that i can go ahead and send the payment now
Here is the email address I was responding to: [email protected] OMG, will these kind of people never give up!!!!
I did NOT go thru with the deal, I hope other people have the common sense to look up things and people like this. Remember, if it sounds too good to be real, it’s not real, it’s a “SCAM”.
I got the exact email, word for word. Google the lgking1 part of his email address. He’s a big scammer on craigslist.
Luke Greg is how I got here as well after googling to check if its a scam… Have a guitar on craigslist for 2500…
I get a contact from this character saying he wants to may 100 more for me to take no more offers, and he wants to not come by and play it…. He “is satisfied with the photos”. This is unusual for buyers of this particular guitar. He wants a paypal address and name. He specified that he would send someone to my residence to pick it up, so I figure thats how he would get my address, if I were so gullible.
Scam written all over it. Glad I found this site… thanks
I was contacted by a buyer named erick williams email: [email protected] I think he is a scam, he is using paypal payments and some one to pick the item but something doesn’t feel right please beware of this buyer.