Apparently Craigslist has been invaded by Nigerians

[Snake Doctor]

I'm looking for a cheap cash car ($4000 or so) and started looking on craigslist.

I wrote to a few listings asking where the car was located and when I could come look at it. (The prices were pretty much too good to be true)

These are some of the replies I've received.

Hello,
I`m Sgt. Carlos Arellano. You have to know that the 2004 Honda Accord EX Automatic I am selling is 100% working and great looking, no flaws or dents, no scratches or any kind of damage. The title is clear. It has 84,456 miles. The VIN# is 1HGCM66584A042084. This vehicle engine runs very, very smooth. No electrical problems on this beauty. This detailed vehicle makes the exterior looks like it just came off the assembly line.
Options
CD player Sunroof Leather seats Safety features
Side airbags Passenger airbag Driver airbag Anti-lock brakes
Power Options Air conditioning Power windows Power seats
Power locks Cruise control
Here are the pics of the car :
http://s464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/2004hondacaa/
(if the above link does not work copy and paste it into a new web browser window)

As I know that my current situation is pretty special I want the deal closed only through eBay's Buyer Protection Program in order for you to be 100% protected. You will make the payment to eBay and they will hold the money until you receive the car. ONLY AFTER you receive the car and inspect it (for 10 days) eBay will release the payment to me; in this way we are both protected. Anyway i am sure that if you won`t be satisfied with the car i will surely find another buyer in your area and there will be no need for you to ship the car back.
I am located in London,United Kingdom and I was sent here to improve the military relationships between our country and United Kingdom. One month ago, my wife moved here with me and brought the car with her, but now we have to sell it back in the United States because In order to be able to register this car here, I would have to pay very high import/custom taxes. My final price on it is $ 2920. If you will take it for this price, I am willing to handle the shipping. It will be shipped from here by plane with US Air Military Cargo so it will not cost me anything. You will get it to the nearest airport in your area and then it will be trucked forward to your place. You will receive the car in about 4 days. Please get back to me asap if you decide to buy, and include in your e-mail your full name and address where you want it shipped so I can start the deal with eBay. You will receive all the transaction payment and shipping details from them.
Thank you, and have a nice day,
Sgt. Carlos Arellano

This was in response to "how many miles does this car have on it?"

Next one, in response to question "Where is this car located and what's a good time to come by and see it?"

Hy there. Thank you for the interest in my car. As you have seen from the post, the car is in excellent condition. Anyway, here are other pictures:
http://s391.photobucket.com/albums/o...ONDA%20ACCORD/
Mileage is 74,864 and I can send you the Carfax to prove it. The title is clear and free of liens. The car has an automatic transmission and it's very easy to drive even for a beginner. The price is so low because I really need the money as soon an possible due to some personal problems.
The deal will be handled by eBay trough their eBay Vehicle Purchase Program, because it's faster, and offers both of us protection.
If you are still interested please let me know so we can move further.
Thanks

I wasn't aware that carfax had up to date odometer readings of all the cars in America, but I guess I was wrong. I'm also not sure how Ebay is faster than me showing up at your doorstep with cash. Who knew?

I've got half a dozen of these replies, it's pretty crazy. I guess there is a loophole or something in Ebay's car purchase program that allows these people to rip someone off.


Caveat Emptor

[Tom_PM]

What!? You dont trust Sgt. Carlos Arellano?

Thank you, and have a nice day



Unreal. Must be a really FAT loophole in ebay for sure.

[mrwilson]

lol 10/10 for trying.

[chupachups]

OMFG... gah...

[woj]

I would guess there is no loophole, but they just have some domain like ebay-escrow.com or ebay-car-escrow.com something like that... and just hope idiots won't realize it's no official ebay site...

[collegeboobies]

They just want your Ebay commission, they have cookie stuffed you for Ebay.

[C-Bass]

[Iron Fist]

Originally Posted by C-Bass

[Chit Chat]

Originally Posted by C-Bass

What the hell is that?

[sltr]

LOLZ, i ws going to start a thread about the same thing , but with home rentals.
i've been helping the g/f look for a new place- easily 1/2 the ads are bogus or an inordinate amount of homeowners are relocating to west africa to become missionaries.

Hello,
I highly appreciate your interest towards my apartment,and i want you
to know that it is still very much available for rent. Am willing to
give it out to a God fearing person that can take care of the place
the way my wife and i have been doing for the time we spent there.
You should also know that the house cost more than what am offering
but i need someone to take the place since the present occupants have
moved out.

NO APPLICATION FEE REQUIRED.

$650 monthly rent $300 security deposit $950 total move in.

