Craigslist spam

I sold an item on CL and already pulled the ad but I keep getting spam with scantily clad women in them. Is this a fact of life when you sell on CL?

As far as I know, yes. A bit late now, but always use a throw away email address for CL ads.

It's possible they got your email address somewhere else. Unless of course you created it only for CL, which apparently you did not.

Treefarn said:   

Never respond to any ad that doesn't specific mention your item. If it says something generic like 'Is this still avilable? Let me know.', 'What is your final price and current condition?', then that same email was sent to every Craigslist seller and is an attempt to either rip you off or harvest your email address.

How about "Where are you located? When can I come and pick it up?" without mentioning anything specific to the item?

money2011 said:   your location is already in the ad

Exactly. Any email you get that is generic enough to be sent to all sellers is probably SPAM. Although depending on your version of CL, you might need more specifics as to location. 'North Jersey' is not a very specific location, so if you are listing an ad, I would suggest using your actual town.

Here are actual emails I've received. This is the ENTIRE email, there was no further information. I assume they are all spam. If I miss out on a potential buyer, that's the breaks.

"I want to buy your phone.Please let me know the firm price for this item if still available."

"Hope no scratches?"

"is this avail"

"Hi do u still have it?"

"Can you do it for 25 less ???"

"Hello do u still have the item for sale"

"Hello tell me the price of this item?you can text me (801) xxx-xxxx"

"I will like to know if this item still up for sale and what is current condition?"

"hello is this item still available for sale please mail me back."

You get the idea....

I have a bunch of other listings on CL but only this pulled ad consistently gets spam. Spammers seem to be attracted to this listing for some strange reason as the spam always has the same title that I used in the listing.

Spam. No mention of what they are buying. Its an 'item'.

"I will arrange for it to be picked up" - No proof of delivery for paypal

I made a previous post here about any Craigslist message you get asking about your 'item' or asking something already in teh listing is always SPAM.

Does the same hold true for Amazon selling? I have never sold on Amazon before, and just listed an item. Got a message asking about the condition of the item, which is clearly stated in the listing. Does Amazon get the same about of Spam trolls that Craigslist does?

"I want to make purchase of your item but I would like to know the condition before I make purchase mail me back on xxxx at yahoocom"

LongDongSilver said:   Is this a new kind of scam?

"I appreciate your prompt response, I will like you to email me with
some close up pictures of this nice item. I am buying this item
ASAP.I will arrange for it to be picked up by a pick up
agent who will be coming for the pick up once the payment clears, I
will also be paying you through PayPal which i believe is safe and
secured for both of us, I will also be responsible for the PayPal
charges. All I need from you now is for you to get back to Me with
your PayPal email
id so that I can send your payment ASAP.I will also like you to get
back to me with the following Answers:

Are you the first owner of it?
Why are you selling it?
When have you been using it?

Looking forward to read from you.....
Many Thanks"

The vats majority of these scammers are so lazy that all they do is send you a fake email from "paypal" that resemmbles nothing a genuine paypal email. Thye hope you fall for the false email and ship. The more refined scammers might actually hijack a paypal account and send a real (if fraudulent) payment. The supposed questions are to make you feel that they are legit.