Sellers - Beware internet scam! I almost got scammed on Craigslist

I am busy selling some furniture on Craigslist since we are leaving Boston in June. I came across a suspicious buyer, upon some investigation on the Internet, I was horrified to discover that this was a common scam. Fortunately, we had discovered this soon enough and were not victims of fraud.

I hope that by posting about my experience that this will help people be aware of this scam in future. Here is exactly what happened:

A person called 'Adam Bradley' responded to my posting about a headboard that I was selling for $170.

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Message #1 

Still up for sale? 

would love to buy it right away,

let me know via my personal email adambradley238@yahoo.com,if is can be done ASAP.

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Since, it hadn't been sold, I gladly offered it to him. I thought that it was a little strange about the urgency and that he wanted to communicate via a different email but gave him the benefit of the doubt. Also, people usually negotiate a price but he mentioned nothing about the price.

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Message #2

 

Hello,
Thanks for your prompt response, However, i will need your name and
address for payment,As am only able to make payment by money order at this time b/c i am away on assignment. It will be nice if you can send me more pictures.
It will take about 4days payment to get to you.
As per pick-up, I will make arrangement for the pick-up after
payment has been received by you. I don't mind adding fifty dollars so you can keep it in my favor.
Please take the posting off Craigslist today and consider it sold to me, Include your phone number.
Expecting to hear from you soon.
Regards
Adam Bradley

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He seemed serious about the sale and asked for more photos. Seemed like a reasonable story that he was away. He also wanted me to commit to the sale by asking me to remove my posting from Craigslist. Thought that it was strange that he was willing to pay an extra $50 for me to hold it for him especially since I was only asking for $170 (I had only paid $200 for the headboard!). I thought that I'd be a nice guy and give it to him for the original $170 which I asked for. It was also strange that he insisted on sending a money order. I didn't even know how a money order works but thought that maybe that's how Americans do things, I could figure it out.

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Message #3

Hello,

 I have given my assistant the go ahead to mail payment to you,as i am in London on a business trip.You should receive payment within the coming week( 4-5days time).

Once payment is received we can proceed with the pickup.Thanks for your understanding and patience.

                                                  Regards,

                                                 Adam Bradley.

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It was a bit strange that he was getting his assistant to do the payment. To be careful, I thought that we must definitely make sure that the money order was legit and check that the back would accept it.
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Message #4

Hello,

I hope you are fine and alright. I have been busy myself but doing great. There is something i think i must bring to your notice.

After a reconciliation of my account , i discovered that somehow my assistant must have over paid you. The payment that was meant for another transaction was added to your money, however i want to believe i wont have a problem with you.

Please once you receive your payment, i will like you to deduct your money and send the remaining via western union,to me so i can liaise with the shippers my self, so as to ensure that pick up is done asap. I will ask them to contact you as soon as possible .Let me know as soon as you get your payment.

I will like you to acknowledge receipt of this email by emailing me back.

                                              Warm regards.

                                               Adam Bradley.

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Obviously you think that it is an honest mistake and since I am an honest person I reassured him that this won't be a problem and that once I've received the payment I will give the money back. Shippers for a headboard? I thought to myself, if he was even willing to pay $50 extra, he could just order it directly from Target - it wasn't something special. This was really getting weird.

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Money Order received

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Fake details observed: The address does not exist, the name of the buyer is 'Joshua' not 'Adam' like in the emails, the date on the money order is 2012/06/06 (last year!), the postage stamp says that it was posted in Virginia (whereas the address on the envelope says Arizona), the amount was for $987 ($808 more than the original sale price, the amount that he would gain from the scam) and our address was spelt incorrectly. Clearly a fake money order!
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Message #5

Hello,

Thanks for your mail and update.

Please go ahead and take the 2 money orders to your bank  today and have

the deposited. The funds should be available to you same today or tomorrow.

You will deduct  your payment we agreed on and have the balance

sent via western union money transfer(money in minutes option) to the manager of the shipping company,

with the information below:

LINDA RUSSELLS

CITY:COTONOU

COUNTRY: BENIN. 

TEST QUESTION-SENT TO.

ANSWER-SHIPPERS.

You will have to take balance cash to any western union location

around where you stay and have it sent.Deduct the western union

charges from the balance.Get back to me with the info on the western

union transfer like   The MTCN(control number), Exact amount sent

after deducting charges, Senders name and address.   I will be expecting to

hear from you as soon as you complete this transaction,so that pick up can be done ASAP.

I will like you to email me the most convenient date for pick up so i can alert that shippers about that before hand.

I am so sorry that all this had to be this stress,accept my apologies.

Hope to hear from you soon.

                                             Adam Bradley. 

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How bizarre to get an email like this with such detailed instructions. Also, things didn't make sense. Why did I have to send the balance to shippers? Previously he mentioned that I could wire it back to him. Benin? Really now. 2 money orders?but  we had just received one. Again no mention of the $ amounts. Again the urgency to come collect it.

With all this suspicious behaviour I googled it and was horrified to discover that this is a common scam http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams. There is a similar scam, where they phone old people and pretend to be a grandchild. The money order is fake, the bank will only find out a few days later when you have already sent the money. The bank could hold you responsible for the fake money order.

This is just such a horrible scam and it targets innocent, honest people. It actually makes me sceptical to trust other people in future. It is such a cleverly thought out scam and it is virtually impossible to catch the culprits since they don't give any true details - everything is a lie.

The Lessons:

• Be aware when people ask you to wire money via Western Union or Moneygram - this method is instant and you cannot get your money back
• If anything seems a bit suspicious, do some investigation - rather be safe than sorry