I KNOW this is a scam, but from what angle???

[Kevin Palmer]

I listed my Lexus for sale in AutoTrader.com.



This guy has been going back and forth for three days with me. Today I get this from him.

Just curious as to how he is scamming as I would release NOTHING until there was cleared payment. But just KNOW it is a scam...

Greetings.....

Thanks for your response,after evaluation of the

vehicle and due to time constraint,I am happy to

inform you that I have concluded arrangements with my

client and he was very happy with the condition of

your car and he has issued a cashier check of

($20,750) which now covers the whole expenses of the

purchase of your vehicle, tax, pickup of the vehicle

from its location and shipping charges or any shipping

arrangements together with the money that will come to

me as interest for my effort, he also told me that he

will proceeding for his annual leave and will like

this transaction to be over before he will go on

leave, so When you receive check payment, you are

expected to deduct the cost of your vehicle which is

($13,250) and send the remaining balance of ($7,500)

to the agent (shipper) for h im to be able to offset s

hipping & tax charges. After payment has reached you

and balance sent to shipper, the shipper's agent will

come for inspection, pick up (of vehicle & signing of

title papers) and drive to a prepaid shipper to be

shipped to my (client) and also conclude other

necessary shipping arrangements. So you don't have to

bother yourself about the pick up and shipping

arrangements.

Please confirm the above and provide your payment

information for your payment to be delivered to you

via courier service.

Please provide the following:

1-LEGAL NAME IN FULL..............

2. CONTACT ADDRESS.....................

3. PHONE NUMBER(S)...........................

I will be expecting your mail with full payment

information so that we can proceed. Thanks And God

Bless,

John Milton.

96 Waterloo Rd Southport

Meyerside PRS 3AY.

England.

 

[A K]

send the remaining balance of ($7,500)

to the agent (shipper) for h im to be able to offset s

hipping & tax charges.

You deduct and send. His check bounces. Your check is cashed or the like.



You're right--waiting for his to clear and then sending yours defeats the scam--sort of. If his clears with stolen funds, you're SOL when they're recovered.

 

[EddieS'04]

Yep if your bank account has enough funds for the $7500 holdout of deposit. They will get that. The bank discovers later the check is a fraud. Holds you responsible. Also appears they will have an agent meet you for the title signing. They windup with both.

 

[Kevin Palmer]

That was the one thing I wondered, if the check was no good after the fact kind of thing...

 

[Dre L]

There was a catch to this one, the check is from an overseas bank, I think it takes some time for it to "officially clear" but the bank fronts you the cash or something like that.



So you think it cleared, your bank makes it seem so, and you go through with the operation, only to find out like 2 or 3 weeks later that it bounces and you're left holding the tab without your goods.

 

[Kevin Palmer]

I would have to agree with you in that being over-seas is the key to it all... (because of time).

 

[Jim parnell]

the check you receive in pmt will be counterfeit, so you sign over your title, pay out $7500 back to them and you are left with no vehicle for sale and out $7500



Tell them to send you cash, and they will go away

 

[Bud Williams]

He's probably from Nigeria,

If it's in the auto trader.com or any other dot com you will get

alot of these creeps, scammers etc

I like to mess with them for awhile via e-mail.

but do not give them any personal info.

They live on the net, use yahoo e-mail

or any other anonymous e-mail contact.

What the heck, that's their job, they probably

have two or three computer screens up at once and are trying to

scam twenty or thirty people at a time.



The scam could also be you sending them a check,

this has all your info on it.

 

[Bo Loo]

DO NOT follow up with this. Cashiers checks can be faked. It is a total scam.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Oldest scam in the book.



Many such scams have one thing in common, and that is that YOU are presented with some great deal that will net you cash but FIRST you have to pony up your funds, and those funds are often significant. In this case, $7,500.



They all end the same way...you are out your money and any money you thought you would get disappears, either in a bad check or something.



Whenever you have to GIVE to GET, what you GET is HOSED.



TJR

 

[Les]

Grand Theft Auto...

 

[Wes Davis]

Your bank would never allow you to do this so there is a safeguard in place.

