Scammers Use Craigslist to steal identities

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I have a growing family. Camping is on my list of family events. The wife isn’t crazy about tents. So I went on Craigslist looking for a second hand camper. I found a $15,000 camper for $2200.00. A pretty good deal to say the least. This ad actually gave me chills it exited me so much. So I sent an email. This is what happend:

9DSeller: “Thank you for contacting me about my 2005 Jayco Jay Feather LGT 25Z that I have for sale. This camper is in great shape, has no damage, no scratches or dents, no hidden defects. It is in immaculate condition, meticulously maintained and hasn’t been involved in any accidents…I do have the title, clear, under my name. Non-smoker.”

My husband and I divorced last month, after the divorce I was awarded with the camper, I don’t need it as i don’t own a drivers license and that’s why I’m selling it so cheap. I also got a new job and moved to another city, and many other things have priority now, so, this camper has to go. The total price is $2,200.00.”

Honestly, this story sounds reasonable. And my response was:

Me: “Sorry to hear, what town are you in”

Seller: “As I told you in my first email, I’m divorced, I got a new job and moved to Chicago. The camper is now at the shipping company warehouse in Chicago sealed, ready to ship. I have setup this sale with Google Wallet so this deal must go through them. I also asked Google Wallet to allow viewers to go there and inspect the camper but their reply was “We are not a showroom!” In this case, I will offer a 5-day period to inspect the camper from the moment you receive it. You’ll have 5 days to inspect, test the camper before decided to keep it or not. The final price for the camper is $2,200.00 with shipping included, it will not take more than 2-3 days for the camper to arrive at your address.”

I want to mention that the camper was inspected by the shipping mechanics and fulfills the standards from all the 50 states so it wouldn’t be a problem for you to register. You will receive the camper along with all the documents including title, bill of sale, full service records and more. If the camper is not like I described, you’ll ship it back on my expense and they will give you a full refund. Google Wallet will hold the funds until you receive the camper with all the papers work. Only after you confirm them that you wanna keep the camper they will release me the funds. In this way, you will be able to inspect the camper before committing to buy it. If you agree with these terms and you have the money, send me your complete name, delivery address and phone number to register you as my buyer. And also you’ll receive all the transaction details from Google Wallet (terms, buyer protection coverage, payment instructions, invoice for the purchase). Let me know!

Dang, this is an escrow scam. Google Wallet doesn’t hold money in escrow. No camping for you! I saw it after 2 communications. Which frankly, isn’t bad. I don’t see how I could have seen it quicker. But this is a perfect example of how these scams happen. Stay on your toes people.

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to BestIDTheftCompanys.com discussing  identity theft prevention. For Roberts FREE ebook text- SECURE Your@emailaddress -to 411247. Disclosures.