Craigslist Scams

I'm a relatively new user of Craigslist.  I started running some ads last month for some of the equipment and stuff I was selling, and all-in-all the experience has been good.  I sold a pretty expensive speaker system in less than 2 weeks using Craigslist, and have gotten other inquiries on some of the other stuff.

I've also been exposed to some of the scams that Craigslist goes to great extremes to warn you about.  When you run an ad responses come through the Craigslist website and your email address is not shown to the potential buyer.  The only way they get it is if you respond and Craigslist has a warning about scams at the top of each ad:

Avoid scams and fraud by dealing locally! Beware any deal involving Western Union, Moneygram, wire transfer, cashier check, money order, shipping, escrow, or any promise of transaction protection/certification/guarantee.

They have more detailed information at a link:

You can sidestep would-be scammers by following these common-sense rules:

DEAL LOCALLY WITH FOLKS YOU CAN MEET IN PERSON - follow this one simple rule and you will avoid 99% of the scam attempts on craigslist.
NEVER WIRE FUNDS VIA WESTERN UNION, MONEYGRAM or any other wire service - anyone who asks you to do so is a scammer.
FAKE CASHIER CHECKS & MONEY ORDERS ARE COMMON, and BANKS WILL CASH THEM AND THEN HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE when the fake is discovered weeks later.
CRAIGSLIST IS NOT INVOLVED IN ANY TRANSACTION, and does not handle payments, guarantee transactions, provide escrow services, or offer "buyer protection" or "seller certification"
NEVER GIVE OUT FINANCIAL INFORMATION (bank account number, social security number, eBay/PayPal info, etc.)
AVOID DEALS INVOLVING SHIPPING OR ESCROW SERVICES and know that ONLY A SCAMMER WILL "GUARANTEE" YOUR TRANSACTION.

The scammers are pretty active and I had my first encounter when I ran an ad for a bike we were selling. Shortly after the ad posted I got an email through the Craigslist website with the title of my ad in the subject line and the message only said:

Is it for sale?

I thought that was kind of dumb and almost sent back a smart-aleck response, but I wanted to sell the bike so I emailed back that yes, the bike was for sale. I realize now that the first message was sent only for the purposes of getting my email address. Shortly thereafter I received this message sent directly to my email:

Thanks for the prompt response to my mail. I will be buying it from
you so please kindly withdraw the advert . Please to be informed that
i will pay you with a certified bank check and once you have the
check cashed at your bank then i will arrange for the pick up at your
place..I will need the following details to mail the payment as soon
as possible.

Name to be on the check____
Home address____
City____
State____
Zip Code_____
Cell phone #______

Note that UPS or Fed Ex will not deliver package to P.O Box.

The alarm bells went off. The ad had clearly stated "cash only" and I knew I was being set-up for a fraud. I simply emailed back:

Sorry, cash transactions only.

That was the last I heard from them. Since then I've had three other situations just like it. I responded to one of them and got almost an identical email back as shown above. The other I ignored. In both cases when I responded with the "cash only" message they disappeared.

I think Craigslist is a pretty handy tool, but if you're selling something you've got to make sure you're dealing only in cash and only with people you can actually meet.