Craigs list add...tell me if this sounds fishy?

http://miami.craigslist.org/brw/pet/3803972310.html


They have moved out of the florida area. and have told me they will bring the babys to my door step. but i need to pay for there flight ticket? Someone tell me if this dosent sound fishy to me?

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o...ps9e791290.jpg

Hm... so they're just wanting money for the flight/ticket in trade for a pied... yeah def. Talk to them about how much the plane ticket is. Sounds really fishy.

Im from fortlauderdale i texted the number to see what the deal is but sounds weird especially for free

They want you to pay their ticket to fly the snakes to you an bring them to your house in person? That's the deal they offered you or am I missing something.

Don't do it. Anything that has you paying for something unrelated like travel (even if it's "to bring the snake to you") would be an automatic no-go in my book. "Free" to me means no money spent on my part; it's not free if you're paying for THEIR travel. If you really want a pied, talk to a breeder or look for something actually in your area.

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Originally Posted by carlson

They want you to pay their ticket to fly the snakes to you an bring them to your house in person? That's the deal they offered you or am I missing something.

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there is no shipping fee ive been talking with the guy for a while. He said he will send someone out with the babys and all i needed to do is pay for the guys plane ticket. but im not sure if thats a truthful thing or not. Why give away baby pied ball pythons?

Ya it sounds sketch like your just paying for someone's ticket. Idk tho maybe he's super trustful

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Originally Posted by Alex1989

there is no shipping fee ive been talking with the guy for a while. He said he will send someone out with the babys and all i needed to do is pay for the guys plane ticket. but im not sure if thats a truthful thing or not. Why give away baby pied ball pythons?

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Why would he not just ship the snakes? This is a scam...

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Originally Posted by Wes

Why would he not just ship the snakes? This is a scam...

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MIA ( miami international ) wont even let snakes, reptiles or anything else though there check area anyway. And yes i do agree it sounds like a scam.

The one photo isn't a pied at all, and the other only shows one- not fourteen. How did they wind up with that many to begin with? Are they a breeder? Do they have any references from another keeper? Assuming the pieds are ~$500 each that would be a value of $3500. How much is that plane ticket they're asking for? If theres a big discrepancy between the values, why wouldn't they just sell them for full value? How would the buyer be protected against loss if they never drop by the buyer's house?

Seems suuuuper shady to me.

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Originally Posted by Wes

Why would he not just ship the snakes? This is a scam...

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Definitely a scam! It costs less to buy the shipping supplies and do overnight shipping. $80 versus something like $500+ for a plane ticket.

Run. Away. Now. Don't look back, just run!

Hmm lemmee think.

Giving away piedballs, has two pictures - one of which is a spider.

They have no details listed with craigslist.

Of COURSE it's a scam. :colbert:

they say the ticket is only $65...ive never herd of a plane ticket for just $65.

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Originally Posted by dr del

Hmm lemmee think.

Giving away piedballs, has two pictures - one of which is a spider.

They have no details listed with craigslist.

Of COURSE it's a scam. :colbert:

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seems like it to me. i just thought i would get yalls opinions and show yall the add.

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Originally Posted by Alex1989

they say the ticket is only $65...ive never herd of a plane ticket for just $65.

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I've gotten plane tickets for $50 before...but it was only a 30 min flight on a puddle hopper plane to the middle of nowhere. They just want to take your $65.

Sometimes...I wonder why people buy into this stuff. It's clearly a scam. Maybe I'm just paranoid by nature, but one look at that ad and it has me running for the hills.

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Originally Posted by BHReptiles

I've gotten plane tickets for $50 before...but it was only a 30 min flight on a puddle hopper plane to the middle of nowhere. They just want to take your $65.

Sometimes...I wonder why people buy into this stuff. It's clearly a scam. Maybe I'm just paranoid by nature, but one look at that ad and it has me running for the hills.

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Good thing is i haven't paid for anything. I wanted to get yalls opinion first.

