New Craigslist Scam

by HandwovenBox​

Someone tried to scam me in a way I haven’t heard of before. Here’s what happened:

I posted an item for sale around 9:30 pm. About 30 minutes later, I get this text:

Hello!! I wanna Buy your [CL post title] . Can i call you?

The fact that they asked if they could call instead of just calling didn’t seem too odd since it was after 10pm, but the timing of the text so soon after I posted the ad set off a red flag.

The text came from my area code, so I thought maybe it was legit.

I replied “sure” and then they texted:

okk Bro… But..Now a days there are many scammer in Craiglist. So i will verify you. I just sent you a scammer verification G-code on your phone inbox. So Tell me the code.Then i call you now.

Right at the same time, I get this:

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[6 digit number] adalah kode verifikasi Google Voice Anda. Jangan bagikan kode ini kepada siapa pun. [Google url]

This text came from Google’s number they use to verify your number for Google Voice services. I don’t even know what language this is.

Coincidentally, I had re-verified my number about a week ago, so right above this text, I could see this one from the same number:

[6 digit number] is your Google Voice verification code. Don’t share it with anyone else. [Google url]

So the scammers were hoping I wouldn’t understand that giving them the 6 digit number would give them access to my Google Voice account, which then could probably be used to access my email or other accounts.

Sending the Google verification text in a foreign language was an interesting twist, as the recipient wouldn’t understand that it says “Don’t share it with anyone else.”

They sent one more text:

Tell me the code plz..??

Then I blocked the number.

Anybody else seen this?

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