I like Craig’s List.  It facilitates a face-to-face, cash exchange that is inherently scam-free for free.  This is as opposed to EBay which has become a wasteland.  I’ve got a Craig’s List listing now for an Archos 605 that I’m trying to sell.  I previously sold a PSP and a Garmin Forerunner 50 (which is a great, no-frills heart rate monitor by the way).  Not too long after I  posted my PSP last year I got an email from someone who was going to pay more than the asking price and just needed my PayPal ID.  All I had to do was box it up an ship it off.  Of course it was a scam.  I got another one yesterday regarding the Archos from anitamorgan82@gmail.com. 

The text was in light gray and looked like an auto-generated signature line.  Still, I wrote back and said that I did.  Within seconds I got a reply.  Actually, I got two replies.  The first was from the original address with the same content as the first email.  The second was from Anita’s other email - anitamorgan85@yahoo.com.

Hey, $350 plus $180 when I’m only asking $225 is not bad.  Spelling and grammar aside, Anita must be a real sweetheart.  At this point I’m curious just how this scam works.  I do a little searching and find this poor guy’s experience.  Being a computer guy, I’m also wondering if Anita, sweetheart though she may be, is a human or an auto-responder.  I write back before going to bed.

This morning I learned that Anita is a human because I found two responses from the previous night.

That one arrived just eight minutes after I sent my $1093.37 fee list (including the anti-dolphin coating charge).  Anita is willing.  And not just willing, but eager (probably due to the long delivery time) as evidence by her second email which arrived less than an hour later.

By this morning my curiosity had run its course.  I had my fun, and as Anita might say, it was a “hamless deal”.  The sad thing is that there are people out there who are in for plenty of ham.  They’re well intentioned or naive or inexperienced or lured into getting more than their asking price.  Whatever they are, ultimately, Anita is going to take their money and waste their time.  So watch out, folks, because I’m here to tell you that Anita is a non-sweetheart human eager to do you ham harm.  And she’s probably not the only one.