Potential scam

[csumerall]

If anyone has their boat listed on craigslist you shoud keep reading, I have my boat on craigslist. Today I recieved this email :
"Hello

Sears Equipment Inc; write to inform you that we are
interested in purchasing the Boat

Please let us know if boat is still available
for sale so that we can make a purchasing decision.

However,shipping and other expenses involved would be
our responsibility.

Reply back to the same email address
Hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely yours,
Daniel. "

I did a google search and they directed me towards another forum with this being said:

Gene O. Carpenter
Subscriber Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Rumson, New Jersey
Posts: 558
Thanks: 5
Thanked 6 Times in 2 Posts

Re: Sears Equipment INC UK

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Fran,
Like Gary and the others, said "be careful"!
I have received my share of these inquiries for items that I have advertised on eBay and C'sList and I have concluded that when someone from another country contacts you wanting to buy your item whether it be on eBay or C'sL and they want to send you a MO, Certified Cashiers ck etc to pay for it, You can bet that it's a scam!
If you say yes you'll get a reply back that they are out of town and their agent, who usually owes them a large sum of money and will be paying "for them"and that they, the agent, will be sending you a "MO, CCK" with an amount in excess of your asking price and instructing you to "immediately run down to your bank and cash the MO,CCK etc and fwd the overage to their agent by Western Union" and then await the shipping co. to pick up the item that this "agent" will arrange..And that last sentence is just about word for word the way they'll say it!!

If you fall for it, and it's amazing how many people do, you will still have your item and your asking price, but not for long, and they'll have that "excess payment" and you'll never hear from them again!
But you will hear from the financial institution wanting their money money back from that worthless "paper" that YOU unwittingly hung on them! You'll have to return the full amount of that MO or CCK. Just try to find them to get the rest of it!

If you do sell an item to an overseas buyer insist on the payment being right to the Penny and then do not ship or release for shipment, until their MO CCK has cleared your bank by at least 10--14 day's.. That assures that the funds have been charged back against the proper account and that there's sufficient funds to cover the debit..And the bank won't come looking for you.."

that being said I'm going to see how this plays out but just to let you guys know. I'll keep you updated.

[kaneboats]

Tell them to show up with good ole American cash.

[lowdrag]

I've gotten similar letters every time I've advertised a vehicle on the internet. I replied to a couple of them just to see if there was a real person behind the computer sending them. They actually did continue to write back and address the questions I had, up until the point I asked them to send their "purchasing agent" with case and I would be more than happy to sell to them.

[spyder]

With online classifieds I would never deal with someone out of state or out of country, unless you can see the product (if your buying) or they come to see the product (you are selling).. it's only logical, the chance of a legit person buying something sight unseen is pretty rare.

Just use your common sense and you will never be taken for a ride online.

[spyder]

Tell them to show up with good ole American cash.

I also always make sure to meet the person at a local bank if selling a product for cash, so I can check it to make sure its legit.

If they wont meet you at a bank, good chance they could be giving you counterfeit bills.

[tazz3069]

Watch out if you are selling anything on Craigslist. I had advertised my old boat there. I was selling it for $9000.00 The buyer sent me a cashiers check for $18,000.00 He had told me the remaining balance would be applied to the transportation company. I call the bank. There was money in that account. The check was from the bank I called. The only bad thing was the check number was bad. The bank never issued a cashiers check to me in that amount. The name on the check did not show up in the database. The guy called me on an out of area phone number. He wanted to make arangements on the pickup. I told him about the check and the conversation ended. I Filled a police report, reported it to the fraud department and waited. I am still waiting. This happened 4 years ago. Please be careful with craigslist. Sometimes when I list there, I get email "I saw your add and am very interested. i just moved to India and would like to make arrangements for purchase." I respond to them, "You should have bought it before you left. Try scamming someone else." I notice the email. Very broken English, the letter I not capitalized, and fragmented sentences. Craigslist can be good and it can be bad. PLEASE be careful.

[kaneboats]

It's funny how people forget that the currency in the good ole USA is the dollar, not somebody's check, cashier's check, or pesos. It's a lot more likely that someone is going to try to pass a phony check than try to pass you $20,000 in counterfeit bills all at once. Having them meet you at a bank makes sense for safety reasons though. I've offered to do this -- meet the buyer at their own bank so they don't have to carry the cash. Me, I'm always happy to carry the cash home.

Thanks everybody for the input and warnings on this. Remember the mantra-- "You want the boat and the title-- I want the money."