You wanna waste more of my time with your spam? Two can play at that game. It’s on, Craigslist scammers!
You remember last time, right? Well, I got another obvious scam email yesterday in response to a Craigslist ad, so I thought I’d play the scammer along for a while1. So my emails are in black, and the scammer’s are in red. The setup: I had an ad on Craigslist for a car. Got the following response:
From: Bill Adams [sholingtoon01@hotmail.com]
To: Rob
CRAIGSLIST ADVISORY — AVOID SCAMS BY DEALING LOCALLY
** Avoid: wiring money,cross-border deals, work-at-home
** Beware: cashier checks, money orders, escrow, shipping
** More Info: http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams.html
Hello Seller,
i saw your item at craigslist.org and i realy have interest in it i want you to mail me back as soon as possible if it still availabe so get back to me today Thanks
From: Rob
To: Bill Adams
Yep, the car is still available. Interested in seeing it?
From: Bill Adams [sholingtoon01@hotmail.com]
To: Rob
Sounds Good.
I will like to proceed with payment asap and will like to handle shipment myself when you must have gotten your cash at hand. I am in no rush to pick up the item till funds are clear at the bank. My mode of payment will be via Electronic Cashier Check drawn on US bank. (Bank Of America). You will probarbly need a business check paper to print and cashor deposit the check today. The business check paper is sold for $20 at any stationery store,staples or at your local office supply outlet. I will add the cost of supplies to your asking price with an extra offer for accepting my mode of payment. I work with an auditing firm and will not have time to mail a check. Electronic Cashier checks is fast and secure. I will need your name and address with valid email address to send the Echeck to your email which you can print immediately when you must have purchase the supplies at staples or any stationery store. Kindly delete the advert of this item if my mode of payment is accepted. I will await your email asap.
Thanks.
From: Rob
To: Bill Adams
Dear, Madam. (I throw this in for obvious confusion, just to make sure he’s awake. I mean, who confuses “Bill” for a woman’s name?)I am pleased that you are anxious to buy my car. I wonder if you would be interested in test driving the vehicle first, however, as it has many nice features with which you could use. For instance, it has an after-market ejection seat — a nice feature indeed when fleeing from the Columbian death squads, I can assure you! Also, there is a 10,000 volt security system that I had installed to ward off the drug lords. Please advise as to the shipping method. I’m not sure if UPS carries boxes big enough for a car.
From: Bill Adams
To: Rob
thanks concerning your email…the shipping copmany will be at your door step… for the pick of the vehicle.. just let me know when you get the business check paper… so we can proceed from there. thank….
Ugg, this guy is so bad at this. I mean, at least fake some interest in the actual item for sale! Who buys a car without test driving it first? Or looking at it even?!From: Rob
To: Bill Adams
Great news, this is! I finally will be able to get rid of this clunker!So you are not interested in test driving first? Because you may want to. The pedals stick somewhat. This one time, I was fleeing the police in my city of Albuquerque, and the brakes wouldn’t work at all. I manged to stop by running over old people, haha! I kid, I kid. They were all my age. But never fear, those brakes are all replaced now. So for this “business check paper”, can I use copier paper? Would that be sufficient?
From: Bill Adams
To: Rob
You will probarbly need a business check paper to print and cash the check today. The business check paper is sold for $50 at any stationery store,staples or at your local office supply outlet. I will add the cost of supplies to your asking price with an extra offer for accepting my mode of payment thanks
From: Rob
To: Bill Adams
Let’s talk more about this so-called “extra offer”. Since I am bound to a wheel chair now (ever since the run in with the Columbian hoodlums), my health is in the shitter. I would be very grateful for your show of charity in this regard. What can you offer a poor soul who’s down on his luck? Ok, I am going to go buy some of this check paper now at OfficeMart (this bogus store name should have tipped him off, huh?). They have the best prices in town! And they always have ample handicapped parking, I have found. Do not worry — I will not drive your future Camry-to-be to the OfficeMart. Wouldn’t that be bad luck if I crashed it on the way, what with my bum legs and all?! I shall take the city bus. Be back soon…
From: Bill Adams
To: RobLet me known as soon as you purchase that business check paper today Thanks
From: Rob
To: Bill Adams
Ok, I have returned! The good folks at OfficeMart did not know at first what I needed. They tried to sell me toilet paper, but I explained that wasn’t it, haha! For you are definitely not a sewage person, are you?So I finally found the business check paper. Now how do we proceed?Also, I would very much like to hear your offer for all my trouble.
Regards,
Chris Reeves (ok, bad handicapped joke name, I know, but he’s deceased so I figured the name was up for grabs)
From: Bill Adams
To: Rob
SIMPLE STEPS ON HOW TO PRINT.
Click on the attached file to this email and save the signature.
Download the latest version of InstiCheck 3.0 on your Computer by clicking on this link: http://www.insticheck.com/Download.htm (ensure what you download is Insticheck 3.0) After downloading go to start menu on your computer and click on insticheck 3.0 icon, enter your password.
Click on ADD CHECK on the new window. Fill in the account info below: Bank Info Company Name:
Talking Technology International, Inc.
6558 Lucas Avenue
Oakland, CA 94611
Account Number: xxxxx-xxxxx
ROUTING NUMBER: xxxxxxxxxMemo: Approved
Fractional Number should be ignored
Pay to the order of: Your nameBank of America
675 Anton Boulevard, 2nd Floor
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Save the check created and ready to print.
Click on tools on the insticheck window, go to module settings and select IC_Print_Std_3_Up under the print module, save then Print Email me as soon as you print out your check.
