Craigslist Nigerian Scams
by xinit • 11/3/2006 • insanity, life • 30 Comments
I received two separate responses to my forsale post to Craigslist for my Lexmark Optra S 1625 printer. Good printer, just heavy to take cross country. I’m asking $200, which is a bargain considering that it has a toner cart that’s good for at least another 9000 pages; a cart that retails for about $400. The high capacity toner cart in there is rated for 15,000 pages at something like 5% coverage; I can’t imagine we’ve run 1000 pages off it, though.
I have recieved two responses so far, and both are from people who want to ship it…
** CRAIGSLIST ADVISORY — AVOID SCAMS BY DEALING LOCALLY
** Avoid: wiring money, cross-border deals, work-at-home
** Beware: cashier checks, money orders, escrow, shipping
** More Info: http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams.htmlHello seller,
I am Janet Ellina,am interested in your item for a very urgent need,i am checking to know maybe its available for sale.I want it to as a gift for my Inlaws in Africa.
The payment will be made via paypal and if possible get back to me.HAPPY HALLOWEEN !!
Janet.
Gosh, what an opportunity. I know what they’re trying to do, but I respond anyhow.
The printer is available AS IS, WHERE IS, for cash.
Surprisingly enough, that gets a response still.
Hello Richard,
I am not in your area, at the moment for pick up,i stay in Beverly Hills and at this moment am in Haiti for vacation party with friends, but i will be glad to hear that you will sell and help me ship to my Inlaw in Africa as soon as possible,i am paying via paypal and i will be paying alongside the shippment of about $100 for it thru post Office EMS courier.
Thanks for understanding ..The address is:Name:Ajayi A. Oliver
Address:Ogunrinde Furniture Industry,Ikere Rd,
Ado-Ekiti,
Ekiti State
234030
Nigeria.W/A.
Thats all ,if you will help me and post as i pay get back with invoice and as i make the payment via PayPal.Regards
Janet
Okay, that’s just silly now. I would imagine that everyone knows that this is a scam; paying by way of a hacked Paypal account which will be disputed once the owner of the account notices. Then the money gets taken back from my Paypal account without question shortly after I have paid to have the unit shipped to a thief in Africa.
I felt the need to respond once more;
Gosh, Nigeria and Paypal. Nothing could possibly go wrong there. How many people do you actually convince to do this sort of thing?
If you can’t show up with cash in your hands, or have one of your staff from your Beverly Hills home do that for you, then no sale.
I can’t imagine that one will get a response, even though I did cut out the question ‘What, are you sick of mugging people in back alleys?’
If you’re local and have cash, you could have a lovely networked laser printer…
http://vancouver.craigslist.org/sys/229579779.html
The government cannot help the middle class to become homeowners because the government IS the middle class – or more precisely, the middle class is where the government gets its money.
Giving people money to enter overpriced markets just keeps them overpriced.
Only the market can fix prices which are out of line with middle-class incomes. This will happen when people decide enough is enough and rent instead of buying, or move somewhere else where prices make sense (like the blogger). This is inevitible, although the wait may seem eternal. Just say NO to ridiculous house prices.
I AM GOING THRU THE SAME SITUATION WITH SOMEONE FROM NIGERIA AS WELL. IT IS A MIRACLE, HE WANTS TO PAY ME 1000.00 MORE THAN I EVEN ASKED FOR THIS LAPTOP AND WANTED ME TO SHIP IT TO HIS SON IN NIGERIA. I RECEIVED SEVERAL EMAILS FROM SUPPOSED PAYPAL STATING THE FUNDS ARE IN MY PAYPAL ACCOUT. AND THEY WILL NOT BE RELEASED TO ME UNTIL I SHIP THE LAPTOP AND PROVIDE THEM WITH A TRACKING NUMBER THAT THEY WILL VERIFY. THEN IF IT IS VERIFIED, THEY WILL RELEASE MY MONEY. ISNT THERE SOMEONE WE CAN TURN THESE PEOPLE IN TO>>>>
Please Nigeria are not scammers it is we the American’s that are trying to badmouth the country so please dont post does letter to craigslist. Thank you
Why don’t you just scam them back and send them a nice letter with cuss words instead of the item they wanted? Someone in Africa can’t do jack.
I was SCAMMED! I also fell into this trap. They told me that they wanted to buy my phone and the money will be sent to my paypal account. They gave me an extra $100 for shipping and I told them that it was no longer for sale. They asked me if I had anything else to send them instead and I sent my iPod. I received emails from paypal that looked as real as can be.. but they werent! WATCH OUT!
