Does this look legit or scammy -- offer to buy

[Dave Martin]

Hi, this "offer" was received from an ad on CPro - which I thought was an app for Crailslist but it is not - for an Eastman two point 804D.

Something set off my scam alert gene.

I never got a question about the mando, only was "the instrument still in good condition?"

Offer to buy text is below. This is second email. The first did not name instrument either.

Thought and ideas appreciated in advance.

Dave Martin

what the "buyer wrote"
+++++++++++++++++++++
Thanks for responding, I'm ok with the price. i would like you to remove
the advert from the list cos i want to make the purchase asap and i don't
mind adding extra $60 to delete the ads from the list..Please let me know
if a certified check is ok.? After the payment clears, my shipper will come
and pick it up at your location. I would have loved to come and take a look
but I can't. My shipper will though. If you can get back to me with your
details I can overnight the check out asap.

Name to be on the payment........
Address to mail the check to.......
Phone #........... Last Price......

++++++++++++++++++++++++

[Paul Busman]

Sounds scammy.

[jaycat]

Ask yourself - do you know any private parties who have a "shipper?"

[billkilpatrick]

Cash the check and meet the "shipper" somewhere away from the house, in the company of your friendly local law enforcement officer ...

[Mandolin Cafe]

Hi, this "offer" was received from an ad on CPro - which I thought was an app for Crailslist but it is not - for an Eastman two point 804D.

Something set off my scam alert gene.

I never got a question about the mando, only was "the instrument still in good condition?"

Offer to buy text is below. This is second email. The first did not name instrument either.

Thought and ideas appreciated in advance.

Dave Martin

what the "buyer wrote"
+++++++++++++++++++++
Thanks for responding, I'm ok with the price. i would like you to remove
the advert from the list cos i want to make the purchase asap and i don't
mind adding extra $60 to delete the ads from the list..Please let me know
if a certified check is ok.? After the payment clears, my shipper will come
and pick it up at your location. I would have loved to come and take a look
but I can't. My shipper will though. If you can get back to me with your
details I can overnight the check out asap.

Name to be on the payment........
Address to mail the check to.......
Phone #........... Last Price......

++++++++++++++++++++++++

100% pure scam b.s. Take this from someone that blocks this crap every day of the year, year-round, for decades.

OK, I'll play along to the next person on the internet that wants to engage in discussion, because someone always has to play that game.

1. 99.9% of the people in the U.S. do not use the word "advert." You're in the southwest, this person most clearly is not.
2. Really, who has a "my shipper" that comes by for them???
3. Asks to remove the ad so no one else can contact you
4. Adding extra money to the offer--if this doesn't make your alarm bell go off... please
5. No questions about detail which usually is clear indication they don't know anything about the product. They don't need to in order to run a scam.
6. Generic text easily cut and paste
7. "Last price" -- try using that on the Classifieds. Go ahead, insert it in a reply to new ad. You'll get blocked. I'll let everyone figure out why. I've been blocking that term for over 15 years and have never seen it legitimately used. This is a generic copy and paste that keeps getting used over and over by people that are not smart enough to know and have a poor command of basic English.

So in the end, usually one of two of these setting off the alarm is enough. But this one, it hits on all cylinders.

[nickster60]

Everytime I sell something on CL these crackpots come out of the woodwork. I give them a curt response and they move on. As Scott mentioned above the verbiage is a dead give away.

[MikeEdgerton]

Everything about that response is bad. Just ignore it and move on. Don't respond.

Just an added note. Scammers and hackers are generally a whole lot better at what they do than you are. Right now you're a random person. There's no sense in making yourself into a personalized target. If I have your e-mail address I can get real information about you. The more I know about you the more information I can get. Sending off any response isn't a good idea even if it makes you feel better about it.

[Mark Gunter]

Cash the check and meet the "shipper" somewhere away from the house, in the company of your friendly local law enforcement officer ...