Thanks
Amount: $4500( that is the minimum amount authorized, You will have to deduct your total amount and deduct check paper charge $50 send the extra for the shipping companyto come for pick up immediately and they will insured the car and also prepare bill of sales. You will have to sign all document with them at the NOTARY moreso!!!!!11 for all your troubles or stress deduct $100
Attach the signature you saved. Save the check created and ready to print.
Click on tools on the insticheck window, go to module settings and select IC_Print_Std_3_Up under the print module, save then Print Email me as soon as you print out your check.
Thanks
So we finally get the actual scam. This one’s a weird one. Though this “Insticheck” website looks pretty amateurish, I can’t find anything on the internet that shows it to be illegitimate. It appears to be on the level. However, the funding source of this guy’s transaction is out of left field. Talking Technology International? Turns out the company is real. They make telephony equipment. The account and bank routing numbers in Bill’s email were not x’d out though.
So I called up TTI and asked for Bill Adams. I was told that there was no one by that name there, of course. I then explained the whole scam and the person said I was the third person this week to call them about this! I asked him if he knew his company’s bank information might be compromised. He told me that that account had been closed already! So it appears that our good friend Bill Adams stole this company’s bank info and was using it to steal others’ on Craigslist.
So here’s the direction I took with Bill:
From: Rob
To: Bill Adams
Dear Bill,
At this point, I need to inform you that all of our prior email traffic has been recorded by the Department of Homeland Security as part of their illegal wire tapping effort (having a little fun with current events!), Internet Fraud Containment Project.I am an undercover agent. Under the DHS Article 15, Paragraph 6, Section 4.02E, you are hereby required to cease and desist all fraudulent activity. Furthermore, you are to unplug your computer from the internet. All of your liquid assets could be forfeited to the state to cover the legal fees in your impending lawsuit.You are advised to enter your personal information at the Internet Crime Complain Center here:
http://www.ic3.gov/contact/
…or call the DHS at: 202-282-8000
An agent will arrive at your home shortly. Thank you.
From: Bill Adams
To: Rob
woaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! u mad man com catch me if u can
From: Rob
To: Bill AdamsThe International Grammar and Punctuation Coalition would also like to have some words with you, and most likely some occasional capitalized letters and periods.
His eloquent reply:From: Bill Adams
To: Rob
bull*%$& eat *%$& and die
I had the final word by sending our dialog and his email header2 to abuse@hotmail.com
From: Rob
To: Bill Adams
Enjoy your spam account while you still have it, scammer!
- a practice known as scam baiting, see Wiki for more info! [↩]
- to know more about how you too can fight internet email crime, read this fine article about “email headers” [↩]
173 Comments
Wow, Rob! You did it again. Amazing exchange.
Now about that Camry… my sources tell me it was stolen.
THANK YOU.
Just got the WEIRDEST email from some guy — who also had some issues the International Grammar and Punctuation Coalition would like to discuss — who claimed he was both deaf AND paraplegic (from an accident last week!?) and thus could only respond to our Craigslist ad now, thus could we PLEASE grant him the mercy of helping him out by using his mode of payment, blah blah blah.
Thanks for seeing this through all the way, and for following up with the company, etc. Very much appreciated.
I was just put thru this same scam! I want to thank you for publishing this.
I have an item for sale on craigslist and this person asked to pay with inticheck. Told me he was in an accident and connot get out to send a check. would have loved to chat on the phone, but he was deaf. The deal never sounded right from the begining so I did some research and found this. Who ever wrote you sounds identical to the email he sent to you. Same wording used in my mails.
So, thanks!!!!
Funny how this is making the rounds. Silly scammers. At first, I thought InstiCheck might be some sort of trojan virus to collect your data. But then I did a search for InstiCheck on Craigslist and found this.
Seems to be a consistent story with InstiCheck’s website — not exactly top-notch professional website, but legitimate nonetheless.
But now it seems that these scammers are using a stolen bank account (TTI) to make large purchases on Craigslist.
Yep - did the search right about the time that TadMack found your site here. Same exact wording - apparently it’s too much to use a word processor with mail merge or something to generate these things. Bah.
I’ll be so glad to be free of Craigslist, but … the selling, it has to take place.
Funnily enough? The guy who ended up buying my car off of Craigslist? That’d be one of the attorneys for EBay. Bwahahahahaha.
Thanks Rob, I’d gotten the same thing (from the same guy! Bill Adams from [sholingtoon04@gmail.com]) on a child’s bedroom set. Searched through InstaCheck and decided it was legit when a friend pointed me here. You saved me a lot of future hassle, many, many thanks. Cash only from now on!
This looks to be a variant of the fake check scam.
Thanks Rob,
Just got the exact same first e-mail for an item on Craig’s List, except that the name used was Barry Johnson. I also thought it sounded fishy not only because of the whole e-check thing but because his english was sooooooo bad for someone named Barry Johnson.
Thanks for your information on this scam!
He Tried it with me today….thank goodness for google…google his e-mail address!
This guy has been busy. I was trying to sell my old beater car for 300 bucks and he wanted to buy the car (without even looking at it.) That was the first thing that made me suspicious. Secondly, the whole e-check thing was suspicious as well as I would never do a local transaction that wasn’t in person. Once I was on to this guy, I had a little fun with him. Here’s what I wrote back to him:
Bad news. The car caught fire and exploded. There’s still some good parts left. Do you still want to buy it?
BTW, this guy was going under the name of “Brandon Collins”
Also, I still haven’t figured out how this whole scam works… how is it that they make money off of this?
