I know this is a scam - but how

Steely

Active Member
So I recently published my new pet care business on C. List. It very clearly says pet care, dog walking, etc. So I have gotten 2 very bizarre responses. One is for the care of this woman's dogs - but rather than wanting to talk to me she has assumed I am going to do the job and wants me to send her my address for the first payment. I am still not even sure what I am doing, because again she has not called me. Weird - very odd. I know not to give any financial information out - and I have a PO Box - so I gave her that. She wants me to keep the dogs at my home, which I have not even advertised as an option. I told her I have a dog, and before we go forward all the dogs would have to meet. She has ignored that piece. She again emailed me to confirm my PO Box so that she can send me a package with tracking...............???? What is it, a bomb!!!

Then I get this letter - (I have modified it a bit)

Hello There, I was checking on c. list and i came accross your post. I'm A. and My wife's name is B. We are relocating to your neighbourhood from England. I recently got a contract with a company on a private research job. However, We need someone who will help us take care of the house by doing some house work while am working. Someone that will also help in running some errands and babysitting.

I will be offering you $500 weekly, i will be needing your services for two hours at any suitable time of yours, Monday and Friday. If you believe you are fit for this position in as much you will prove yourself to be a reliable and good person, I will instruct my financier to pay for the first two weeks before our arrival so as to secure your service. My financier will be making out a check to you before our arrival. You will receive a Cashier's check which you will deduct your wages for the first two weeks and the remaining funds will be used to buy foodstuffs and other things needed in the house. You will be getting the foodstuffs on the day of our arrival which will be the 30th of this month. Actually our flights from England will arrive at nights so you will be getting the foodstuffs in the morning and making all other preparations.

I will also instruct my estate agent to mail the keys of the apartment to you so as to do all other necessary preparations before we arrive. You have to get all this shopping before our arrival so that we wont have to start running around when we arrive, So my financier would be needing the following Information to make out the check. Full Name: Full address with zipcode & Apt Number: Age: Gender: Phone number: Acceptance of offer: All I need from you is total honesty and sincerity. I know you will be committed to the work, You will also have a nice period of time working with my wife. I will be waiting to hear from you. Thank You


So this has to be a scam of some sort, right? But how? I emailed him back to say although I may be interested, however I would need to talk to him over the phone to know more about the position. He emailed me the same letter back instead of calling.

I feel very uneasy now - something isn't right here - but I cannot figure out how they would be scamming me. Any ideas?
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
Errr.

The first one is clearly a nut... You know as a dog lover that something's not right. I can tell you can feel it.

The second one - two hours? Even if it IS legit (which I doubt), it won't be two hours.

You're right. Both of these are off. Somehow...
 

Malika

Well-Known Member
Hi Steely. The second thing is clearly a scam, just like all the junk e-mails one gets that ask for this kind of info; someone is going through the ads in Craig's List and trying to scam them. Nobody, and I mean nobody, writes a genuine letter using language like this. The first one just seems to be what my lovely cockney friend here calls a "nuh-er" (= nutter).
I do hope you get some serious, sensible clients soon... :)
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
The second one... if you accept, will need your bank info in order to send you the money to get groceries... but they'll drain the account instead.
 

Steely

Active Member
I found the exact email I was sent online and this person is a certified scammer - here is what someone posted about these types of emails.
"They will send you a counterfeit check. You should never even consider accepting a check from someone you don't know. They will expect you to deposit the check and then wire some portion of it ostensibly to purchase food or something, but in reality, it will be sent to another scammer. The check will then be found to be fake by the bank and you will be on the hook for the money."

I believe this other lady is actually doing the same thing - because she keeps telling me that she will send me a check up front. OK - I understand the scam now. GRRRR. I am not going to even advertise on C.List now....................
 

Nancy

Well-Known Member
This is a scam. Do not reply to this or the previous email. Be very very careful. If there is any other way you can advertise your services do so, don't use c list.

I do not ever use c list for anything, other than to try to find the scumbag who broke into our car and stole our gps. difficult child tried to find an apartment using c list and within minutes of emailing an ad received very strange replies asking her to meet them at the address....ummmm NOT! I have preached to both my kids that c list is very very dangerous. easy child gets it, difficult child could care less.

Nancy
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
C-list is known in our area for weird stuff. Not always bad, of course - but there's always an exception to every rule.

You might see if you can find out the criteria for Angie's List...
 

Steely

Active Member
Yes - Nancy - I see that now. It used to not be the case - in fact I have sold a lot of stuff on there in the past. but I am taking my ad off right now. I just couldn't comprehend the scam of sending me a check first....like how was that going to scam me???? But now I see that if the check is fake, and then you just did all of this work with a fake check that later bounces - or they write it for over - and ask for some back - or whatever.
I want to scream!!!! MAD :(

Yes, I have many other avenues to advertise like Angies, etc. and I will be taking that route.
 