Attn.Kathy Black,
How are you doing?..I just read your message and i fell very comfortable in renting my house out to you. I am just looking for the right person and a honest God fearing person that is trustworthy and obedient.I want to tell you that i will not come back till 3 yrs so i don’t want to live it like that, that’s why i need someone that will take good care of the house and i am not after your money all i need is good person that will tidy the home .so i am very happy that you mailed me back, so i really know you will take good care of the house. i will send you the Entrance keys and Documents Via UPS to the address you gave to me and you will receive it Next day because UPS deliver 24 hours. Below you will find the payment information’s in which you are to send me the $1,000 deposit fee(REFUNDABLE) Via western union and here are the Documents you will be receiving Below:
Here are the contents of the document.
1) Entrance and the rooms Keys
2) Paper/Permanent house form(Containing your reference details)
3) The house documentary file.
4) Payment Receipt.
5) Full address and description of the house.
UPS Parcel Receiver’s Name: Kathy Black
UPS Parcel Receiver’s Address: 215 S Ivy St, Escondido CA 92025
I want you to know that you will be paying the deposit fee to my personal driver who drives me here because am not chance to cash money here, so the below is information which you would be making the payment. And i want you to know that the payment should send through Western Union, And also i have attach the lease agreement form with the mail so i would like you to get back to me fast…
Receivers Name: OBASENI OLUYOMI
Address: 118 Isolo road
State: Mushin
City: Lagos
Zip Code: 23401
Country: Nigeria
Text Question:Love
Text Answer:God
Amount Sending:$1,000
So as soon as you make payment at the western union local store you would be given some information’s,You would have to get back to me with the information’s below.
Full Senders Name:
Mtcn #:
Amount Sent:
Text Question:
Text Answer:
so once the payment have been confirmed i would be sending you the Entrance keys and the documents
Regards
Thanks and God bless you.
Rev Caarly Lesley
happened to me as well. some supposed woman was on a “missonary trip” in italy and wanted to send her “son” the xbox I was trying to sell. she said that paypal deducted 650 from her account even though the asking price was 500. and of course where did she want me to send the package? NIGERIA. its a hoax.
I have been taken by these scam artists i was taken for my 3000.00 tag watch except what the idiot that scammed me didn’t know was that my friend worked in the postal service and was able to stop the package from being sent then check this out…. the guy claimed to be the preacher on at a convention in mexico and that his son’s wife was in labor and needed 1700.00 dollars for surgery in nigeria. these bastards, how could they live with them selves doind this for a living. i wish i could go to nigeria and just see everyone of these people so they could see that they can be caught!!!!!! we need to unite and find a way of reporting these people to someone who will do something about this
Thank you all for posting this info online! I almost sold my PSP to one of theese scammers. Get this I recieved 3 scam offers. Weirdly they all wanted me to ship my PSP to Nigeria and use paypal…proabably just a coincidence…
I feel so stupid right now. I sent my xbox to some guy in nigeria. I did not fall for the western union thing though. My package is still in transit. Is there any way I can get it back or do anything to make this situation better? Thanks, it’s good to know I’m not alone
I almost fell for this scam too. I did give my email for the Paypal. What should I do now?????
I got a very similiar email yesterday for a ring that I am selling on Craigslist. They offered me more than I was asking and wrote with very poor english. I informed them that I would only do a local transaction and if they could find a way to meet with me in person and put money in my hand that they could have the ring, otherwise I would find another buyer. I don’t know if I’ll hear back but for those that want to know what they can do to help fight back, the sites that you are selling on should have an email that you can forward these messges to. Craigslist’s email is abuse@craigslist.org. Just forward them the email that was sent to you. Aside from that I don’t know what else you can do but be smart and follow your gut.
Oprah did a show on Nigerian internet scams last week that I was fortunate enought to catch it even though I rarely watch her show and it’s because of that show (and my gut) that I was immediately suspicious of this email I got.
ME TOO!!! I had a camcorder posted on Craig’s List for a week and didn’t get any replies and then the day after it expired I reposted it and got SIX emails all bacically saying the same thing “kindly tell me if the item is still available/for sale/your firm price”. I was suckered in. Then it was (all in VERY poorly written English) “Consider the item sold, I’m away on business otherwise I’d pick it up myself, would like to have it shipped to my son in time for Christmas, pay with PayPall or Money Order” etc. I did give my email address and they added $200!!! for shipping. The PayPal emails I received looked genuine too! DO NOT FALL for this!!! Only after I got supposed “payment” through “PayPal” did they say they wanted it shipped to NIGERIA!!! Luckily I did not ship the item, although it is sitting on my counter all taped up and ready to go! Looking back, I really should have know better, but the thought of selling your item clouds your judgement.
