Creepy Craigslist responses...

[Evol_girl]

I don't put up much stuff on craigs list, but on the occasion I have things that I know will sell and I want to get rid of so...

We "accidentally" bought 2 brand new cat climber / condo things off ebay... (my mistake, I bid on 2 thinking I MIGHT win won, and well - won both!). SO I throw one up on Craigs list and get like, 8 responses right off the bat... I'm thinking I know a good side business to get into!

Anyway, among the standard responses I get one from a "Chad" something or other that's really long and formal, (almost reminded me of those scam emails you'd get saying someone in Ethiopia wants to send you 4.7 million dollars if you'll just put it in your bank account and give them 1/2...) that basically said, at the end, "Give me your full name and address (No PO Boxes please) so I can send you a certified check. I'll add on another $30 just for you to take down the ad so I know I'm the buyer".

Not ONCE in the email did he ask any questions about the item, discuss how or when he would like to pick it up, nothing. Just "Give me your address so I can send you a check. Oh - and no PO boxes" So basically this guy just wants to send a complete stranger a check, untraceable, for MORE than the listing is asking for, without even discussing when or how to pick up the item.

If this doesn't scream "TOTAL CREEPER WHO WANTS TO MURDER ME" I don't know what does.

Obviously I'm not responding to that offer - its really not worth the additional $30 to die or worse - but how many people do you think would fall for something like this? Its actually quite scary to think what this guys actual intentions might be, and I work for criminal defense attorney's so you'd think I wouldn't be surprised by real life creeps...

 

[whippet]

My favorite responses are the ones from when you have a pet for adoption. You get replies like...
"I would like to adopt your pet. Please tell me about your pet. How much do you want for your pet."
No matter what it is...snake, cat, dog, horse, spider...they call it a "pet".

 

[sciencechick]

Not a creepy murderer, just a scammer. Well, I guess scammers are mean and creepy too but not quite that extreme. http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams

 

[Evol_girl]

Not a creepy murderer, just a scammer. Well, I guess scammers are mean and creepy too but not quite that extreme. http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams

Huh... I guess I feel a LITTLE better knowing he probably wasn't out to murder me

That is crazy how EXACTLY his message matches what they say people do. I have never checked that FAQ page about scams before - but that's interesting it happens so often. I also never knew that cashiers checks could be found fake even if cashed. GOOD THINGS TO KNOW

 

[Gungirl]

I am in sales and I work via catalogs and internet. I get this all the time.
"Give me your full name and address (No PO Boxes please) so I can send you a certified check. ". they also tend to say "I can't talk via phone as I have to communicate during work hours and my boss would not like that."
In my "job" they want me to place orders for $300-$400 worth in stuff and just give them all my info with out getting any from them. (so they can send me money of course) lmao yeah right.....Scam!

 

[o7sugar]

Huh... I guess I feel a LITTLE better knowing he probably wasn't out to murder me

That is crazy how EXACTLY his message matches what they say people do. I have never checked that FAQ page about scams before - but that's interesting it happens so often. I also never knew that cashiers checks could be found fake even if cashed. GOOD THINGS TO KNOW

The other thing they sometimes do is said a cashiers check (legit real one) however, as soon as you send your item to them, they cancel and withdraw the check they sent so than you think your all set and then the "check" bounces and your stuck with eating however much money they suposedly gave you plus any additional fees from the bank. I saw it happen to a girl on T.V. however she was selling a car!!! :O

 

[Evol_girl]

I guess I'm lucky I'm a pretty dis-trusting person in general (and not so hard up for cash that an extra $30 would make me thinking giving out my home address is ok). I personally don't get it - I don't get being a complete crap of a human being to other people and lying and stealing like that... But I see it so often I'm pretty wary of it.

I found a very nice older lady - probably me in 30 years (crazy cat lady personified!) - who will give me CASH, meet me in a PUBLIC place, and was able to talk to me on the phone.

 

[dogsNdragons]

I have items I would lke to post on CL but just don't want to deal with the weirdos. Here are my two CL stories.

I answered and ad on CL for a Pastel BP and rack system. The guy seemed very nice and I had several phone conversations with him. We finally were able to set a day to meet to complete the transaction on the BP. I had to drive quite a bit to another city and we had picked the parking lot of a supermarket. So I was kind of nervous, having visions of being adbucted. I was unable to get anyone to come with me. So I called a friend when I got there and asked her to call me back in 5 min and if I didn't answer to call that city's police and give them this address and a description of me, etc.

Anyway, the laugh was on me. Turns out the "guy" was a 15yr old kid whose older brother (maybe 17 or 18) had to drive him to the meeting. :laugh:

My other CL encounter was answering the ad for my Greyhound pup. I use a specific email for these types of communications and one time when I responded, I forgot to delete my normal signature. The woman writes back and says "I know you. Aren't you friends with *mary*? You used to do agility with your Whippet."
Turns out that I knew her from our mutual friend