I would like you to know that i am giving this apartment out to you
because i and my wife just relocated to West Africa, Nigeria for the
Missionary work and have a 4 years course. I work for Grameen
Foundation, a charity organization where we help the needy here, you
can check it out www.grameenfoundation.org

If you are interested, fill the informations below and get back to me.
NAME:
ADDRESS:
EMPLOYMENT:
TIME YOU WANT TO MOVE IN:
HOW LONG YOU ARE PLANNING TO STAY:
NUMBER OF FAMILY MOVING IN:
NUMBER OF PETS:

I would also love to have some references from your former landlord,
if possible.
The delivery charge will be deducted from the security deposit, so
once you are ready to make deposit get back to me.

Note That Only Payment of deposit is required,in order to send you
your keys, receipt and lease papers .

Electric Bills and water bills have been paid for, so i would also
need to send the receipts to you, would in case it would be
needed.After i receive this details, i would get back to you soonest
and then let you know my terms.Pets are allowed and utilities are
available.I hope to hear from you soonest. Reply to me soonest.
Remain blessed,and i do hope to hear from you soonest.

Rev. Paul Maritz.
+234 806 709 7328

Hello,
I really appreciate your kind mail towards my House for rent,
i would like you to know that it is still very much available for rent, i am only willing to give it out to a Good and Responsible person.
Its indeed a lovely and comfortable apartment.
Fees :
Per Month : $1050
Security / Deposit : $500
Wide Parking place is available.
I would like you to know that i am giving this apartment out to you because i just relocated to West Africa , Nigeria for the Missionary work and have a 4 years course. so my wife and i have decided that we would be moving to our other home when we get back.
i would like you to send me the below details :
Requirements :

Full name :
Present address :
Occupation :
Statues :
Age :
Number of kids( if any ) :
Phone Number :
When you are planing on moving in :
Period of time you are planing to stay in the apartment :
There is no Registration fee. Only Payment of deposit is required,in other to send keys and paper works.
At the end of the month i would be enrolling for an Apartment manager, whom you would be paying the monthly rents to. Electric Bills and water bills have been paid for, so i would also need to send the receipts to you, would incase it would be needed.
I would like you to know that i am a very free minded person and would want you to express yourself to me. After i receive this details, i would get back to you soonest and then let you know my terms.
Pets are allowed and utilities are available.I hope to hear from you soonest. Reply to me soonest.
God Blessed
Rev Gary Paul

I am Mr Johnson the owner of apartment you are making inquiry of. Actually I resided in the flat with my family with my wife and my only daughter before and presently we had packed due to my transfer from my working place and now situated in New Jersey Usa, and presently my flat is still available for rent including the utilities like hydro, washer,security. Presently am in West Africa for a Crusade and I will like you to get in touch with my wife in New Jersey, Usa. For more information,she is with the keys/document to the apartment. we're kind and honest family & respectful people and also spent a lot on our property that we want to give you for rent, I will solicit your absolute maintainance of this flat and want you to treat it as your own, if it's taken by you, money is not the main problem but we want you to keep it tidy for us, so we can be glad when even we return. I also want to have trust in you as I always stand on my word.

[okfling]

I am god fearing, so many they will rent to me

[lazycash]

Originally Posted by sltr

LOLZ, i ws going to start a thread about the same thing , but with home rentals.
i've been helping the g/f look for a new place- easily 1/2 the ads are bogus or an inordinate amount of homeowners are relocating to west africa to become missionaries.

My sister is a real estate agent with a large property management business in the Phx area. She comes across people all the time that point out to her that someone on Craigslist is using her name and reposting her same rental properties at a lower price. The scammers then try to get the inquiring people to send them a deposit to secure the rental before looking at it. She gets Craigslist to yank the bogus listings all the time, but they just keep coming back. She will often meet up with potential renters and they will quote her the price listed from the scammers and she'll have to correct them which doesn't help her business.

At least there are some out there who are wreaking havoc on the scammers http://419eater.com/html/letters.htm

[GTS Mark]

Oh man, i had soooooo many scammers contact me about my PDA and Breitling watch i had on craigslist. It was ridiculous!

They really need to crack down on that shit.

[Chris]

my parents almost fell for a scam
they sold a horse on craiglist and the guy wanted to mail a check and they would ship the animal lol

the check came overnight fedex i made them call the company on the check and sure enough a scam :P

[pamon]

CL is a joke. Now they are charging for erotic posts at 5/post. So the girls post in the casual encounters area. Trying to sell anything on there now is a joke as well. From the Nigerians to the Indonesians, both a waste in my book. Tried to sell a few things and the posts from those idiots are laughable.

Someone needs to come up with a moderated CL site.

[aniloscash]

I was trying to rent a room in my house and I couldnt undestand why the scam. why give me a fake check if you move in you just get arrested cause I know where to tell the cops to find you.