Wish I had seen this post first and wouldn’t have wasted all of my time in effort!
Oh, and these are the email addresses that they came from…all with VERY “American” sounding names…
- enochjones50@gmail.com
- johnterry10@live.com
- mjmarkjones45@gmail.com
- emilyjackson121@hotmail.com
- mcterryxzz@yahoo.com
How is it people fall for this? It’s obviously a scam, doesn’t matter if it originates in Nigeria or New York. I just got one myself and told the guy to go #### himself. I have a hard time feeling sorry for anyone that falls for such a transparent scam.
These emails are so stupid. This is what they look like……
Good Day,
Do you still have this item available on this craigslist post?
What is the condition and for how long have you been making use of it?
Do you have the receipt for this item?Kindly respond on this question and let see if we might have a deal together as i may be interested in purchasing this item.
Hit back on me.
Greg
Dear Lauren,
Thanks for getting back to me,I would have loved to come over to your home in-order to inspect this item but my working schedule won’t permit me due to some official assignment in my company hence my in-ability to make it over to you in order to complete this deal face to face so as to be genuine/legitimate.Never the less I would like this item been shipped to my (wife) Studying in GuangDong University of Technology in ShenZhen City, China.More so,Kindly calculate the shipping cost and send me your pay pal E-mail address attached with your pay pal account for onward payment without any further delay in this transaction…I have a pay pal account that i use for my business and easily send money out without delay to my customers since it,s good for business payments,I deal with pay pal only as it is secured and protective to both seller and buyers hence it has been best online auction payment method and if you don’t have an account with them,you can get one set up as it cost nothing to do so and even if you were to be charged,it wont cost more than 3-5 bucks.In that case i will have to pay for all the expenses to make this transaction a successful one.If you have an account already with pay pal kindly get back to me with your pay pal E-mail address so that the fund can be remitted into your pay pal account without further delay or you can send me a pay pal payment invoice.Many Thanks and God bless you.
Hello,
Thanks for the quick response… Am satisfied with the price
and condition of the item. I will like to make an outright purchase of
the item, so i will like to proceed in instructing my bank to issue
out a certified check to you and upon the confirmation and clearance
of payment my mover will come for the pick-up at your location. So get
back to me with your full name, address, zip code and phone number…
so that payment can be mail out asap. let me read from you today.
Thanks
I ALMOST got scanned! I literally was at the post office this morning trying to send it but didn’t have all of the shipping information, and was going to try again on monday. OH MAN. I just opened a paypal account for the first time, and am trying to use it for selling my computer. After opening the account, I sent a ‘money request email’ from paypal sent directly to the nigeria person. should i be worried that they have access to my account? Should I cancel my paypal account?
yikes!
We just got sent off an Olympus E-20N falling for the same scam. We might get it back. I have to file a form that says that I don’t want the recipient to pay duty taxes. I might be lucky and only be out the postage. The camera isn’t used any longer it just the idea of someone stealing in this manner. Live and learn. We also got took on an e-bay motor cycle purchase. We actually did send the money but called it back.
I gave them my paypal email address too! I called paypal to see if anything could happen – they said, as long as I log into paypal directly don’t open any suspicious emails, there is not a lot a person can do with just your email address. Also, they said if someone does try to send you a payment, you can block / deny it.
Wow I almost got scammed into this too. Until I told my friend about it and he looked it up and showed it to me.
This is still happening, so watch out for it!
lmao @ all the morons on here. If you idiots fall for these obvious scams then you seriously have no business being on the internet or even using a computer. I mean seriously, you really think these things are legit? Maybe your “gut feeling” is telling you something other than it’s time to feed your fat face again. I’d listen to it.
I have been making a pretty good living off these scammers, I suggest you do the same. It’s easy, just post an expensive item. And sure enough they come out of the woodwork telling you they will pay “over” what your asking. That’s your clue to setup a separate paypal account. There are two ways this works. One is they will send you a fake paypal confirmation page, telling you that you have received money. In this case, they keep asking you to send the item. And the other is when they actually do send the money. What they expect to do is to reverse the funds as soon as they feel you have sent the item. Paypal is more than happy to hold the funds for reversal the moment any buyer even attempts question a sale. But your smarter than that. And you have withdrawn the money already and removed all the credit card information.
You always know it’s a scammer when it’s some nigerian asking to pay you 100 dollars over what your asking. The funny thing is the same guys will email you again on another item and do the same thing. You can sell the same item to them 2-3 times. I guess they are so busy scamming that they don’t even remember who scammed the scammer.
wow same thing just happened 2 me…..good thing I just did A Google search and figured this all out….thanks guys!
Hey..well i dont have anything to say to you people scammed…do you really know why they are doing this…cos they know that if they send real money into your account..you wont ship anything and you will just have there money in hands…hey i am a buyer and i have had so many experience about this..am from US here in California …i bought one item from one seller..and he told me that he will like me to pay via PayPal…so i make the payment for it..and then since then waiting for him to ship the Item to the confirm address but i dont see anything cumming out from his end…..so i dont blame them..ok…Thanks
Bilal
That, last comment about the buyer being scammed is hilarious. Written with bad grammar, punctuation and spelling…just like the scammers that offer to buy your listed item for $200 more than what you are asking.
“but i dont see anything cumming out from his end” – LOL! because he isn’t the one getting fucked! HAHAHA.
Beware of scammers asking you(the seller)to purchase your item for more than you are asking. They always have the same bullshit story. They are always on a trip/business/travel and cannot pick the item. They want to send you extra money for your trouble and extra cost to ship to Africa (or wherever). They want you to send it to their family member who is in dire need of your item. Then they send you a fake email from “paypal” (also fake) account, stating you’ve received funds. Then you ship your item out and never see your item or money :(
So can we scam these scammers? If you can get them to send your real money from a real paypal account, maybe.
Set up a real checking account and credit card, set up a paypal account, request money, recieve money, transact money from paypal to bank account, get your money out of the bank account. Send an EMPTY box via usps with confirm delivery to your scammers confirmed paypal address. Close your bank account and credit card.
So if they sent you real money via paypal, you’d have their money/cash in hand. You wouldn’t be out of a product, and they can’t claim for refund from paypal. The mailed item would’ve been shipped with confirmation, so the buyer received “said” item. If they say they didn’t receive it…you’ve got proof that they did, if they want a refund they would need to send the item back to you or paypal..but they won’t have any item to send!
…but I doubt any of them would be stupid enough to send you money.
who ever falls for these really dumb scams must be a moron or in grade 1. especially the guy/girl that sent their ipod.
I trust no one that looks like an african. its unfair but, at least im safe
Wow.. So I’m not the only one! lol I knew right away.. And everything people are saying that happened to them above is exactly what happened to me.. Except mine was on her “honeymoon” in Hawaii and wanted it shipped to her “nephew” (who she kept calling SHE) for his birthday in Nigeria. The main scam they tried was: I received what looked like a legit paypal confirmation of payment but FOR THOSE WHO DON’T KNOW, if you don’t see the funds in your actual paypal account but have an email saying payment is made, it’s pretty self explanatory that something is not right.. Even the fake email they send asks you to email them at this fake paypal address with tracking info, THAT fake email was so obvious to me, but those not familiar with paypal etc wouldn’t know so I feel sorry for those who fall for it! But that’s who they look for, the innocent, unfamiliar.. Such a sin. I wish there was a way for these people to get caught or something done about it. But spread the word people! I don’t think anyone deserves it if they fall for it. It could be a single mother just looking for extra cash and has other things on her mind then a scammer. But unfortunately not everyone can be trusted, ESPECIALLy online. Spread the word! Keep it local or confirm everything with paypal! Don’t just trust an email you get. Call paypal if you have to, confirm the funds are there. Transfer it to your acct. first, MONEY IN HAND and THEN ship. I was worried about what they could do with my email address or if I responded to their email, apparently nothing. Let me know if anyone knows different! If you’re going to buy/sell online, you have to be smart and EXTRA cautious. Sellers especially. Spread the word!
All I want to say is a thank you to everyone who have shared their experiences. It was good to know that there are many ‘sharp’ people around who are smart enough not to fall for Nigerian Scams.
I too was extremely skeptical in selling my $1500 Breitling on Craigslist. I asked only for $1000, but was ‘paid’ $1500 via paypal and the email looked extremely authentic. However, upon checking with paypal’s website direct, nothing had been credited.
There is no such thing as ‘money will be credited to your account once the item has been shipped’. Paypal does not do escrow or ‘keep’ funds in storage until the item has been shipped.
