Craigslist Lessons Scam

I was selling some appliances to make some extra cash for the holidays. I didn't think anything of it when I was having contact with the guy. I didn't think when he told me the extra money in the check was to give the shipping company when they arrive, my mother said that's wrong. Well, my mother was concerned about it (she had a near miss a few years ago) and she refused to let me deposit it. Come to find out the check was a fake. The 'Company' was on the same street as the bank only two numbers off. When I called to verify the check, the account information did not match the banks records. The company name was different and the 'Shipping company' did not exist. I still have the items and I decided to stay off Craigslist for good.

Welcome, Victim09.

I'm glad to hear someone was looking out for you and you didn't lose anything!

All online selling sites, from eBay to Craigslist to the smaller specialty sites, are targets for these scammers. In the end it comes down to being vigilant. For sites like Craigslist and Freecycle (even though items are supposed to be free, scammers can still use shipping overpayment scams), the best first step is to deal only with local people who can pick the item up. The second step is research--if you are not sure, check it out before you part with an item or any money. And if in doubt, you can always come here with any questions and we'll be happy to try to help you out.

I received an email along the same lines from someone named James "Chan" Williams. His emails claimed this:

Hi There,
Thanks for responding to my ADS on Craigslist.org.AmJames Chan Williams by name but am currently working on a contract in Beijing,china with my wife and my son.My son (John) will be coming for a vacation in the US & close to your location.I want him to be busy with his study while having fun also.Therefore,i want to know if he can always come to you for lesson on English.If this is possible,am offering you $50 per hour & he will be coming to your Place for 2 hour,twice in a week (Wednesday & Friday) for 2 weeks.I'll have someone that will always drive him down to your Place or library in your neighborhood.I mean a Nanny,and John is 12 year old and he hardly excel in grammar.As stated earlier,am offering you $50 per hour & you'll be teaching John for 2 hour twice in a week,for 2 weeks which makes the total of your money to $400 and i'll include additional $20 in case you need to buy some textbook for the tutorial.

John is new to this,so you just have to be patient with him.I've informed John about this & he's happy to start as soon as he get to the US.Please understand that am going to pay you for 2 weeks which is $400 plus $20 for textbook and my client will be sending you my salary payment which you're to deduct your own money & you're to send the rest of the money to John nanny so that he can use the money to get accommodation close to your location and any other arrangement needed.kindly get back to me with your full information so that the payment can be issue out on your name as soon as possible.I need the following information

*Your Full Name
*Your Residential Address (NOT P.O BOX )
*Your Phone Number
*Your Picture so that i can show John

I'll have John picture e-mail to you for recognition as soon as i hear back from you.Thank you in anticipation of your co-operation & understanding.I'll be looking forward to hearing back from you as soon as possible.
Regards
James Williams.


N:B John speaks English but i want him to improve & Please let me know me when John will be coming to your place for lectures since he'll be in the US by January 6th,and for the subject,i want him to focus on English composition and Grammar.


Second Email:

Hi There,
How are you today?.I got a confirmation form FedEx that the payment has been delivered to your house today..Kindly go ahead and deposit the money order in your bank for verification so that you can have the money in your account.Like i told you in my previous e-mail,you're going to deduct your own money for your service ($400 + $20 for textbook) & you're going to send the rest of the money to my son's nanny who is going to take care of him while in the US...Below you'll find the information you're going to use to send the money to her via western union money transfer
Lacresha Williams
300 S Parnell
Harvey,
IL 60426.
Kindly e-mail me the transfer info as soon as you send the money to her so that i can forward it to her so she can arrange all necessary things before my son's arrival date.Below are the info i need you to e-mail to me as soon as you western union the money to her

*Name of sender
*Address of sender
*Total amount sent
*MTCN # (10 digit on the receipt)

Kindly e-mail your schedule also so that i'll know when you're going to start the tutorial and i'll be able to inform the nanny about the time she'll need to bring john to the tutorial location and let me know the location also.Finally,i want john to focus on grammar & composition since that's the area he's lacking.Thank you once again for your kind gesture and co-operation...I look forward to hearing back from you as soon as possible.
Regards.
James Williams.


