The scam thread ..all motors scams in here!

al.

Is anybody familiar with escrow as a method of paying for goods?? I am buying a car from Germany and the buyer wants me to pay by Escrow and he will get the car delivered to my address. If i am happy with it, the money will be released to him. Is this a safe way of paying somebody?? Thanks.

-Chris-

Run away, it's a scam.

It's been covered in detail in other threads.

Here:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055310412

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055296392

zAbbo

Scam :pac:

bazz26

Did you actually see the car in person or test drive it? There is no way in hell I would just pay for a car I didn't inspect or test drive irrespective of how genuine the seller or payment method seems.

Homer

It's mainly used in the US for real estate deals and the like. Never heard of it being used for car payments. Like others have said it could well be a scam so be very suspicious of it.
What's so special about the car that you can't get one in the UK if you feel like making a saving and importing?
Link if you have one?

peasant

It is a scam, no if's or but's about it.

There is a whole lot of cars advertised at the moment that are suspisciously cheap and allegedly being sold out of Germany for some semi-plausible reason.

These cars do not exist, the ads are just clones of legitimate ones.

The old saying applies: If it looks to good to be true, it usually is.

TommyT

This has got to be a wind up. No one is that stupid? Pay for a car without seeing it???

By the way i have a new Ferrari 599 for sale. I`ll take 20k for it as I have just got a new job in Spain. I will email you as many pics of it as you want. Your bank details would be handy too so I can give you a luckpenny.

Run_to_da_hills

EBay discontinued Escro as a method of payment over three years ago, so it must be dodgy.

rebel.ranter

TommyT wrote: »

This has got to be a wind up. No one is that stupid? Pay for a car without seeing it???

You'd be surprised!

TommyT

rebel.ranter wrote: »

You'd be surprised!

Was telling a friend about this and he lost 3 grand a couple of year ago. First time he admitted it today, so they obvioulsy do get some suckers. I wouldnt mind but he is the tightest person I know.

Anan1

TommyT wrote: »

Was telling a friend about this and he lost 3 grand a couple of year ago. First time he admitted it today, so they obvioulsy do get some suckers. I wouldnt mind but he is the tightest person I know.

That's probably why he got pulled in, if you think about it.

mickdw

This one is a scam im sure but the whole escrom way of paying is good if done through a reputable company. The problem arises when you are dealing with unknowns who most likely own the so called escrow company and so have access to your funds regardless. Some of these company are created to sound like well known ones to fool people into thinking their money is safe.

nowuckenfurries

I saw this ad on Carzone: http://www.carzone.ie/1101467

Nice 1 year old car, great price..... or maybe too great!!

I contacted the seller through carzone & got this reply:

2007 Ford Focus LX Connection 1.4

Price : 5600 euro
Mileage: 9,538 miles
Year : 2007
Fuel : Petrol
Engine : 1.4
Transmission : Manual
Color : Blue
Model : 4 doors


Options :
One woman owner. Air Conditioning, Central Locking, CD Player, Electric Windows, Airbag, Alarm, Alloy Wheels, Power Steering.
Very good car! No repairs done. No stripes, the car was never damaged. This is first hand car, keeped in garage and maintained everytime at Ford service.

The tires have been changed recently, and there is no problem of engine, body, etc.
IRELAND registration. The car is at the moment in Liverpool, England.

I live in the USA, I bought the car for my sister who lived in Ireland and then moved to England. She died now, I took care myself of the funerals and I returned to the USA so I cannot take the car with me.
You do not have to pay any taxes for this car. It is very easy to register it to your name. I know the law and I have all the documents ready for sale. The vehicle is registered under my name.
For payment I accept only cash and we will have to meet in Liverpool for the sale contract.
Thank you in advance and i hope you decide to make the deal.

Regards

So I emailed the seller back & asked for a telephone number & his reply minus a telephone number is:

We will meet on 27.06.2008 in Liverpool. The sale will occur without problems, because I have all the documents ready.

I will not ask for money in advance, but you must reserve the car and I will come only if you are decided to buy it because USA is far... And as a guarantee that you really want to buy the car and you have money (in cash) for the car, I require that you arrange a deposit paid on your name for the price of the car. With regard to the deposit, there is a service very fast and easy to use, this name of service is Western Union, it is a service for sending the cash and you will find it in your city. All that you must do is to ask a person of confidence to go to Western Union with the cash and to send it to Liverpool to your name as receiver.

(I ask you for this because I want to be 100 % sure that you will be there and you are ready to buy it because last week I came for nothing. A man from Dublin said to me that he wants to buy it and I was in Liverpool, but he never came and never answered to my emails or telephone.)