Points to note for sellers:
1) Avoid Nigeria. take all correspondances related to Nigeria as potential scams.
2) Payments to your paypal account should be reflected in your account immediately. there is no such thing as escrow or money being ‘safe-kept’ until the item is shipped.
3) if in doubt, send the paypal ‘payment’ email to spoof@paypal.com, do not send the item in the meantime.
4) if its too good to be true, it probably is.
5) lastly, take note of the email address. if its an authentic email from paypal, the address stated in the originator’s bar will be one from paypal.com, for my case, the email was post.postage@clerk.com, which was very suspicious
4)
I put my old Dell computer up on craigslist. they said they were out of the state and wanted me to send it to them. I’m in Canada. This is what I got and my replies:
Them:
THANKS FOR THE RESPOND I CAN UNDERSTAND YOU BUT PAYPAL IS NOW SAFE,SECURE AND FAST TO RECEIVE MONEY BECAUSE THERE TECHNOLOGY HAS NOW IMPROVED NOW SO YOU ARE SECURE WITH PAYPAL THAT IS WHY I CHOOSE IT AS PAYMENT WAY TO ANY OF THE TRANSACTION I MADE SO PLEASE YOU CAN MAIL ME BACK WITH YOUR CONFIRM PAYPAL EMAIL ID SO THAT I CAN MAKE THE PAYMENT ASAP OK.
Me:
I never use paypal. I deal in cash ONLY and you would have to pick it up. I’m in Canada and you seem to be in the US. I’m not interested in sending a computer to another country.
Them:
thanks for the respond am not in the state that is why i want you to help me out to ship the computer back is going to my store and i will be adding shipping money with it so let hear back from you soon okay…………
*** then I gave them an address I never use for paypal…
Them:
Hello,
Am glad to inform you that I am through with the payment,I have add
enough fund with the shipping cost…PayPal have sent me the
confirmation that the money have been deducted from my account..I hope
you would have received the confirmation mail from PayPal if that is
the case, kindly made the shipment immediately Via **(USPS) Global
Express Mail International.(EMS)** 8-10 days to my company agent
located oversea of the confirm address giving to you by PayPal and send
the tracking number to the customer care for more
verification.
So that your account will be credit…..The shipment tracking number
will start with (EH) or (EG) or (EQ) or (ED) or (EV) (EM) or (EB) and
ended with (US)…
Here is the shipping address below:
NAME : Adeolu S
ADDRESS: #70 Agbiowo university.ibadan
CITY : Ibadan
STATE: Oyo State
ZIP CODE: 23402
COUNTRY:Nigeria
TELEPHONE:+2348052893764
Thanks:I trust in you
God Bless…
Best Regards
Note : I want you to ship the item Via **(USPS) Global Express Mail
International.(EMS)** 8- 10 days Only !!!! because is very fast,secure
and cheap.
*** I wasn’t born yesterday. I knew this was a scam from the start.
I got texted by a guy in Jonesport, Maine who claimed he had a colleague doing missionary work in Nigeria and he was buying a VERY expensive camera I was selling. He offered me 200$ more saying it was for shipping…
he gave me an address
Jorge Orilomo
Plot 7 Adedoyin Street Ijeshatedo
Surulere, Lagos
Nigeria 23401
his email was also a gmail account smith.anderson52@gmail.com
He asked that I money request to his email address through paypal, which I did.
then he texted me saying he made the payment to check my email address I attached to my paypal for the confirmation and to get back at him
I got the confirmation notice and told him I’d ship the item to the address
then he said once I’ve shipped the item to forward the shipping tracking number to paypal via notification sent from paypal so they can credit my account immediately.
so i go to the post office about to send the package AND THANK GOD the people there told me to go back home, and forget about sending the package because the entire thing was a SCAM!
I was so pissed so I went home and did research….
(Someone used THE EXACT SAME ADRESS here http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20101207200645AAPBGsS)
I told the buyer I knew about the scam, contacted paypal and craigslist and my state division of consumer affairs. I reported this motherfucker and I hope he gets caught.
I WAS ALMOST SCAMMED! AND YOU CAN BE TOO SO BE EXTRA CAREFUL WHEN USING CRAIGSLIST!
ONLY LET LOCAL BUYERS BUY AND REMEMBER IF A PAYPAL ACCOUNT HAS MONEY PENDING, THE MONEY WAS NEVER SENT IN! AND THERE IS NEVER ANY NEED FOR A TRACKING NUMBER ON PAYPAL! THAT IS THE SCAMMER TALKING!