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Anatomy of a scam

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J

jayhawk

Jedi Warrior
Offline
I posted an ad for my '02 Saab 9-3 the other day and this was in my inbox (3 times):

"Hello,i saw this item and i am intesrest in buying it but i will like to know the present conditon of the this item and the final.

I will also want you to get back to with the mode of payment you accept


Waiting to hear from you soonest

David"



To their credit, the Saab Central Forum had a great disclaimer as if they knew the guy would be lurking: They said the scammer would show interest, would demonstrate bad English skills and would ask for payment methods. The warning went further to say that any "bank or Cashier checks should be verified by one's own bank before releasing any paperwork or the vehicle from here.

I guess it could be legit but we'll see how this plays out. I'm betting on scam. Sound familiar to anyone?
 
Very indicative of a scam. Assuming that you described the condition of the car and have a price listed... the response indicates that the scammer didn't read the ad and that they probably have an auto response set up to contact new ads. I helped my parents list a Porsche 911 and Mercedes ML430. Both were hit mutiple times with these scams but we never bit on them and instead forwarded all of those attempts at contact to the listing service security center/fraud center. We also forwarded the contact info to the DOJ Internet Fraud Center. The legitamate contacts usually ask specific questions and often leave a phone number to call them directly.
 
Probably the same "David" that is trying to move to this country and rent an apartment, he'll send a whole bunch of money in advance, just send him back enough for his plane ticket and moving expenses.
 
And if you do accept a cashiers check or bank check do not release the the paper work or item for 60 to 90 days. The check may check out initialy but may come back weeks later as either stolen or forged.

Best thing is to use postal money orders and then head down to the post office and cash them. Then ship or transfer ownership.

The best method besides ignoring them is to reply "Drink Bleach"
 
Why "drink bleach" am I naive enough to be missing something here? That's much more tame than when I get a reply to an e-mail exposing someone as a fraud...they're pretty graphic about telling me to do something that's anatomically impossible!
 
dar100, obviously your not dialed in to the correct sights! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devilgrin.gif bud today was the day to have met up, struggled with the morning then blew off all adult responsibility about one ish. just got back in 5:55. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yesnod.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
I guess it could be legit but we'll see how this plays out. I'm betting on scam. Sound familiar to anyone?

[/ QUOTE ]

Very familiar. I'd bet anything it's a scam. It happens constantly to people selling cars, airplanes, boats, motorcycles, etc.

The scammers used to not be too bright. They'd immediately offer to send the seller a check for the item without ever asking for any information first. Most people weren't stupid enough to fall for it. Now they kind of go through the motions.

A good website explaining the scams and what happens is right here: https://www.swapmeetdave.com/Scam/
 
I've actually gotten that same message a few times earlier in the year when I sold the brown 6....I still get the occasional message like that as the ad is still up in a few places.
 
Well it continues-- the guy now is asking for "complete information" so he can send a check. I sent a pic and he said he likes the car. Spelling and grammar are still awful. I think I'll say I will accept cash only and see what he says.
 
Just sold a boat and a trailer, cash only. Worked well, no heartach on either side.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Well it continues-- the guy now is asking for "complete information" so he can send a check. I sent a pic and he said he likes the car. Spelling and grammar are still awful. I think I'll say I will accept cash only and see what he says.

[/ QUOTE ]

I wonder how long it'll be before he goes the "Western Union" route instead of cash /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Final note-- I invited the fellow to meet me at my bank so he would have the opportunity to inspect the car in person and provide cash if he liked the car. I explained that I was concerned about the use of checks because honest people had been scammed by persons providing responses similar to his. I've not heard from him since.
No surprise.
 
Lots of suckers out there who won't ask him any inconvenient questions. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devilgrin.gif

R.
 
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