For iPhone
When you’re selling something on Craigslist, you’re always taking a bit of a risk. You don’t know who you’re dealing with, and there’s always the possibility that something could go wrong. Unfortunately, one woman in Florida learned this the hard way when she was scammed out of $6,500 by a Craigslist scammer.
The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, was selling her iPhone on Craigslist for $700. She was contacted by a buyer who said they were interested in purchasing the phone, and arranged to meet up with them to complete the transaction.
At the meeting, the buyer handed over a check for $6,500 – more than nine times the amount the woman was asking for the phone. The buyer told her that they had made a mistake and written the check for too much money, and asked her to cash it and give them back $5,800 in cash.
Unsurprisingly, the woman didn’t want to do this – why would she want to hand over nearly $6,000 in cash to someone she had just met? – but the buyer was insistent. They told her that if she didn’t do it, they would just cancel the check and she would be out of luck.
Fearing that she would lose the sale (and the money), the woman agreed to go along with the scammer’s plan. She cashed the check at her bank and handed over $5,800 in cash to the buyer. It wasn’t until later that she realized she had been scammed; when she tried to deposit the check into her account, she found out that it was fake.
Fortunately, her bank was able to refund her for the amount of the check, but she is still out $5,800 – money that she likely can’t afford to lose. This story is a reminder of how important it is to be careful when selling something on Craigslist (or any other online marketplace). Never agree to take payment in anything other than cash; if someone tries to pay you with a check or money order, insist on cash only. Better yet, only sell to people you know and trust – it’s just not worth taking chances with strangers.