After the transfer is made I want that you send me a scan of receipt of transfer by email, so I can check on the website of Western Union and if all is ok, I will come to Liverpool to conclude the business.
You will verify the documents and test the car and we will make the sale. We will go then to a Western Union office, you will take the money and give it to me.

PS: I said that another person must be the sender, not you because in Liverpool WU does not give you the money if the receiver is a also sender. You will be the receiver.

And the expenses of transfer (approx. 200 euros), you will deduce them when you will make the transfer.
This transfer is also good for you because you avoid the risk of a traveling with the money in pocket

I think this smells too fishy to be true....What do you folks think ??:eek:

TestTransmission

nowuckenfurries wrote: »

I saw this ad on Carzone: http://www.carzone.ie/1101467

Nice 1 year old car, great price..... or maybe too great!!

I contacted the seller through carzone & got this reply:



So I emailed the seller back & asked for a telephone number & his reply minus a telephone number is:



I think this smells too fishy to be true....What do you folks think ??:eek:

You really have to ask?

Guy:Incognito

Of course it's a scam. (and thats without even reading your post)


Please someone make a sticky about this. If anything they are getting more fequent.

Anan1

S-C-A-M.

copacetic

there are a lot of similar scam cars on carzone..

nowuckenfurries

I was not aware that our Sub-Shara African Friends were up to their tricks on Carzone as well!!

Of course I was suspect from the off, well 80%.. suspect

Maybe as stekelly has said this sort of scam should be made into a sticky??

peasant

Stekelly wrote: »

Please someone make a sticky about this.

nowuckenfurries wrote: »

... should be made into a sticky??

Take a post-it note and write on it:

If it looks to be too good to be true, it usually is

Now stick that to your computer screen.

See? ...easy !

CantGetNoSleep

peasant wrote: »

Take a post-it note and write on it:

If it looks to be too good to be true, it usually is

Now stick that to your computer screen.

See? ...easy !

Stick this beside it

If the language is clearly from a non native English speaker, it is probably a scam too

Sizzler

nowuckenfurries wrote: »

I was not aware that our Sub-Shara African Friends were up to their tricks on Carzone as well!!

Rascist!

Can't believe some people actually ask the question "is this a scam" I mean FFS!

OP have you ever met "the wallet inspector" ?

demac

I've come across another one on Carzone who had a 04 D Golf TDI for €5500. Here's the email correspondance


"We will meet on 27.06.2008 in Liverpool. The sale will occur without problems, because I have all the documents ready.

I will not ask for money in advance, but you must reserve the car and I will come only if you are decided to buy it because USA is far... And as a guarantee that you really want to buy the car and you have money (in cash) for the car, I require that you arrange a deposit paid on your name for the price of the car. With regard to the deposit, there is a service very fast and easy to use, this name of service is Western Union, it is a service for sending the cash and you will find it in your city. All that you must do is to ask a person of confidence to go to Western Union with the cash and to send it to Liverpool to your name as receiver.

(I ask you for this because I want to be 100 % sure that you will be there and you are ready to buy it because last week I came for nothing. A man from Dublin said to me that he wants to buy it and I was in Liverpool, but he never came and never answered to my emails or telephone.)

After the transfer is made I want that you send me a scan of receipt of transfer by email, so I can check on the website of Western Union and if all is ok, I will come to Liverpool to conclude the business.
You will verify the documents and test the car and we will make the sale. We will go then to a Western Union office, you will take the money and give it to me.

PS: I said that another person must be the sender, not you because in Liverpool WU does not give you the money if the receiver is a also sender. You will be the receiver.

And the expenses of transfer (approx. 200 euros), you will deduce them when you will make the transfer.
This transfer is also good for you because you avoid the risk of a traveling with the money in pocket.


On Fri, Jun 20, 2008 at 2:10 AM, > wrote:

Hi Ronan,

I'm very interested. Can you send me the registration of the car please ?

Also, I have friends living in Liverpool. Can you tell me where the car is located so I can organise for one of them to go check out the car for me.

Also, the advert states the car has allow wheels but the picture clearly shows hub caps. Can you please clarify this ?

Regards,
D"

The advert has now been removed but this one has just posted up which also smells bad

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Volkswagen/Golf/mk5-1.6/1110186/

I sent an email to Carzone informing them of the ad but got no response. Surely they can ban the email address or IP address ?

bigpinkelephant

A 2004 Audi TT for €5600...

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Audi/TT/TT-Coupe/1104098/


A 2004 Audi A4 for €5700.. photo taken in the same place as the blue Focus posted above...

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Audi/A4/1.6-102/1100343/

A 2004 Toyota Avensis for €5500...

