I have been advertising a mountain bike on Craig's List and have learned how scummy some, not all, people are that are scanning the items for sale. Here are a few things to beware of when selling on this site.
"Certified Check" is a scam. If it isn't still stay away. The buyer will contact you shortly after the ad is posted and ask if the item is for sale. They quickly come back to you telling you they will buy at full price and sound very excited. Here is the text of one I received. Read it through and then I will show you the flaw. Watch the grammar as an indicator that this is shady. My guess is that this author is not even in the US.
And the same type of reply from another scammer. Look familiar?
The certified check scam works this way if you fall for it. The check is mailed to you (now they know who you are, where you live, and have multiple phone numbers). You deposit and your bank initially cashes it and you contact the seller to pick up the item. They pick it up and you feel like everything is great. It takes the bank a few days to find out from the "other" bank in which the bogus check was counterfeited, that it is a phony. Your bank contacts you to reimburse them, or files a police report for fraud.
The result? You not only lost your item but you also have to pay the full price you asked. Hopefully you don't have to explain it away in a police department.
Watch out for this scam on Craig's List. It is too bad since this service has such great intentions. One other thing to be careful of is the location you choose to meet any buyer. Don't ever bring them to your house for obvious reasons. Invite them to meet you at a Police Station. If they are legit, they should not mind meeting you there. If you have a weird feeling, show up early and walk into the Police station and tell them why you are there. They will likely keep an eye out for you. I would imagine Police stations don't want to be Craig's List pick up areas, but they are here to protect your safety.
"Monica" and "Jake", I hope that at some point you see what you are doing to people.
