The Steel Guitar Forum

Never had a problem with Craigs list. Of course you've got to have a fair price on what you're selling. I make sure to talk to them over the phone, and make sure they come with cash. Never been scammed cause I try and screen them before they come, and just in case I always have my two friends Mr.Smith and Mr.Wesson and my 160 pd. English Mastiff
present on their arrival. Tenn.Lee

In the title line, list your price as $1 and quote the real price in the contents of the body....that cuts down on the scammers. If you're still unsure, ask the buyer a question like, "How are you going to use this item?" Worked for me.

Steven Welborn wrote:(HUH?).

This is the moment you can be sure it is a scam.

Steven Welborn wrote: "check will be mailed to you. The fund will cover payment and also shipment. Im in no rush with you till funds cleared in your bank which take 24 hrs. You are required to deduct your fund then refund balance to the mover for him to be able to offset shipping and other tax charges.The movers agent will come for pick up & signing of document when payment is cleared."

After the last quoted text above was sent,that was last Sunday, I texted back that I would accept cash only with a personal pick up. I hadn't heard back since.... till this morning "Good morning..the check has been mailed to you and here is the tracking number for it #########... let me know once you receive the check and deposit it. Thanks"

wow... ok... i'm open man... your thoughts?? (LOL)

You will never see a check... If by some miracle you do, take it down to the bank and tell them you believe it is a washed check and could they please notify the account holder on the check.. keep copies, give one to the police after the bank checks it out.. give them the scammers address.. go home and have a beer and try and sell it locally

Fedex delivered the check today. I was selling the amp on craigslist for $700. The check is for $1,995.00
Check from Aegis Corporation. Brookfield, WI. PNC Bank

I guess Aegis Corp. might be missing some checks eh?

amazing! i'd definitely contact the fbi or cops or someone.

What about requiring a US Postal Money Order as payment? No checks, period?

Steven Welborn wrote:I texted back that I would accept cash only with a personal pick up.

what didn't the guy understand about this?

John Billings wrote:What about requiring a US Postal Money Order as payment? No checks, period?

Anyone who can forge a cashiers check can forge a postal money order.

"Anyone who can forge a cashiers check can forge a postal money order."

Really? That freaks me out, as that's what I've been asking for for payments. I don't send anything until the PO order clears my bank. It's not safe to do it like that? I need to know, as I'm going to be selling a huge amount of stuff.

The key here, John, is that the crook doesn't want what you're selling. What he's after is the cash refund for the overpayment. If someone sends you the amount you're expecting, it's highly unlikely that he's a crook. A career criminal wants cash, not used musical equipment that's hard to sell.

Someone who's good at forging cashier's checks and money orders isn't after your Sho-Bud. He probably doesn't even know what it is.

Sheesh B0B That;s scary! I'm going to be selling my stuff. Arthritis has shut me down. But I can't afford to lose money on my stuff! I've been looking at Reverb.com, as a lot of my stuff is not interesting to steel players. Big collection of old Jensen speakers, etc..

Steven Welborn wrote:Fedex delivered the check today. I was selling the amp on craigslist for $700. The check is for $1,995.00
Check from Aegis Corporation. Brookfield, WI. PNC Bank

I guess Aegis Corp. might be missing some checks eh?

I am officially stunned it appears Aegis is a legitimate company in WI that handles insurance etc. so, yes, they probably sent a small check to someone that was stolen, washed and redone for that amount.

You could call Aegis and give the the check number and they could figure out where it was sent to.. As for the check, wow.. Depends on how involved you want to get, but if it were me, I would take your whole string of emails printed out with the check and turn it over to the local authorities which might be the Postal Service (mail fraud) local Police, or others.. Lots of laws broken here.

FedEx may want to know too, but if it was a "drop off" it won't go anywhere, but they will at least know where it originated..

You definetely surprised the heck out of me getting that in the mail!

John, Craigslist can be perfectly fine and is not really that scary. Most of these scammers are not forging the checks.. They are taking real checks that were stolen from real people and then changing the "pay to" and the amounts.. Work local and in cash and you will be fine.. Or use the forum here dealing with people you recognize that have a good track record (except for Irv.. I hear he plays the steel with his teeth!)

I had a friend that sold a car and the amount paid was 1000$ over amount. The check was sent by fedex. This happened 4 times over 3-4 yrs. all checks were stolen according to police. Bob M

I called Aegis but they were already closed. Will call tomorrow. Local police made a copy of check but didnt expect this kind of thing could be traced. "could of originated from Africa" for all you know. They see it all the time of course. If this was dropped off (which no doubt it was) and sent through Fedex without using USPS is it still mail fraud? I'll follow up with Aegis at least. Man, the system has gotta be swamped with this stuff.

Go to IC3.gov and report it.

Steve, Even though it went through Fedex.. the check (most likely) was stolen out of the mail.. where they get most of their "stock" to work from. that makes it a federal crime

The following is a federal statute governing mail theft:

Section 1702.

Obstruction of correspondence

Whoever takes any letter, postal card, or package out of any post office or any authorized depository for mail matter, or from any letter or mail carrier, or which has been in any post office or authorized depository, or in the custody of any letter or mail carrier, before it has been delivered to the person to whom it was directed, with design to obstruct the correspondence, or to pry into the business or secrets of another, or opens, secretes, embezzles, or destroys the same, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

Thieves often steal mail to obtain credit cards, social security numbers, bank statements, checks, and other personal information.

Mail and identity theft has been reported by postal inspectors to be the #1 white-collar crime in the U.S today.

I received a $2,000-plus check for a $150 effects pedal, but was aware it was a scam and kept the check. I reported to the IC3 website and to the USPS but never received any feedback from either. Apparently they are flooded with these scam reports.

Craig's List was pretty clear in warning when I posted, but I was not paying attention. Lesson learned (again): pay attention.

Funny that these bozos keep using the same scam - it must work often enough to make it worth their while. But how did they get your mailing address? That usually does not show in the CL ad.

Another response which CL ads very often generate is the "will you take...." thing. No matter what it is, or what the price, somebody wants to know if you'll take about 40% of your asking price. No other questions about condition, size, just the amount. Either they are scammers hoping to start a dialog so they can pitch what the OP got, or they want to buy it for almost nothing and re-sell at the local flea market.

Don,

I gave them my mailing address before I realized it was a scam.