Too much money scam
The most popular scam on craigslist is what I call the Too Much Money Scam. A too much money scammer will email you ready to buy whatever you have listed. He will explain how sure he is that he wants to buy your item, and frequently he will ask you to take down your advertisement and consider the item sold.
The price will never be a problem for a scammer, and he will offer too much or explain that he will send more than enough money to cover the cost of shipping or even ask for a refund on his payment. I published an example email of this scam last year, but the nature and details of the situation the buyer presents are always changing.
The trick to the scam is once money is accepted from this stranger, any transaction made after is the account holder’s choice and your responsibility. The scammer delivers money that does not exist in an attempt to get some of it re-routed or cashed and handed to him or a low life associate.
This week a coworker is selling a dirt bike and the first email he got was a too much money scammer wanting him to take down the craigslist ad because he was going to UPS a check right away.
Another coworker was skeptical when a buyer wanted to send him too much money to cover the cost of a “friend coming to pick up the item.” This specific case was not an automotive sale but a pet prop.
The one signal that remains constant in this scam is too much money.
Have you encountered this scam? Learn how to report an online scam.
[…] most popular type of scam on craigslist right now is the too much money scam, a rip off that relies on a shipping fairy tale to coerce sellers to commit fraud. By offering no […]
My situation is very similar, but not exact. Here is what he/she said:
“Hello… I really appreciate your response to my mail.I want you to
consider it sold, pls do withdraw the advert from craigslist to avoid
disturbance.I want you to know that i will be paying via bank
certified check .I will need you to provide me with the
following.information to facilitate the mailing of the check .
1…..Full name to write on the check
2…..Full Physical address to post the check
3…..City and state include your Zip code
4…..Home & Cell Phone to contact you
**I will like you to know that you will not be responsible for
shipping i will have my mover come over as soon as you have cashed the
check** Thanks”
Notice the difference? look at the very last part of the last sentence. “as soon as you have cashed the check”. Everything else in the email sounded like the scam you mentioned above, but except that part I spoke of, which makes a huge difference. I’m almost convinced that it is a scam, but how can the scammer gain anything if I cash the check before he/she receives my item?
Many thanks in advance
Because the scammer is going to ask you to give some of the money he sends you to “the mover” to cover the cost of transporting the item. This mover may be the scammer himself or a scum bag friend. The concept of the scam is to get you to cash or otherwise transfer some of the money before the banks realize the money does not exist.