You'll never 'meet the "shipper"' - to repeat, this is a SCAM. This low life does not want your instrument. They want you to remove your ad, they want to send you a bogus check in excess of the asking amount, and they want you to deposit the bogus check and immediately send the amount they 'overpaid' to 'their shipper' via Western Union.

Don't waste your time with these people. You could waste their time by having them go ahead and send you a bogus check I suppose, but take Scott's word for it in the post above. This is an old scam and very recognizable.

[Willie Poole]

If they had a "shipper" he could bring the money with him when he picked up the instruments....PURE BOGUS.....

[nickster60]

I get most of my responses via text and for the most part from large US cities. I do miss the offers to trade, I have been offered at least a dozen washer & dryers. I did get an offer for a a side of beef last week it was a local rancher and I would have taken that. One of my colleagues works for a government agency that is a think tank for cyberterrorist. If the serious guys want to hack you there is nothing commercially available to stop them. Their skills are far beyond any of us.

[Dave Martin]

Thanks to all for confirming my suspicion. I just had a friend sell some nice guitars to a reputable buyer on CL, so was hoping. I will get it on to Cafe Classifieds soon.

Again, sincere thanks,

Dave Martin

[pops1]

I tell them if you trust your shipper just send cash with them, I never hear from them again.

[EdHanrahan]

FWIW: I bought a number of instruments thru eBay (mostly 8-10 years ago, and some for not-trivial amounts) and never had a problem. Partly, that was due to asking questions of the seller even if I really didn't have questions. Their response was a pretty good indicator of their care/concern/responsibility, and I let several go as a result.

If their response sounds like they're really not concerned about their instrument finding a good home, consider that to an accurate statement of their intent. When their main concern is the technical details of getting your money ...

[jorgey]

This is an old Paypal scam.

They will ask for refund, which would be required, then change their accounts, while Paypal investigates. You're out the mando and the money.

[nickster60]

There are some advantages to CL
Cash on the Barrel-head
No Shipping involved
No trial periods
No Paypal Transactions
Buyer see the instrument in the flesh

The Cons
Scammers, lots
Takes longer to sell
Much smaller audience

You have to choose what is right for you

[Charlie Bernstein]

. . .

Thanks for responding, I'm ok with the price. i would like you to remove
the advert from the list cos i want to make the purchase asap and i don't
mind adding extra $60 to delete the ads from the list..Please let me know
if a certified check is ok.? After the payment clears, my shipper will come
and pick it up at your location. I would have loved to come and take a look
but I can't. My shipper will though. If you can get back to me with your
details I can overnight the check out asap.

Name to be on the payment........
Address to mail the check to.......
Phone #........... Last Price......

. . . .

Are you kidding? EVERYTHING about it says scam!

- Doesn't name the item. (It's a form email. He cuts and pastes it to hundreds of advertisers.)

- Tries to tell you remove the ad. (This is supposed to make you think he's sincere.)

- Tries to rush you. (His hurry shouldn't be your problem. He's just trying to make you think you have a live one.)

- Offers more than you're asking for. (Gimme a break!)

- Mentions a certified check. (Huge overkill. Absolutely no reason for a certified check. He just thinks it makes him sound legitimate. Honest people don't try to prove they're honest. It's the seller who should specify form of payment - not the buyer!)

- Says he'd love to come see it but can't. (Nothing wrong with not coming. Suspicious that he thinks he has to say it.)

- Has a "shipper" who will pick it up. (What's a shipper?)

- Too many spelling, punctuation, and grammar mistakes. (That would be absolutely fine if nothing else were fishy. But here it just shouts that he has a disorganized mind. Like most thieves.)

It's nothing BUT red flags. As a friend of mine puts it, if a deal SEEMS weird, it IS weird. When I get offers like that (and I get them all the time), I do two things:

- Write back immediately saying the item is sold. (It's no sin to lie to liars.)

- Move their "offer" to my spam folder and select "Phishing scam." That alerts my email company.

