Buyer and Sellers Beware: Emailing, Texting, and Calling Precautions

Many of us have at one point in time sold or bought something on Craigslist or ebaY. Have you ever received an email response that was in regards to one of your listed items online and weren't quite sure if it was someone trying to "scam or spam" you? Or if it was actually someone "real" and actually did want to buy or trade for whatever you had?

Before I get into how to break an email down to figure out if it is a scam or not, check out the one below and see what you can pick out. I know this does not seem like rocket science, but the thing to remember is that the scammers are going to focus on getting you to make an emotional decision, rather than an educated one. 

Is it real or not?

This email is from "Roger" and he has a Yahoo account. 
He is inquiring about some hiking poles I have:

"I would like to have them, but  i don't get paid again till next thursday. If not sold by then would you contact me and i will pick them up. Thank you" 


I have been buying, trading, and selling stuff for a few years now. I've probably had hundreds, if not thousands of emails sent to me in regards to whatever I had. Some of the emails I automatically knew were hoaxes, yet many others went unnoticed for some time before I realized that I had been scammed. Thankfully I never lost any money or the item that I was selling, just time spent emailing the hoax.

So what do you look for in a received email in order to not repeat the same mistakes I have? Instead of just telling you, I will show you a few emails that I have received in the past. I will start out with an easy one first:

This one came from a person named "Teni" and their email address was a Gmail account: Bebenlo55. All they said was, "Is the items still for sale?" 

Let me break this down: First off, the name "Teni." It's uncommon, but it could still be a "real persons" name (These scammers like to use weird names). Second, the email address: It appears to be a normal Gmail address, it could be a last name, but again very uncommon. Third,  it's really vague. This could apply to anything. And lastly, the spelling and grammar. Of course I was an idiot and responded to this email because I really wanted to sell whatever it was that I had at the time. 

This is what I got in response:

"I really appreciate your response to my email. I want you to consider
it sold, Pls do withdraw the advert from CL to avoid
disturbance,anyway I don't have time to come over to take a look
because of my Business but you don't need to bother yourself with the
shipment, I'll take care of that by engaging the services of a
shipper, hence I'll be sending a Certified check and it will be
delivered to you via United Parcel Service (UPS), so I'll need you to
provide me with the following information to facilitate the mailing of
the check.
Full name on the check.
Full Physical address to post the check
City, State and Zip Code
Home & Cell Phone to contact you.

Note that the payment will be shipped to your address via UPS NEXT DAY

AIR SERVICE and I will like you to know that you will not be
responsible for shipping i will have my shipper  to come over as soon
as  you have cashed the check*

N.B UPS does not deliver to a P.O box addresses.Thanks."

Now I really felt like an idiot. Other than the obvious grammar and spelling errors, the email that it was sent from was different than the one that was sent to me previously. As a result, whoever was behind this hoax now had my email and name. DO NOT RESPOND! I can't stress that enough! The more you respond, the more personal they will get, which makes it harder to determine if they are real. It's like a funneling effect. I would relate it to when a telemarketer calls you and all you hear is silence for a few seconds. 

What actually happens is that they have called maybe 5 or so people at one time and whoever picks up first will be the one they talk to. Everyone else just gets an "ended" call after a few seconds. In other words, this email will be sent to hundreds of people. Whoever continues to respond will now become the primary target. Their computer programs will pick out key information from your online posts. This can make it appear to be a real person "truly interest" in whatever you have. 

You might be surprised at how easy it is to get sucked into something like this. All it takes is a very basic email that is indirect and has some sort of reel to pull you in. These guys are aiming at getting you excited and want you to make a rash decision.

If you respond with the information they are asking for, there is a good chance you will get a check that can be cashed. You will get your money, but within a few days the bank will realize the check is a fraud and they will then take the money out of your account and you will be left with nothing. You get a double whammy if you have already spent the money. You will have lost whatever you "sold" and will most likely never see it again. And good luck catching these guys! The Internet has made it so easy for them to operate under thousands of different names and emails. 

A lot of times these emails will end in "Best Regards" or "Kind Regards." Who talks like that? Not many people. So...if you want to avoid making the initial mistake of responding to the first email like I did, write in your post or ad to "be specific when responding or I will not reply." You can also write, "I will only respond to calls or text." I will get to the "calls and text" part here in a little bit. 

Now for a little harder email:

"Would like to purchase for my 10 yr old granddaughter.  Can purchase on Friday, Aug 3rd?

Please reply to **********(At) windstream (dot) net or text 935 ****

Would like to schedule how to pick up."

This person was inquiring about a bike I had posted on Craigslist. Part of me could at first believe that this email was real because it was "sent from an iPhone," which could explain the short hand.This type of email setup is written to where it can be sent to anyone in the bike or kids section of Craigslist.

