SALEM — Two Salem residents told police they'd been approached by scam artists using Craigslist.
On Wednesday night, an Essex Street resident told police she'd been trying to sell a lady's diamond watch on Craigslist for $1,450. A man told her he'd buy it for $100 more than she'd been asking and promised to send a check for $3,700. He wanted her to cash the check and send the remaining money to him.
The resident said she only wanted to sell it for the asking price. The first e-mail came from someone named Randy Smith, but similar e-mails arrived with the names of Donald Carlson, Barry Wood, Deborah Barbara, Tim Neely, Mark Petterson and Janet Megan — plus three more.
According to Salem police reports, the last e-mail said, "You need to send the money, remember I have your address and phone number. You have 5 hours to send it to me or I will have the F.B.I. after you." A police officer was going to follow up with the bank the next day.
On Thursday evening, a Boston Street man told police he'd gotten two fake checks after trying to sell his car for $900. He got a $3,000 check from an Oklahoma company and a $2,890 check from a Washington, D.C., company; both companies told him the checks were forged and they've been part of scams through Craigslist.
Craigslist, which runs online classified advertisements, warns on its Web site that "fake cashier checks & money orders are common, and banks will cash them and then hold you responsible when the fake is discovered weeks later."
The Salem woman advertised the watch again last night, this time writing, "Local transactions only, (dealt) with too many scammers already!!!!!"
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