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Toyota/Avensis/1.6/1083003/

A 2007 Golf for €7120...
http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Volkswagen/Golf/car/1106237/



SCAM SCAM SCAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

tiredmam

Use this to do a header analysis of any emails you get. The last place on the list is usually where it comes from!
http://headertool.apelord.com/

chickenhawk

I asked about a car advertised for 5,250 on Autotrader. Here is the response I got.
"Hi,
I'm Marc Goldstein, you inquired about my 2005 Alfa Romeo 147 .
I apologize for the delay, I'm in the military and now I am in United
Kingdom and that's why I couldn't reply in time. If you are still
interested in buying it, I'm asking 5,000 EUR. The car is registered in Ireland It has a clean title, very
well maintained, always garage kept, no rust, excellent condition, runs
and sounds 100% perfect with no leaks or noises. All power and optional
equipments are working perfect. I have to sell this car as fast as I can
because in three weeks I will be in Iraq and I think I'll stay there
for a while that's why I'm selling it so cheap. I intend to buy a new
car when I'll get back home.If you want to buy the car, I can ship for
free within UK with one of our military airplanes so you don't have to
worry about the distance. If you are interested we can use a third party
escrow broker ( Moneybookers.Com
http://www.moneybookers.com/app/help.pl?s=escrow ) to secure the
transaction and to handle this whole process for us. Using a reputable
E-Commerce third party escrow company will secure the transaction and you
will receive the car before I'll get paid and of course I'm also covered
because the funds will be kept safety into the escrow account. This is
the best way for me even if I'll have to pay some extra money for their
services. I'll cover the broker's fee and like I've explained, the
shipping will be free because I can use one of our airplanes here and I
don't have to pay anything. Let me know if you are interested.
You'll love the car, I can guarantee you that! "


So I replied.

"Hi Marc.
Unfortunately I'll be in space next week. But if you want me to drop off the 5,000EUR on the way I'll just use the space shuttle. I hope you live near a long runway!! Otherwise I'll attach it to one of the booster rockets and when we are passing over I'll drop it down to you!

Cheers.
C

P.S will the car work on mars?"

If they didn't put so much effort into their responses it would look less fake.

demac

Do the people in Carzone care about all these ads ?

Surely it they should make a "Report Advert" button for us if they are not going to answer emails.

Esel

Sizzler wrote: »

Rascalist!

Fixed that for you.

Andrewf20

Good man chickenhawk. I always get a laugh out of people taking the p!ss out of these losers.

The dodgy english + endless banging on about how good the car is + "alarm bells ringing" price tag + long winded reason for them needing to get rid of the car = walk away.

ac1977

i found a car on carzone for a very cheap price -
it was about 5k less than i would expect to pay for it.

i emailed the seller, and he wrote back saying-

"I live in the USA, I bought the car for my sister who lived in Ireland and then moved to England. She died now, I took care myself of the funerals and I returned to the USA so I cannot take the car with me.
You do not have to pay any taxes for this car. It is very easy to register it to your name. I know the law and I have all the documents ready for sale. The vehicle is registered under my name.
For payment I accept only cash and we will have to meet in Liverpool for the sale contract.
Thank you in advance and i hope you decide to make the deal."

i said i can get someone i know in liverpool to check out the car.
He then replied-

"We will meet on 28.06.2008 in Liverpool. The sale will occur without problems, because I have all the documents ready.
I will not ask for money in advance, but you must reserve the car and I will come only if you are decided to buy it because USA is far... And as a guarantee that you really want to buy the car and you have money (in cash) for the car, I require that you arrange a deposit paid on your name for the price of the car. With regard to the deposit, there is a service very fast and easy to use, this name of service is Western Union, it is a service for sending the cash and you will find it in your city. All that you must do is to ask a person of confidence to go to Western Union with the cash and to send it to Liverpool to your name as receiver.
(I ask you for this because I want to be 100 % sure that you will be there and you are ready to buy it because last week I came for nothing. A man from Dublin said to me that he wants to buy it and I was in Liverpool, but he never came and never answered to my emails or telephone.)
After the transfer is made I want that you send me a scan of receipt of transfer by email, so I can check on the website of Western Union and if all is ok, I will come to Liverpool to conclude the business.
You will verify the documents and test the car and we will make the sale. We will go then to a Western Union office, you will take the money and give it to me.
PS: I said that another person must be the sender, not you because in Liverpool WU does not give you the money if the receiver is a also sender. You will be the receiver.
The tax for this transfer is 200 euros, so you will make a transfer of 7300 euros, because i will deduct the transfer fee from the car price.
This transfer is also good for you because you avoid the risk of a traveling with the money in pocket."

The financial transaction part seems risk-free, unless im missing something?

So i think the only way i can get caught out is if it was nicked in Ireland and sent to UK?

Any advice appreciated..

omb0wyn5ehpij9

It's a scam!

Riskymove

A quick look around this forum will find other threads about this...

