Question for Craigslist?? Can you contact the police about something?

Question

I had posted an item on Craigslist for $400. I got an email from a man saying he wanted to buy it...he had told me he was going to send me a check for $1500 to cover shipping costs, then send him the leftover money....well I got the check and put it into my bank account...8 days later the check was taken out of my account because it was fake...but the bank did'nt say it was fake, but the guy sent me a fake check to basically rob me, Im just glad I didn't send him the ring, but I have and address the guy gave me can't I call the cops? And should the bank be at fault for this considering they didn't do any tests on it and just took it , and didn't even give me any notice they took it out??

Answer 1

You can certainly contact the police. However these people are usually very clever. The bank however, is not at fault. In addition Craigslist reccomends that one not accept certified checks, which I assume is what this was. i was selling an item for 400 dollars as well and I was contacted numerous times from different email address with suspicously similar language. The individual(s) wanted to buy my very large item immediatly sight unseen and then have his "courier service/ shipping service" pick it up for him - all he needed was my full name, address, zip code and phone number. His emails were deleted immediatly! If it sounds suspicous it probably is! Never accept checks or anything other than cash or paypal - you most likley will get screwed!
thankfully it seems like all you lost was time it could have been a whole lot worse!

Sarah

Answer 2

Not the banks fault you accepted a personal check. You should have asked for a cashier's check or for pay-pal.

You can file a report and give his particulars to the police but the address and all is probably fake too.

Also, a red flag should have gone up for you when he sent you a check for that large of an amount and asked you to send him the balance back. Doesn't cost $1100 to ship a ring, even if it's overnighted and insured.

Answer 3

You should have known immediately it was a scam, your item was sold for $400 and yet the buyer sent you a check for $1500 which you deposited into your bank account you should not have done that and you are at fault.

What kind of tests do you expect a bank to do on the check? All they can do is contact the check holders bank and wait for the funds to clear, when they don't clear that's when the bank is alerted to it being fraud.

Answer 4

No bank will question the validity of what appears to be a normal check which you deposit into your account. They only discover it to be fake when the 'issuing bank' returns it to your bank as such.

You can notify the police about this attempted fraud, but my guess is that the address is not the one where the perpetrator will be found. These crooks are much sharper than that.

You were wise to withhold shipment until you were assured that the payment was legitimate. I surely hope you did not send this crook the 'leftover money', since you will never see it again if you did.

Answer 5

If you were gullible enough to believe some honest person wanted to send you an EXTRA $1100 to cover shipping costs - you are the only one to blame here! Sheesh!

I would try to notify the Police & maybe even the post office.

Next time you are trying to sell something - have a little more common sense. If it sounds suspicious, then don't do it.

I can't believe anyone falls for this crap still.

These scams are everywhere!!

Answer 6

Considering all those bright yellow warnings all over craigslist about just this scam, how did you fall for it?

This and several other versions of the bad check scams seem to be really hot right now. Check this site so you don't fall for any of the other scams: http://www.fraud.org/tips/internet/fakecheck.htm