[fscotte]

Wow, you guys are waaay paranoid. I bought my fist Lloyd Loar from a Nigerian Prince. It went so smooth that I bought 10 more!

[EdHanrahan]

... bought my fist Lloyd Loar from a Nigerian Prince. ... so smooth that I bought 10 more!

Ah yes; the lost tribe of Gibsons!

[DHopkins]

Wow, you guys are waaay paranoid. I bought my fist Lloyd Loar from a Nigerian Prince. It went so smooth that I bought 10 more!

.......and you're still waiting for them to arrive!!

[jesserules]

Hi, this "offer" was received from an ad on CPro - which I thought was an app for Crailslist but it is not - for an Eastman two point 804D.
Something set off my scam alert gene.
I never got a question about the mando, only was "the instrument still in good condition?"
Offer to buy text is below. This is second email. The first did not name instrument either.
Thought and ideas appreciated in advance.
Dave Martin
what the "buyer wrote"
+++++++++++++++++++++
Thanks for responding, I'm ok with the price. i would like you to remove
the advert from the list cos i want to make the purchase asap and i don't
mind adding extra $60 to delete the ads from the list..Please let me know
if a certified check is ok.? After the payment clears, my shipper will come
and pick it up at your location. I+

Not meaning to pile on, just for future reference:

Classic scam language highlighted. Please note - certified checks can be and are being faked, and your bank may very well not become aware that such a check is no good until some time after it has "cleared".

[Ivan Kelsall]

Quote - "Ask yourself - do you know any private parties who have a "shipper?" . One Cafe member had me as a 'shipper' a few years back,& i recently had an offer from another Cafe member who offered to act as a 'shipper' for an item that i'd though of buying from the US. It does happen,although the term 'shipper' sounds a tad industrial.

Re. 'certified checks' ('cheques' in the UK). I'm not familiar with those - is that something issued by the bank themselves ?. If so,the authenticity of one should be easily established by 'said bank'. I've used what we call 'Bank Drafts' in payment for a few items that were 'expensive'. The bank is the absolute guarantor on payment & a BD is usually accepted without the need to have it cleared as in the case of a private cheque - a phone call to the bank is enough.

I'm afraid that my mind isn't devious enough to get it around some of these 'scams' & how they work,but as in the case of the op. ,i'd be very dubious about something like this. I'd be asking the 'buyer' to send his 'shipper' along with the cash as pops1 suggests,
Ivan

[Charlie Bernstein]

Quote - [I]. . . I'd be asking the 'buyer' to send his 'shipper' along with the cash as pops1 suggests,
Ivan

That would work if you were dealing with an honest person, but you're not. That won't get rid of him, it will keep him coming back - with stories about how he's in a wheelchair in France or on active duty in Afghanistan or unable to travel because of sick cat.

If you engage in any way, it tells him he has a live one.

As I said above, the best way to get rid of these folks is to reply with these four words: The item is sold. (And don't reveal anything about yourself, where you live, or the item you're selling!)

PS - Which reminds me of an important red flag I forgot to mention above: the identity theft flag:

- When they ask for your name, address, phone number, or any other personal information, they're identity mining. Never share personal information with people who might be thieves. That's how people get their identity stolen. It happens all the time.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Charlie - You're 100 % correct - but the 'shipper' either turns up with the cash or not !. If he turns up with the cash,you sell,if he doesn't you don't & then you terminate any contact,
Ivan

[almeriastrings]

Charlie - You're 100 % correct - but the 'shipper' either turns up with the cash or not !. If he turns up with the cash,you sell,if he doesn't you don't & then you terminate any contact,
Ivan

By then, Ivan, you have given your name and address (from which they can find loads of other 'useful' stuff on you) to a bunch of international, professional fraudsters......

Not a great move, I might suggest.

Given the probability of a scam in cases like this is somewhere beyond 99.999%, is it really worth it?

[Bertram Henze]

to think the shipper is coming your way...