[novabear1]

If you post to sell anything on Craigslist, beware of responses from email domains wikizplc.com and operamail.com. I got the response copied below from Jordan Rose, but Eva Knight and Janet Cole are names also used (because it was so odd I googled wikizplc.com, and it seems the scam is widespread):

Thanks for the response... I'm okay with the condition and price of the item and ready for its purchase. My form of payment will be by sending you Bank Certified Check via Fedex next day air delivery and this is because i am currently away on a business assignment.

I would be responsible for the pick-up and the movers fee would be included in your payment in order to avoid delay and to enable the pick up company to schedule an appropriate time for the pick-up at your location after check has cleared as I have other properties to be moved alongside this item.

And secondly , Kindly delete the posting as am definitely buying it from you and it would be sad for me to have the payment in the mail only to be informed of the its sale.I will also wait for the check to clear before i have my mover come for pick up.

Would have love to come over for viewing but I'm afraid that might not be possible due to me being away on a business assignment. If you have more pics please send them to me so I can get a better look.

Also i am hearing impaired so i cant communicate to you than via email. i await your response

Thanks and stay blessed

[GB54]

I am trying to sell a car on Craigslist and get about 40 scams a day. Most common are "your craigslist account has been suspened", "would you trade for" or "is this your posting here?" or "I am ready to buy." It's just the cost of doing business.

[novabear1]

Of course scams are a part of doing business. So is being forewarned, and thus the posting of these two domains.

[ohsooso]

Originally Posted by novabear1

If you post to sell anything on Craigslist, beware of responses from email domains wikizplc.com and operamail.com. I got the response copied below from Jordan Rose, but Eva Knight and Janet Cole are names also used (because it was so odd I googled wikizplc.com, and it seems the scam is widespread):

Thanks for the response... I'm okay with the condition and price of the item and ready for its purchase. My form of payment will be by sending you Bank Certified Check via Fedex next day air delivery and this is because i am currently away on a business assignment.

I would be responsible for the pick-up and the movers fee would be included in your payment in order to avoid delay and to enable the pick up company to schedule an appropriate time for the pick-up at your location after check has cleared as I have other properties to be moved alongside this item.

And secondly , Kindly delete the posting as am definitely buying it from you and it would be sad for me to have the payment in the mail only to be informed of the its sale.I will also wait for the check to clear before i have my mover come for pick up.

Would have love to come over for viewing but I'm afraid that might not be possible due to me being away on a business assignment. If you have more pics please send them to me so I can get a better look.

Also i am hearing impaired so i cant communicate to you than via email. i await your response

Thanks and stay blessed

Also note the use of non-American English.

[GB54]

Originally Posted by ohsooso

Also note the use of non-American English.

Another tip off are the names which sound like the names of retired porn stars.

[SleepyBear07]

Honestly if you can't tell from that letter that that is a scam, you probably had it coming.

[blungld]

Had it coming? When is a person ever deserving of a crime? This mentality bugs the sh*t out of me. God forbid we actually have ethical standards that we live by regardless of the ease with which we can get away with things. I wouldn't mind living in a world where you could put a $100 on the sidewalk and no one would take it. But I guess if I am such a damn fool to trust other people then I should get what I got coming to me.

[Calntheplay]

Anytime they can't meet you face to face, it's usually a scam. Anytime they get into a long explaination over something that's not a real big issue for you, it should raise a red flag and be questioned further.

And like the personal above said, the language is definitely not main stream american. I can see a response like the one above taking advantage of a naive elderly person though, which is really who these scams are target IMO.

[BearyWhite]

Originally Posted by blungld

Had it coming? When is a person ever deserving of a crime? This mentality bugs the sh*t out of me. God forbid we actually have ethical standards that we live by regardless of the ease with which we can get away with things. I wouldn't mind living in a world where you could put a $100 on the sidewalk and no one would take it. But I guess if I am such a damn fool to trust other people then I should get what I got coming to me. Yea, take what you can in life! If you're not cheating you're not trying! Love it!

You're right, we live in a world of ethics, and Craigslist reinforces those notions of trust and neighborly respect. (Ten years ago would you have given a random Internet stranger your address so they could come buy your old barbecue?) But people still need to maintain reasonable levels of caution. I wouldn't have bothered posting the offending email addresses, because those will change; everything else about this post says "scam". Nothing at all is according to normal Craigslist procedure; "I can't talk on the phone", "I can't come over myself", "I'll fedex you a check", "delete your posting in advance of my check arriving", "I'll send a moving company," etc. Presumably the check would arrive "accidentally" a few hundred dollars over the sale price, and the buyer would say "let's split the difference; send me half the overage via paypal". You'd be out a couple hundred dollars and still be stuck with your sofa.

Anyone who fell for this would have themselves to blame, unfortunately. It's just way too blatant.

[novabear1]

Man, I should never have posted the body of the response. These two domains (wikizplc.com and operamail.com) are the flags I was trying to get across. They seem to have been in use for a while, and getting ever-so-slightly better at their replies. Eventually, (monkey-at-typewriter theory at the very least) they will hit on a much better reply.

My whole point was, if operamail.com is the domain (and the entire response will be little or no more than "is it still available?") don't even respond.

[BearyWhite]

Originally Posted by novabear1

Man, I should never have posted the body of the response. These two domains (wikizplc.com and operamail.com) are the flags I was trying to get across. They seem to have been in use for a while, and getting ever-so-slightly better at their replies. Eventually, (monkey-at-typewriter theory at the very least) they will hit on a much better reply.

My whole point was, if operamail.com is the domain (and the entire response will be little or no more than "is it still available?") don't even respond.

Don't you think they'll just change the domain names when people catch on? I think it's more important for people to learn what scam-ish flags to look for. (ps: operamail is just a free email provider, like hotmail.)

[BigAlfromCal]

--run any offers by the BearInsider crew before accepting! We have been scammed so much we can smell one a mile away (Levy, Theder, Kapp(?--results, not enthusiasm), Gilbertson, Mariucci, and Holmoe)...

Morale here, however, is improving, depending on Riley's performance...