" Craigslist even in the Lincoln listing, is full of scam ads, particularly
job ads. I would guess about 10 percent of the ads are phishing (ID theft) scams, or scams involving fake work at home schemes. If they do not give a real physical address and phone number to verify, and particularly if they ask for a service or processing or training fee up front, that should raise a red flag as a tipoff to a likely scam.
Anyone offering to pay by check or money order without a face to face meeting should be viewed as a likely scammer. "

" Finally, someone with some common sense. "

" I'm not sure, but isn't it possible to track people down by their email address? A computer specialist maybe? Just asking. "

" Wasn't there a return address for the check-so the money could be returned? "

" Give this guy a job assessing homes, at least he seems to have some common sense! "

" the check- any clues of name/address on there? Or where was he supposed to return the balance of the money? Has to be more than an email, doesn't there? "

" Jim, it is possible to trace the internet address but most of the time its some guy sitting overseas in an internet cafe that changes his email address on a daily basis. "

" Lets pat him on the back for dodging the blindingly obvious? This bit has been around for years, even before craigslist. Just do your research and trust your gut. I had two of these today-one from a watch forum where I trade and sell watches, and one Ebay email saying I needed to 'answer a question for a bidder' when I haven't had an auction up in 3 months. If someone gives you more than you need in a form that you aren't accepting in hand, why wouldn't you just send it back to them and demand proper payment? "

" I actually caught the same scam a couple years ago. I sold some furniture on Craigslist.com and then received payment for an extra $2,000. I was told to cash the check...keep an extra $500 and then give the extra to the "movers" when they showed up to get the furniture. I contacted authorities and the bank the check was supposedly from and it was of course a scam. "

" Not by email, so much, unless you google it and find the other places the email address turns up. Craigslist for example will have a job listed in "lincoln" but the reply email address, if they give one, is in OK City or something like that, so who knows. The IP address sometimes comes in with the email header information, you can usually narrow it down to a city from there based on where the ISP is located. "

" It's a safe bet that all the information on the check, account number, name and address, are bogus. Anyone can print a check. "

" This same thing happened to me. I was selling a foosball table on Craigslist about 2 months ago. We emailed back and forth for a couple of weeks and they were going to send me a check for $4500. I was selling the foosball table for $150. They told me that their secretary misunderstood them and when I get the check I was supposed to keep an extra $100 for the run-around and wire the rest of the money back to them. I caught onto them and they never ended up sending the creck and the emails stopped. They gave a name and fake address somewhere in CA. They even had a tracking number for the check that was coming UPS. Tracking number was real but they never sent anything. I even called UPS to see where this was coming from and it was supposed to be sent from somewhere in Ohio. "

" They are counterfeit checks, they can put any bogus info they want. They use an email address once and for the scam and then open a new account for the next one. Bottom line - if it sounds too good to be true.....beware! These people probably turn to Craig's list because they are blocked by reputable advertising sources. "

" Ahem: perhaps writing about people who *haven't* fallen for online scams might not fall under the 'man bites dog' criterion for news?

But if y'all want another lead, I have about 200 Nigerian scam emails, about 50 IRS emails with a link to click to pick up my tax refund, and about 100 emails from bank security divisions asking me to enter my account number and password. I can forward them all, and the LJS could do a whole series! "

" I don't get the logic to this scam - how many people who would apply for a job as a temporary driver do you think would have nearly $4,000 in the bank or otherwise available to them? Most people I know - even those with very good incomes - don't really have much cash. "

" Those who have seen or been affected by this type of scam should also contact the FBI ICE division in Omaha (402-493-8688). When checks are involved and are sent through a common carrier (USPS, FedEx, UPS, etc.) the transaction becomes a federal offense.

I advertised a guitar on Craigslist and one potential "buyer" sent a check for $4500 for a $750 asking price, telling me the difference was to cover international shipping from his "Shipping Contact". I contacted the company listed on the check and they had reported a theft of several checks only a few days earlier. We both contacted the FBI and agents instructed us on what to do. Don't fall for this one folks! "

" They are out there watching inter-net sites and classified ads. I was a potential victim when I placed an ad in the local newspaper for Puppies for Sale. I received a telephone call from a hearing impaired service that referred me to an e-mail address. On contacting that e-mail site; they wanted 2 puppies and would send a money order twice the amount but I was to send the remainder to their shipper. WHAT A DEAL!! After contacting the Consumer Protection Agency ( blue pages of telephone book) I was informed I was dealing with the Nigerian Scam group. Bummer!! "

" I got the same thing about 3 months ago, called the company that was on the check and they confirmed that it is a bad check and they have been receiving numerous checks like the one I got. I played with the guy over the internet and phone for about a week to waste his time and to find out where his location was. Turned out to be a country in South America. They can't prosecute outside of the United States, just use your common sense people. "

" If you ad the statement "CASH ONLY" in your adds, you can eliminate just about everyone except people actually interested in your item... "

" What? This guy was able to dodge the scam without governemnt help? That's incredible. We didn't have to enact the "foolish citizen" bailout program.
I guess you can't fool all of the people all of the time. "

" They are using autotrader.com as well. A man just contacted me by email the other day asking if my vehicle was still for sale. He agreed to buy the car, without seeing it, for $8750 and was going to send a cashier's check for $15250 and take my portion and send the remainder to the shipping company. He put some spin on it and said he was leaving for holiday in 2 weeks and wanted it taken care of by then. Knowing that cashier's checks from over seas can take up to 2 weeks to clear. So when you go cash the check and send 6500 bucks to whoever, and the check comes back INSUFFICIENT FUNDS....You are out 6500 bucks when the bank wants their money back. Guy wants name and contact information to send the check too, but probably just wants an identity for next scam. He gave me a London address:

Chris Johnson
456 Farmstead Road
SE6 3ED
London

I told him that if he was so concerned about speed, just wire me the money and wire the shipping company their money and it would all be handled. Haven't heard from him since. "

" Just for the sake of curiosity, does anyone know what the significance of $4,500 is on the bogus checks? That seems to be a common thread, but I can't figure out why it's that amount and not (say) $1,000 or $5,000 or $3,934.53. "

" How was he to return the money??? There has t be a way to trace there??? "

" Has common sense?? You kidding me? He offered to drive a stranger around for a week for $1000.00. Where is the sense in involved in that? You might as well agree to fly Bin Laden's private jet. Get a clue, he should of never responded in the first place. People always think get rich quick is going to work. Idiots. "

" The person sent a $4,250 check, and was told to keep $500 and "return the rest."
Obviously there must have been an address, or the print in the article is wrong. "