Do people actually fall for this?

F

FB7777

Guest
have a Butler system on Craigslist and I get an inquiry on whether it is still available

Then I receive this follow up email

Am tempted to play along to see how real the phony bank check is... lemme guess they'll make the check out for too much and request funds back?
IMG_0428.PNG
 

Jimmy L

Member
Joined
Oct 7, 2006
Messages
15,162
Location
Ne
Name
Jimmy L
Just do it!

Have trust in your fellow man like Stockwell!
 
F

FB7777

Guest
Can't see the angle... the check bounces and they instruct to hold item until it clears

Where's the profit for them ?

Unless they send too much money and you're stooped enough to send them a refund
 

steve_64

Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2012
Messages
13,371
My step son had a similar situation selling a car on Craigslist. Offered five times what the car was worth.

He wasted his time messing with them for kicks.
 

Desk Jockey

Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2006
Messages
64,833
Location
A planet far far away
Name
Rico Suave
Wakefield is a tiny town outside Junction City/Fort Riley area.

Could be real and he could be away training...we have nothing but good honest people in Kansas. Send the truck, he says his money is good its got to be good. :winky:

Of course that's a scam number from Colorado area. :smile:

Tell him once he pays you will hold it for him until he gets back to town in March. Wouldn't want something to happen to it while he is gone. DDDDeal? :biggrin:
 
F

FB7777

Guest
I did that with an IRS scam a year back

Lasted an hour on the phone

I could settle an $87k outstanding debt for $5500 worth of money orders mailed from a UPS store with receipts mailed inside

I was on a long drive to New York and needed the phone company :)
 
F

FB7777

Guest
Wakefield is a tiny town outside Junction City/Fort Riley area.

Could be real and he could be away training...we have nothing but good honest people in Kansas. Send the truck, he says his money is good its got to be good. :winky:

Of course that's a scam number from Colorado area. :smile:

Tell him once he pays you will hold it for him until he gets back to town in March. Wouldn't want something to happen to it while he is gone. DDDDeal? :biggrin:
Lol

Stammerer I get

Soulless POS
 

FredC

Village Idiot
Joined
Jul 13, 2011
Messages
26,227
Can't see the angle... the check bounces and they instruct to hold item until it clears

Where's the profit for them ?

Unless they send too much money and you're stooped enough to send them a refund

"However, cashier’s checks lately have become an attractive vehicle for fraud when used for payments to consumers. Although, the amount of a cashier’s check quickly becomes "available" for withdrawal by the consumer after the consumer deposits the check, these funds do not belong to the consumer if the check proves to be fraudulent. It may take weeks to discover that a cashier’s check is fraudulent. In the meantime, the consumer may have irrevocably wired the funds to a scam artist or otherwise used the funds—only to find out later, when the fraud is detected—that the consumer owes the bank the full amount of the cashier’s check that had been deposited."


https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/consumer-advisories/2007/consumer-advisory-2007-1.html
 

SamIam

Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2012
Messages
11,094
Location
California
Name
sam miller
I hate all the junk emails, saying you have $5700.00 waiting transfer from square
Sent by
Alibabwa.square123@ans.net

Or your iPhone has a potential security issue login on this totally bogus landing page to fix it.
 

Papa John

Lifetime Supportive Member
Joined
Aug 19, 2013
Messages
6,587
Location
San Francisco, CA.
Name
John Stewart
maybe he is "Thailand" and just doesn't want to miss a good deal?-- too early to say-
but his letter is very similar to request I have made while out of the country.-- when I'm on Vacation I have more time to Plan for my business's future-- maybe he doing same?

My-- in mean HIS next response should be more revealing-- JK :lol:

so play along with him-- no risk yet.
 

Papa John

Lifetime Supportive Member
Joined
Aug 19, 2013
Messages
6,587
Location
San Francisco, CA.
Name
John Stewart
"However, cashier’s checks lately have become an attractive vehicle for fraud when used for payments to consumers. Although, the amount of a cashier’s check quickly becomes "available" for withdrawal by the consumer after the consumer deposits the check, these funds do not belong to the consumer if the check proves to be fraudulent. It may take weeks to discover that a cashier’s check is fraudulent. In the meantime, the consumer may have irrevocably wired the funds to a scam artist or otherwise used the funds—only to find out later, when the fraud is detected—that the consumer owes the bank the full amount of the cashier’s check that had been deposited."


https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/consumer-advisories/2007/consumer-advisory-2007-1.html


So Fred- how do you protect yourself from this?
Receiving cash can also be dangerous.
 