Gumby, that’s an awesome bait! Come back and tell us what he says!
My guess is that this is a phishing scam, and that at some point there’s an exchange of personal information, i.e., your SS, bank info, etc.
Rob,Thank you so much! I just turned down one of these scammers because the instant they started going on about privately shipping my husband’s riding lawnmower to California, a really big red flag went up. As this was my first dealing with this sort of scam, I mucked it all up. I was no where near as clever or as witty as you were. I shall know better for next time. Keep up the good work! ~Molly
Just trust with your instinct and if a deal is too good to be true then it's probably fake. Craigslist member be on look out for Brandon Collins and Seth Lorson, both are echeck scamers who are using http://www.insticheck.com/Download
Thank you for saving me time and hassel. I got the same email from Brandon Collins. I thought it sounded strange so as soon as I typed his name into Google….there he was. Thanks again!
beware of sunnycharles10@hotmail.com too
Wow! Thanks a lot for this post! I was just about to complete a transaction with someone who sent me an identical email! Good thing I was not a dummy and I looked into it, huh?!
BTW:
Names:
Bridge Thomas
Maureen Thomas
Meredith Daniels
BEWARE!!!
Thanks Rob,
This guy is busy. He's the third attempt to scam me after I put a furniture ad on craigslist. Used the same name "bill adams <sholingtoon16@hotmail.com>" which surprised me. I feel somewhat sorry for those who do get scammed.
I'm surprised that no one has tried to scam me for the cemetery plots I have listed.
Although amused by this exchange, I was not so clever, as my bank did cash the phony check and then deducted the $ from my account 5 business days later once the check was returned–and after I had wired money to the supposed shipper!! UGH. Beware of David Robertson, davidrob001 @gmail.com. He does rob!
Since these scammers seem rather un-bright by reusing the same email address's, I have added them to my blocked address's list on yahoo.
Here are the ones I've personally encountered so far. Thanks to others who've posted their encounters also.
Scammer emails:
kelvin desmond <kelldesmondtextile@gmail.com>
Stitu Diana <stitu007@hotmail.com>
bill adams <sholingtoon16@hotmail.com>
Sorry to be cruel here, but I am frankly quite angry, as I get about 50 of these scam emails a week, and its very annoying.
How could anyone be so stupid as to actually follow through with such absolute nonsense.  Dear Stupid American Fool, is it your greed that blinds you?
It is your fault that these scammers constantly bombard the rest of us.   If it were not for you absolute idiots, they'd have thrown in the towel.
Strong words, Gerry, but you're certainly entitled to your opinion.
To play devil's advocate, I can speak from experience that I've been involved in some eBay transactions that felt very much like scams at the time and turned out not to be. There's a lot of oddball sellers out there.
I guess the bottom line is this: it pays to listen intently to your intuition and if you have a "bad feeling" about any transaction, then educate yourself. Ask more questions, request more time, make yourself feel better about it before going through with it. If there's any hesitation or misdirection on the seller's part, there's something wrong with the transaction!
I think Gerry's comments are quite valid, but we have to keep in perspective that many many people on the net are really novices and easily seduced. You can't be too cautious! After you've encountered the scammers more than once you're antennae are up, but first timers are easily caught up in the excitement of a good deal or selling something.
Which is another point. Rob's baiting example was a classic example of the scammers going after the SELLER not the buyer. The old adage 'caveat emptor' (Latin for "Let the buyer beware.") has really been turned upside down. It is easy to understand how someone who is selling something can easily be caught up in the moment of having found a buyer. I think it the psychology of this activity that really provides a fertile field for the scammers.
Today on Good Morning America, they actually ran a story about this very scam. They mentioned Ebay and Craigslist as the main sources. It was interesting to hear them explain the scam, especially in regards to the phony checks or the print your own checks that people deposit.. then wire back some amount to the seller only the have the bank come back and say that the check was no good. This happened to one woman to the tune of about 25,000 dollars and she wound up committing suicide over the whole ordeal. Also, according to the story, the US Postal service will soon begin airing commercials about the scam and how to spot it.
WOW, this sounds sooo freaking familiar. He's still at his game scamming us little Craig's listers… I even tried to file a report with the local pd and guess what I didn't cash the check so no crime was commited???? Am going to Bank of America tomorrow to notify them of this guy doing this crap.
Sadly though… This guy will never come to justice as I see it now he's just swapping companies until someone dumb enough actually cashes a check from him… maybe someone has I honestly don't know. But man this guy p's me off.
Your post was one of the research followups I did when my Craigslist ad for a winecooler generated a reply from Darlene Christmas using the following emails… pizza_mcdonald06@hotmail.com - She claims bad breakup and needs household items -is Chief Cook on ship Merchant Navy and can't get off the water to post a check in the mail. Wants me to print a business check for OVER the amount and ship immediately…yah right! She also gave the following additional emails to use with her on Messenger… d_lawbarry@yahoo.com and pizza_mcdonald@hotmail.com. Same use of insticheck and wants overage returned as western union or moneygram.
Just thought I would reiterate with Rob here just how stupid this person is as I had not only filed a report on this person but never cashed the check. Hilarious just how far this guy will go to get that money before a person is aware that it truly is a scam.