If you feel that an email might be a scam, don't even take the time to respond to it. You may feel like you are making a statement by letting them have it, but in all reality your'e just one of a thousand others that this email has been sent to. Most likely you would just get an auto-reply from their computer program.

I became 100% positive this was a scam when I received a second email from another email address that was in regards to another item I had for sale. It was pretty much the same email, but this time it was for their "13yr granddaughter." 

Another bit of advice is to make it clear in your post as to how or where you will exchange money and product. If it is something big, don't waste your time lugging it around all for nothing. Let them come to you, but meet them outside. Check out my "Dangers of Craigslist" post for more safety tips. 

Let's break this email down:

First off, they don't state what they are wanting to purchase, but they did state that they wanted to purchase what we are assuming is "my" bike for their 10 year old "granddaughter." Next, their email is a "Windstream" email, which is local here in Tulsa, Oklahoma (I added the "dot, At, and ***" so you would not click on the address). The grammar again has issues. The other potentially convincing factor is the local phone number: I took the area code (918) and the last 4 out so it could not be connected if someone clicked it.

The "918" area code is a local number, but most likely this is not his or her number. It most likely came from another persons ad that was not aware of how to list their phone number without it being taken advantage of (or at least making it harder to be acquired). 

If your going to remember anything from this post REMEMBER THIS: NEVER and I mean NEVER write your phone number out like this (123) 345-6789 OR THIS 123-345-6789 Thanks to the wonderful world of "Smart Phones," people can now click on these numbers and call you right away.

Most likely the above number was taken from some innocent person that made this mistake. So how can you avoid at least a computer from obtaining your number? Easy, just write out various parts of your phone number, leave spaces, and leave out the dashes (One two three 45 six 7895). 

Unfortunately, you can't fool an actual person that is sitting there and can read out what you wrote. Thankfully, you can fool the computer programmers that use computer software to easily obtain your numbers.

If someone does obtain your number, most likely you will just get annoying phone calls from telemarketers or you will encounter no one on the other line and it will just hang up. At the very worst you may get an innocent call from some innocent person responding to what they think is an ad from you. 

This potentially could last a few days to a week, maybe one or two times a day at the worst. On the flip side, if you see a phone number written in the traditional way and you are thinking about clicking it, be prepared to be yelled at for calling whoever did not list the ad. Even though the numbers show one thing, that number can be forward to someone else. I would also recommend not clicking on the phone number link from either your phone or computer because it could take you to a harmful site or even download a virus. Just take the extra few seconds and write the number down and then dial it from your phone.

I have an insane story of this happening to me, but I will leave that for another time.

And lastly..TEXTING...That is how my crazy story started out! Avoid it if you can, because you could be texting a persons home phone number (even if it says "cell"), in which they don't know they have "text to voice" and they may get really mad, threaten you, call you names, and harass you. And all because someone else used that persons number for the fake ad.

If you are new to buying, selling, or trading online, I would stick with calling or emailing first. It is very easy to get pulled into a texting conversation and tell someone too much.

Also, remind yourself that you are texting a complete stranger and not your friend. 

If you are going to meet up with someone and your communication has only been text, don't give too much information about yourself, like what you are driving.  Try to wait until that person says they are literally in the parking lot, then tell them what you are driving. You don't want to be the next local headline of getting followed home and robbed, or worst killed. 

If someone is pushy, or they don't answer your questions directly and are just "beating around the bush", drop them. It's not worth it. They are either messing with you and are going to stand you up and waste your time, or they are someone out there that wants to hurt you. 

I am not trying to scare you away from buying, selling, or trading online. I am just wanting to make you aware of what could happen to you if you let your emotions get the best of you. If it is too good to be true, then it probably is. Read through the ads or emails carefully and take your time in responding. If they create a sense of "urgency" to buy or sell, it could be a scam. 

However, I posted an ad like this one time, but it was because I bet my wife that I could sell an item within 15 minutes of it going live. It sold after about 35 minutes of going live. For losing I told her I would use the money for us to go on a date, rather than it just getting eaten up by some bill. You have to have fun, otherwise like every other job, you will get burnt out. This is NOT a "get rich quick" type of thing. It's a way to pay the bills or have extra cash type of thing.

Be careful out there, but also have fun! Good luck!

Thanks for reading!

Matt

Oh, and by the way...The email from Roger was fake. I had listed the hiking poles for only $10. He did not state what he was wanting to buy from me (even though I stated to do so in my ad). He creates an atmosphere of inviting you to contact him if your item does not sell. He gives you the sense that he really wants "them." He also invites himself to come pick them up, most likely at your house. He wants to get a quick yes from you and does not give you the chance to say no. He tells you what he is going to do. Stuff like this can really go South if you respond and agree to their terms. 

This is what I typically respond with if I feel the need to start the process of seeing if they are real, scammers, or just plain punks:

"Call if interested, use the information per my Craigslist post so I know this is a real person."