Selling something on Craigslist - Is this person trying to scam me?

[gavin310]

I'm selling an expensive laptop on Craigslist. Someone who is in Malaysia wants to buy it and said they will arrange a courier to pick it up. They said they will transfer the money to my bank first. It sounds scammy to me, but I'm not seeing how they could scam me. If I only supply my bank account name and number, there's nothing nefarious they can do with that, right? The only thing I could see is they claim it never arrived and say I need to send their money back. If we agree beforehand that once it leaves Thailand it's officially "sold", and I already have cash-in-hand, is there any other way they could screw me over?

[impulse]

If they have stolen someone else's bank info, they can transfer money to you that they don't own.

When it comes out that your account has stolen money in it, you'll wish all you had to do is to return the cash.

Of course, the laptop will also be long gone, and you will have no record of where it was sent, since they're sending a courier.

Run, don't walk away. It may be a legit deal, but why risk it?

Edited June 6, 2016 by impulse

[Marcel1]

Don't do it it is fishy there are many ways to retrieve the money back. One being as impulse here mentioned. If it's a good deal, a new buyer will be around shortly. Just cash in hand, no stress

[Toknarok]

This topic has been discussed many times on TV Forum. Here's one example http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/742907-craigslist-thailand-is-full-of-scammers-what-happened-to-real-people/

[gavin310]

This topic has been discussed many times on TV Forum. Here's one example http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/742907-craigslist-thailand-is-full-of-scammers-what-happened-to-real-people/

This isn't the same. That topic says the buyer pays with PayPal and then opens a dispute. The guy in Malaysia says he will transfer it direct to my bank and wait until I withdraw the cash.

[dabhand]

Get them to pay you by Western Union. Then no chance of any refund issue.

[sniffdog]

You should first ask yourself ... Why would someone agree to pay you first without any guarantee? Beware .. There are a lot of scamming Africans operating from Malaysia. Western Union or Moneygram is the best option for you.

Another possibility is that the courier is affiliated with the scammers and might threaten you.

Edited June 6, 2016 by sniffdog

[gavin310]

I didn't even think about Western Union or Moneygram. That's a good idea. Thanks! I'm almost positive it's a scammer, but I still don't understand why he said he'll transfer the money to my bank before I even ship it. He said his bank is Bank of America, so maybe after transferring the money he'll claim someone defrauded him and get the money back from the bank. Since it was transferred to a Thai bank maybe they'll believe him.

[sniffdog]

He will sent you a falsified confirmation of the Bank of America and his croonies try to collect first.

[Chicog]

If the courier is Nigerian, call the cops on him because he probably hasn't got a work permit.

[jadee]

Unless you are selling an Alienware laptop for 100baht (ie the deal of the century) I think this is a scam 100% - can't think anyone would pay to courier a used laptop to Malaysia. Surely that would cost more than the laptop, right? Or certainly make the laptop purchase economically unsound. Maybe you should get a quote to courier a laptop to Malaysia and that'll prove what a scam this is.

[Scouse Twoccer]

If they have stolen someone else's bank info, they can transfer money to you that they don't own.

When it comes out that your account has stolen money in it, you'll wish all you had to do is to return the cash.

Of course, the laptop will also be long gone, and you will have no record of where it was sent, since they're sending a courier.

Run, don't walk away. It may be a legit deal, but why risk it?

Why risk it? Because no one in their right mind is going to transfer their money, legit or not, to a complete stranger. Why would they?

If you're referring to the small amount needed to buy a used laptop even if they had stolen the cash and used it to buy the computer the seller would have no liability and it's ridiculous to suggest that he would.

[Scouse Twoccer]

OP, get the money in your bank and wait for the courier company to turn up. They will give you a receipt and then the delivery of the computer is their problem not yours, if the courier doesn't deliver it the buyer takes it up with them.

But, if the money doesn't hit your bank account and a courier turns up full of apologies with a BoA cashier's cheque for a lot more than the computer price and asks you to give him the computer and the difference between the cheque value and the computer price then that will be the con. The BoA cashier's cheque will be a dud and you will have given the "courier" your computer and a load of cash.

Edited June 6, 2016 by Scouse Twoccer

[mvdf]

I responded to one of their emails sometime last year to see how their modus operandi works. The way this works is like this:

You accept the transaction and they tell you they paid. You get a spoofed email from "United Overseas Bank" or "Malaysia Public Bank". The fake email says the funds are on their way to your account and you should send the laptop to Malaysia. The scammer then pressures you to send the laptop immediately.

Another version goes like this-- you accept the transaction and you receive an email from the bank saying the money is on it's way. But then the email shows a different amount (a much higher amount than the cost of the laptop). And this Nigerian scammer then emails you back to say "hey i made a mistake and overpaid you, did you get my bank's email? i'm awfully busy so i can't collect the laptop this week. please send the overpaid amount by western union to me today."

There are indeed some who fall for it.

[opalred]

tell them to get fkt i had sam scam tried twice from malaysia

one a chopper and expsive camera

anything from malaysia is a scam

number 2place in world for cons and scams

[Chicog]

Is the Western Union destination Malaysia?

