Let the scamming begin!

docmirror said:
I, or anyone else can set up a bot to preen CL ads for specific sequences like phone numbers, and put them in a large DB, then use that for marketing purposes.

The solution, mentioned before was to use character in the phone number to fool the bot: 2 one 4 - six 8 3 - O 8 one 6. Works quite well.
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Craigslist has already dealt with that for you. You put your contact info in the template when you create the ad, and prospects have to press the Contact button to see them.

I used my regular cell phone, have received no junk calls or texts since I placed the ad.
 
ScottM said:
For me it is that I am in Europe and I do not want to pay then long distance charges for people to tire kick or try and scam me.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
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Ahh. Google Voice number then. Why buy a whole phone?
 
JoseCuervo said:
What marketing company wants a bunch of phone numbers with no demographic data from people who don't want to buy their product?

There is no value to a bunch of random phone numbers. And, if you like, you could put together a program to dial all numbers in prefix 652-xxxx, and, I think you can even search on the web, easily, and get all the Verizon active numbers, all the ATT active numbers, etc.
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Fine with me, don't do it. I'm telling you what I know, cause this is the kind of stuff I do. And yes, that info gets sold even without demo data to a mining company, or to a blast marketer. Put your phone number in the ad, I could really not give a wet dribbly shyte.

Whatev.
 
FormerHangie said:
Craigslist has already dealt with that for you. You put your contact info in the template when you create the ad, and prospects have to press the Contact button to see them.

I used my regular cell phone, have received no junk calls or texts since I placed the ad.
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Of course, why do you think CL did that for sellers? Jose seems to think that it's no problem, but CL did, so they changed the contact button to have that info. I still don't put it in without some human decoding. Same thing applies to sites which have graphic code boxes with letters and numbers in them, to insure that the site isn't trolled by bots easily.
 
docmirror said:
Fine with me, don't do it. I'm telling you what I know, cause this is the kind of stuff I do. And yes, that info gets sold even without demo data to a mining company, or to a blast marketer. Put your phone number in the ad, I could really not give a wet dribbly shyte.

Whatev.
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You do realise your phone number is out there already?

And you can get lists of phone numbers that have nothing to do with CraigsList, including lists with YOUR phone number?

Again, other than "Janet at Credit Card Services", I don't get any unwanted calls.
 
I got another scammer hit.

sgt ken (sgtken09@gmail.com)Add to contacts 4/05/14
To: Scott

I got your mail. Well, I have read through your ad and from what I
have seen,it is priced favorably compared to others so I want you to
consider it sold to me because I am ready to buy it for the asking
price.I am Tech Sgt Ken Grandy currently on duty serving the
country.Presently I am out of town on duty in a remote area until july
12. We have a bad and fluctuating network here otherwise I would have
called you and seal the deal on phone. At the moment, email and text
messages works best for me.Nevertheless,I am ready to seal the deal
right away and pay you via my PayPal account that is attached to my
bank account as it is the only secure form of payment that I have
access to right now. So,kindly get back to me with your
FULLNAME,PAYPAL EMAIL ADDRESS,PHONE NUMBER AND THE PICKUP ADDRESS.
so that I can initiate the payment immediately.If you don't have a
paypal account, it is absolutely free to set one up, kindly visit
www.paypal.com.A shipper will be hired that will come for the pick up
upon the completion of the payment aspect of the transaction.Let me
have the requested details to proceed with the payment if we have a
deal. TY
Sincerely,

Ken
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The thing that sort of set me off was that his email was named 'sgt' yet he says in his email that he is a TSgt. Then just the idea of buying something unseen is a little weird.

Checking online, seems I am not the only one to have gotten this offer.

http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-646-926-3404/3

Either he is one of the richest TSgt in the USAF, amassing one of the largest collections of motorcycles since Jay Leno, or he is a fraud.

Should I answer him? I am thinking of saying something like I do not have a paypal account but he could send me a certified check and then us the county sheriff as the address?

Glad I did not give out my phone number. I have gotten several questionable email inquiries. But this is the first confirmed scammer to reach out to me.
 
Or you could just ignore it and get on with selling your item.
 
Here is what I do when selling on CL. and it stops all scam and spam e-mails. Put it in big bold letters...