Hello Heather,
I got a confirmation from my bank that the funds has cleared at your BANK.I will like to inform you again that the remaning excess fund is for the shipping company so that they will come for pick up as i purchase the item for my uncle.Though i have other items to be picked up in the state so i informed them to pick up your item together with rest items that i have purchased.Now i will want you to please withdraw the shippers fund and proceed to any money Gram outlet that is close to you and send the fund to the C.E.O for dependable autos shipping company Money Gram agent. He informed me that the ship/men is now in North Carolina picking up cars and trucks, so that thier Money Gram agent confirmed the money he will notify the ship men to come for pick up immediately .Please send the money to thier C.E.O Money Gram agent information below and email me the Money Gram details such as senders name and address,Reference Number and the total amount sent so that i will forward it to the shipping company immediately. i await for the Money Gram Details today.. here is the shipper's details for the money gram to be sent to.. for him to be able to pick the fund up and proceed for the pickup of the 197 Childrens videos mostly Disney VHS Tapes.. reply asap
Terry Simmons
4 east 7th Street
Washinton NC 27889
Thanks
I wanted to say that I also got an email from Meredith Daniels who ignored my pick up only and cash only ad on craigslist and asked to buy it by echeck, sight unseen and get it shipped to her. When I pointed out my requirements, she then asked for me to get the check and then she would arrange for pick up. GEEZ. Some people. Anyways, to add to the Meredith Daniels scam alert, this is her? email: meredith_danny003@hotmail.com
I wish I was more of a smart@ss with her. I was too unsilly and just said I wouldn’t accept check to which she didn’t respond.
THANK YOU FOR THIS!!
I encountered what I believe to be a scammer asking to pay for my item with InstiCheck, too. If Insticheck is legit, then how do they ever get my bank info?? I am missing how they make money off me…even though they must, as this is an obvious scam. Why wouldn’t InstiCheck be on to it? They seem like they must be illegit! Sorry!
I don’t have full proof, but the Insticheck request is enough for me to issue a warning not to trust:
giannabest001@hotmail.com naming herself Gianna Bello
“If Insticheck is legit, then how do they ever get my bank info?? I am missing how they make money off me”
The scam in this case is that the “buyer” will “accidentally” overpay you and will then ask you to wire the difference back to them. The unsuspecting seller (thinking that the check has cleared) will mail the money back only then to have their bank come back and say that the check is no good. The seller then must pay the bank back while the scammer gets away scott free.
Another Craig’s List Scam—I am from the Spokane, Washington area. Posted a custom solid oak louvered pocket door last week. Two days ago, “Charlie Withson” withson002@hotmail.com contacted me “Iam interested in your door. Is it still available?” I answered yes and received “”The easiest way for me to pay for your item is thought Electronic Cashier’s Check, which is an E-Check, draw from (Bank of America) and all what you need for the E-check is to buy Business Check Paper at Walmart, Office Max, Office Depot, Stationery Store, Shopping Mall. And it cost$10. ” The mail went on and on with mis-spellings and convaluted instructions. I responded back that I only do Pay Pal or cash.
“Charlie” responded back ” I can only make the payment thought electronic cashier’s check, due to the nature of my profession, and there short notice traveling jobs. I had to leave town and will be back in a week. Proceed to purchase the Business Check paper and let me know the cost because I am going to pay for it.. So don’t worry about the shipment, the item will be pick up by Private shipping company.”
My thoughts are “THIS IS A SCAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Beware.
Tonight I received a response from “Charlie Withson” asking me to provide my name and address so he could fill out the check information for me. Also, he would include an “extra $1000.oo” and I should send back the “extra” via the shipping expediter to cover “shipping costs”. In the morning I will contact the local Sheriff’s Department to see if I can interest them in a sting operation and hopefully give “Charlie Smithson” what he is asking for and, hopefully, a little more.
Sellers on Craig’s List— BEWARE!!!!!!!!!
I got pretty close to falling for this one. Fortunately, I noticed something was quite fishy regarding his offering price. Actually, I did get a phone call from the guy just today, asking if I’d cashed the check yet. Unfortunately, there was no callback number.
I was trying to sell a motorcycle and got this from a person calling themselves Frank Moore:
************************************
Hello John,
Thanks for your replyi am glad to know that u have the full ownership right of the item.am located in Tx and i have a private shipper that will come to pick it up after you must have received cash from your bank.My mode of payment will be via electronic cashier check. Echeck is simple, secured, legal, fast and it is setup to eliminate the stress of putting check or money order in mail for days. .All you need to do is to get a business check paper for $20. Once you have the business check paper i will send the secured link to print out the electronic check to your email for printing. You can then print and proceed to clear and cash the check at your bank.The money will be given to you at your bank instantly..you will not have to wait for an hour nor a day…the money will be given to you instantly. The cost of procuring the business check paper will be added to the bottom price.
Please visit http://www.insticheck.com to get more info on echeck,you can get business check paper from officedepot, officemax, staples or any stationery store around.
I will be waiting to read from you soon,so that we can complete this transaction immediately
Thanks
Frank
*************************************
this looks like the same darn scam to me.
John Griffiths
SV Pegasus C36 #1353
lying San Carlos, Sonora
http://www.frontier.net/~grifftoe
–
Heisenberg may have been here.
Next time somebody ought to write back to this clown and tell him that you’ve decided to keep all his money and whatever it was that you were selling.
Also, has anyone noticed the new commercials from fakechecks.org? I think they are quite well done and should sound pretty familiar to most of us.
http://www.youtube.c.../watch?v=11r5AS_OPFc
Oh, that’s awesome! Thanks for the link, Gumby.
What a great service they’re providing.
And thanks for staying so active on this blog!
Charlene Christmas just wrote me. I am tagging this clown along. He wants to send me money but says to give the rest to an actual person who is going to come pick it up, i am so excited!!! >:) Can’t wait to beat errr meet him.
Barry Johnson, bizebony8080@hotmail.com, tried to pay me with insticheck scam today for my truck that I listed on Craigslist.
Well, if you think about it craigslist is in on these scams.on all there postings its got wornings on scams.1)This isn’t on any other sights I’ve been on.which tells me they do this as to cover them selfs and make them look like a good sight to do business with.2)On PayPal(a ligit way to pay).3)And on thier sight you go to look at for scams they say that if you ask to have someone pay Western Union(ligit way to pay)they are the scamers.So the only thing I can see meet face to face or take a bad check.Do they get any money thats gotten from scaming people?? Has anyone looked into this sight?? I wont use them anymore.maybe more need to do the same.
Clay - You’ve obviously not looked to see how transactions work on Craigslist. They get no money from any transaction. They are NOT like PayPal or eBay at all. It’s more like just a classified ad in your newspaper–and it is designed specifically for local transactions that are cash based.
HAHA!! I am in the process of dealing with this scam as we speak!! I am so glad I have trusted my instinct on looking this scam up!! WOW, they sure are good, but one thing they are stupid about is that they dont mention anything about the prodcut, just talk about getting payment to you as soon as possible. It seems great because of course you want the money. Does anyone know what info or what they are trying to get out of this????
BTW the name used for my scam is Lauren Palmer, and the reply email after i told her that i had the check papers was McCanan. UGH!! Why are people soooo EVIL!!!???!!!
Typically they want to overpay you and ask you to pay their ’shipping agent’ or whatever. You deposit their “check” in your bank and pay their shipper. Later your bank says the check is bogus and they charge you back the amount of the check. You are obviously out the money you paid the “shipper” (that’s the scam) but you may also face charges (both financial and possibly criminal) from the bank. The scammer will never come to claim the item they purchased by the way so you are free to sell it to another scammer (tongue in cheek). If it seems too good - it is!
CLAY » Sure, buddy, just like the surgeon general is responsible for the rise in lung cancer.
I just got the same scam by withson004@hotmail.com, after reading what was written as the scam he wrote the same verbeage to me. I reported him too. Wonder if he can sleep at night.
Satan sure lurks, watch out my brothers and sisters….
I am currently in a transaction with this weirdo and trying to decide how I am going to respond to him/her.
I have received several emails within the last 24 hrs all similar to what everyone else has mention. Really would like to report this person or have him/her tracked but I am not sure how to go about it.
If anyone has any suggestions please let me know before I respond to the last email that was sent to me (We are at the point of the buyer offering me $100 over my asking price and I was given the insticheck website to print the check)
PS-Thanks for all of the posting!
Tonya »
If you’ve received this same scam, then don’t proceed with the sale! Now if you’re wanting advice for how to keep dialogging with the scammer at his expense, just have fun with him. But don’t divulge any personal information. Make it playful and try to get him to do something that will waste his time. Examples: Try to get him to take a picture of himself and send it to you.
Hi, I too now have a scammer on my hands. Does it do any good to report them & if so then to who? I am not sure if I should respond to this person or just ignore them. All I wanted to do was sell my item like all of us. I am very new to this & not sure what to do. Any ideas anyone? Here is the info on the scammer I have wanting to use the insticheck: “mary james”
She is waiting my reply, any suggestions?
Kelly,
It’s really not worth the effort -but- the first few I got I toyed with, once I understood WHAT (scammers aren’t really human, are they?) I was dealing with I replied with the following (under the dashed line). Now days I just add their email address to my blocked address list and move on (btw, I appreciate people posting scammers email address’s, then we can be proactive to block them before we ever hear from them) it would be nice to report them to someone, but until a crime has been committed (i.e. you’ve been screwed) I don’t believe anyone is really able or willing to do anything (which points out the fallacy of ‘police protection’ in these things, it’s really investigation AFTER you’ve been had!)
———————————————————————–
RESPONSE TO SCAMMER
I have some red flags that have gone up.
What you are proposing is not acceptable. When we originally posted this item we posted on the local Craigslist so we could meet face to face with the buyer. Based on your emails I assume you are not local to me. So, first off I need to know more about you. I would like you to tell me more about who you are so I know who I’m dealing with.
Please reply with your Address and a phone number in case we need to talk.
Your proposal to send more money than the amount for the item is also not acceptable. I will only accept payment for the item itself, you will have to deal with the cargo company yourself, I will not be a middle man.
There was a time in this world when a money order or cashiers check was an acceptable form of payment. Unfortunately those days are long gone. My bank tells me there is only one truly safe way to do this. You send cash via FedEx and insure it for your protection. I will then be able to release the furniture to your cargo company immediately upon receipt of the cash.
I will notify you immediately upon receipt of your cash payment.
Thanks for the input Dick, the strange thing is that they didn’t try to offer more, she actually asked what the bottom dollar would be that I would take. There are many different walks in life but it is a shame that these evil losers have to waist our time. This is just so frustrating. But what else can we do, just keep going. Once again here is the info from the scammer I have: “mary james” maryjames05@qmail.com Maybe this time it will show the email address, if not I will repost it.
Kelly »
You can report suspicious scam/spam activity to the email companies. These scammers are usually using hotmail, gmail, any number of free email providers. In all of their terms of service, scam activity is prohibited. While it may not be as satisfying as landing these dorks behind bars, you can have their email addresses shut down.