 

[Scott Doughtie]

It is a common scam they run on CraigsList. I have received the same email three times when trying to sell a camera, camera lens, and some of my sons old toys. Quite amusing.



What tells me it is a scam is the salutation, who usues "Greetings" anymore? Plus, I would not take a foreign check...I only meet someone at the bank and have everything done correctly.

 

[Johnny O]

This is a bit of a long read, but funny as hell once it gets going. I use the guy's picture as my avatar on several other boards I belong to. -----V

 

[Adam H]

I say greetings. I like to use other words than just "Hey" or "Sup". But still, look at how the email is typed. Random capitalization, HORRID punctuation and no spacing. Yeah, no way would I do that.



There was a site on the net someplace that had a guy that scammed scammers. It was an entertaining read.

 

[Richard L]

Yep, The check he sends is worthless and if you rush and send him the money to the shipper (his fake name), he gets the money and you are stuck paying back the full amount to the bank for the bad check...sometimes they even tack on a service charge or even overdraft charges if you did not have enough in the account to cover the shipping charges that you sent them.



These deals always have some impending deadline so that you need to act fast. The reality is that they don't want you to wait for the check to clear or you will then see it is just a scam.



If I was selling a car over the internet, I would be sure that any potential buy knows that I will not be responsible for the shipping, and that he should only send a check for the purchase price of the vehicle. When that check clears, he can make his own arangements to have the vehicle picked up or shipped to him within a reasonable amount of time, say 2 or 3 weeks.



You were very smart to wait until the check cleared, but you must still be carefull. Sometimes the check will initially clear, but weeks or months later it will be found that the check was stolen or forged, and the true owner of that account has just discovered the fraud. Your bank will then collect the money back out of your account. If you don't have that much in your account, you will be assesed an overdraft charge and you will be resoponible to reimburse them the amount of the check.



Always insiste on a Certified check, Cashiers check, or some kind of a secure money transfer, and make sure that your bank verifies the that the funds are available, and that the check is not stolen or forged...They can do that but there may be a small fee for that kind of service, but in the end it's well worth it.



...Rich

 

[Michael Cacioppo]

Scam....Ask for a funds transfer directly into your bank account. No checks!!

 

[Kevin Palmer]

I have not even replied since this e-mail. Until this e-mail, it was nice and friendly and what not.



Then this cut and paste shows up and I KNEW,,,



Best to walk away from even conversing with them.

 

[Rose Medlin]

Also, remember if you ask for a wire (bank) transfer you have to provide them with YOUR ACCOUNT INFORMATION...don't do it!!!!!!!!! Once they have that account number your up a creek. Take it from someone who worked in banking for 15 years and had to handle fraud accounts this has SCAM written all over it. Protect your information and do not even give out your address to these folks unless you really trust them.

 

[Bob Gilmore]

I sold a collector car via internet couple of years ago. You wouldn't believe the number of bogus offers I received. It seems fairly simple. They send you a check (basic paper with nothing behind it!) and you deposit it thinking all is well. In a few days you're fat and happy that it's now on your bank balance. So...you send them their necessary "fees" etc payment less the price of your vehicle. They take your vehicle and all seems well. Week or two later your bank lets you know the check...in the end....was rejected for insufficient funds. Now..your vehicle and title are gone and you've paid them with good $$$ out of your personal account. There you sit...no vehicle...no title...and out your "fee" dollars. Seen this happen to several folks. The old fashioned "pigeon drop" scheme, in effect.



Do not offer to let people bring you a cashier's check when they come to pick up the vehicle. Too easy to forge these days. Go for a straight bank transfer or bank draft and do call the issuing bank to confirm and be sure it's a legitimate bank. Do not call their bank and talk to someone the buyer suggests you contact for verification....as it's likely their partner in crime.



I gave the prospect on my car my last 7 digits of may bank account. They in turn had their bank post the money direct to my account. No, they couldn't possibly withdraw from my account without my express authorization and pass codes etc. Perfectly safe and it worked surprisingly easy. Bank called me to confirm transfer...guaranteed funds and I released the car for shipping out of the country.



For what it's worth...



Bob in KC