Anatomy of a Scam

Recently my wife and I decided to post a few items for sale on Craigslist. One of the items was a dining room set that we had purchased a few years ago thinking that we would be using it, but as our plans developed, we realized that we would not. I posted the item at 1:54pm. The following is an interaction that transpired.

In slightly less than a half hour after the item was posted for sale (2:22pm) I received the following as a text message response to the posting.

Hi email me asap at (cuitiepie40@gmail.com) if your posted item ads on CL, is still available for sale… Thomasville Dining Room Set - $500 (6607 Crown Lane, Zionsville) .

Apart from the somewhat intriguing email address (meant to be sexually interesting, but misspelled with an extra “I”), there was nothing yet to be concerned about. Thinking that I might have a quick sale, I responded two minutes later with “Still available”. But then things stopped being quite so quick. It wasn’t until about 3 hours later that I received the following email from this individual:

“Thanks for the prompt response to text. I will be  buying this from you,  kindly withdraw the advert   and considered it sold. My husband will be overnight the payment asap but he will be paying with a certified check from his Bank and it will  deliver to you via United Parcel Service (UPS), so  I'll need you to provide me with the following information to facilitate the mailing of the check... 

Name to be on the payment...........

Address to mail the check to.............(NOT PO BOX)

Final Asking price...................

Cell phone # to text you on ................

I will make arrangements for the pick up as soon as you have your check clear, due to my work frame and my Kids,  I will not be able to come with the cash and pick it up myself , so my husband will mail the check and have someone pick up the item after the check clear., Reference to your   post  am completely satisfied with it  and the payment will  be deliver within 24hours.. God Bless.”

At this point I was getting a little suspicious. There were extra spaces, incorrect capitalizations, etc. Also, the person has not identified herself. And why the need to mail the check? Even if they have to have someone else with a truck to pickup the table, why could this person not bring the payment with them. And if they can go to the bank to get a certified check, why not just withdraw the cash needed instead? Finally, the reference to having family and the closing “God Bless” seem intended to elicit emotional attachment. Despite the misgivings, I decided to play along a little longer to see where this would go. If they did mail a “certified check”, I would not consider it “clear” until it was not only deposited, but the bank had a few days to make sure that the money actually was there. I know how the banking system works! Thus, I responded a few minutes later with the requested information.

I questioned whether the man would be able to get a certified check that evening since it was after the typical hour that banks close. So it did not surprise me that I didn’t hear from them that night. But it was still a bit unusual that the next email from them was a 4:40am the following morning:

“Thanks for the information,i will need your honest and trust to end up this transaction. I will like to know if i can trust you with my money, since the payment was mail out already... please i want you to remove the item from sales list i will get back to you with the tracking # from UPS.COM so that you will know when to expect it.I include the mover funds along with your payment cos they need to pick some valuable item for me in your area. So when you receive the check get your item fee and the rest goes to the mover guy so that it will be delivered directly to my house and LET ME KNOW IF I CAN trust you with this transaction”

Wow! So many issues in one short email. Let me try to enumerate them:

1.     Continued bad spacing and use of lower-case “i” in several places.

2.     Since I didn’t give them my name until after bank closing hours the previous night, how did they get a bank certified check already? And how have they already mailed it to me via UPS when UPS pickups haven’t yet started at 4am?

3.     They repeat the request to remove the item from Craigslist, when it was already removed the previous afternoon. Haven’t they checked it?

4.     Why this new request that they have included a mover fee in the check and want me to pay the mover in cash when he arrives? If he’s taking it “directly to my house” can’t they pay him then? They expect me to give up the item AND some cash before I’ve had enough time to verify that their check is really good?

5.     Three times in the same message they ask if they can trust me? How about can I trust them?

Sorry, but this transaction has so many red flags in it that I am positive it is a scam. Some third party is going to show up at my house, pick up an item AND some cash and drive away. Then a few days later I will find out that the “certified check” was phony and bounced. I won’t know the name or address of the individual and only the license plate number (maybe also phony) of the truck that took away the furniture. Yep, they are really trying to set me up and distract me by asking if they can trust ME!

When I read the above after getting up (at my usual time between 5 and 5:30am), I didn’t have to think long before I sent the following final email:

“Sorry, I recognize a scam when I see it. This sale is terminated. Bye!”

As confirmation, I will note that the “certified check” which they said “was mail out already” never arrived.

I wasn’t born yesterday, and despite being a 70yo senior citizen, I will not fall for these kinds of scams.