Do you think this is a scam? Have you ever been scammed online?

theres this guy claimed to be selling a one bedroom apt in burnaby bc. his name is Mohammed Azam from Lagos Nigeria. heres the ad for the place:

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/bnc/apa/1684912196.html

we sent him $250 for the security deposit and he recieved it but now he is saying that the anti-terrorist department in nigeria have the package and are asking a sum of $1300 to clear it through, he said he can raise $900 and needs me to pay the remaining $400, he said he would deduct it from my rent payment in the future.

do you recognize the situation?
honest feedback please, experience would help

flyin_gsxr6002010-04-26T20:53:47Z

Favorite Answer

Absolutely a scam. You my friend are out $250... DO NOT SEND ANY MORE MONEY... consider this a lesson, that things that seem too good to be true usually are.

Most scams are based in Africa... Only deal with people face to face when it comes to living arrangements and money transactions.

Anonymous2010-04-27T08:55:30Z

very common scam, report it to Craigslist so they can remove the post and call your local police. Cut off communication with this person, do not send any money, unfortunatley if you sent money thru Western Union or Moneygram your 250 is gone forever and no way to ever get it back. There is no such thing as an anti-terrorist certificate to clear packages in Nigeria

Yeti2010-04-26T21:06:09Z

Seriously?

Don't go sending money to someone in a foreign country like that, triply-so Nigeria (aka Scam Central), and another time over if it's something on Craigslist (which is, essentially, entirely unregulated and unmonitored).

And yes, if you really sent money like that in the first place, they're just going to keep coming up with manipulative methods like this to get more from you. There's not going to be anything they do for you in the future, nor do you have the ability to track them down. They're simply going to keep taking money from you until you wise up.

Chalk up what you sent to learning, don't communicate with them further, and find whatever related authorities you can report them to. There are usually resources for reporting Nigerian scams in particular.

Scott2010-04-26T21:06:34Z

I am a computer network tech. and this is all to familiar these types of scams happen all the time. contact the bank and the will guide you through the steps to hopefully get you money back. so whatever you do don't send any more money to this "person" For you will regret it in the long run. outside hackers are always taking advantage of people all over the world. a bit of advice if cannot see them or call them don't send them money.

The Griffin2010-04-26T20:55:48Z

asking the question "is this a scam?" is like asking the question "Is the sky blue?" or "Is water wet?".

so YES. a smart person knows not to send money over the internet unless they KNOW the perso....

I'm not even going to guess your IQ.

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