Craigslist MacBook Pro Scam (Strikes Again)

I once read a book about writing copy which described greed as one of the motivators to consider when writing ads.

I recalled this when looking for a computer for my wife. I found on Craigslist a MacBook Pro for $500. After inquiring about it, I received a few messages from Laura (laura.hilton31@hotmail.com), who had recently moved to Manchester UK, even though the listing came up here in Omaha. Here's what she said:

This is Laura again from Manchester, United Kingdom regarding the 15" Unibody MacBook Pro. Did you receive my earlier email?
I just wanted to make sure you have all the specs for the laptop, the Apple 15.4" Unibody MacBook Pro Laptop for $500.
The complete specs are below.2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 4.0 GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM Memory, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M and NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT Graphics Processors with 512MB of GDDR3 Memory, 500GB SATA 5400 RPM Hard Drive, iSight camera. Also included is the Lithium-Polymer Battery and also the Apple Remote and Case.
Let me know if you like it.

Laura

She also sent a third message with pictures. First of all, I've never bought anything from Craigslist from someone at whose house I couldn't pick up the item and pay for it. Second, this was an incredibly good deal (tapping into my greed, I'm sure).

So I did a quick search on the Google. And guess what? It's a scam. Thanks Jacob Burke and Kelly T Adams. While a few of the details were different, enough were the same for there to be no doubt in my mind that I'd been duped. At least it was before I sent any money away, right?

Next time, I'll consider that copy writing book before I even inquire.

Check out the pics. This looks totally legit: