Avoid this Local Craig’s List Furniture Scam
Don’t mess with Kathy Romano!
Here’s what happened: Kathy listed a few larger furniture items for sale on Craig’s List. She received a handful of responses, all of which seemed legit, but after a few e-mails back and forth, the plan to exchange plan became more difficult. The buyer also informed her that he would be sending her a check with that included the mover’s fees and asked that she pay the mover when he arrives.
That’s a little sketchy, read below:
Response #1: I will be making the payment through check as it’s much easier and reliable for me to do deals like this here at work and i will have my mover come for the pick up. The mover’s fee will be included to the payment i’m making then you send the mover his part when you get payment confirmed. Kindly get back to me asap with necessary information to get your check prepared if we have a deal. kindly give me your details to prepare the check.. your names, address and phone number. Thank you.
After this e-mail Kathy ended the correspondence:
Response #2: Okay that’s fine, i’m okay with the price but presently out of town. I can ask my secretary to mail out a certified bank check to you if that’s okay with you and i will arrange my mover pick it up once the check clears. Scot
We talked about this on the air and it turns out it’s a pretty common situation. A few listeners of the show had fallen for it and ended up losing money, but a few people were able to foil the scam artists. Take a listen:
The best advice came from a caller who worked in Freud Protection: take the check/money order directly to the bank before exchanging goods. They can validate