I have a few items out on the net for sale on ebay, Facebook Marketplace, and Craigslist. The other day the following inquiry about one of the items for sale came through:
“I will like to purchase this item is it available for sales let me know and what is the condition of the item send me mail concerning the item to odunminiyi@aim.com with mode of payment”
Although suspicious, I sent them the process to place their order and how to pay along with some additional information about the product. As suspected, they come back with the classic scenario where they are purchasing for a client and will be using their own shipping company that will come by and pick up the item as well as the payment will be more than the asking price for the item:
“I want you to realize that i’m a serious buyer and i told you in my previous mail that i’m purchasing this item on behalf of my client.And my client will be using a certified check as the mode of payment. But the issue is that the amount on the check/money order is more than your item fee.I’ll take care of shipping myself with my shipping company account# they will come pick up at your address . So i now want you to promise me that as soon as you receive the check, you’l only deduct the money for the item and western union the balance immediately. I want you to tell me that you’re trustworthy. If you can, i want you to get back to me with your full name and address so that i can give to my client to mail you other payment. ”
Hopefully, everyone knows what happens next in this scenario right? They send a check, we wire them the balance, and the check turns out to be no good. There’s plenty already written about this and so we direct you to resources on this subject:
- http://www.oodle.com/info/safety_guidelines/
- http://www.ic3.gov/crimeschemes.aspx
- http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams
Invest some time into learning about how to avoid internet fraud.