- Report: #550132
Complaint Review: NIA HARRIS - NIA COLEMAN - CRAIGSLIST - Summervill South Carolina
Reported By:
Michael -
Cortland, New York, United States of America
Submitted:
Updated:
-
Author Not Confirmed
Why?
NIA HARRIS - NIA COLEMAN - CRAIGSLIST
103 Baldwin Lane Summervill, 29483 South Carolina, United States of America
Phone:
240 449 3121
Web:
Categories:
Business Rating:
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NIA HARRIS - NIA COLEMAN - CRAIGSLIST Ellis Robert Check Fraud! Check Fraud! Check Fraud! Summervill, South Carolina
Being in need of some money and a working vehicle, I posted my subaru on Craigslist and recieved a response from a woman identifying herself as Nia Coleman who claimed to be interested in purchasing it as a gift for her cousin. At first, she suggested that she would be in the area in the next couple days, then mysteriously called off, saying her business meeting had been postponed and asking if she could still buy the car sight unseen for the asking price, and giving a phone number to reach her at with the stipulation that she was "speech impaired". She then sent a citibank check for more than the amount agreed upon, which I deposited in my check acccount, and asked that I send the extra on to her "shipper", one Ellis Robert. Unfortuanately, I was gullible enough to do so. After that, I heard nothing from her for a week, followed by an email trying to back out of the deal and asking that I send all but $100 of her money back, again to the shipper. This seemed fishy, so I sent her an email questioning it and waited a day. Then, this morning, I recieved a letter from my bank saying that my account was overdrawn for the amount that I had sent to this alleged "shipper" because the check had been returned as counterfeit. I'm now not only overdrawn in my account by over $1000 that I never had in the first place, but also out the $200 I had just deposited to cover upcoming bills.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
teapot77
United States of AmericaDo some research and use common sense...
#2General Comment
Mon, January 11, 2010
Unfortunately, in this situation, you have no one to blame but yourself. First of all, Craigslist has several warnings all over their website about check fraud scams. These are very common. I myself recieve hundreds of these spammy e-mails- all of them similarly worded. Second, you failed to use common sense, even when all of the red flags were up. Who buys a car they haven't even seen/inspected in person? Why would they send you a check for more than the amount you discussed and request that you send the extra money to someone else? Why not just mail the overage back to her? None of it fit, and yet you still went through with all of the stranger's requests/demands. You followed blindly. Do you trust everyone so readily? If so, rethink your strategies. Otherwise, you'll be severly ripped off left and right. Remember the number one rule of the internet: You can't trust anyone. You can't see them or know if they're legitimate. Before conducting any kind of online transaction, do research on the person or company first, and exercise common sense. If something seems fishy, don't go through with it.