I just dont get it

[okfling]

I have sold a number of things on CL without any problems. Just deal locally in cash only

[96ukssob]

Craigslist is a mix of scammers, idiots and flakes... about 15% people on there are normal.

I was trying to sell my car on there a while ago and got 100 offers to have it shipped and they would send me a check... right

When i was in LA years ago looking for a new apt, i would submit emails and get responses back to send in this fake looking application plus a $100 deposit (which is illegal) via paypal or cashiers check (no personal checks is what caught my eye).

sucks that stupid people have to ruin it. shit, in 2 years even the tranny personals will be fake

[czarina]

actually, according to Sgt. Carlos Arellano, not only does Carfax keep record of the mileage of every single car in America. But the ones in the UK too, apparently! (since supposedly this car is coming from the UK with the guy's wife)

what a good scam!

[Turboface]

I was recently selling something on Craigslist and I had two different people with similar stories, both send me checks for about 10x the amount it was supposed to be. Then they told me to ship the item (one to Nigeria) and to send the extra money they 'accidentally' sent me.

Here's know how this scam works: They send you a check for way too much, telling you to send the item and the extra loot they sent. Some banks will let you actually deposit the check and take money out. However, a couple days later when the bank turns around to you and tells you that the check was bad - and they want their money back. Meanwhile, many people will be some rushed into all this, they will send the item and the loot off, before the bank realizes the check is bad.

I saw thru this right away, but I can only imagine how many people actually fall for this.

[pocketkangaroo]

Everyone is using Ebay for car scams. Ebay knows it and just doesn't give a shit. As long as they make a few bucks on the transaction. Same can be said for their sports memorabilia section. I've reported countless fake autographs and none get removed.

[Phil]

Mother fuckers, can't believe they are still around. I was toying with them for fun about 4 years ago.
They have HUGE fake check printing shop in Toronto. Thats where they will send you fake checks from and ask you to refund the remainder.

[mainroman]

what is really amazing is how many people actually buy into these scams.
I've known a guy who lost 10 grand back in the day when these scams were fresh.
He "bought" a BMW 540 from some guy who took his car to italy and couldn't clear customs there.

[The Duck]

When will they ever stop. Assholes.

[Snake Doctor]

What sucks about it in alot of situations is that if you're buying something relatively inexpensive, like a used car or exercise equipment or whatever, you can't really find them in the newspaper classifieds because the cost to place an ad isn't worth it.....so a free service like craigslist is the only option.

Problem is I have no idea which listings are real and which aren't....and now the real listings look like rip off prices because the Nigerians use low ball prices to generate more interest.

[Snake Doctor]

I guess I'll only look at the listings that have a phone number with a local area code.

I'll have to remember that when I list something for sale there as well...to put the phone number in the listing.

[bloggingseo]

This is hilarious! But I'm not shocked.

[$5 submissions]

Also, outsourced 'autocomplaint' bots to kill off the competition

[lazycash]

Originally Posted by aniloscash

I was trying to rent a room in my house and I couldnt undestand why the scam. why give me a fake check if you move in you just get arrested cause I know where to tell the cops to find you.

I just dont get it

Yep, its hilarious, they don't even care what the product or service is, they just send out the massive scam replies to thousands of craigslist listings. I posted a mattress a couple of years ago on there and i got the standard scam reply with the overpayment check wanting the mattress shipped to Nigeria. Kinda funny when they want to spend more in shipping than I was selling the item for.

The funniest was a few years back when someone posted their dialogue with a scammer who was trying to con him on his listing selling an Apple laptop. He posted the ongoing email dialogue in a forum and with lots of suggestions they were able to get the scammer to pay for shipping upon delivery after he sent them a bogus check. So they packed an Apple computer box with all kinds of heavy things and shipped it to Nigeria. The scammer received it and had to pay a huge amount for the shipping charge only to find it full of rocks. Needless to say the scammer sent him a nasty email and the forum got a huge laugh out of it.

[2012]

Damn shame Nothing is sacred to these fucking people

[Spunky]

Originally Posted by CAMOKAT

Mother fuckers, can't believe they are still around. I was toying with them for fun about 4 years ago.
They have HUGE fake check printing shop in Toronto. Thats where they will send you fake checks from and ask you to refund the remainder.

Damn those scamming Canadians

[aztecboi2003]

Originally Posted by pamon

CL is a joke. Now they are charging for erotic posts at 5/post. So the girls post in the casual encounters area. Trying to sell anything on there now is a joke as well. From the Nigerians to the Indonesians, both a waste in my book. Tried to sell a few things and the posts from those idiots are laughable.

Someone needs to come up with a moderated CL site.

