Avoid Getting Scammed on Craigslist

LA Financial Credit Union has been alerted to the fact that someone has counterfeited our cashier’s checks and is trying to purchase Craigslist merchandise with them.  The scammer claims to be out of state and sends a cashier’s check for the merchandise for more than the sales price.  The seller is asked to use the excess funds to pay for movers to ship the item. 

If you receive a cashier’s check, please call the financial institution to verify the check.   Any financial institution will be able to verify the validity of the cashier’s check.

Before buying or selling items on Craigslist, make sure to read the website’s tips to protect yourself.

Craigslist has become a scammer’s paradise, with 20 billion page views a month, and 50 million U.S. users. Scams range from employment and car buying to ticket sales.

To combat these scams, Craigslist provides the following tips:

• Deal locally with folks you can meet in person. Follow this one rule and avoid 99 percent of 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 and 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.
• Do not rent housing without seeing the interior, or purchase expensive items sight-unseen. In all likelihood, that housing unit is not actually for rent, and that cheap item does not exist.
• *Do not submit to credit checks or background checks for a job or for housing until you have met the interviewer or landlord/agent in person.

Here are some examples of scams:

1. Someone claims that craigslist will guarantee a transaction, certify a buyer/seller, OR claims that craigslist will handle or provide protection for a payment.

• These claims are fraudulent, as craigslist does not have any role in any transaction.
• Scammer will often send an official looking email that appears to come from craigslist, offering a guarantee, certifying a seller, providing payment services -- all such emails are fakes!

2. Distant person offers a genuine-looking (but fake) cashier's check.

• you receive an email (examples below) offering to buy your item, or rent your apartment, sight unseen
• cashier's check is offered for your sale item, as a deposit for an apartment, or for your services 
• value of cashier's check often far exceeds your item - scammer offers to "trust" you, and asks you to wire the balance via money transfer service 
• banks will often cash these fake checks AND THEN HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE WHEN THE CHECK FAILS TO CLEAR, including criminal prosecution in some cases! 
• scam often involves a 3rd party (shipping agent, business associate owing buyer money, etc)

3. Someone requests wire service payment via Western Union or MoneyGram:

• Scam "bait" items include apartments, laptops, TVs, cell phones, tickets, and other high value items
• Often claim that an MTCN or confirmation code is needed before he can withdraw your money - this is FALSE, once you've wired money, it is GONE. 
• Common countries currently include: Nigeria, Romania, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Spain, Italy, Netherlands - but could be anywhere 
• Apartment listing may be local, but landlord/owner is "travelling" or "relocating" and needs you to wire money to them abroad 
• Deal often seems too good to be true, price is too low, rent is below market, etc

4. Distant person offers to send you a money order and then have you wire money:

• this is ALWAYS a scam, in our experience - the cashier's check is FAKE
• sometimes accompanies an offer of merchandise, sometimes not 
• scammer often asks for your name, address, etc for printing on the fake check 
• deal often seems too good to be true

5. distant seller suggests use of an online escrow service.

• most online escrow sites are FRAUDULENT, operated by scammers
• for more info, do a Google search on "fake escrow" or "escrow fraud"

6. distant seller asks for a partial payment upfront, after which he will ship goods

• he says he trusts you with the partial payment
• he may say he has already shipped the goods
• deal often sounds too good to be true

7. foreign company offers you a job receiving payments from customers, then wiring funds

• foreign company may claim it is unable to receive payments from its customers directly
• you are typically offered a percentage of payments received
• this kind of "position" may be posted as a job, or offered to you via email

If you have been defrauded by someone in person, contact your local police department.

If you suspect that a craigslist post may be a scam, contact craigslist. File a complaint with The Internet Crime Complaint Center. File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.