Don't fall for that scam!

I'd say there are no snakes. And he might murder you.

you know this super-rich guy in africa that died and now a billion dollars need to be moved and you get a cut when you set up the account and forward maybe 5000 to set things up?


its basically the same scam lotteries are running, just with the difference that there never is a winner here. You scam people out of a small amount by luring them with promises of big profit. so old, so classic, so many versions. or like photographers selling overpriced but ultimately pointless photo-shoots to wannabe models. or all the "congratulations, you won!" scams.

same pattern. know the patterns and you wont fall for it.

You could call the bluff by offering to go there and pick up the snakes yourself. with maybe some hard cash involved when you pick up the snakes. And ask for an adress and how to get there. There wont be a response.

EDIT: Of course good deals still exist! And there are honest people. But when bogus reasons come up on why you need to forward money before getting anything substantial, that should raise warning flags, always. Especially when in combination with that feeling of "to good to be true".

Its definitely a scam. He found the pictures online:

http://eereptiles.wordpress.com/2010...d-ball-python/

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/fo...-sale-MD-DC-VA


Also, you can't bring snakes on a plane...

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Originally Posted by towelie4365

Its definitely a scam. He found the pictures online:

http://eereptiles.wordpress.com/2010...d-ball-python/

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/fo...-sale-MD-DC-VA


Also, you can't bring snakes on a plane...

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Wow nice find

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Originally Posted by towelie4365

Its definitely a scam. He found the pictures online:

http://eereptiles.wordpress.com/2010...d-ball-python/

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/fo...-sale-MD-DC-VA


Also, you can't bring snakes on a plane...

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Well hey now i can flag the guy for scamming on Craigs list, And to all you reptile, serpent keepers. and breeders. TY for your help and input.

Yeah sounds like his buddy wants to get to Florida but doesn't have the cash. Plus GIVING away "14 pieds" is just ludicrous. They could get a lot more money out of it if they sold them, there's no way they can't know that. :rolleyes:

The cheapest flight I ever got was a $99 round-trip to Atlanta back in '08. But after all the fees and stuff, it was more like $250-300.

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Originally Posted by towelie4365

Its definitely a scam. He found the pictures online:

http://eereptiles.wordpress.com/2010...d-ball-python/

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/fo...-sale-MD-DC-VA


Also, you can't bring snakes on a plane...

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Nice find!

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Originally Posted by Alex1989

there is no shipping fee ive been talking with the guy for a while. He said he will send someone out with the babys and all i needed to do is pay for the guys plane ticket. but im not sure if thats a truthful thing or not. Why give away baby pied ball pythons?

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They're not - AND, it's not legal to carry the snakes on the plane with them anyway.

If it's too good to be true is definitely in play here.

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Originally Posted by BHReptiles

Nice find!

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Jinx

I am sick and tired of these motherloving scams on this motherloving craigslist!

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Originally Posted by MrLang

I am sick and tired of these motherloving scams on this motherloving craigslist!

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X2 Humans suck

I was texting back and forth with him for 2 days he said he would ship me 10 pieds for 50$ and it would be 8 females and 2 males. So I wanted to know what the agency was that he was shipping with. He said American airlines. He said he,went to register them I'n,my name. and,that they would be shipped as soon as my payment is,sent. I asked,where to send payment to he,said Cameroon,Africa through,western union he said they had a,new branch there. So I called American airlines and,they said they had never had a branch in Africa. So I told him about this. He said it was a fake #. So I asked him to call me to try and get this sorted,out. Then he said he was deaf and that I was a wicked person,and that apparently,I don't want the babies and if he had to pick tgem up from the agency then I would never get them. After that I went of on him and I traced his phone # and got his adress. I have proof through text on my phone. People like him give a bad name to us good business men and women!

Plus when I said I could pick them up he said he moved to Arizona...

