Craigslist Scam?

Hey everyone, i sold a phone on Craigslist and a buyer was interested so he sent me an email saying that he would send me a check for $2,500. What i am supposed to do is cash the check, take $200 for my phone, and send him the phone along with the remaining 2,300 Western Union back to him. Well, i put the check in the bank and it cleared, and what I'm wondering now is if i can keep the money? I understand that someone wouldn't be as stupid as to send me a check for $2,500, so I'm bewildered and need advice on how he's trying to scam me. Please include information on how this situation works; if it's not a scamming situation, explain why please.

P.S. The actual email is as attached..
Additional Details
Thanks for your reply, i am happy to hear back from you, i'm okay with the price and
condition.But i'm presently out of the states,i'm presently in England where i work as an Engineer, so i'll like to see the transaction go smoothly without my appearance.

Concerning the shippment.you do not need to worry about it, i have a reputable shipping
company that will handle the shippment.There is this relaible colleague of mine that resides in Alaska,he's oweing me $2,500 so i 'll instruct him to send you a Cashier's check or Money Orders of that $2,500 and as soon as you receive it, you'll have to cash it and you should deduct your own portion of the funds which is $150 from the payment, then you'll have to get the rest money sent via western union money transfer to the shipping company that will be coming for the pick up from your house and other items which they're to ship to my house in the states...

That is 100% SCAM, they send all kinds of emails, they did that in Europe a lot of times.

What happens is something like this:

You take the check to the bank and then all the sudden it will bounce back you will will have to pay the whole thing and also lost the phone. These scammers are acutally coming from Africa, and by the way, there was a report about them as Chris Hanson being the investigator on TV last year.

Just ignore it, craigslist acutally has a warning to only deal with local customers only.

DO NOT FOLLOW THROUGH WITH THIS......

Here is from CRAIGSLIST HELP PAGES...

Avoiding scams and fraud Personal Safety Tips craigslist help forum

You can sidestep would-be scammers by following these common-sense rules:

* DEAL LOCALLY WITH FOLKS YOU CAN MEET IN PERSON - follow this one simple rule and you will avoid 99% of the 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 & 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.

Who should I notify about fraud or scam attempts?

* FTC toll free hotline: 877-FTC-HELP (877-382-4357)
* FTC online complaint form (www.ftc.gov)
* Canadian PhoneBusters hotline: 888-495-8501
* Internet Fraud Complaint Center (www.ic3.gov/)
* Non-emergency number for your local police department.

If you suspect that an item posted for sale on craigslist may be part of a scam, please email the details to "abuse@craigslist.org". Be sure to include the URL (or eight-digit post ID number) in your message.

Recognizing scams

Most scams involve one or more of the following:

* inquiry from someone far away, often in another country
* Western Union, Money Gram, cashier's check, money order, shipping, escrow service, or a "guarantee"
* inability or refusal to meet face-to-face before consumating transaction

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 just about anything else of value.
* 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, plasma TVs, cell phones, tickets - but could be almost anything
* 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

SCAM SCAM SCAM!!!

Seriously, one of the oldest scams in the book.
More then likely the check he sent you was a fake, your bank will catch it sooner then later

www.419eater.com

Yep, this is a scam.

The person wants you to send the overage back. What will happen is that the check will bounce in a few days. You say it cleared? Guess what? It may have cleared but it is not officially cleared. Banks are required by law to make the money from deposited checks available with a certain number of days. Some checks take longer than that to clear. So, the bank gives you the money but the check is still in clearing limbo. The bank discovers that the check was bad or bogus to begin with and they will want their money back. You will of course have wired off to this person and it is gone. You will be the person stuck on the hook to repay the bank. In fact, it is even possible for you to face charges if you run into an overzealous prosecuting attorney who believes that you have something to do with the scam.

Wait a day and email the person and say that the bank contacted you and said that there was something wrong with the check and that it appears to not be good. See what their response is. Also, go to the bank and talk to a bank manager and explain the situation and see what that person has to tell you about all of this.

I tried to sell a truck on craigslist about 9 months ago and some guy claimed to be interested and said he would send a chek for "x" amount and I keep my share and W.U. the rest to "x" place. So I do as he says because it appears to have cleared the bank and then literally one day after I W.U.'d the money the bank calls and says that the cashiers check is a fake and that I have to pay all of the money back including overdraft fees and whatever else they could stick me with. I tried to explain the situation and they weren't hearing it, they said I am still obligated to pay the bank back and that I should try to sue the person who sent me the check. Well, the person who sent the check gave a fake address, and the phone number they gave me was a disposable cell phone, so now I'm "Up S***'s Creek" and am probably going to have to file banrupt because after it's all said and done I owe about $10,000 for a $3,500 check. Don't do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You need to go to your bank IMMEDIATELY have have them go over that check carefully. It may have cleared initially, but within the next 10 days it is going to bounce like a big rubber ball, leaving you owing the bank $2500 plus bounced check fees.
It's a scam.
It's a big fat hairy scam.
Go to the bank. Today.

DON'T BE A FOOL......YOU ARE BEING SCAMMED BIG TIME!!!!

This definitely is a scam. It can take your bank weeks before they figure out the bank is fake. But they will guaranteed. And who are they going to come after? YOU.

It is a SCAM
the check will bounce in a few weeks
you will be out of the phone, and money you sent to the other person

also.. craigslist is suppose to be for items sold locally not mailed to the buyer in another country

there is a sucker born every day
dont be one

Talk to your bank, I doubt the check has completely cashed. This sounds like one of the Nigerian scams. Your back may come back to you and say the check bounced and you owe them the money.

yes it is the biggest scam out there i get at least 15 e-mails and mail every week wanting me to cash this crap and keep some fees and return the rest to them in form of western union and they are going to screw you in the end i would have taken it to the post office and ask them to report i would have nevered cashed it no way

Banks don't always catch fake checks (which this one is) right away. But when they do (and don't worry they will) you are on the hook for a serious chunk of change.

Think about it does it really make any sense to you that this person would send you that much extra money.

If you are dumb enough to fall for this scam (which is as old as dirt) then you deserve what you get.

This is one of the more known scams. What this person is doing is sending you a check with someone else's account information on it. This way it clears your bank, you send the item and the remaining funds to him, then about 2 weeks later you will receive a message from your bank that the check was fraudulently made and reverse that transaction. In this case you would be out your phone and the $2300 that you sent him back.

When you sell online, NEVER accept payment from anyone out of your country who is going to send you more than what you are selling the item for. It is ALWAYS a scam.

If you are unsure, you can always ask before you go through with any transaction.

HAD A COP ACTUALLY ADVISE ME OF THIS ONE>>>SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM RUN SCREAMING!!!

The cashier's check is a forgery. These kinds of "transactions" are scams. Just leave everything alone if you have already deposited the check. It will come back.

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