Hi Suz,

Thanks for forwarding this, it definitely looks like a scam. These guys review the listings in housing and for sale and they contact posters directly, which makes it more difficult for us to stop them. The scams usually involve a fake cashier's check, wiring funds via Western Union, fake escrow services, that sort of thing.

If you have received a cashier's check from one of these guys, it's probably best to destroy the check so that it can't be deposited accidentally. And if you have already given out your personal information (home address, phone number, etc.), there's probably no need to be alarmed, as we have not received any significant reports of trouble related to this.

Since most of these scams involve a long-distance transaction, we encourage our users to focus on local buyers, sellers, and prospective tenants whenever possible. This helps minimize the chances of fraud, and it also fosters the craigslist spirit of keeping things local.

We're taking steps that should help to reduce the number of bogus inquiries that get through to posters, but in the meantime, please use caution. Also, please remember that if you select the anonymous email option in the posting process, you may be able to decrease the odds of receiving this sort of inquiry in the future.

Again, thanks for the heads-up, we really appreciate it.

Regards, craigslist customer service (Annette, Aristotle, Clint, Craig, and Geoff)