The reason they use FedEx to deliver a check is because if they used the postal service, they would have postal inspectors/government involved, (if you reported them).  It's a felony to do what they are doing, (sending fraudulent bank checks), by using the postal service which is why they have switched over to using FedEx, UPS etc. Also, be advised, they aren't looking to "buy" anything you're selling.  The only thing they are after is the money you forward to the "shipping company" which is actually the person(s) you're "selling" your item to.  They purposely send you a fake check OVER the amount expecting you to turn the check into your bank, then send the "overage" to them.  The check itself is fake but the overage you send them is real.  They are counting on you doing this all quickly so your bank doesn't find out before you've sent them the money, (that's now coming out of your account).

thank you for warning me almost got duped by the duke on my car for sale.i wonder if the car transporter has anything to do with scam

I was in the middle of a transaction with this person buying something from me off craigslist and they wanted me to wire money to western union...reported this and it is a fraud.  Be careful...he went by Tom Duke.

He will also go by Tom Wilson.

Hi ALL!  I just got the check in the mail.  And I have some very interesting information based on this check.  Ok, so there is a name on the FedEx shipment.  A Paul Will, most likely an alias, but here's the really interesting part.  The adress given was 118 Neilson Dr. Clairton, PA 15025.  There was a phone number included as well, 412-653-1707 which is a land line in West Mifflin, PA.  The check is from a company that doesn't show up on any searches (that I found anyways) It's call "Light World International Inc."  and the bank is supposedly HSBC Bank in New York, NY 10004.  All of this is leading me to believe that my assumption about oversees scammers may have been incorrect.  I half want to contact the shipping company and see where they plan to take my item.  That would at least narrow down where these people are located.  Perhaps even the local authorities in that area could assist with making a collar.  The check date is todays date which is VERY strange.  I would think that a check date would be the date the check was cut, not the date they expected me to receive it.  Hope that this fills in some gaps for you people on the verge of being taken by this scam.  The only reason it works is because you can deposit the check and you bank will show the funds.  It's not until later when they realize it's a fake check and hold you responsible for the funds that you find out what really just happened.  So you get stuck with a bill for $6500, you sent your item and a bunch of cash to someone...maybe in Pennsylvania.

Hi All,

i feel for this scam a long time ago so now I can spot it from a mile away.  I decided that I wanted to try and catch this guy in the act.  I strung him along a abit and it was littlerally the same string as the others I've seen.  Same exact wording and everything.  He fedex shipped a check to me, which makes me think that they are getting more urgent about these scams.  I think that if more people went along with these scams and just never went through they would spend more time and money shipping fake checks and getting screwed themselves that perhaps they would give up.  This guy went by the Bedra Smith and he has a new email address.  bedrasmith02@gmail.com . The crazy part is that this guy called me today to make sure I got the check.  He had a very thick accent and I could  barely understand him.  His number came in with 8 digits on my caller id.  So they have a blocker on there.  It sounds like they are mostly operating out of the UK.  I would really love to figure out a way to hack their info so these guys could be caught.  I am still trying to get more information before I completely disconnect.  I highly suggest that if someone knows how we might put an end to this scam please post this information.  Make it public.  These guys should be shut down one and for all.

jhstevenjohnson@aol.com is still actively scamming on Craigslist. He just sent the email below to my GF who has a motorcycle for sale.

>>>>>

Sound Good,


Thanks for writing back. I am cool with your final asking price of $ 2000 but I need it urgently. Let me know if you will accept a bank check payment as this is the only way I can make payment to you.


I have just been transfer to head the IT section of our office in the London. I don't mind offering you a extra $100 for holding it for me. I would have loved to come and take a look at it but I will not be able to do so due to the distance and my busy schedule with other important official obligations.
You may reply me with your full name and address where I can easily get hold of you for a better communication. I will be sending the payment as soon as I received the information from you.


As regards the shipment, I will handle the shipping expenses as I have already contacted Able cargo for the shipping of my other house items, they advised they can make the pick up from your address as soon as we have concluded the sale. I will be glad if you end this sale with me and delete the ad from Craigslist today.


I look forward to hearing from you soon Thanks.
Regards Steven.

Amazingly enough I share the same, Jefferies & Company Inc. 11100 Santa Monica Blvd Los Angeles CA 90025 is the name on the check,,, drawn from  a NY bank, mailed in a fed ex package from MD ? Hello? anyone home here? going by Charles Wanda the email addresses  wandzon@aol.com  wdj12ukson4@gmail.com... Please people beware.  If the major intelligence put into this scam was put into a real business... these people would see the fortune 500 list. I don't understand...

i have all the letters already on this site,,, i have the phone number on my cell records and a check from a well known bank for **00.00 for something off craigs list .... wow !!!!! can noone do anything about this!!!!! some poor old person is going to really suffer,,, I will not include the exact details incase they are reading this,,, but i will not stop!!!!! i will report them and do anything i can to stop them... this is wrong!!!!

the man on the other end admitted to everything,,,

I just got this one!!


Sound Good,

Thanks for writing back. I am cool with this final asking price of $2700 but I need it urgently. Let me know if you will accept a bank check
payment as this is the only way I can make payment to you.

I have just been transfer to head the IT section of our office in the London. I don't mind offering you a extra $100 for holding it for me. I would have loved to come and take a look at it but I will not be able to do so due to the distance and my busy schedule with other important official obligations.
You may reply me with your full name and address where I can easily get hold of you for a better communication. I will be sending the payment as soon as I received the information from you.

As regards the shipment, I will handle the shipping expenses as I have already contacted Able cargo for the shipping of my other house items, they advised they can make the pick up from your address as soon as we have concluded the sale. I will be glad if you end this sale with me and
delete the ad from Craigslist today.

I look forward to hearing from you soon Thanks.
Regards Steven.

I sold a Ducati on CRAIGSLIST and "TOM DUKE" sent what I thought was a certified CITIZENS BANK check in the amount of $8500 to me. This covered the cost of the bike and shipping to "London" The check arrived, I deposited it and low and behold, my bank put a hold on the check because it didn't seem to originate from an actual Citizens Bank account.
I called "TOM" and told him that my bank needed 10 days to confirm funds and he said, "ok, keep me updated".
I obviously did not arrange any plans to have the bike picked up and "TOM" was more than understanding for my concerns but not surprised.

THANK YOU FOR WHOEVER STARTED POSTING THIS. HERE IS THE ENTIRE STRING OF AN ATTEMPT FROM STEVE JOHNSON TO SCAM ME..SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM & WORK YOUR WAY UP...UNTIL I GOT THE PHONE # WAS I ABLE TO CHECK IT ON GOOGLE..


You can call me on 253-777-3302. thanks


To: jhstevenjohnson <jhstevenjohnson@aol.com>
Sent: Sat, Feb 26, 2011 9:42 am
Subject: Re: PAYMENT SENT

Hello Steven,

I would be happy to receive payment & send any over due monies back to you. I would feel a bit more comfortable to speak to either your wife or yourself to get the details to make everything go as smoothly as possible. Please respond with your contact information as well. Speak with you soon.  

Sincerely

On Feb 26, 2011, at 12:58 AM, jhstevenjohnson@aol.com wrote:

Hello CJ,
I hope this email finds you well.  I`m very happy to inform you that the payment has been sent out today by my wife. However, there are one or two faults with the payment, though it`s not really a fault but I just think it`ll be a wise thing to inform you before it arrives so that you can be sure it`s actually the payment for my purchase. She has erroneously included the shipper`s payment with your payment as she could not really understand what my arrangements were with you.

The payment will be delivered to your mail in few days ( 2 - 3 days). Therefore, upon arrival I`ll want you to deposit the check and once processed by your bank remove your asking price and forward the rest of the money to the Freight company from which arrangement will be made for the shippings of my purchase and some other housewares from Seattle residence.

I`m very sorry for the inconvenience, I was away and busy with my official responsibilities, it was never a deliberate thing. I hope you understand what I`m going through right now. The present challenge is time demanding so I have no choice than to delegate the responsibility to my wife.  I will like you to let me know soon as the payment arrives so we can finalize the transaction.
Try and get back to me upon receipt of this e mail so that I can be sure you are aware of the payment in transit. Have a pleasant day and best wishes.

Regards Steven.


To: jhstevenjohnson <jhstevenjohnson@aol.com>
Sent: Thu, Feb 24, 2011 7:11 am
Subject: Re: OK

My address I gave..(duh)

If you have any questions please call..

Sincerely


On Feb 23, 2011, at 10:21 PM, jhstevenjohnson@aol.com wrote:

Sounds good to me,
Email me back your full names and physical address so i can make out a certified check and sent to you ASAP...
Regards Steven

To: jhstevenjohnson <jhstevenjohnson@aol.com>
Sent: Thu, Feb 24, 2011 3:49 am
Subject: Re: OK

Hi Steven

It does sound great, I definitely can receive a bank check. I do owe a small portion of the 6000.00 to Kawasaki. Once I receive your payment I can then rush the difference to them & they will in turn send me the Title which I will then endorse over to you. If this works for you I would be happy to forward my address & the particulars.


If you have any questions please don't hesitate to call me directly on the phone # above.

Thanks Steven look forward to hearing from you.



On Feb 23, 2011, at 7:13 PM, jhstevenjohnson@aol.com wrote:


Sound Good,

Thanks for writing back. I am cool with your final asking price of $6000 but I need it urgently. Let me know if you will accept a bank check
payment as this is the only way I can make payment to you.

I have just been transfer to head the IT section of our office in the London. I don't mind offering you a extra $100 for holding it for me. I would have loved to come and take a look at it but I will not be able to do so due to the distance and my busy schedule with other important official obligations.
You may reply me with your full name and address where I can easily get hold of you for a better communication. I will be sending the payment as soon as I received the information from you.

As regards the shipment, I will handle the shipping expenses as I have already contacted Able cargo for the shipping of my other house items, they advised they can make the pick up from your address as soon as we have concluded the sale. I will be glad if you end this sale with me and
delete the ad from Craigslist today.

I look forward to hearing from you soon Thanks.
Regards Steven.



To: jhstevenjohnson <jhstevenjohnson@aol.com>
Sent: Wed, Feb 23, 2011 6:28 pm
Subject: Re: VULCAN 900 2006 - $6000 (WAYNE NJ)

Hi Steven

Yes I still have it up for sale. Normally Im flexible with other things I have sold in the past, however;  this motorcycle is BRAND NEW! Road it around the block for 35 miles & that's it, If you were to see it I think you would understand. It's well worth 6000


On Feb 23, 2011, at 5:24 AM, Steven Johnson wrote:

** CRAIGSLIST ADVISORY --- AVOID SCAMS BY DEALING LOCALLY
** Avoid: wiring money, cross-border deals, work-at-home
** Beware: cashier checks, money orders, escrow, shipping
** More Info: http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams.html


Hey, Do you still have it up for sale?
what is the least offer you can take? Get back to me ASAP and also with your # number

Regards
Steven Johnson.

i was in the middle of a transaction with a person with this number on craigslist as well, i see it is nothing more than a scam now, thank you ! they went by wilson james.

01/05/11
I received a few emails from this person promising to pay for an item I have listed on Craigslist.   After receiving what seemed like an automated response telling me season greetings and they have agreed to the amount I wanted (but I didn't provide a final price) I asked for a phone number and this is what they gave me.

They went by Bedra Smith, email: bedrasmith001@gmail.com