Possible Craigslist Scam.

j.beach53186

OK, here's what's going on. I came across an ad on craigslist a week ago, this gentleman in Sumter, SC was selling a Nintendo 3DS, A game, and an extended battery. I conversed with him for a few days, getting information on the ad and the 3DS.

Well, Sumter is an hour and a half away from where I live and I am disabled, so I had no way to get there. I asked him if I paid the shipping costs, could he ship it to me. He went and priced the shipping and shipping was 15 bucks. So I sent him the 115 bucks yesterday, he picked it up at 9pm last night and said he would mail it out tomorrow (Wednesday). That's fine!

Well he sends me a text at 8pm Wednesday and says there was a city wide power outage at 4am so he can not send the package until after the weekend, Monday or Tuesday. Well, I find it a little fishy that he can't send the package until 6 days after he received payment.So I check online and search to see if there were power outages in Sumter. There was but estimated repair time was 2 hours.

Still a little concerned I call a few restaurants in Sumter, outback steakhouse, sub station 2, and a Chinese restaurant. Outback and sub station said there were no power outages and Chinese restaurant was closed, so now I feel lied to.

My question is what are my options from here?

I have his:
Name
Address
Phone number
The receipt from the Western Union where I paid 130 bucks, 115 for him and 15 bucks to wire the money.
The email showing where he picked the money up with time stamp.

What can I possibly do here?

j.beach53186

I also have every text back and forth for the past week where we discussed payment and his confirmation that he received the money.

mcdermott

He may just be busy with the holiday weekend. Don't give up hope entirely.

That said, wiring money is one of the huge craigslist alarm bells. No need to stress, what's done is done, but be prepared for your $115 to be a loss.

Assuming the name, address, etc you have are legit, and he doesn't deliver, you can pursue charges? But the likelihood that he'd give you accurate info then stiff you is slim. So either he will actually send it Monday or Tuesday (which is still entirely possible) or he will Keyser Söze off into the sunset with your cash.

j.beach53186

He gave me the address when he said I could send a money order, so he has to have access to that address

The Ender

If it's legit, you can charge him with theft if he stiffs you. But, let's be honest: if he's a scam artist, there' no way that information is legit.

100% agree with McDermott.


In the future, even if this situation does pan out for you, do not wire money to people. You can't reverse the transaction & it's super easy for a scammer to pick up the money & walk away. Pay with methods that allow you to chargeback (credit cards, some checking accounts - make sure you ask your bank first, though, because not all institutes off that service with a basic account package).

Jam Warrior

At this point I'd imagine it's much more likely he's a lazy bum coming up with an excuse for not getting to the post office rather than a thief.

If he was intending to stiff you you'd have heard nothing more as soon as he had the money. Just keep communication open and civil.

Deebaser

j.beach53186 wrote: »

Well, I find it a little fishy that he can't send the package until 6 days after he received payment.So I check online and search to see if there were power outages in Sumter. There was but estimated repair time was 2 hours.

Still a little concerned I call a few restaurants in Sumter, outback steakhouse, sub station 2, and a Chinese restaurant. Outback and sub station said there were no power outages and Chinese restaurant was closed, so now I feel lied to.

It's a holiday weekend, bro. People have stuff to do.

bowen

Let's not forget the hurricane rolling on through either.

mcdermott

Ha, yeah, can't forget that. I chose the best weekend to hit the outer banks apparently.

You're in a holding pattern until next week. Don't harass the guy between now and then, just get in touch with him Monday or Tuesday. Then hopefully you'll have it by end of the week.