Steely

Active Member
Forward me the above filled details if you are good with the offer to enable my Cilent issue out the paycheck to you as soon as possible, for us to get everything done in a timely manner.

This is from the dog person. She goes on and on about her dogs, and what kind, etc - she has written me 3 emails - yet in all of them she wants to send me the money first. She claims to be a lawyer, yet she cannot write an understandable letter - that was my first clue.

This world - unbelievable.
 

jal

Member
2nd is definately a scam. A few years ago I tried to sell a bed on there. A foreign guy sent me a check, I knew even before I got the check it was a scam. They way the email was written was the big clue. Whose going to send you money and extra for your inconvenience? I called the bank when I got the check (it was written out of a bank in NY) and found out the account was closed. I brought it to the local branch of the bank and sure enough the account was flagged and this account had been getting hit out of the middle east. Now if you were to cash the check, your bank would give you the money, but soon they would find it fraudulent when they went to collect from the bank the check was drawn on, leaving you responsible to return the cash that was given to you.

Friends of my parents unfortunately were not up on this stuff as they sold their daughter's wedding dress on there (she cancelled wedding). They got the check and cashed it. A few days later they found out it was fraudulent and had to pay back the bank.

On the other hand, if you sell things or provide services to people locally a lot of times you won't have a problem. My mom's been successful in selling some items to local people on there. I just make sure that I am there with-her when they come to get it if my Dad's unavailable. The two people she had come to pay for and pickup the items were very nice.
 
H

HaoZi

Guest
Steely, have you considered using Vistaprint to make some business cards and asking vet and grooming places if you can leave some there for their clients?
 

Steely

Active Member
I have Hazoi :) Thanks.
I have business cards and a flyer made up. I am going to distribute the cards to the vets, spca, on people's car windows, etc. I live in a pretty small town so my target audience should not be too hard to reach. The flyer is to go up on local community billboards. And I am getting a magnetic sign for my car. (Not my fav idea - but they are effective.) I also have a website that I will do some advertising with. Now - I just need m.o.t.i.v.a.t.i.o.n. Sigh. It is coming though, slowly but surely. I feel the momentum building.
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
I have bought and sold on craigslist for years and havent had a problem but then I dont fall for stupid scams. Im not cashing anyones checks. I only take cash. I did do one buy on craigslist using paypal for some bottles and I just trusted that the woman who was selling them was really gonna be good on her word. She was. I gave her an extra 10 bucks to mail them to me so I didnt have to spend the gas to drive to where she lived. Well actually, we worked the deal so it cost me 5 bucks more than she was asking originally. But Paypal is pretty safe especially for the seller. You can see when the money hits your bank.
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
About people's windshields - be very careful, in some places that's a misdemeanor... WalMart and Target parking lots are a definite no-no!
 

Steely

Active Member
Yes, when buying and selling cash or paypal is a must. We sold a ton of stuff this way when my dad passed away. We didn't have any scammers.

I just wasn't expecting this when I am selling a service. With a business I should be able to take a check from someone. However, I should possibly re-think that concept, craigs list or not. Maybe I should accept credit cards and cash. Period. Again, our world!!!!
 
H

HaoZi

Guest
About people's windshields - be very careful, in some places that's a misdemeanor... WalMart and Target parking lots are a definite no-no!

I have to laugh, because when I lived in FL I'd always get some kind of advertising flyer on my windshield when I went those places and others like them. Local ordinances are always something to find out about, that's something I would forget to check.
 

donna723

Well-Known Member
For sure the second one is a scam.

And the first one I'm sure is too. NOBODY with pets would hire someone to care for them sight unseen or without checking it out first. I don't know what her angle is but I'm sure it's got to be some kind of a scam.
 

Steely

Active Member
Yes, I agree flyers are annoying and trashworthy. Perhaps I will skip that route. I looked at my local ordinances and I don't see any restrictions - but still - who wants trash on their windshield. I don't. I will re-channel that thought to another avenue :)
 

Marguerite

Active Member
If you email back with questions but do not get a reply that makes sense or answers your questions, then you are probably dealing with a bot. I would suggest notifying your local consumer affairs mob, or trade practices mob.

Any time you are paid by cheque, let them know that you will despatch the goods after the cheque has cleared.

I had a bloke buy one of my books and paid me by cheque. He also bought something else the same day from a friend It was at a meeting, we did know the guy) but my friend warned me when the cheque bounced. Back ten our banks would charge you not only for the amount they paid, but also charge you, the recipient, a dishonour fee. $30. The person who wrote the cheque also was charged a dishonour fee, which meant the bank was double-dipping. But if the fraudster is not an account holder, the bank has to find them first.

Luckily, that law has now changed and if I in good faith deposit a cheque which turns out to be a dud, I just have to pay back the value of the cheque and no added fee.

Marg
 
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