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I received a response from a would be buyer for the phonograph that I had listed both on the forum and Craigslist. The buyer agreed to my asking price of $400. He was going to send a cashier's check in the amount of $2400 which I could cash, pay for the phonograph, keep $50 for my trouble , and send him certified funds for the excess of $1950. In the mail today I received the phony check. I turned it and the envelope into the Post Office to be forwarded to the Postal Inspector. The check looked legit but it was an obvious scam. I am sure that he had gotten my contact information from the Craigslist posting.

So, who was the "would be buyer" and where did the check originate from?

I thought that one had fallen out of favour a decade ago!
Steve

That's the oldest swindle in the book! If he was legit, why wouldn't he cash the check himself rather than entrust you to do his banking for him! Also be very aware of scammers calling saying you have won a sweepstakes ticket or trip to Hawaii, and only need to send a processing fee of $350 to get your check of $10,000! I told that guy to just take the $350 out of my check for ten grand! And you know what, that call was ten years ago, and to this day I still haven't received my check for $9,650, or my expense paid trip to Hawaii. I guess if I want to go to Hawaii, I'll have to pay for it like everybody else. And of course the scammers on your email, and on, and on, and on!

Old scam but some people still fall for it. It's good to keep bringing it up every once in while so the uninformed will learn. Anymore scams are almost expected when dealing with Craigs List.

Best Regards, Larry

An interesting new scam happened to me two years ago. I was at home when the phone rang, answered it and the caller told me that my son was in a car accident which he was assisting him with. I needed to call my bank right away and send him money for assistance... When I told him my son was sitting next to me and was fine, he said - my mistake, it was your father. I told him how glad I was and thanked him for bringing him back from the dead... to which, he muttered something and hung up.

This is an old scam but still circulating. I've heard they also will add money for shipping and will have a shipping company come pick up the sale item. They ask for your Paypal info and want you to pay the shipper the difference in money they sent you.

The Paypal payment is from a stolen credit card and will be reversed within a week. If you fall for it, you lose the item and the amount that the buyer paid you to pay the shipper.

Most of these scams come from third world countries, are hard to track and rarely is someone caught or charged.

The buyer was a Michele Cordova in Northridge , CA. Check was from Georgia Health Sciences, drawn on Suntrust Bank.

There are many variations of this scam. Generally if you have been victimized once you will be targeted over and over again as the scammers pass around your information on "lead lists".

Most victims are the elderly and if they get the victim's phone number they can be very persuasive. The elderly come from a generation where they were taught to be trusting and would love to win some money to leave as an inheritance. Many victims end up loosing 10s of thousands, even taking out loans to pay their "friends".

These generally start with a sweepstakes ticket but the scams cover the entire range of the imagination and any age group are victims.

The safe rule is if they ask you to send money - don't just hang up.

I also suggest that everyone have a conversation with their elderly parents or neighbours so they do not fall into these traps.

Yes, the old are more vulnerable. I once worked in a library where two old ladies were on the computer and asked for assistance. They wanted me to help them write an electronic check for $5000 to some guy in Costa Rica. I asked if they knew this man. They didn't. I asked why are they sending him the check. The man said that we have won $150,000 dollars, but he needed the $5000 to get the check properly passed through customs, currency exchanges, etc. So I told them if they succeeded in sending him the check, they never see their money again. They were so happy that I saved them from a swindle, one of them got up and kissed me on the cheek!