N:B I want john to focus on grammar & composition since that's the area he's lacking and you can just use your own knowledge on the 2 topics.John is friendly and shy @ first.I've also included his picture.

[AlanJones]

Hi michelliieee and welcome to ScamWarners.

This shows all the signs of a classic CL lessons overpayment scam.

Could you post the scammer's email address and also the headers (minus your personal details). If you don't know how to locate the headers then let us know which email provider you are using and we can point you in the right direction.

You should also destroy/deface the check that you have been sent. Do not be tempted to take it to the bank, it is a fake and will eventually be identified as such by the banks and then you will have some explaining to do. You can either shred it or write FAKE across it and keep it as a reminder of a narrow escape.

He's still at it!

I too posted an ad under LESSONS on Craigslist today and received this:

Hello,

Greetings to you! ..I want to know if you if you have available slots/times to accommodate my son for lesson 3 time a week.It will be useful if you could get back to me with your area of Expertize/Specialization.


Hoping to read from you soon so as to proceed with the arrangement.

Regards


Matthew


I responded, but sensed something fishy and went to GOOGLE. Needless to say, I am grateful to have found this site so I didn't get suckered in!

Welcome kidfetti!

I'm glad you were able to avoid being scammed.

Note how this person asks for your area of expertise but never actually mentions the type of lessons you offer. This is because he sent the exact same email to every person advertising lessons, no matter what kind of lessons they are, so he is using phrasing that will work for everything from swimming to piano!

Could you please post the headers of the email this scammer sent to you (remove your name/address)? It may help us to identify his location (probably Africa or Malaysia), plus many people google email addresses, so having his current email address in this thread can help to prevent others being scammed.

I just posted my first ad for tutoring on craigslist the other day and was delighted to get a response shortly after posting. Here's the first email I received:

from Matthew M <[email protected]>
to [email protected]
date Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 4:12 PM
subject Lesson Wanted
mailed-by gmail.com
signed-by gmail.com

hide details Aug 30 (1 day ago)



--
Hello,

Greetings to you! ..I want to know if you if you have available slots/times to accommodate my son for lesson 3 time a week.It will be useful if you could get back to me with your area of Expertize/Specialization.


Hoping to hear from you soon so as to proceed with the arrangement.

Regards


Matthew

I responded to the email, asking for a little more information (age/grade of child, etc) and a red flag went off when I received this:

from Matthew Medley <[email protected]>
to <[email protected]>
date Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 5:39 PM
subject Re: ...................................Lesson Wanted
mailed-by yahoo.com
signed-by yahoo.com

hide details 5:39 PM (4 hours ago)

Hi ,


Thanks for getting back to me and for your commitment..Just to introduce myself to you...I am Mathew Medley, a practicing Doctor in Dentistry...I was born and raised in Fresno,California, but am currently based in Manchester,United Kingdom with my wife and children where i work for with a private hospital..


My Son will be coming for a Vacation in the States,and i want him to be busy with his studies..Therefore, i just want to know if he can always come to you and teach him Math ( Algebra and Geometry ) 3 times a week of 1hr lesson per day...If this is possible,i will want you to get back to me with the cost of your teaching him for a month which can start as soon as he arrives...


He will be in the states in very soon and will be coming to your Place for 1 hour each morning/afternoon/evening..I do have someone that will always drive him down to your Place,i mean a Nanny or perhaps you can as well come to him..


My Son's name is Alex,he is 14 years old and he hardly excel in those aspects. I will want you to calculate 1 hour per day for Monday,Wednesday,Friday or you can as well set 3 days that suites your availability for a MONTH,and get back to me so that we can arrange on payment.Kindly get back to me with your charges for 3hrs a week for 1 month..

Thanks and waiting to read from you soon.


Matthew

It didn't register at first that this was from a different email until I looked at my "conversations" and then realized I had a "re:" email from an acct that I had not already mailed to.

