TOTALLY BOGUS..... DO NOT DO THE DEAL.

I posted a number of things on Ebay and Craigs list and every one of them got this kind of response. 

If you do this... they get the item you are selling.... and when you deposit the check, your bank will cash it for you.... in good faith but held against your account there..... you give the person the extra money and in about 2 weeks the bank calls you to inform you that the check is fraudulent and the funds did not clear and they have debited your account for the full amount PLUS bad check fees.

You lose the item the money you send and the amount of the check.

I started adding this to every single listing on Ebay and Craigs List and the scam buyers did not bother me any more. 

To all potential bidders and buyers. Do not contact me telling me you like my item and ask me to do a deal outside of the parameters of this auction/sale. I do not take checks or money orders so don't bother to even ask if I will. You know and I know you are only trying to scam me out of the money and the item. Don't tell me you will have a shipping company come to get it for you and expect to pay with a check. I expect cash on the barrel head if you buy this item and pick it up in person or use PAYPAL if you are buying long distance and I am shipping. (lower 48 USA only)  I will log into my PAYPAL account to check to see that the money is deposited and then I will ship it to you. 


If you are a legitimate buyer you will not have a problem with this and I will not have a problem selling it to you as described. No exceptions, no fooling, this is not a joke and I'm not kidding...so don't even ask. 


Amazingly, the scammers have not bothered to waste my time since I started using this in the ads I post when I sell something.... whether it is musical gear or anything else. 

Being in business, I have had people try to scam me by calling through a deaf tele-operator service to buy smoke detectors (I'm in the security/fire alarm business). They want to order 200 of them......they ask for my email address and then take the deal to the internet through email. They tell me they will issue a PO and pay with a check. They also offer to have FedEx come to my location and pick them up. When I ask for a street delivery location they say they prefer to use their shipper and pick them up. I tell them that I'm glad to do business with them but..... due to scams, I will not allow pickups to pay with a check unless I have done business with them in the past. However, they can send the check, I will deposit it and after it clears my bank which can take up to 30 days, I will notify them that the shipment is ready for pickup.  They normally disappear at that point. Good riddance.

BTW: if I did that deal.... I would have lost $6000 in product that they would have and would sell on Ebay and I would not be able to recover it.   I have had this scam attempted on me 2 different times. And there are others that have also been attempted.... you must be careful. 

And dealing with Craigs list has it's own set of dangers that you MUST be aware of and prepared to deal with should you conclude the deal. I have sold at least 3 items on craigs list and all 3 people came but left the money in their vehicles locked up until they knew the deal was real and the item was what they wanted. I, on the other hand, was prepared with my 9mm on my person and watched the mannerisms and body language of the individuals and those with them like a hawk. Strong armed robberies on both sides are things to be aware of with CL. 

Sorry, must agree with the above warnings.  I was ALMOST scammed this way (and we were using PayPal).  I literally had the box at the UPS Store awaiting pickup, got home and found an identical "Paid" type email from PayPal for the same guy (in Canada) except it was for a $7,000 diamond ring.  He had accidentally sent it me and not the intended victim.

Turns out the money was NOT in PayPal and that the scammer had falsified every detail in a PayPal email and it wasn't until I went to PayPal to be a nice guy and let them know that I had been sent $7,000 meant for someone else that I found out that neither the $7,000 nor my $500 were actually in my account.  I talked with their fraud department and gave them all the information I had while calling UPS on my other phone to see if my package had shipped (fortunately it hadn't and the girls I knew there were able to grab the package before pickup and even refund my shipping costs).  Never heard what happened after that...

Bottom line:  DON'T DO IT!!!

Thanks for the heads up then!

Good tip there as well Herb, something we should all do as a matter of course.

Anyone want a bass amp?

Bristol_Jonesey


Thanks for the heads up then!

Good tip there as well Herb, something we should all do as a matter of course.

Anyone want a bass amp?

I'd love to have one......do you accept Paypal?

Western Union only !!

Bristol_Jonesey


Thanks for the heads up then!

Good tip there as well Herb, something we should all do as a matter of course.

Anyone want a bass amp?

Is it the Trace Elliot?

No Karyn, it's this one

Seriously on the Western Union MO. They are in most every country and once you cash the MO, the deal is done. You can no longer be ripped off. They pay cash, you get cash.

J

The thing Craigb pointed out is why I LOG IN TO MY ACCOUNT from a web browser..... I type in the address and log in with my log on info.... that way...I am 100% sure I am in MY PAYPAL account. Also... the address bar on Paypal should show the HTTPS indicating a Secured connection. 

Scammers are smart, and they are cunning.... so you have to be smarter and more aware and just as brazen and bold as they are. 

That bold type warning/notice I posted did not stop the legit buyers from asking about the item. But it stopped the scammers from wasting my time since they knew their tricks and would not be a mark for them. 

Another thing..... be very careful with the bogus cellphone bill and missed delivery emails that are out there. They have malware in the links...... I just delete them right from the git-go. They are going after passwords and log in info for online banking. 

Most banks show "account balance" - What you think you have, and "Available Balance" - Funds you've paid in that have actually cleared. 

Many banks will show the "available balance" long before they actually have the money in hand. They will still not hesitate to debit your balance and charge you a fee if the check bounces weeks later. 


It is possible that the person answering your ad does not even want the thing you are selling. The payoff is in the "extra money" for the shipper, which you will front from your own funds with the idea that the check has cleared or will clear. This scam can only be defeated by using a prepaid transfer of money in advance (a trusted money order that you have verified by having it cashed for cash) or an escrow payment. Money orders can be forged as well, but in that case you will have your money and a lot of questions from the police. An honest buyer will probably think you are trying to scam him. So many possibilities for evil.


It is not surprising that eBay used the motto "People are good." Their business is based on uncritical trust.