Surely they can't think I'd fall for this.....

[KS71owner]

So I posted a couple ads (on craigslist and facebook marketplace) to sell off my old Crown Vic....now that I have a truck I really don't need it anymore. I get a couple phone calls last night, standard inquiries and then a couple of emails this morning. This is the latest one......


I'm fine with the price and condition and i will like to proceed with the payment process.
The mode of payment will be through certified check that will be mailed to you directly from the company my mom used to work with.  The fund the check will bear ($3500) is the total sum of money they ought to have payed her before her retirement. She has always said she would use the money to get this vehicle...lol...
   I would have loved to come and see the vehicle myself but I'm not presently in the States that is why I'll be instructing the company to issue the check in your name and have it mailed directly to you.
   Am not in rush while i will wait for you to deposit it and your bank to verify and clear the check before proceeding with the shipping.  After you must have cashed out the money, you will deduct your fund of $1000 and have the rest sent to my mom through western union or money gram so that she may continue with the shipment process.
   The shipping company will immediately proceed with shipment paper work and also bill of sales that will be sign at the NOTARY before pick up.
     
    NOTE:  Before i can ask that the fund be sent to you, i REALLY need to talk to you on phone to verify if you are real.  I'm sorry if this sounds like an  insult but you know there are a lot of scam going on out there and in this kind of situation, one can never be too careful... All I want is clean transaction and beside that is why my mom is making me handle this for her.

   So get back to me ASAP with your full name and the address with which you want to receive check  (not P.O Box)  and your  PHONE #.
   Thanks.

never mind that the two emails came only a few minutes apart but from two different extensions with the same username. So, let's tally up the red flags here....

-admitted to be out of country 
-buying for an alleged third party
-check from unnamed company, for MORE than asking price
-balance to be returned via Western Union by me to somebody else. 
-they "always said" they wanted this car....and it's been posted for less than 24 hours. 
-they want to SHIP IT?? WTF

so should I p-p-p-powerbook this guy?   http://www.zug.com/pranks/powerbook/

[The70RT]

Yeah I see the same thing tear after year,they send the same thing over and over. It's like they all use the same substandard form and hope one one person a week falls for it  

[Todd Wilson]

YEah thats a standard way to do things. I had the same thing try and happen a few years ago when I had a cab of a pickup truck for sale. They are hoping you will have enough in your account so you can just deposit their check and turn right around and send out via western union or what ever the difference or give the delivery person cash. It was 2 days of emails. I even sent a few extra photos of the cab to the "buyer" before he said he would buy it and sent me an email that was about word for word of what you posted.   Why the authorities dont try and go thru with one of these transactions and bust someone is beyond me. Happens a lot.


Todd

[TK73]

Have a little fun:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scam_baiting

Scam baiting is a form of Internet vigilantism  where the vigilante poses as a potential victim to the scammer in order to waste their time, gather information that will be of use to authorities, or publicly humiliate the scammer. It is, in essence, a form of social engineering that may have an altruistic motive or may be motivated by malice. It is primarily used to thwart the 419 Nigerian advance-fee scam and can be done either out of a sense of civic duty or as a form of amusement.

http://forum.419eater.com/forum/

[KS71owner]

I'm seriously considering scambaiting. I've got a connection in local law enforcement fraud division who will be  getting this info later but may have some fun with them first.  

I wonder if I could trick them into sending me money via Paypal.....

[The70RT]

I'm seriously considering scambaiting. I've got a connection in local law enforcement fraud division who will be  getting this info later but may have some fun with them first.  

I wonder if I could trick them into sending me money via Paypal.....

They probably in Indonesa or some other third world shithole and have't got a pot to piss in.