Something like www.desivio.com where it's free to post and you can embed youtube videos

[d-null]

the whole internet is getting to be a fucked up place, you can't find shit because the se's are full of spam and auto-generated crap sites, ebay and craigslist are fucked, all the dating sites are full of fake profiles from scammers living in the phillipines trying to sell cams, any chat room is full of bots spamming, myspace and youtube are all spam where if you do a search for a video you find dozens of garbage videos spamming a lame url....

it sucks

[wickerman]

NIGERIA? BURKINA FASO? Same Shit.

I am so stupid, why i Don't accept this shit?

"""""DR.LULU ZONGO
AFRICAN DEVELOPEMENT BANK
BURKINA FASO
(ADB)
OUAGADOUGOU - BURKINA FASO.
WEST AFRICA.


DEAR
FRIEND/DIRECTOR/CEO


I AM DR.LULU ZONGO AND I AM THE DIRECTOR OF THE
ACCOUNTS & AUDITING DEPT. AT THE AFRICAN DEVELOPEMENT BANK OUAGADOUGOU
- WEST AFRICA. WITH DUE RESPECT I HAVE DECIDED TO CONTACT YOU ON A
BUSINESS TRANSACTION THAT WILL BE BENEFICIAL TO BOTH OF US.

AT THE
BANK'S LAST ACCOUNTS/AUDITING EVALUATIONS, MY STAFFS CAME ACROSS AN OLD
ACCOUNT WHICH WAS BEING MAINTAINED BY A FOREIGN CLIENT WHO WE LEARNT WAS
AMONG THE DECEASED PASSENGERS OF AN AIRLINE CRASH ON 6TH
NOV.2002.

SINCE THE DECEASED WAS UNABLE TO RUN THIS ACCOUNT SINCE HIS
DEATH. THE ACCOUNT HAS REMAINED DORMANT WITHOUT THE KNOWLEDGE OF HIS
FAMILY SINCE IT WAS PUT IN A SAFE DEPOSIT ACCOUNT IN THE BANK FOR FUTURE
INVESTMENT BY THE CLIENT. SINCE HIS DEMISE, NOBODY, NOT EVEN THE MEMBERS
OF HIS FAMILY HAVE APPLIED FOR CLAIMS OVER THIS FUND AND IT HAS BEEN IN
THE SAFE DEPOSIT ACCOUNT UNTIL WE DISCOVERED THAT IT CANNOT BE CLAIMED
SINCE OUR CLIENT IS A FOREIGN NATIONAL AND WE ARE SURE THAT HE HAS NO
NEXT OF KIN HERE TO FILE CLAIMS OVER THE MONEY.

AS THE DIRECTOR OF
THE DEPT, THIS DISCOVERY WAS BROUGHT TO MY OFFICE SO AS TO DECIDE WHAT
IS TO BE DONE. WITH THE FEW PERSONEL IN MY DEPT, WE DECIDED TO SEEK WAYS
THROUGH WHICH WE CAN TRANSFER THIS MONEY OUT OF THE BANK AND OUT OF THE
COUNTRY TOO. THE TOTAL AMOUNT IN THE ACCOUNT IS TEN MILLION FIVE HUNDRED
THUSAND DOLLARS (USD 10,500,000.00)."""""

WOW, 10 mil.USD?

Fuck'em All. Don't Trust Them Anymore.

[Screwed Up]

Originally Posted by d-null

the whole internet is getting to be a fucked up place, you can't find shit because the se's are full of spam and auto-generated crap sites, ebay and craigslist are fucked, all the dating sites are full of fake profiles from scammers living in the phillipines trying to sell cams, any chat room is full of bots spamming, myspace and youtube are all spam where if you do a search for a video you find dozens of garbage videos spamming a lame url....

it sucks

What he said.
Couldn't agree more.

[Snake Doctor]

Originally Posted by d-null

the whole internet is getting to be a fucked up place, you can't find shit because the se's are full of spam and auto-generated crap sites, ebay and craigslist are fucked, all the dating sites are full of fake profiles from scammers living in the phillipines trying to sell cams, any chat room is full of bots spamming, myspace and youtube are all spam where if you do a search for a video you find dozens of garbage videos spamming a lame url....

it sucks

I agree and I'll go even one further....you can't even read a news story without it having 200+ hate filled comments from people on either side of the political divide.
It's as though the internet has become nothing but a massive shouting match filled with spam.
Kind of sad really.

[Violetta]

hahaha... I bet they are making loads of money though...

[JP513]

I've been using craigslist for 4 years and I've been getting shit like this the whole time. The Nigerians discovered this stuff a long time ago.

[andy83]

funny and sad at the same time. damned scammers. rot in hell please.


btw, that forum did a great job making him pay the shipping for a huge bunch of rocks :D