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I am selling a hobby robot on Craigslist and received an email claiming interest but asked me to email them directly. I have some throwaway emails so decided to see how it would play out. After emailing directly I received a reply (which was from a different email than the one I had directly emailed) stating the following:

Thanks for returning my husband's message regarding your item. I'm satisfied with the price and the condition listed, kindly withdraw the advert from the list and consider it sold. I would have come in person for it but can't due to my tight work Schedule and my daughter getting married in a few weeks so we've been busy with the preparations. My husband will proceed in issuing a Certified Cashier's Check to you and when received and cleared your bank, We will make arrangements for the pick up. An additional $70 will be added to the original price for reservation till the check gets there.

I'll need the following information to overnight the Payment today.

Name to issue the payment to....... Mailing Address to overnight the check to ...... Then Fine Asking price.... & the Cell # to contact you .....

Thank you in anticipation of your understanding and awaiting the information requested to overnight out through USPS and delivered to you within 48 hours. Regards

I am 100% sure this is a scam (Not wanting to email through Craigslist, responding with a different email, Name used isn't even the name from the emails, generic reply only mentions "Item" and no direct reference to asking price, out of the blue offering an extra $70 in an attempt to keep me interested), but am trying to figure out how it would work. At least right now they are saying I would receive and cash the cashiers check before they pick it up. The only thing they would be getting prior to the "item" would be personal details (still not good). How does this scam work if they are trying to get more than just personal information?

FreakyDan
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    They are not interested in your item and will not be picking it up. See Am I getting Craigslist scammed? for more information. – Ben Miller Jan 30 '23 at 15:33
  • @BenMiller-RememberMonica Forgive my ignorance, but how would that work with a cashiers check? I get writing a bad check, but can you do that with a cashiers check? I assumed if it initially clears then the check is valid (and has the funds reserved). The link does make sense though as my attempt to understand the scam involved assuming no surprise "twists" such as paying for shippers. – FreakyDan Jan 30 '23 at 15:46
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    A cashier’s check can still be counterfeit. You would be getting a fake cashier’s check that is good enough to fool your bank until the check clearing process takes place. The scammer is hoping you’ll send them a refund before the check is discovered to be fake. – Ben Miller Jan 30 '23 at 16:29

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