capkrk

This has been mentioned before but I am going to do it again.

I have a car for sale on another site and I have gotten two emails from across the pond. This is what they say....

Most of you know that this is a scam but some of you might not. These guys will send you a check/money order for the car and shipping. Many banks will cash the check...you then send the vehicle and 30 days later the check comes back as bad. There are many that have lost cars to this scam. What's worse is the victim has also paid for the shipment of the vehicle to the criminal.

Anyway, FWIW

Jim

Chevy Guy

Either that or they send you a check for a few thousand dollars more than you are asking for the car, you cash the check and wire them the difference for "shipping, fees, and other fake B.S." By the time the bank finds out the check is fake and goes after you for the full amount your money you wired them is long long gone."

HummelS

Just tell them (1) you will only accept a wire transfer to your bank, or (2) a 10-day hold will be put on all cashier's checks. Scammers will disappear, and real buyers won't object.

aeronautica86

Seems to me that we could come up with a way to screw these guys over...maybe arrange shipping, go over with the car and insist that they give you cash, and when they refuse...

Paul Borowski

When I sold(when I had my Yellow '80 for sale last year)my car last year I also got "several" e-mails from Nigeria, South America and told them the same thing-the car leaves my driveway when I have US cash in hand for it. Never got another reply from any of them again

rockindaves96

now that mine are for sale ill watch out for that scam thanks for the info and i agree we should be allowed to them

Voltech_LT4

Great Advice! Thank You!

kman0066

That also works the other way though. Many people will try and sell a vehicle that they don't have and say that they want a wire transfer. Physically talking with an individual would be the only way I would give payment for a vehicle over the internet. If you are going to buy a $12,000 car, it's worth spending the $150 on a plane ticket to get there. It's gotten really bad out there, especially with bikes. I know some guys that have found pictures of their bikes on for sale posts on Ebay. Must be interesting to find out someone is scamming using pics of your vehicle.

Just saying, if you are selling a vehicle, you'll have to be somewhat flexible on payments but make sure you have the money before final delivery. If you are buying, I'd be there to see the vehicle in person before handing over payment. And, if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.

HummelS

True 'dat - there are also some inspection companies that you can hire to look over a prospective purchase: http://www.magoos.net is a good one.

77L82_4speed

There is another out there. Some of these guys are using ebay to list a car with a rediculously low price in the second line of the description.

The last one that I saw was a 1962 Corvette for $6900. They don't include the Buy It Now option and collect emails from people that email wanting to buy. Since putting a Buy It Now in the text without including the option is against ebay rules, ebay will end the auction.

The next day, the seller will send an email similiar to the following to all of the people who emailed wanting to buy:

---
HELLO,
My name is Frank Phillips and i am glad about your interest in hearing details about my Corvette. I want let you know that the buy it now is $6900 . You not must to pay other additional fees, only the buy it now price. I will prefer to receive the money fast by Western union. After i receive the money, I will inititae the shipping asap by lufthanasa air cargo or fedex. Since november 2002 i started a new bussines but unfortunately the things didn't work the way i expected and now i really need cash because i am at one step to lose my restaurant from here ,so i decided to sell the car. Because i wanna deal as soon as possible i am ready to cover the shipping costs and insurance.
The car is in perfect condintions, like new, and you can use the car imediatly after you will receive it, because the car comes with a clear title.
If you are still intersted in my car please contact me asap and we will make the deal right now.
Regards and mail me asap.
---

I emailed him back calling him on the scam. I told him that he could send the car to me and I would send him the money after it was here.

Of course, I didn't hear anything back.

Most people would recognize this as a scam right away. I think this was done using a stolen ebay ID too. Good Luck out there.


[Modified by 77L82_4speed, 3:56 PM 6/15/2004]

tobijohn

I'm actually trying to scam the scammer. I was contacted about selling a car I had listed on Autotrader and just played along. I had him Fedex me the bogus check to virtual office address my wife keeps in Chicago (which he did at a cost of about $30). Next, I'll tell him the check was lost and he needs to send me another. Once he does that, I'll tell him I was stranded out of town and he needs to wire ME money so I can buy a bus ticket back home to deposit his check. I'm curious to see how far this goes...

Chevy Guy

Take the check to your bank and ask them to research and check into it. Tell them you think thatyou are being given a bogus check. They will likely help you.

tobijohn

I really don't think there's anything they can do. The check (supposedly a cashier's check on a BoA bank in Texas) was FedExed from a drop off counter in London, the email account the guy's using is a Yahoo account. The car in question isn't even for sale anymore, I just haven't bothered cancelling ad. I'm just having some fun jerking this guy around...

HummelS

Well, there are some legitimate European buyers out there - I have sold several 'vettes to buyers over there.

Generally, the tip-off to a scam is that the "buyer" (1) doesn't quibble about your price, and (2) wants to send a check for more than your list price "to cover shipping costs" or some other excuse, and (3) asks you to wire back the difference - before the bogus cashier's check has cleared the banking system.

tobijohn

All of the above plus English was obviously not his native language...

HummelS

There's some funny stuff over in Off Topic right now about baiting "419" scammers -