Purchasing Gift Cards from Craigslist
 

I randomly went on Craigslist a month ago and found a listing for a $1,000 airline (airline undisclosed for security reasons) Gift Card for $600. I was very skeptical about this, but I purchased it anyways. Since then, I have taken 2 flights I booked using that gift card and everything went fine.

The same guy now has a $2,000 gift card for $1,200. This is starting to sound too good to be true. I don't understand how he is getting gift cards in such large amounts.

Would you guys trust this person? Has this happened in the past? Thanks.

Sounds "too good to be true," and fishy!

We're they gift cards or E-Certs?

I'm not sure the ins and outs of refundable/cancellable fares, but it could be one of these things where employer pays for F/J/Y/B fare employee down gauges the fare class and takes a credit/cert. (Not sure if totally possible)

It's also possible that he received them as gifts from rich family or friends

I would be very careful with this, I've heard of many people getting scammed buying gift cards on craigslist. You could also put yourself in trouble (I'm not sure about this, I'm no lawyer) if the card has been bought with a stolen cc or if the guy is laundering crime money.

I'd be skeptical of this, I can't think of many reasons why someone would sell GCs at 60% of value on Craigslist.

Besides the previously mentioned travel credit reason, there aren't many reasons why someone would do so. The only other (semi) legitimate reason I can think of is an employee has a travel budget they are assigned for the year, and are buying GCs to submit an airline charge to their employer. If the employer doesn't actually check that said charge is a flight, the seller could theoretically be cashing out their travel fund. The person would still be screwing their employer.

Either way though this sounds beyond sketchy.

Purchasing Gift Cards from Craigslist
 

Speaking from personal experience I would advise you not to purchase gift cards from Craigslist. Several years ago I bought some, booked my tickets and then three months later (two weeks before my flight) the tickets for cancelled because the gc came up as fraudulent/stolen. I was out the $300 and I had to repurchase my tickets at a much higher fare. Live and learn...

Thanks. I pressed him quite a bit and he mentioned he could get gift cards (e-certificates) in any denomination I wanted. He also had other airlines. This sounds shady beyond belief.

Bought with a stolen credit card; then month's later either you're stuck no ticket, no gift card, or the airline has been scammed and is coming after you.

Don't forget emails, IDs, phone numbers can all be faked. I can create new email accounts or buy a burner phone. A fake ID costs like $50 for a really good one.

I'd take this (if this is in writing) and handle it to local police...

Dont think this is prudent at this time specially since he/she purchased cards from this guy before but this time questioned the origins of the cards.

Buying stolen good is also a crime and the dealer can implicate the reporter. Don't take anonymity for granted...

Bingo!

You might be ok for a while, but on average, GC transactions on Craiglist are a loser.

I wouldn't be surprised if this is an scam setup. First one works well and you let your guard down thinking the seller can be trusted. Then they take you for way more than the initial amount.

I would never trust something that is too good to be true, after all, why would I sell it on graigs list for less, I am sure someone in my family would use it first
buyer beware...

Not for me
 

Didn't someone say "if it is to good to be true it probably is"

I wouldn't do it on Craigslist.....on Ebay maybe

No, I wouldn't do it on EBay either. By the time it takes for the airline to charge you back due to the GC being fraudulent, it'll be well past whatever timelines Ebay/Paypal allow.

All of which brings up a question:

Apparently, I can go to the post office and they can tell me if a money order is legit or not. Also, a bank can (possibly) tell me if a check is good or not.

Is there any way to tell if a gift card is legit, or was purchased with a stolen cc or what? IOW, how can one tell if a gift card is OK other than waiting until the gendarmes knock on your door?

No, you cannot tell if a GC was purchased illegitimately. There are also ways to confuse banks, fyi.

This leads me to a saying on a watch buying forum - "Buy the seller"

Nobody legit is going to consistently lose $ selling GC to you.

Urgent
 

looks like I am in the same boat. I dealt with some one on craigslist. I booked the tix on united.com and they are eticketed and confirmed. Now reading your post it seems I am scammed as the guy is not responding at all when I asked about proof of purchase.

Porsche can you please share your experience? Did you ever got call from United after your flight asking for money? It is clear that these gift cards are purchased using stolen credit cards. It is just a matter of time that you get call from United after credit card owner has filed a dispute with issuing bank.

Please let me know.