Craigs List Mando & Guitar Lessons

[Scotti Adams]

I posted an ad on Craigs List to give lessons locally..southern Ohio. Look what was in my in box this morning. Man..these people are relentless. :disbelief:

My Son will be coming for an holiday in the States,and i want him to
be busy with his studies..Therefore, i just want to know if he can always
come to you and teach him Guitar Lessons every afternoon..If
this is possible,i will want you to get back to me with the cost of your
teaching him for a month which can start as soon as he arrives...


He will be in the states in very soon and will be coming to your
Place for 1 hour each morning/afternoon/evening..I do have someone that will
always drive him down to your Place,i mean a Nanny or perhaps you can as
well come to him..


My Son's name is TOM ,he is 14 years old and he hardly excel in those
aspects. I will want you to calculate 1 hour per day for
Monday,Wednesday,Friday or you can as well set 3 days that suites you
availability for a MONTH,and get back to me so that we can arrange on
payment.Kindly get back to me with Total charges for 1 month that my son
will be taught 3 times per week..

Thanks and waiting to read from you soon

[MikeEdgerton]

Amazing.

[AlanN]

I don't think Frank Wakefield could say it anymore eloquently, you do?

[Scotti Adams]

Maybe I should get back to her and tell her I will come to her..she makes the travel arrangements..charge a grand a day. Seems like that should do it.

Nope..Frank couldnt have said it bettern himself.

[Jim Garber]

Just make sure that TOM will "excel in those aspects" by the end of these lessons. I got one of those scams a year or so ago. Sounds good until it doesn't.

[Scotti Adams]

I just wrote her back and told her my fee would be $4000 for the month of lessons plus travel expenses.

[ApK]

Just making sure....you DO know it's a common scam, right?

[Scotti Adams]

:disbelief: Really :grin:
Just making sure....you DO know it's a common scam, right?

Just trying to have some fun with her..I bore easily.

[ApK]

:disbelief: Really :grin:

Just trying to have some fun with her..I bore easily.

Just making sure.
I will, however, repeat the advice my friend got from a secret service agent when he played along as far as getting the fake check by Fedex, and turned it in to them:
"Don't do that. You could get hurt."

[journeybear]

I get something similar every time I advertise for a roommate or change the ad. These messages follow a similar format: a female college student from Europe, or employed in some medical profession or humanitarian organization, wants to move to the States, has received a grant or some such, and wants to know how much is the rent and utilities and where to send the check. (The rent is the first piece of info in the listing, BTW.) They go on from there, and there is boilerplate wording that shows up in all of them (for example: i am expressing my sheer interest in taking up the room, what are the modalities in taking up the place). I have no idea how this is a scam, per se, as I don't see how they expect to make any money, :confused: but they sure are annoying. In an effort to discourage them I worked up a boilerplate response:

NO, YOU ARE NOT. YOU ARE NOTHING THAT YOU SAY. YOU ARE A MEAN, HEARTLESS, WORTHLESS LIAR.

GET A JOB WHERE YOU ARE NOT BOTHERING PEOPLE.

YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF, IF YOU UNDERSTAND ENOUGH ENGLISH TO KNOW WHAT THE WORD "SHAME" MEANS.

SHAME ON YOU.

which I would copy and paste in 24 point bold, hoping to get at least one of them to quit and find other employment. Feel free to use this.

One time I got two of these a day apart, from two different senders, with the same photo included! Also, I think one of these had a name swapped with yet another - something like that - clearly sloppy work. This time I first sent them each other's emails, and said: YOU SHOULD GET YOUR STORIES STRAIGHT YOU STUPID JERKS. Incredibly, one of them persisted! I decided to have a bit of fun, and responded to something in her email about her uncle's approval. I ended with a marriage proposal, to which she responded personally (veering from the script) expressing astonishment that I didn't even know her and wanted to marry her. I quoted a few things back to her from her previous message, ending with being distraught and threatening suicide. She stopped further communication. :crying: :grin: ;)

I'm not suggesting you or anyone do any of this, but it did feel good.

Then there was the time someone claimed to be a priest from an actual church in Dallas, but that's another story ... :popcorn:

[Scotti Adams]

Well..I guess my cost of $4000 detered her..havent heard anything since.

[mrmando]

I don't see how they expect to make any money, :confused: but they sure are annoying.

They overpay and then ask you to refund the difference. If the rent is $1200, they send a cashier's check for $2300 and ask you for $1100 back. If you fall for this, you're out the $1100 after the cashier's check turns out to be fake.

[journeybear]

They overpay and then ask you to refund the difference. If the rent is $1200, they send a cashier's check for $2300 and ask you for $1100 back. If you fall for this, you're out the $1100 after the cashier's check turns out to be fake.

Aha! (Slaps forehead!) Now I see! (albeit, through stars ...) :disbelief:

Of course, I was never going to go through any transaction with any of these spammers/scammers, as whatever they were up to, whoever was emailing me was clearly phoney baloney. ;)

And Scotti - Your approach was similar to but different from mine (I went into a lot more detail, but it seemed the convoluted chain of events dictated a convoluted story), but essentially the same - sending the sender an over-the-top response set off a red light, and they ceased contact.

[jim_n_virginia]

Just making sure.
I will, however, repeat the advice my friend got from a secret service agent when he played along as far as getting the fake check by Fedex, and turned it in to them:
"Don't do that. You could get hurt."

While it is possible to run into a dangerous nut job anywhere, MOST of these scammers are unemployed punks who hang out in cyber cafes over seas. It is more like a game to them I was told by my friend who works in Internet fraud.

They scour eBay and Craigslist and send out thousands of these offers every day and when someone gets a bite often he said they will all crowd around a monitor in excitement and laughing and read the suckers email together.

What is amazing to me is that there ARE people who actually fall for this!

[journeybear]

Here's a good one:

.. Just so you know,I am french but I do speak english the best way i can so pls pardon my mistakes ...

I would wait impatiently for your next email.
Thank You...Aviour ...

I understand a French person misspelling English words, but not French! "Aviour???" :))

[earthsave]

Wee Wee Mis sewer

[Mandolinut2]

If you really want to get a good laugh, Check out a scammer getting scammed. http://www.ebolamonkeyman.com/Peter_Aka1.html