?? ebay scam ??

[philman]

Hello, chatting with one of my friends this pm and he goes into this story about a big block corvette he is buying from a recent widow in the UK who wants to sell the car and return to the US (it belonged to her husband). Its going to be shipped via KLM air freight. He sent some money to Madrid in one of our friend's friend's name to "prove interest" in the vehicle and will pay for the vehicle upon arrival in Portland Oregon. Wasn't there a rather long discussion here awhile back about a scam of this type? Is his money protected from a scam artist by using his friends name and not the seller's name for the account? Thanks if anyone remembers the way the scam goes.

 

[Steve]

Yes, I remember this one. You send the deposit and the scammer disappears. Why Madrid? Seems very fishy to me. The previous one was for a Corvette that was in europe too.

 

[78Z]

sounds rather scam-ish to me. Why ship one when we have so many Corvettes here?

 

[JamesWilson]

This sounds like a complete fraud.

See:

https://www.geocities.com/krazzykats/13signs.html

for cautions.

I'm afraid the deposit to show interest can be kissed good-bye.

Air Freight for a Corvette? Utterly insane. Shipping a LBC from NY to UK is $1200 by sea- containerized and consolidated with other cars. I shudder to imagine what air would cost to the west coast.

A deposit to show interest, and not a full blooded bid? This doesn't seem consistent with e-bay operations and such transactions outside their system would seem to lose even the limited (and in my view entirely useless) protection e-bay provides.

As far as using other names go this seems absurd if you're concerned about security. How can you then prove it was really the purchaser and not their friend involved in the transaction, should such proof be needed?

I suppose the item was offered at a give away price that was just too good to pass up....

That too would be a dead give-away .... that nothing is being given away cheap, by the vendor.

I think you'll find that the money sent to Madrid is gone and the car never appears....

Hope this lesson didn't cost too much.

 

[aerog]

I'd have to hear more about the whole thing to say for sure.

Did he find out about the car through a friend, or an ad on the internet - or eBay?

Is the car one of particularly high value that is being sold at an incredible price?

If the woman is in the UK why did any money go to Madrid - or was the sale by a third party?

Was the shipping cost included? If so then it's pretty much a dead givaway I'd think because of the shipping costs via air.

The recent scam we had on here involved an obviously high-value, big-block Corvette advertised for-sale on eBay at a "buy now" price of about $7000. The ad never said where the car was, but the seller was in Canada. After inquiring about the car I was told the car was in Germany and would be shipped immediately after receiving the $7000 via money order or wire-transfer. Turns out the car was advertised for sale by a real dealer in Florida. The scammer took the pictures from the original dealer, along with the specifics on the car (including VIN number) - so not only was the transaction all a scam but the car never really existed. Pure fraud.

 

[Bruce Bowker]

One of the other scams discussed awhile back was a 100% restored 1965 Corvette for $6000 cash. Located in Germany and had just been shipped to Germany last week. The same guy had a new Mini Cooper for $7000 cash. I sent both sales on eBay to eBay and within 10 minutes both were pulled.

I suppose there is someone who thinks they can get a car like the one above for $6000 but if I were the sammer I would have started at around $20000 which is still an outrageously good price and aksed for a smaller deposit.

Perhaps this scammer has caught on and just picks up a few dollars by getting "interest money".

There is a new method of scams every day.

 

[philman]

As I understood him he saw the car listed on ebay and contacted the seller. then the car disappeared from ebay. but the seller remained in contact with him. The reason the money went to Madrid in a third party's name known by my friend and not the seller (remember I am giving his reasons) was to protect his interest in the money in case the transaction went awry.

I'll send him a link to this thread and do a search on this forum and see if i can find a previous thread on this issue to send him.

thanks again for all the thoughts. I try to look out for my friends.

 

[aerog]

Yup - it's an eBay scam. I would bet good money that the seller joined eBay 10 minutes before he put the ad up, and his eBay location isn't where the money is going. From the sounds of it the scam is almost identicle to the one we just outlined for you.

Unfortunately the ad is gone, I'd like to have seen it. I would bet the pictures of the car would give away where it really is. The Corvette/Mini scammer did himself in pretty quickly because the 'Vette had dealer license-plate frames on it and the pictures were obviously near a marina in Florida (US and Florida state flags were flying), and the dealer was in Ft Myers. The Mini had Virginia state inspection stickers in the window and his ad said he was a dealer in Charlottesville Virginia - when I wrote asking about the Mini he claimed he was in Germany. Darned fool couldn't even keep his lies straight /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Henri]

Hey...I've got a bridge for sale...unfortunately you have to wire me the money in advance...and then I'll have the movers deliver it to you...and I won't charge you a set-up fee...if you over-night me the money... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/lol.gif

 

[Bruce Bowker]

[ QUOTE ]
Hey...I've got a bridge for sale...unfortunately you have to wire me the money in advance...and then I'll have the movers deliver it to you...and I won't charge you a set-up fee...if you over-night me the money... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/lol.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Really? How much are you asking?

 

[Baxter]

This kind of thing isn't limited to cars. I know it happens with high-end guitars fairly often (I've got a thing for Gretsches, which often sell well into five figures for certain models).

I'd bet it's not uncommon with other high-dollar toys, either.

 

[Geo Hahn]

Not just Corvettes, there was a TR3 on eBay last week (since removed) that purported to be in Vermont but the seller turned out to be in Germany and was going to ship it via Lufthansa.

This one was spotted by someone who recognized the car and knew the real (US) owner.

 

[Bugeye58]

That just shows that the scammers are acquiring a better taste in vehicles. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Jeff

 

[Henri]

[ QUOTE ]
Really? How much are you asking?

[/ QUOTE ]

For you 5 million dollars...and we'll even assemble it for free...just send me 1 million dollars up front...to my Swiss Bank Account...or my Cayman Island Bank Account... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif