Craigslist Scam Victim

Hey Readers,

Boy do I have a story to share. I was shopping around online for a vehicle on Craigslist when I came across an offer that was to good to be true and unfortunately it was. Posted was a 2002 Toyota Camry Sedan, white, great condition, 82k miles, clean interior...at a price within my means. The ad listed no specific details (red flag). No personal contact information was listed; however, I could send an email via Craigslist. So I decided to express interest in an email while requesting additional information.

The next afternoon I received a response from the assumed owner of the vehicle. I was excited for quick second. In the reply, the owner provided general details about the car including mileage and other specs. No VIN. One of my major concerns is that the owner mentioned that she and the vehicle were in Maine, when I was searching for vehicles in Norfolk, VA (red flag). Conveniently, the seller won a free promo from DAS for "1 free shipping"; so I wouldn't have to incur the shipping expense. However, it was listed that I would have to pay for the state inspection (red flag).

I was concerned because I recently seen an episode of Teen Mom where Farrah was scammed on Craigslist for $3k because she sent the supposed owner a check. By the time Farrah discovered it was a scam, it was too late. Fortunately, I learned to not forward any money until I physically have possession of the vehicle.

Next I tried the most simply thing, googling the owner, "Sarah Entilevi", which I retrieved from the email that was sent. Funny thing! There were only 4 results from my google search and the first two included the words "scam" and "craigslist" and that was all she wrote.

When you click on the second link in the results list, the article illustrates the same exact email that was sent to me. Only thing that was changed was the dollar amount and the location of the vehicle (remember in my situation it was Maine).

Moral of the story, be very careful when making online transactions.