I happen to be listing a few things on CL right now, and I am seeing a new scam being used. This same thing happened on three very different items I'm listing.
It starts with a simple response to my ad such as "Still available?" with no contact info given.
If you reply, then they have your email address. I responded to two just to see how it would play out.
Several hours later, I got this identical email on all both, from a different email address than the first inquiry:
"I was told by my assistant that your item is still for sale ,i would have love to come and see it,but my scheduled is very tight.I will mail out your payment once you provide your full name.phone number and address.I can only pay via money order as am on a business trip now,pls let me know where to send your payment to because i wouldn't want to lose it to some else.I don't mind adding ($20) dollars so you can keep it in my favor,you should get your payment in 7-9 working days i will appreciate if you can get the ad off craigslist so i can be sure you are keeping it in my favor.Please let me know as soon as you receive it so i can start making arrangement for the pick-up.
Thanks"
The poor sentence structure and punctuation suggests a foreign scammer.
At the very least, they are assembling a database correlating email addresses with physical addresses and phone numbers. Not good.
Whatever their motive, don't fall for it. Don't reply.
It starts with a simple response to my ad such as "Still available?" with no contact info given.
If you reply, then they have your email address. I responded to two just to see how it would play out.
Several hours later, I got this identical email on all both, from a different email address than the first inquiry:
"I was told by my assistant that your item is still for sale ,i would have love to come and see it,but my scheduled is very tight.I will mail out your payment once you provide your full name.phone number and address.I can only pay via money order as am on a business trip now,pls let me know where to send your payment to because i wouldn't want to lose it to some else.I don't mind adding ($20) dollars so you can keep it in my favor,you should get your payment in 7-9 working days i will appreciate if you can get the ad off craigslist so i can be sure you are keeping it in my favor.Please let me know as soon as you receive it so i can start making arrangement for the pick-up.
Thanks"
The poor sentence structure and punctuation suggests a foreign scammer.
At the very least, they are assembling a database correlating email addresses with physical addresses and phone numbers. Not good.
Whatever their motive, don't fall for it. Don't reply.
