How to stick it to a scammer?

The Coffee Shop
1

I posted an ad recently to Craigs List selling my kayak. I got a text back from a guy that was interested that is obviously a scam. Same old story saying he will send me more then asking price then wants me to wire him back the balance. I played along just to see how it would unfold. Well today I got a cashiers check in the mail (Priority Mail Express) for $2250.50, asking price was $450.
Below is a copy of the whole text conversation which took place over 5 days.
I know it is a scam, question is how can I stick it to him, or can I? Maybe just report him to the police, but he isn’t local so not sure what they will do but I do have his phone number (probably a disposable phone) and a return address from the check being mailed. This return address is actually the Atlanta Art of Boxing Gym in Atlanta GA.
Any ideas?

Hi Mike ,I’m interesting in ur (Pompano 120 Sit On Top Kayak - $450) Reply back. Wilson

Hey Wilson, were are you located?

I am willing to pay your asking price. I’m away for a family emergency. but I will instruct my assistant to mail your payment. I’ll add $30 extra. I’ll pay by Check
so send me your full name, mailing address so payment can be mailed out Asap. Wilson

(address sent)

Hi Mike , I got your information and my assistant will mail out the payment out today. I will handle the shipment after the payment has been received and
cashed by you. Go ahead and delete the item posting on Craigslist and consider it sold to me. Reply back. Wilson

Will do

Hi Mike, I hope all is well with you. My assistant mailed payment to you. There is something I think I must bring to your notice. After a reconciliation of my account now, I discovered that somehow my assistant must have overpaid you. The payment meant for daughter’s school fee’s was sent to you and the one meant for
representative of my school daughter ., you was sent to another. However, I want to believe I will not have a problem with you.

The moving company will be responsible for the pickup. I will provide the info you need to complete the western union
Please when payment is received in the mail, I would like for you to deduct your money as agreed, and send the remaining through western union to the
transfer when you receive payment. Thanks once again for your understanding. Response is needed asap. Wilson

No problem

Hi Mike, I hope all is well . Please accept my apology for not writing back earlier, I was extremely busy, granny is very sick , i have been in and out of hospital because my of sick granny.

Go to www.usps.com and track it.
I’m using this opportunity to inform you that Payment will be arrive to your contact address this morning by Post Office Staff. Here is USPS Tracking Number (9470xxxxxxxxxxxxx ).

You are to DEPOSIT the Check at your Bank/ATM Machine and it will clear within 24/48 hours. Let me know once you received and deposited it, so i can provide
you my daughter’s school accounting manager’s info to send the rest of the money via Money Gram after deduction of your item cost. Thanks.

Ok

Hi Mike, Go ahead and deposit the check, I just got confirmation from US Postal Service that payment has been delivered to your contact address this morning 10:50 AM.

Once you received it. You are to DEPOSIT the Check at your Bank/ATM Machine and it will clear within 24/48 hours. Let me know once you received and deposited
it, so i can provide you my daughter’s school accounting manager’s info to send the rest of the money via Money Gram after deduction of your item cost. Thanks.

2

Send him a pic of the check stuck in a pile of dog shit and on fire.

I’m currently stringing one along as well, and plan to post once it all plays out. It’s quality entertainment.

3

Had one of those a few years ago, something about driving a daughter to an unnamed, yet local to me somehow, college in exchange for x dollars. They went so far as to send out postal money orders for payment, which of course were as per usual more than the amount, with the same instructions…deposit, send them back a portion blah blah blah. The money orders looked legit, but calling the USPS to verify their issuance obviously revealed them to be fraudulent.

Strung them along for awhile, receiving vague threats to contact “the FBI and local authorities” if I didn’t follow through with my end of the “deal”. After letting them know I’d gladly chat with the FBI, since I couldn’t verify the authenticity of the money orders, etc…never heard from them again.

4

If he sent you a cashiers check isn’t it pre-cleared? Not saying this isn’t a scam, but just a little confused about it.

5

Cashier’s checks and money orders can be and are made by counterfeiters, with an alarmingly high degree of appearing to be authentic. A phone call to the bank or whomever issued said check or money order will let you know if it’s one they actually issued, or if most likely it’s bogus.

6

Then in that case call the cops because that is fraud.

7

Hard to trace, often these things originate from out of the country.

8

Hard to trace, often these things originate from out of the country.

Easy to trace if he gave you wiring instructions.

9

They don’t.

You’re sending it to an address overseas typically, and sure you can probably jump through some hoops to attempt some sort of prosecution, but this is likely a roving sort of scam, multiple addresses, one that’s never used long, moving on to the next, with different identities and the like. So much more going on in this world than to try, unfortunate as is is, to track some of this scum down. Bottom line is just to be diligent and adhere to that old adage “if it seems too good to be true…”

10

I would reply, and tell him there must be some mistake as the check you received, is significantly lower then the price you agreed to (don’t mention $ amounts since he seems not to use them either). Tell him you will deposit this as good faith money, and ship the kayak when you recieve the balance due.

Should be interesting to see how he responds to that.

11

I would reply, and tell him there must be some mistake as the check you received, is significantly lower then the price you agreed to (don’t mention $ amounts since he seems not to use them either). Tell him you will deposit this as good faith money, and ship the kayak when you recieve the balance due.

Should be interesting to see how he responds to that.

I like that. Or tell him the bank wouldn’t accept it and you are going to cancel the transaction unless the money is sent to you overnight. Make him spend some money to find out that you are on to him.

12

I had one of these recently.

Strung him along for a few days while he kept asking for my name and address to send the check which was$100 over my asking price.

Finally told him my name was Barack Obama and I lived at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Never heard from him again.

13

I had the same exact thing happen, only at least 10 years ago, maybe more.It was the very beginning of this scam, and bells were ringing in my head all over the place from the deal. Just the fact that someone would send you more money than you were asking should be enough to tell you 100% it is a scam, but even now, look at people in this thread that are not sure.

I put the check in my bank and just waited. The funds showed up in my account in just a day or two, but then two weeks later i got the notice that the funds had been deleted from my account and the check was a fraud. This is how the scam worked back then, maybe now too. people put the checks in the bank and see the funds, and greed takes over and they think they really put one over on some poor sucker. They do what they are told, send the item and the extra cash, and in the end lose everything, like they probably should if they think for one second this is legit…

Perhaps a little harsh, i know a lot of old people that get taken in by these types of scams, they just have a diminished sense of who are the hucksters. But most people taken in by this are younger types who sell on ebay and craiglist, and should know better. Probably a cheap lesson in the long run for folks that fall for it, get their radar up for the onslaught that comes in the junk mail every day…

14

This is about as good as you can get a scammer.

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/p-p-p-powerbook

Everything else is just playing around

15

This is about as good as you can get a scammer.

http://knowyourmeme.com/...ents/p-p-p-powerbook

Everything else is just playing around

See you and raise you

http://419eater.com/html/joyce_ozioma.htm

16

Tell him you never received the check and will cancel the deal unless he sends you an envelope of cash.