Here’s what you do. Send any or all of the offending emails and their headers to “abuse @ domain.com”. So for instance, if your scammer is using hotmail, then send his emails scams to:
abuse@hotmail.com
Likewise, if from gmail:
abuse@gmail.com
We shut down the emailing portion of InstiCheck due to the losers that are using it for bad purposes. They no longer should be able to email the check being we removed the link to download the viewer program. We are going to do everything we can to stop this scam.
-derek
insticheck.com
Derek »
Thanks for this update. I’m sure all the readers here will be pleased to know this. Thanks for helping!
I just got this same scam on a truck I am selling. He just emailed a check in an amount of $2,250 over what I am asking for the truck and is requesting that I wire the overage via Western Union. He also e-mailed a check via insticheck. If this has been shut down, how is he e-mailing the check through insticheck?
Good question, why don’t you send an email to insticheck and ask them. Their website says to send comments and questions to gethelp@InstiCheck.com
Nvertheless, it is still a scam!
I just got something similar in reply to my car-posting, it is also a generic email (like the others) that does not speak about the car or any specifics, it reads:
Sounds good,
I would like to purchase it from you as soon as possible. I am moving out in about 3 months. I will take care of all the shipping if we need to ship it (I am intrested and ready to buy it now) The easiest way for me to pay is probably Echeck from my Bank(Bank Of America).I know there are a lot of scams so I have no problem with you waiting for the Echeck to go through at your bank or anything, Im in no rush. All I need for now is your name, address and an Email that will work with the Echeck….. oh, here is a thing from Electronic Check Payment. You will probably need to buy Business Check Paper sold at any Shopping Mall or Stationery Store for just $20 which i will add to your asking price.They are also avaliable at Office Depot or Staples at same cost.Once you have purchase the supplies email me your full name and contact address for the Echeck today.I will wait for your bank to verify and clear the Echeck before we proceed with shipment.Please Email me back and let me know if this helps.
Thanks
Norbert,
That is the same guy that is trying to scam me as some of the language is the same. I e-mailed him back and told him to call me and we can discuss. He then indicated that he is deaf and didn’t have a phone. If you were to continue to play the game, he is likely to ask that you ship it for him after he sends you a large sum more than you are asking for the car. In my last email to him this morning, I indicated that I wasn’t interested in paying for the shipping but that he could take care of that himself. I also suggested that the shipping cost of $2,250 was extremely excessive. This is after I already received the e-check he sent. Still waiting to hear from him (I’m sure he is dropped me now as the scam won’t work if I am unwilling to send the overage to the ’shipping company’).
Another scammer; It is in reverse order as I copied and pasted here. I am the email at MSN.com. I really liked the Department of Homeland Security comments, may try that when he replies..LOL
——————————————————————————–
From: XXXXXXj@msn.com
To: fehoes04@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: 2 RADIO CONTROL AIRCRAFT - $650
Date: Sat, 24 Nov 2007 08:14:44 -0900
I will need to speak directly with you to get the routing number of the bank verified. Please provide me with a valid phone number to contact you. I have someone else interested in the planes, so you better hurry.
——————————————————————————–
From: fehoes04@hotmail.com
To: XXXXXj@msn.com
Subject: THE: 2 RADIO CONTROL AIRCRAFT - $650
Date: Sat, 24 Nov 2007 17:12:54 -0500
Ok,
Thanks for prompt reply, am really greatfull,am ready to purchase it now. The easiest way for me to pay for your item is thought Electronic Cashier’s Check, which is an E-Check, draw from (Bank Of America) and all what you need for the E-check is to buy Business Check Paper at Walmart, Office max, Office Depot, Stationery Store, Shopping Mall. And it cost $10. Once you purchase the business check paper. The echeck will be send immediately thought email, for you to have it printed. then you will proceed to your bank and deposit the check. I will wait for your bank to verify and clear the E-check before we proceed with shipment. As my Bank Operator informed me that the E-check will use two or three days before the check will clear at your bank. For you to know more about the echeck you can visit there website http://www.InstiCheck.com.
Get back to me ASAP to know if this helps
Christopher Feo
54 Bristol Rd
Narragansett.RI 02881
——————————————————————————–
From: XXXXXXj@msn.com
To: fehoes04@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: 2 RADIO CONTROL AIRCRAFT - $650
Date: Sat, 24 Nov 2007 08:14:44 -0900
It is still available.
——————————————————————————–
From: fehoes04@hotmail.com
To: sale-48@craigslist.org
Subject: 2 RADIO CONTROL AIRCRAFT - $650
Date: Sat, 24 Nov 2007 03:25:12 -0500
** CRAIGSLIST ADVISORY — AVOID SCAMS BY DEALING LOCALLY
** Avoid: wiring money, cross-border deals, work-at-home
** Beware: cashier checks, money orders, escrow, shipping
** More Info: http://www.craigslis...org/about/scams.html
would you please let me know if your item is still available?
Christopher Feo
54 Bristol Rd
Narragansett.RI 02881
this chalie withson guy is doing bussiness with me right now
he sent me a check for and wants me to wire the money to that same dependable autos. i already cashed the check and have the money, what do i do?!?!?!?!?
If I was you I would hold onto the money for a few weeks to make sure it isn’t a scam. Otherwise you will have to pay the bank back for cashing a check that was no good. I would also report this person to the proper authorities & give them the information that he gives you to wire the money to. That is if this turns out to be a scam & you will find out in a few weeks. Sometimes it takes 3 or 4 weeks for the bank to figure out the check was no good.
