The Steel Guitar Forum

I placed an ad in Craigslist this morning for an amp followed by a pretty quick response. I can't determine if there's some kind of scam here. Maybe someone here can figure this out. I'll quote his text:
"check will be mailed to you. The fund will cover payment and also shipment"(but he already said he would arrange for a pickup--he's about 1 1/2 hours away). "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." (HUH?). "The movers agent will come for pick up & signing of document when payment is cleared."
Scam?? or some method of transaction I'm unfamiliar with??

Scam.

Of course.

SCAM! !

You may wonder how this works, since the "funds have cleared". The scammer uses a technique called check washing. They steal real checks, and use chemicals to erase the amount and payee information, leaving the original signature and bank info intact.

So, while the check may clear, when the original account holder finds out, the bank pulls the money back out of your account and refunds them.

Check washing results in over $815m dollars a year in fraud.

I would also say that any "do you still have your ______? Are scammers as well, which is why I always put "any is it still available" questions will be ignored. They have to put something unique in the header..

aaaahh.... yes that's what I was wondering. Thanks for explaining. Would love to find a way to nail these scumbags.

sell guitar, let them mail you a check, and as much info as you can get from them, and when you get the check take it to your local FBI office...of course, do not ship your guitar out...

I had a steel guitar on craiglist recently and had about four
different scammers. I went along with one to receive his check and carried it to the sheriffs office and my bank called the bank it was written on and they said not again. Craiglist is very bad about this.

What Damir said!!!

The only problem using Damir's suggestion.. As satisfying as it may be, educating people to make them aware is perhaps a better option.. These are not always just some losers running a scam. Some of the groups are extremely organized and no joke. I am not sure I would want them to have my mailing address . Just my $.02

Maybe have them mail it to the local PD, or have them help you set it up not using your home address.

The same thing happened to me when selling puppies. When the very large check came I told the people at the bank what was going on and turned the check over to the bank, they have people that look into this. It was about 5yrs ago and I never got another email about it again.

Notice they never mention what the item you're selling is like "do you still have the pedal steel" they always call it an item, merchandise etc. To be sure, always ask them a question regarding the pedal steel such as a question about copedants, pickups, knee levers pedals xcetera. Something Only a steel player would know the answer to. And myself, I would love for scammers to have my mailing address. There'd be a nice surprise waiting for them If they showed up.

take notice..

Craigslist is well known for AUTOMATED responses to For Sale items. It's YOUR response to the automated message that begins the process.

There are some hints here as to whats going on....

"You are required to deduct your fund then refund balance to the mover"


Does that sound like someone who is in a legitimate business ?

Uhhh...No....

Friends don't let friends use Craigslist... either you get scammed, or shot when you deliver...

If you are going to sell a steel guitar or related product, use THIS forum...

This is a very old scam. Craigslist is fine for doing LOCAL transactions and they tell you thats the way you should do business through them. If you follow their suggestions, its no more dangerous than getting a cup of coffee and talking about a band job with someone from the musicians section. Its designed to get people together that are in close proximity to each other for FACE TO FACE business and that's the reason for the break down by cities. They give plenty of tips for both safety and avoiding scams and they warn against any shipping requests or offers. I have done a lot of craigslist transactions and never had any issues and I am in Houston Texas. You should read all the information they provide for helping people make successful transactions. Here are a couple that address the major issues.

http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams
http://www.craigslist.org/about/safety

I've had a lot of good experiences with Craig's list, and James is spot on: it's great for local transactions and connections. I'll accept cash only and will meet for the transaction in the parking lot of the City-County Building (Police Department). Funny how that seems to keep away the scammers and dead-beats.

For local transactions, it's worth checking with your law enforcement agency to see if they have a "safe zone" or something similar. Our local police department recently set one up. It's an area outside the department's offices, usually about the size of one or two parking spaces, that's set aside and marked for public use in some situations. It's most often used when a divorced parents drop off and pick up children, but some agencies allow other limited uses, as long as it's not abused. I wouldn't tie up the area for longer than absolutely necessary. It's not a flea market, and no, it's highly unlikely that an officer will stand by to make sure there are no problems. That's not what it's for, and there are very good practical and legal reasons they won't do that, except in extremely limited cases. Check with someone at the agency first to see what their policy is and to make sure it's ok.

They don't want your "item" - they want the "refund" from the bogus, over-sized check. This is a well-known scam.

Our local law enforcement agencies actively recommend using their parking lots specifically for Craig's list and other want ad transactions. A friend on the local force tells me that this trend is actively being adopted by law enforcement all around the county. I'm sure this may not work in more congested urban areas, but out here in the mountains of Western North Carolina, we're not so pressed for space.

I have always had good luck with Craigslist buying and selling.. just following a few basic rules.

Recognize scams (its easy.. if it is not specific, or sounds too good to be true.. ignore it)

Talk on the phone first. Get a feel for them along with details (their cell phone) if you dont get a good feeling from the call.. bail. Trust your instincts.

I meet at a local Starbucks, theirs or mine depending. And I always buy something like a coffee and muffin.. call it space rent

Cash.. buying or selling. No exceptions, they wash cashiers checks too.

Most Craigslist users are just like you.. but given the volume of transactions, it is obviously going to attract a bad element trying to get easy cash from unwary people. It is like learning to cross the street.. look both ways.

Hal Braun wrote:
Cash.. buying or selling. No exceptions, they wash cashiers checks too.

Yes.

Buying and selling is not complicated. Especially locally as opposed to long distance, online, etc.

You give me cash money. I give you the object. Exactly as we will have agreed upon in advance. It is easy to get hold of up to a few thousand dollars in cash (if you have it).

If you tell me "I will"...or even better, "my agent will...." that's as far as you will get.
Show me cash or get away from me, fast. I have no time for your scams or your incompetence.
Any proposed alternative to 'you give me money, I give you stuff' is the end of the discussion.

Notice their English grammer is not very good at all.,.typical of lots of foreign scam artists.

I encounter this all the time and it's easy to weed them out.
About 4 months ago I sold an API recording console for $30,000.00 on Craigslist to some out of state people.The deal went flawless. Got paid in person with cash.
I won't even read emails from Craigslist because it's a waste of time. About 90% of your emailers are scammers anyhow. I just say in my ad that I will not sell anything unless they call me first on the telephone and further more I don't read emails. It's worked for me 100% of the time because scamners usually can't speak english and furthermore they don't know anything about what they are scammimg for anyhow. To put it simply they will not call you. People who call you on the phone are usually serious and will drive or fly to look at an item. Don't believe anything about a Craiglist email!

choosing to text you by cell phone is kind of a red flag from the go. Cell phone texting is so much more tedious than simply talking with you personally, only a scamster would ...

That is correct Steven. With 10 or more text going you can't keep up with who's texting or who committed to the deal.
If there were no scammers at all I have now chosen to operate by spoken word only. I notice some Craigslist sellers try to keep their phone number hidden. They must be busier than Houston on a Shuttle launch after the Challenger explosion trying to sort out the real buyers and the scammers.