Woman almost loses $1,800 in Craigslist scam

LEE COUNTY, Fla. – A warning from police before you sell used items online.

Maya Thomas recently tried to sell her stepson’s bunk bed on the website Craigslist because he had outgrown the bed; however, she quickly realized she was being scammed.

Thomas said after posted the bunk bed, a woman texted her saying she was interested in buying it and would send her a check in the mail.

“I didn’t talk to her over the phone, which I think was my first mistake. But I had never put anything on Craigslist before so I thought a text would be fine,” Thomas said.

A few days later, Thomas received the check. In the upper left hand corner, it said ‘Square One,’ which is a company based out of California. Thomas thought that was a bizarre because the ‘buyer’ had a New York area code, and there was another red flag.

“The check was sketchy because it was for $1,800 and the bed was only for $250…she [the buyer] said that was including shipping and the insurance.”
Thomas took the check to her bank to see if it was legitimate. Her bank told her she could cash the check; however, if it bounced the money would be pulled from her account. So, Thomas decided not to cash it and texted the woman they would have to set-up a different form of payment. Thomas said the woman never responded.
Thomas then called the company listed on the check, Square One. WINK News also called. The secretary said they had received several similar complaints over the years, but they could not pinpoint who was using their name. They assured Thomas and WINK News, they did not write a check for $1,800 to Thomas. Fortunately, Thomas never cashed the check, but she cannot believe someone would go to such lengths to scam her.

“She seemed like a very nice woman and she wanted me to actually take the ad off Craigslist, just so she knew I was serious about it… I just texted her ‘so you were lying to me. I hope God opens your eyes one day and makes you realize you are hurting people.'”

WINK News Call for Action talked to local law enforcement, who said one of the biggest tips when selling or buying second hand is to buy/shop locally. In fact, Craigslist has a pot with the top tips to avoid being scammed. Those include buy locally, beware of offers involving shipping, never give out your financial information and do not wire money or accept cashier checks or money orders.

“All of them [online scams] include a wire money transfer though, usually through Western Union. Folks need to be extremely skeptical when wiring a stranger money stemming from an online solicitation…speaking to someone on the telephone should not indicate the absence of fraud. These guys walk the walk and talk the talk right up until they get your money and then they disappear – usually without a trace,” said Detective Sergeant David Gleason with Cape Coral police department. “Deal with a reputable online retailer to reduce the chances of fraud. PayPal offers some buyer protection, that seems to be one of the best I’ve seen so far, as far as recouping loses & money tractability as it concerns our investigations.”