The latest scummy scam perpetrated by scummy scammers using craigslist

Here is the ad:



So I reply to it with an email



The link that I masked is meaningless as the ad has been pulled.

So, I wait. I make other offers on other ipads. I go and actually buy one of them. And then I get this:



Now, this isn't the first such reply I got. In fact, dumb as *I* am, I actually followed it the first time I got a link like that shown as This Site in the email. It is one of those bid sites where you pay for each bid you place. I know some of you know of these sites. They are set up to quickly separate you from your money. They are rumored to use shill bidders to cause you to keep bidding a penny or two at a time. Ultimately, you lose the auction. In most cases, that's because they have no actual merchandise to sell. It is all about getting you to bid a lot and pay for each time you bid.

As it happens, I thought the first time I got sent to that site, it was another civilian just being neighborly. I even explored the site a little. But I also did some research and found out what I am reporting above - that it is a scam. In checking other craigslist cities for similar ads, they turn out to be everywhere. Each one has an item that is low priced, but not ridiculously so, a very terse ad with a description that as lacking and bland as the one cited above.

I hope Kelley gets a painful urinary tract infection that last for weeks and, in desperation, buys some fake meds from a fake ad on a fake web site, and gets no relief.

You learn to spot the scam emails pretty quick.

If I'm buying something, I only respond to ads that list a local phone number.

Local numbers, actual descriptions with pictures, face to face meet and greets are the only way to go. I bought an iMac, a Mac, a router and an iPod, all with nary a problem that way. You know scams when you see them.

Great prices. Good products. Met in public places twice and at the sellers home for one item.

A LOT of the local Craigslist ads only have email to respond to and only the Craigslist generated email at that. I have called numbers that were not local but seemed to be cell phones. This is a college town and a lot of the people selling stuff on Craigslist are students with cellphones from their home areas.

all of them.