You do have to admire the tenacity ( if sadly not the skill ) of the lads from Lagos ( as we call them over here).
Don't know why we call them that given the range of countries but hey ho.

Did he tell anyone else he was deaf? And,who would give away 10 500-1000$ snakes?

I had friends who, when they wanted to move, would go through CL. I would tell them time and time again that finding a FULLY FURNISHED HOUSE for $600 a month, everything included, was too good to be true. I can't tell you how many times they've gone to check out the houses and been greeted at the door by angry homeowners whose houses are definitely NOT for rent.

That's why I generally steer away from CL. Although I've had really good luck getting vehicles off of their listings.

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Originally Posted by xFenrir

I had friends who, when they wanted to move, would go through CL. I would tell them time and time again that finding a FULLY FURNISHED HOUSE for $600 a month, everything included, was too good to be true. I can't tell you how many times they've gone to check out the houses and been greeted at the door by angry homeowners whose houses are definitely NOT for rent.

That's why I generally steer away from CL. Although I've had really good luck getting vehicles off of their listings.

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Craig's List can be a goldmine IF you know what to look for and IF you are able to pick out the scams from the deals. I've sold some of my snakes and supplies on Craigslist and I've even bought some things. It's all about if you know how to sift through all the crap that's on there.

LOL! He has valuable snakes he will give you for free, but he moved to Arizona so you can't pick them up, and he will bring them to you if you send $65 to him in Camaroon, Africa via Western Union. Ok, I count 5 definite scam items. Thats not counting the fake pictures, suddenly being deaf so he can't talk on the phone, and calling you a wicked person for not doing what he said. It's like a puzzle game!

Sorry you aren't going to get a bunch of free babies, but good on you for trusting your intuition and checking it out first.

If I ever encounter a person like this... I'm going to tell them I'm suddenly in jail and I need him to wire me money so I can be bailed out ;)

Messing with scammers is fun :) haha but I do agree if your able to notice the fishy an avoid them you can find some good stuff on there.

Show up in person, with a witness/backup, with cash, inspect what you're buying top to bottom, test it out, and chat with the person to feel them out before exchanging goods. That's how you get deals on craiglist. I've gotten incredible deals on craigslist, including live animals that were genetically proven and healthy.

Ik it was a,scam I just wanted to mess,with but I was 100% sure that it,was,when I called,American,airlines.

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Originally Posted by HernandezHerps

Plus when I said I could pick them up he said he moved to Arizona...

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Same crud he gave me.

Had someone do the same to me on an exotic bird transaction. I didn't tell them i would be coming through the supposed area and wanted to pickup in person till towards the end. They had suddenly moved from Illinois to Colorado. When i said I would make a special trip to get the birds, they suddenly stopped bugging me. Had a laugh out of it.

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Originally Posted by MrLang

Show up in person, with a witness/backup, with cash, inspect what you're buying top to bottom, test it out, and chat with the person to feel them out before exchanging goods. That's how you get deals on craiglist. I've gotten incredible deals on craigslist, including live animals that were genetically proven and healthy.

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Funny story, I had a cat up until July. She was my best friend and I had a special bond with her. I know, cheesy girly emotions but I did. I moved home to be in nursing school and with cat allergies in my home, she had to go. I actually found my cat a new home on Craigslist. I talked to the woman, met her and her family, saw her house, etc. She adores my cat and my cat has gotten a little chunky since going there. She still sends me pictures of Billie (the cat).

Craigslist can be a great thing if you know how to use it. Too many people abuse it and too many idiots fall for the ridiculous scams that makes Craigslist a bad thing.

I didn't read through all of the posts, but if you want to have a little fun with this scammer..most likely from Ghana, make up a fake story about some tragic accident that has left you parylized from the waist down, then tell them that if they send you $200 you could then get them discount airline tickets using your disability (something like that). You can usually keep them going via email for a bit before they get ticked and start sending a profanity laden email (most of which will make little to no sense at all). :)