FredC

Village Idiot
Joined
Jul 13, 2011
Messages
26,227
So Fred- how do you protect yourself from this?
Receiving cash can also be dangerous.

Well I'd be less concerned taking a cashiers check from somebody local or that I could otherwise verify and I wouldn't deal with any "but that won't be a problem people" meaning they can't meet because military, out of state, vaca etc buying sight unseen

and from the linked article:

Tips for Avoiding Cashier’s Check Fraud
  • Try to know the people with whom you do business. When possible, verify information about the buyer from an independent third party such as a telephone directory. Be cautious about accepting checks—even a cashier’s check—from people that you do not know, especially since it may be difficult to pursue a remedy if the transaction goes wrong.

  • When you use the Internet to sell goods or services, consider other options such as escrow services or online payment systems rather than payment by a cashier’s check.

  • If you do accept a cashier’s check for payment, never accept a check for more than your selling price if you are expected to pay the excess to someone else. Ask yourself why the buyer would be willing to trust you, who may be a perfect stranger, with funds that properly belong to a third party.

  • A cashier’s check is less risky than other types of checks only if the item is genuine. If you can, ask for a cashier’s check drawn on a bank with a branch in your area.

  • If you want to find out whether a check is genuine, call or visit the bank on which the check is written. That bank will be in a better position to tell you whether the check is one they issued and is genuine.

  • Know the difference between funds being available for withdrawal from your account and a check having finally cleared. Your bank may be required by law to make funds available to you even if the check has not yet cleared. However, it could take several weeks to know if the check will clear or not.
Act with Caution
  • Be wary of taking action before you can be sure that the payment you received is good.

  • Be suspicious if someone insists that you send funds by wire transfer or otherwise pressures you to act quickly before you know the payment you received is good.

  • If you receive a letter offering you a large sum of money for little effort other than sending a "processing" fee, remember: if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

  • Reject any offer that asks you to pay for a "prize" or "gift."

  • Save your documents—you may need this paperwork if something goes wrong.
 

Old Coastie

Supportive Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2015
Messages
7,504
Location
Heart of Dixie
Name
Stephen
Anyone who wants to send the check in any fashion besides USPS is a scammer. That includes courier, UPS and Fedex.

Mail fraud can be prosecuted, the others are safe for a scammer.
 

Goomer

Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2009
Messages
3,398
Location
Bronx, New York
Name
Frank Mendo
"However, cashier’s checks lately have become an attractive vehicle for fraud when used for payments to consumers. Although, the amount of a cashier’s check quickly becomes "available" for withdrawal by the consumer after the consumer deposits the check, these funds do not belong to the consumer if the check proves to be fraudulent. It may take weeks to discover that a cashier’s check is fraudulent. In the meantime, the consumer may have irrevocably wired the funds to a scam artist or otherwise used the funds—only to find out later, when the fraud is detected—that the consumer owes the bank the full amount of the cashier’s check that had been deposited."


https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/consumer-advisories/2007/consumer-advisory-2007-1.html

Yup

I went far enough once to have them mail me a check.

It was delivered from a location inside the US in an large priority mail envelope a couple days later .

Basically a bogus check printed on check stock.



Can't see the angle... the check bounces and they instruct to hold item until it clears

Where's the profit for them ?

Unless they send too much money and you're stooped enough to send them a refund

Exactly, the scam requires them paying an overage, which you would have found out if you corresponded further.

They usually claim that the overage in the amount was in error, or it included the shippers fees also, which they will then request back from you via Western Union or some other untraceable method, of couse ASAP, with the hopes that you get it to them before the check makes it to the bank and is exposed as fraudulent, which can be ? days.

Their grammar and use of the English language always crack me up.
 
F

FB7777

Guest
Hopefully for any victim, the loss is not too much

I can't help but believe that you are far too naive if you fall for such a weak scam

It's a life lesson in the form of a stupid tax


Long time ago my crew and I were on a large job and some guy with a cigarette burn on his face walked into the building.

He went on and on talking fast about how his tractor trailer broke down on the highway and he needed $41 to get it out of impound cause the cops towed it. He had a phony check with him that he scribbled a few thousand dollars payable to him and that if I gave him the $41 He would give me half the money.

The details went on and on and he sweetened the offer by $500 and ultimately offered to endorse the check over to me if I gave him the $41

I reached in my pocket , gave him $2 for the entertainment and asked if he was parked out front or out back ?

Guy got in his beat up shit box and drove away... so much for being ' stranded with a broken down rig'

This guy couldn't have been out of prison for more than a week and I'm sure was heading back before he spent my $2


Full disclosure... I was only braver enough to be snarky cause one of the guys working with me was built like Crowley
 

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom