The Mysterious Case Of The Craigslist Writing Gig Scam

Re:The Mysterious Case Of The Craigslist Writing Gig Scam by eric-hu on Thursday August 04, 2011 @08:31PM (#2848432)

My vote is for "advance fee scam" as mentioned in the comments of the article. It plays out something like this:

He shows up at a coffee shop after a few days worth of work with a check for $1000. The actual "work" done was worth $700, so he says "just give me $300 and we'll call it even". He'll be nice and wait for OP while he goes to the ATM, but the check will be a dud.

If I'm right about this, I think there's a powerful psychological force at play. The time invested for the work will cloud the OPs judgment about whether this is a scam or not. A feeling of loss is much more powerful than a feeling of gain (I can't remember the exact psych term for this)

The OP probably scared off 'Aaron' with the "is this a scam?" email.

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Re:The Mysterious Case Of The Craigslist Writing Gig Scam by yarian on Thursday August 04, 2011 @11:52PM (#2848901)

If you read carefully, I think that email was sent after they were supposed to meet at the coffee shop.

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Re:The Mysterious Case Of The Craigslist Writing Gig Scam by eric-hu on Friday August 05, 2011 @07:48PM (#2852293)

  After the five reviews, Aaron asked for my phone number
  and said he’d call me the next day with a meeting place. 
  It has now been three days and I have yet to hear from 
  him. He’s also stopped responding to my emails, including 
  one in which I asked him, “Is this really a scam?” Which 
  means, obviously, I’ve been duped.

I think you're right, the email looks like it was sent after the intended meeting time.

I still think that a waiting time and a 'missed' appointment could've been a part of the scam. After all, when you've been on hold with customer service for 10 minutes, do you really want to hang up at that point?

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Re:The Mysterious Case Of The Craigslist Writing Gig Scam by yarian on Tuesday August 09, 2011 @10:17PM (#2866428)

10 minutes? What planet do you live in and how much is the rent for a one bedroom? :) If I wait 10 minutes I consider myself lucky, usually more like 30.

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