Bells and whistles are now going off, and I googled the guy's name and got this site... Which is totally awesome by the way! Lo and behold, someone else got the exact same email as the response I got.

Needless to say, I'm very grateful to google and scamwarners!!

Welcome to Scamwarners.
I'm sure your advert will attract more scam emails, but that's a typical example and you now know what to watch out for.

Hey everybody. I was offering french lessons (being french in the US) on craigslist when I received two different emails from SCAMMERS. I began to look on the net when i found out those two emails from 2 different persons were actually kind of the same : guys in england wanting lessons for their son/ daughter, and wanting to send me a check (without having met them!), and they WOULD SEND ME MORE MONEY than what i asked, ASKING ME TO CASH IT AND SEND THE BALANCE TO THE NANNY.

The first one is called Mathew Medley, the other one James Schafferson.
THANKS TO THE ANTI SCAMMERS WEBSITES !!

Here are their emails of approach :
""Hello,

Greetings to you! ..I want to know if you if you have available slots/times to accommodate my son for lesson 3 time a week.It will be useful if you could get back to me with your area of Expertize/Specialization.


Hoping to hear from you soon so as to proceed with the arrangement.

Regards


Matthew""

then :

""Hello ,


Thank you for the email and really appreciate your consistency. Well Alex is still new to this so you just have to start with him okay and if there is any hand book needed for the lesson just let me know with the charges for it.


Am glad the way you have kept me posted on the lesson arrangements and more so I have accepted your offer because its fine by me. I have make contacts with my son concerning the arrangement of the tutoring which he told me its OK by him as well and that he will like to come as soon as possible for the lesson to commence. He is due to arrive in town on or before 09/20/2010.


So I want you to know that i am going to pay for a month lesson which is $240 like you said and i want you to know that my client who is in US will be sending you my salary payment. Also i want you to know that the rest of the money will be used to get accommodation beside your location and any other arrangement for the lesson.


So as soon as you get the check payment,you will cash it and deduct your cost of tutoring of the lesson for a month and send/forward the remaining balance to my Son's NANNY Via Money Gram.


Regarding this kindly get back to me with your full information to receive the check so that payment can be able to made out in time.

Your full name ........................................................
Your full address,apt # with zip code.................................
Your phone number for contact................................


I have instructed Alex to get some of his picture for me so i can mail them to you for recognition ok.


Thank you in the anticipation of your understanding and waiting to hear from you soon.


Regards


Matthew""

or :

""Hi,


I just saw your listing on craigslist. My name is James Schafferson. Me and my family are relocating from London, England to the US this month, my 11Yrs old daughter(Abby) my only family would be coming with me to continue her studies in the state, i would like you to help her area of deficiency. She is a 5th grade, very brilliant, sharp and smart little girl. You are expect to tutor her 1hr per day, and 3 times per week, that is you are having to work with her for 3hrs total a week, the tutoring can take place in our house, your house or any nearest library(Morning or Afternoon) As we are moving to your locality but we have not reached final agreement with the landlord of the house so i would let you know on our address as time goes. My daughter would be the first to be in the state because i have to clear all my business transactions and i would join her later in September. I got a good and responsible nanny ! that will take proper care of her.

I am offering $50 per hr, kindly let me know if this charge is okay for you or if any let me know, So i can be able to send you the payment and book your service prior to my daughters arrival in the state. I'll be sending you the payment inform of a check for the tutorials while I'll also pay the Nanny that will look after her in the state while i join her later on, it will be issued together to you bcos it cant be sent seperately so as soon as you get the money/funds cleared you'll deduct cost of tutoring for the month and send balance to the nanny that would be looking after my daughter in the state.

So please Kindly get back to me with the following:
1.Your charges per hour.
2.Total charges for first month that he will be taught one hour per day-3 times a week.
3. Full Name:
Address:
City:
State:
Zip code:
Home phone number:
Cell phone number:
Age:

My address is
James Schafferson
34 Disraeli Close
London,Se28 8ap.
UK

Will be waiting to read your mail soon.