[sniffdog]

They tried to scam me like this. I got an email from Western Union which said the money had bern paid and the item could be shipped. Apparently they were not that clever, the email came from domain games.msn.com

[chainarong]

I didn't even think about Western Union or Moneygram. That's a good idea. Thanks! I'm almost positive it's a scammer, but I still don't understand why he said he'll transfer the money to my bank before I even ship it. He said his bank is Bank of America, so maybe after transferring the money he'll claim someone defrauded him and get the money back from the bank. Since it was transferred to a Thai bank maybe they'll believe him.

He is Malaysian and uses Bank of America. Why would a rich Malay need to buy your computer ????

[alfalfa19]

scam. another variation is to send you a very official looking cashier's check. you deposit and it clears. you send the merchandise, and a few days later the bank discovers the check is bogus. they deduct the amount of the check from your account, with some penalties thrown in for good measure. i have played with these guys a bit before, it's quite amusing. even got them to invest the few dollars it takes to send the bogus check from africa. then, i taunt them about their lost dollars. at that point, they either threaten to kill me, or ask me to be their business partner. this site is worth visiting: http://ebolamonkeyman.com/ it's a bit different, focusing on the 419 scam, but still entertaining.

[WishWashMan]

I think they can do bad things with just your acc number and name.

[mike324]

scam. another variation is to send you a very official looking cashier's check. you deposit and it clears. you send the merchandise, and a few days later the bank discovers the check is bogus. they deduct the amount of the check from your account, with some penalties thrown in for good measure. i have played with these guys a bit before, it's quite amusing. even got them to invest the few dollars it takes to send the bogus check from africa. then, i taunt them about their lost dollars. at that point, they either threaten to kill me, or ask me to be their business partner. this site is worth visiting: http://ebolamonkeyman.com/ it's a bit different, focusing on the 419 scam, but still entertaining.

http://www.419eater.com/ scam forum is a good read to kill time, there was a guy who got the scammers to pay for shipping and they sent the scammer a box of bricks

[neeray]

I am a major advertiser in Canada on Kijiji. I get these scammers all the time. What he is after is your bank info, address, phone number etc. it is the first steps in identity theft. His MO is standard operating procedure for Nigerians. Good thing you smelled it and reached out.

[csabo]

Definitely a scam, seen it a dozen times. Just for fun, tell him to have his "courier" bring cash and cash only to the local police station for the exchange. Trust me you will never her from him again.

[GAZZPA]

If he is willing to transfer the money first then it is probably legit, however as with all distant selling there is risk.

If you unsure say you want cash, simple. If he doesn't want to do that as it becomes risky for him then walk away.

You will never really know for sure unless it all goes wrong after the fact.

[Mansell]

I used to get these on Craigslist in California all the time. Any time a courier was involved or Paypal or the sale item would be picked up by a friend or the person was in the US military.....IT WAS A SCAM. One tipoff is the name they use....one was a Sergeant in the US army which I googled and he was dead. Another the named seemed familiar and it was a famous Brit poet from WWI. And I could have been married so many times with millions of dollars involved.....laughable.

Remember if it sounds to good to be true...It is.

[GAZZPA]

If they have stolen someone else's bank info, they can transfer money to you that they don't own.

When it comes out that your account has stolen money in it, you'll wish all you had to do is to return the cash.

Of course, the laptop will also be long gone, and you will have no record of where it was sent, since they're sending a courier.

Run, don't walk away. It may be a legit deal, but why risk it?

Why risk it? Because no one in their right mind is going to transfer their money, legit or not, to a complete stranger. Why would they?

If you're referring to the small amount needed to buy a used laptop even if they had stolen the cash and used it to buy the computer the seller would have no liability and it's ridiculous to suggest that he would.

Yes they do, of course they do. How else will you ever get anything delivered? The reality is nobody is ever going to send a laptop to you until they have been paid.

If he receives money in his bank, and I mean in his bank and not some "money is on the way" email then there is little risk.

All you have to do then is ensure you keep receipt and details of the transaction.

If he still believes it is risky then ask for cash, simple.

[DefaultName]

If you even have to ask yourself the question, don't do it.

[rsokolowski]

Read the "Avoiding Scams and Fraud" link on the Craigslist homepage. There is some very good information and several real examples of fraud. Anything that deals with money transfers, couriers, agents or anything other than a face to face cash and carry exchange is likely (99% chance) a fraud. Run don't walk from this transaction.

Be safe deal locally, only.

[scorecard]

This topic has been discussed many times on TV Forum. Here's one example http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/742907-craigslist-thailand-is-full-of-scammers-what-happened-to-real-people/

This isn't the same. That topic says the buyer pays with PayPal and then opens a dispute. The guy in Malaysia says he will transfer it direct to my bank and wait until I withdraw the cash.

Keep in mind that Malaysia is high on the list for shady banking and very high on the world list for credit card number theft, etc.

[impulse]

This is exactly why the idea of reporting bank account numbers to immigration sends the hairs on the back of my neck into convulsions.

With my name, bank account number and passport number all on the same piece of paper, what's to stop anyone from getting a KhaoSan passport made up with my name and passport number (and their photo), and using that at a branch of my bank to do whatever they want?

The KhaoSan fake passports probably won't get through immigration, but I can't think of any reason a bank wouldn't accept it as positive ID, especially if they had a few other pieces of cheap KhaoSan ID like a DL, CC, library card, etc.

Sure, buying a $1000 laptop and reselling it is small potatoes in the world of money laundering, but do it a few dozen or hundred times and suddenly we're looking at real money. And to an Asian making $10 a day, even doing it once would be the equivalent of several month's salary.