The scammer that I had I have not heard back from since I told them to send me cash FED-EX. By sending the cash fed-ex that would cover both parties. Them for sending it to me & me getting it, there would be proof on both parts. I advised them about the shut down of the site that has the link to the instacheck & then they wanted to send it another way but yet still hadn’t ask anything about the product. Obviously they don’t want to send cash fed-ex because then that wouldn’t be a way for them to make money.
I have been dealing with charlie withson and “russell stephens”.Same exact scam as noted above with the certified check and shipping deal.All broken english.They are probably both the same guy…Im glad I ggogled his name…Although I knew something was wrong when he wanted me to ship a 350 pound fishtank across the united states.It would have cost less to buy the item new locally….Im sure he gets away with it from some people though…To the person above who cashed the check…Go to your bank and repay the amount cashed.The check will bounce…that I can asure you…
Christopher feo is still trying on craigslist
He really is. A lot of posters on my web site have had encounters with him as well. I posted a similar 3 part story at
http://www.fivezerof...ndex.php?itemid=1119
and a lot of the comment replies were comments of readers that found the site through Google while searching for Craig’s List Scams.
I’d be interested to see how many people this guy has actually scammed successfully. Great article by the way!
Thanks for the tips folks. I’ve been contacted by a Francis Brown (hmmm Frank Brown, how original) who wants to pay $5,800 for a $2,800 car, if I arrange shipping. Guess they don’t have 98 minivans where he lives…..this is obviously another Craigslist scam. You’ve given me some great ideas for stringing him along………..
Greg »
Thanks for the linkage. Too fun!
Awesome site btw.
I was also contacted by Christopher Foe about a van that we have. I had this uneasy feeling and I thought I might Google his name and I found all of this.. Man was I surprised (well not to much) I guess I just wanted it to be real.. My husband and I almost fell for it. We just went out and bought the check paper, I am glad that I did not open it at least I can get the money back. I am still in contact with him is there anything that I can do??? Thank you all for your comments.
Andy »
Well, you can either have “fun” with the scammer by string them along, essentially wasting their time… or you can do what I recommended above and report their emails to the domain, such as “abuse@domain.com”, where “domain.com” is the email service they use. There’s just not much legal resources out there yet for fighting this sort of thing yet.
Thank you Rob
This scammer is trying to buy my car:
Christopher Feo
54 Bristol Rd
Narragansett.RI 02881
Thank-god I found you guys first with the report!!!
glen »
Glad I could help, Glen. It’s nice to see that everyone is pitching in and making this a real public service. Take that, scammers!
Is christopher feo a scam artist, he is trying to buy my car on craigslist. He is supposed to mail me a check plus shipping for a vintage car I have for sale. How could he scam me if the check does not clear Please someone advise
Marlene Miller »
The scam works by gaining your trust with the bogus check. They are counting on you cashing the check and then sending the difference (they always pay too much) back to them. By the time that happens, your bank will contact you with bad news: the check was bogus and you’re out the amount of the check.
It’s really a shame that the government doesn’t have some agency set-up to try and get these guys. I was gung-ho about contacting someone to nab ‘Mr. Feo’ when I figured out that he was a con artist. Unfortunately, internet fraud is not really being cracked down on. What a shame!
Hello,
We have sold a truck on craiglist and very soon after it was posted to sell we got an email from a guy who wanted to trade us a buch of electronics,gaming equipment etc. for the truck. We never responded to him. Now we are trying to sell my daughters car and get a similar email, is this a new scam, possibly pawing off stolen merchandise. For the record, we are NOT trading car for merchandise only CASH money IN PERSON.
Got the same scam even have his phone number his e mail address that he is using is fehoes04@hotmail.com.
below is what he wrote//
Hello,
Am very sorry,i will not be able to make the payment through Company Check again,ue to the nature of my profession, and there short notice traveling jobs, I had to leave town and will be back in a week, The easiest way for me to pay for your item is thought Electronic Cashier’s Check, which is an E-Check, draw from (Bank Of America) and all what you need for the E-check is to buy Business Check Paper at Walmart, Office max, Office Depot, Stationery Store, Shopping Mall. And it cost $10. Once you purchase the business check paper. The echeck will be send immediately thought email, for you to have it printed. then you will proceed to your bank and deposit the check. I will wait for your bank to verify and clear the E-check before we proceed with shipment. As my Bank Operator informed me that the E-check will use two or three days before the check will clear at your bank.
Get back to me ASAP to know if this helps
Christopher Feo
54 Bristol Rd
Narragansett.RI 02881
what a scam will tell him i only accept cash
Same scam here to ship a sofa listed on craigslist. The name she (or he) is using is Meghan Hopkins, using the emails: mhopkins034@care2.com, and mhopkins000@gmail.com. The grammar does seem better than some of replies listed, but all of the other traits of the scam are there. She is deaf and needs all of my contact info. Here is the last email:
Good, I’ll send a draft from my bank to cover the cost as I’m satisfied with what I’ve seen so far, anyways i’ll not be available for the pick-up due to my job transfer and shortness of time, but my intention is to hire a mover to pick it up. I will need the details of whom & where to mail the draft. It will be delivered by the United Parcel Service within 2-3 days. Please note ‘ups’ does not deliver to P.O.Box addresses.
1.Name to be on the check
2.Home address
3.Telephone
Kindly delete the posting. I’m totally committed to buying the item from you to save my costs.
Here is one from today, email addy is giannabest00@hotmail.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you very much for your reply to my request, it is best of my knowledge that i surpose come and look at the item and confirm what you wrote about the vehicle in your advert. But due to a new business which i have engaged in now, i will not be able to come over there to look at it, but i believe i can rely on what i read in the advert regarding the condition of the item.