Very Respectful

James""

Email adresses : "[email protected]" and "[email protected]"

Be careful on craigslist...

Hey, so I also received an email from that James Schafferson guy. My email was basically the same, except he was looking for lessons for his daughter Abby. I was really just wondering what the point of sending a fake check for a service you're not going to receive is?

hi ganonhaswon,

The common story is that the check will be an amount that is bigger than what you are asking - and he will ask to return the difference to him through Western Union. The check will clear at first which makes people think everything is allright - until the bank realises it's a fake and takes the money back from your account. The bank won't care you spent a bit of the money already and will take back the full account. The money you sent through Western Union cannot be retrieved.

I hope this answers your question, if not or if you have others please do not hesitate to ask

Welcome to Scamwarners.
From the post above yours.

it will be issued together to you bcos it cant be sent seperately so as soon as you get the money/funds cleared you'll deduct cost of tutoring for the month and send balance to the nanny that would be looking after my daughter in the state.

There is no nanny, but her imaginary details on the Western Union won't stop a West African scammer collecting the money.

Thank you for the information on Matthew Medley

I am glad that I found this website. Here is the email I got from Matthew. After I have received a cashier's check, it does not look right. Then, I google his name, and discovered this is a scam. Anyway, I just want to warn people about this scam.


I hope you are doing fine and good today? I just want to bring to your notice that you will be receiving the payment today and here is the USPS tracking number (EO 983 914 989 US) for the payment which will be delivered to you this morning.


I will want you to contact me as soon as you receive the payment and go ahead to cash/deposit the check at your Bank, the deduct your money (lesson fee) plus $30 for the running around and get the rest of the funds wired to the Nanny via WESTERN UNION money transfer so that she can be in town with my Son asap for the lesson to begin without further delay.



HERE IS THE NANNY INFORMATION TO WIRE THE FUNDS VIA WESTERN UNION


Name......................CAROL CARNEGIE



Address......................2122 WHARF AVE



City.........................GREENACRES


State.......................FL



zip code...................33463



As soon as you get the funds wired to the Nanny with the information ABOVE via WESTERN UNION,pls get back to me with the following information.


Full senders Name and Address

MTCN

Actual Amount sent after deducting wiring charges ok..


As soon the Nanny confirm receipt of the funds,they will be on their way and as soon as they arrive in town she will contact you to schedule lesson arrangements as well as lesson location.


I will be waiting to hear from you asap.


Matthew

I got an email a few days ago. I am sure that it is a scam.

Hi ,
Thanks for getting back to me and for your commitment. Just to introduce myself to you. I am XYZ
,I am a ******** and hailed from &&&&,NY.

My Son will be coming for a vacation in the States and I want him to be busy with something gainful and
productive. Therefore, I just want to know if he can always come to you and teach him great things on
English Language(spelling) or Mathematics 3 times a week of 1hr lesson per day also if you can include a music
lesson. If this is possible,I will want you to get back to me with the cost of you teaching him for a month
which can start as soon as he arrives..
He will be in the states very soon and will be coming to your Place for 1 hour either each
morning,afternoon or evening depending on your availability. I do have someone that will always drive him down to your Place,I mean a Nanny or perhaps you can as well come to him.

I will want you to calculate 1 hour per day for Monday,Wednesday,Friday or you can as well set 3 days that
suites your availability for a MONTH,and get back to me so that we can arrange the payment.Kindly get
back to me with your charges for 3hrs a week for 1 month..
Thanks and waiting to hear from you soon.


----------------This is what I repiled.---------------------

I asked him not to send me any check but tranfer money to my account directly. I gave him my account number.

Will I be caught in a trouble for giving my account number. ?
Will he be able to make illegal transactions ? I am afraid.
I am not able to sleep since then. Quick responses will be appriciated.

Hi nicholjessa !
I'm sorry that you had this experience with a scammer. I don't think that he can do anything with your bank information, but it would be a good idea for you to talk to your bank, and let them know your concerns.