has anyone ever used craigslist to sell something? I did for the first time and I keep getting emails from the UK and Nigeria asking for my name and address so that they can send me a check. can anyone tell me what that is all about?
Thanks everyone. I knew that there was something shady about those folks. I actually used my own email address as a contact. I now know better.
I got the same thing when I posted my bed on dfw.com. I was leery of it from the start, luckily. Be careful!
It's called the 419- Nigerian Scam, they even have music videos about how dumb Americans are as we fall for it and get them rich. There are many variations to this letter.
Be wary of all internet transactions, but these people don't always get your name from Craig'slist (they warn you not to participate in shipping, wired money or money orders to avoid scams).
I have been contacted by them numerous times, have always ignored it. Please, don't even open these messages and NEVER open links in emails especially Paypal, because I have recieved MANY Paypal phising scams in which the email was not sent by Paypal, but a scammer.
http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/nigeria.asp
Always check snopes.com when you recieve a curious email or chainmail. Many people continue to forward emails to family and friends without reilizing they are just continuing an urban legend. I get them all the time from people.
I always put cash only, local pickup and haven't had any problems.
Craigslist is horrible and wonderful. A lot of scammers get on craigslist to say that they are going to buy your product...that they live overseas and they will send you a cashier's check. If you follow through with this, you cash the money order or deposit it into your bank, something comes up with them and they back out of the purchse, they say they want their money back...you send them their money back in a form of your check and then weeks later, their money order bounces. So they just made a big profit off of you. There are some things posted on craigslist concerning these types of scams. They will claim to be pastors, parents, etc. They are just con-artists trying to find a person to fall into their trap. Ignore and avoid anyone trying to do business with you who isn't local.
Please DO NOT send any information about yourself to these people. This is a huge scam. They coast thru ads on Craigslist and try to get your bank info so that they can "send you the payment for your item" Instead they will suck your account dry. There are many different variations to this scam and ways that they try to do it - but as long as you're careful and don't give out any of your info to anyone - you'll be fine. I buy and sell on Craigslist frequently and have come across this myself. Just know who you're talking to and protect yourself. For the most part, it's just normal people trying to make a few dollars on unwanted items or trying to save money buying something used. Hope that helps some!
I've sold many things on craigslist, and I looooooove it. I always end my ad. with "pick up and cash only please". And every single item (tv, rocking chair, baby changing table, lawnmower, wireless router etc. etc.) was sold in a coulple of hours. Always nice people to pick up. Never had emails beyond the DallasFW area.
Did you click on "it is ok to for other persons to contact bla bla bla"? I never do that.
I would not respond to e-mails that you do not trust. Just delete them. They do not have your e-mail address, only the craigslist address.
Good luck with selling! Craigslist really works!
I.
I've used it plenty of times to sell things and I also bought one item off of it and never got anyone bad. You just have to be careful on to who your dealing with. I don't deal with anyone that's outside of the metroplex and I also took my husband with me to buy my item. I hope that helps. Good Luck
I've used craigslist, and I've sold everything on there that I tried to sell. However, it sounds like you're having someone try to pull some type of scam on you. Don't give your information to them, and don't click on any links. If there's a way to report them, you may want to try. Look around on your email that you received when you placed the ad, and see if there's any way to report it. I think with craigslist that you're kind of on your own for things like that, though. Just be cautious.
Yes definitely a scam when they are overseas and trying to get personal info from you.
I've used Craislist now for over a year to sell just about anything we no longer need and have only met very nice people on the site just trying to find a good deal.
The only time we had an email come from someone saying they were in the UK was when my Husband was selling his X-box.
They kept emailing saying to delete the ad and they would have a shipper pick up the item from me. They even offered to pay more than my listing price!
Read the Craigslist's scammers info....It shows actual emails from scammers and they were very similar to the ones I recieved.
There was just a post in the pets category today where someone was warning others about a scammer in the UK.
Just make sure to deal locally and you won't have any problems.
The best thing to do to be safe, (Depending on what your selling) would be to meet the person locally.
Have them meet you somewhere close to your home( A local grocery store, pharmacy, etc) when it's still daylight.
That way no one even has your home address. It's just safer that way to me.
Someone on CL had a Rottweiler dog stolen from his home after giving his address out to 3 different people. None of the people ever showed up to look at the dog and a few days later the dog came up stolen! Very sad!
Besides that, it's a great site! I've never had any problems myself using it and I pretty much use it daily.
It's a great way to make some quick money when selling something you no longer need and what's better than selling something for free? : )