I SEND ALL SPAM AND SCAM E-MAILS STRAIGHT TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. iF YOU DO NOT WANT YOUR E-MAIL SENT TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT DO NOT SEND ME SCAM OR SPAM E-MAILS.

I never get any when doing this, try it.....

Tony
 
I've bought and sold a few motorcycles on CL with no problems. In your ad you need to state that it's a cash sale only - no trades and no "payments". I also never allowed test rides. You buy the bike from me then you can test ride it. I always had the buyer meet me at the corner gas station to look over the bike. I didn't leave my house until they called me FROM the gas station.

I'm not sure of your state laws but I always kept my license plates too. This forces the buyer to register the bike. In one case I trailered the bike to their house. In another I rode the bike to their home for them.
 
My son buys and sell stuff all the time on CL, truck parts, tires, wheels, motorcycles, boats, vehicles all kinds of crap. He uses his regular cell number, deals in cash, in person and other than making a couple bad decisions, he's never had any issues. Just ignore the scammers, unless you have time to mess with them. Most folks are legit, but just like using the newspaper classifieds (remember those) 20 years ago, be aware of anything that sounds too good to be true. :D
 
1600vw said:
Here is what I do when selling on CL. and it stops all scam and spam e-mails. Put it in big bold letters...

I SEND ALL SPAM AND SCAM E-MAILS STRAIGHT TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. iF YOU DO NOT WANT YOUR E-MAIL SENT TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT DO NOT SEND ME SCAM OR SPAM E-MAILS.

I never get any when doing this, try it.....
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Oh sure. Mr. Mike Mogumto in Nigeria is just shaking in his boots at that.
 
Dean said:
I have had good luck selling on CL, the key is to only deal with people that will take the time to call you. I do not deal with anyone that emails or text.
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I have never responded to an ad that "requires" me to call them. I just move to the next ad. I send an email, get a response, arrange a meet, pay in cash, and enjoy my purchase.

To each his own.
 
retailguy said:
I have never responded to an ad that "requires" me to call them. I just move to the next ad. I send an email, get a response, arrange a meet, pay in cash, and enjoy my purchase.

To each his own.
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That's my general policy, as well; and I absolutely will not reply to ads that require that I text the seller. I always suspect that that's just a ruse to get my cell phone number, which I guard pretty zealously. But if I bought or sold more regularly on CL I would get a Pinger number just for that purpose.

The way I see it, sellers need to accommodate buyers as best they can. I don't expect sellers to post their cell numbers. That would be a bit unreasonable unless the item were big enough to justify buying a throwaway phone just for that sale, or if they were regular sellers (in which case a Pinger number would be a godsend).

But checking your email a few times a day when you're trying to sell something is not such a terrible hardship, especially because CL does provide address masking (at least for the initial contact). The scams are easy enough to identify.

The other thing is that I often peruse CL late at night, and I'm reluctant to call someone after about 9:00 p.m. People tend to turn in early around here (especially farmers and other in agricultural professions). We're not renowned for our nightlife up here. So I'd rather email them.

I'm still waiting for the guy selling the hammered dulcimer to make up his mind. He's local -- about 45 minutes from me if I take the harrowing "shortcut" over the mountain:

tom1.jpg



tom2.jpg


But he's dragging his feet. Now he says he has another person interested, but the other possible buyer may turn out not to be interested when he finds out how far away he is from the seller. Frankly, I think the seller just realized that he priced his hammered dulcimer too low, and is trying to get a higher price.

But whatever. It's just a musical instrument, and not even one that I know how to play yet. If the seller gets back to me, then I'll grab a St. Christopher medal, make sure my insurance is paid, and head over the mountain. If I find another for sale before then, then the first seller loses out.

-Rich
 
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Well it sold. And it sold to a really nice guy who I know will give it a good home. He has many other bikes and all are cool vintage ones. He always wanted a Triumph Bonneville and mine was the one he ended up with.

All in all I got two people that were legitimate. A couple of scammers and one idiot. He offered way under what I was asking without ever actually looking at the bike. I told him 'no' to his offer. Then he comes back and asks what I would want. So I told him I am asking $xx.xx and in the meantime the bike actually sold. If he was serious, he snoozed and thus lost.
 
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