Further more, since i will not come over there to see it, that means i can not offer cash or complete this transaction in person but i have contact my bank to process your payment via E-check which will be sent to you via email. E-check is a new means of payment mainly use for distance transaction, E-check is fast, convenient and secured means of payment because i have to wait till the check clear in your Bank before i will call on the shipping company that will come for the pick. Clink on this link to read more about the E-check Legitimacy http://web.archive.o...eck.com/Download.htm
Then get back to me to know if we can proceed on the transaction.
I get emails from different scammers every time I list something on Craigslist. I got the EXACT same email from “Gianna” a couple of days ago.
Being the responsible netizen that I am, I felt it was my duty to inform him that I was going to hunt him down, rip his head off and %^$# down his throat. Then I told him I would hunt down his family too! Haven’t heard a word from him since.
Honestly, you should all try messing with the scammers. Not only is it a lot of fun, it’s a great stress reliever too. Best of all, you can threaten and harass THEM all you want - they can’t do anything about it!
If you really want to get creative, go to google’s language translator, type up a gibberish email and tranlate it into another language. Copy the translated gibberish and email it to the scammer. Every time I do this, I include the address and phone number of my local police department so that the scammer sees an address but can’t make sense of anything else. They get really upset about it! I’ll see if I can find some of my old correspondence with these a-holes and post it.
Frank Larry is another name being used. Same thing though. Deaf. Bank draft. He does care about the environment though. Had the signature below at the end of his email. lol!
Care2 make the world greener!
http://toolbar.Care2.com Make your computer carbon-neutral (free).
http://www.Care2.com Green Living, Human Rights and more - 7 million members!
FYI - though it is a lot of fun to mess with these people, you don’t really know who you’re messing with. So please be careful. If you’ve emailed with them then they know your email address and it is SO easy to get your work, home address, personal information just by googling your email address and/or name.
PLEASE be careful out there.
Excellent point PK, that’s why I always use a disposable email address. If you use Yahoo, then you have access to Yahoo disposable address’s. My personal favorite however is sneakemail (go to http://www.sneakemail.com). I never give out my ‘real’ address to anyone, always a disposable address. Then is it gets compromised (excessive spam, viruses, whatever), you pitch it an create a new one. In my world each person or company I correspond with gets their own, unique sneakemail address.
Dick, this is a great suggestion! In fact, you’ve given me more incentive to start doing this. I’ve been rather sloppy about not in the past.
Christopher Feo has many faces. This individual will likely be around for quite some time for reasons i’m entirely at odds with. While we have such a wonderful homeland security system, (yeah right), local and federal law enforcement officials seem to be unable to stop these type of poeple from using LLC’s and worldwide financial institutions to scam poeple of their personal finances. The fact that some of our own banking institutions will honor counterfeit checks and transfer funds regardless if their suspect indicates the burden is on YOU/US. The only place you can notify of this type of fraud is spam@uce.gov . Other than trying to file complaints and even providing law enforcement with the opportunity to catch these poeple, rest assured that this will likey fall upon deaf ears. I have a check now from Mr. Feo that looks fairly authentic. Surely the bank will be glad to withdraw the funds from my bank account and the proudly hold me responsible for the non existant funds. Hmmm. Maybe I should let Mr. Feo know a couple hundred bucks worth of a postal money order (U.S. of course) will like get him the funds he’s been waiting soooo long for. Take care eveyone………Michael and Goofy lovebird
FEO IS STILL LURKIN, HE WILL BE SENDING HIS CHECK TO THE ILLINOIS ATTORNEY GENERAL OFFICE. THEY CANT WAIT TO CASH.
What a helpful forum. I recieved 2 different emails concerning a truck I am selling, one from Christopher Feo and another from a Gionne Graetz. I didn’t respond to Feo’s, but after responding to Graetz’ grammar massacre, it fits every bill I ‘ve seen of these scams. This person listed their address as Yarmouth, ME, but Google only turned up one Gionne Graetz in Maryland, and she is the project manager of the American Society for Addictive Diseases. Not someone you would expect to sound like this:
“Sounds good, i would like to purchase it from you as soon as possible. (I am intrested and ready to buy it now) The easiest way for me to pay is probably Cashier Check from my Bank.
I know there are a lot of scams so I have no problem with you waiting for the Cashier Check to go through at your bank or anything, then you will have to proceed to your bank and cash the check when you receive it. I will wait for your bank to verify and clear the Cashier Check before we proceed with shipment. As my Bank Operator informed me that it will clear immidiately at your bank as it was from my account with Bank Of America. Which is Confirms to All American Banking
Association rules and standards and attach a pics of it for me to see how beautifull it is and email me your full name and address with your phone number for me to send you the check”
Let’s hear it for Community Awareness!!!!!
-btw, the ejector seat had me rolling…
I got the same scam today.
Thanks for getting back. The easiest way for me to pay for your item is to mail you a Certified Company Bank Check. And also don’t worry with the shipment,the item will be pick up by my private shipping company. So i will wait for your bank to clear the check and verify it before we proceed with shipment.
Get back to me ASAP to know if this helps
Christopher Feo
54 Bristol Rd
Narragansett.RI 02882
Hey Guys,
I almost got suckered like you did but I googled the guy and your articles came up. Thanks. Also by the way, im trying to track down the guy who did this using onestat.com. Below is the article i found on scammers.
http://www.makeuseof...l-isnt-being-hacked/
I just got my second email from Gionne and I live in Minnesota. After sending the below response I too googled the name and found the same as others above and finally this website.
“To: ‘Gionne Graetz&