...the same email response to different ads etc

basill

I would be very cautious. Reading through the letter it has poor English in certain sections which would lead me to suspect it is written by someone with English as a second or third language. That would make me suspect someone from Nigeria could be behind this.

-Chris-

Mods, can we sticky info on these scams please?

We'll call it the "Is this a scam?" thread.

peasant

threads merged

rugbyman

a reasonable assumption

Mc-BigE

AC-1977 even if this wasn't a scam (which it is) and you decided to go ahead and fly to liverpool without paying the deposit, he:
a) wont turn up because he's in Nigeria
b) or he does turn up, beat you up, take your money, force you to take all the money out of your ATM machine.

not good.

when some seller doesn't give a phone number to Carzone and just an email address, the email address should be visible to the buyer at least

ac1977

Mc-BigE wrote: »

b) or he does turn up, beat you up, take your money, force you to take all the money out of your ATM machine.

yeah , that's what i was thinking would happen.
thanks

Esel

I'm finding it hard to have much sympathy for anyone who finds any of these scams credible for more than five seconds.

jjc

This is a scam - a colleague of mine enquired about one of these cars on Carzone & got EXACTLY the same response. Not sure how the scam works but stay clear. If it looks too good to be tre it usually is - a 2004 Avensis for 5500 - come on!!!

bigpinkelephant

ANOTHER one... a 2003 Audi A3 for €4500!!!

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Audi/A3/car/1115764/

[edit sorry this one isn't at the same house as some of the others]


Another 2...

A 2005 Audi TT Cabriolet for just €9800!!!

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Audi/TT/1.8T-225BHP/1115188/

And a beautiful 2004 Mini Cooper for €7400...

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Mini/Cooper/Cooper-S/1115231/

Getting bored now...

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Opel/Astra/1.4-GTC/1115311/


It would probably help if the photos of different cars weren't taken in the same estate/car park... I mean obviously dealer's cars are all in one place but not for "private sellers"...

stepbar

bigpinkelephant wrote: »

ANOTHER one... a 2003 Audi A3 for €4500!!!

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Audi/A3/car/1115764/


It would probably help if the photos weren't all taken at the same house... look at the gate in the photo of the car when it's facing you and compare it to the links I have already posted...

Good god I know the person whose car this is!!!!! And the pictures are correct because I recognise the house it's outside. Her homeplace!!!! I must get in contact with her in the morning :eek:

BTW - http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Audi/A3/Ambition-Model/973967/

This is the correct ad. Looks like someone rang her up, got her name and set up a fake email for correspondence. Some cnuts out there.

bigpinkelephant

stepbar wrote: »

Good god I know the person whose car this is!!!!! And the pictures are correct because I recognise the house it's outside. Her homeplace!!!! I must get in contact with her in the morning :eek:

BTW - http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Audi/A3/Ambition-Model/973967/

This is the correct ad. Looks like someone rang her up, got her name and set up a fake email for correspondence. Some cnuts out there.

I am glad I put it up here so

stepbar

Funny thing is...... I'm actually interested in the car!!!!! Might go in at 4.5k and see what the reaction is

slimjimmc

ac1977 wrote: »

After the transfer is made I want that you send me a scan of receipt of transfer by email, so I can check on the website of Western Union and if all is ok, I will come to Liverpool to conclude the business.

The Western Union receipt will have a Money Transfer Control Number (MTCN), that's why they want you to send them a scan of the receipt. Once they have the MTCN they can go to the WU agent and withdraw your cash!

ac1977 wrote: »

We will go then to a Western Union office, you will take the money and give it to me.
PS: I said that another person must be the sender, not you because in Liverpool WU does not give you the money if the receiver is a also sender. You will be the receiver.

As above, they have the MTCN and they can pretend to be you (receiver's name) if asked (unlikely). Highly likely they won't need to know the sender's name.....
They have your cash!

ac1977 wrote: »

This transfer is also good for you because you avoid the risk of a traveling with the money in pocket."

Yeah, you'll get that good feeling knowing you've no money in your pocket, they'll have it in theirs!

ac1977 wrote: »

The financial transaction part seems risk-free, unless im missing something?
Any advice appreciated..

Yes, it seems risk-free and yes, you'll be missing something ... your cash!

stepbar

bigpinkelephant wrote: »

ANOTHER one... a 2003 Audi A3 for €4500!!!

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Audi/A3/car/1115764/

[edit sorry this one isn't at the same house as some of the others]

Isn't funny that the car is now sold all of a sudden :rolleyes:

<expletives removed> :mad:

Ronanom

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/BMW/M3/3.0-Petrol/1115261/

Dabko

Ronanom wrote: »

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/BMW/M3/3.0-Petrol/1115261/

I wonder where they went wrong!

Tha m3's worth double that price and the fact that they have it down as private sale in dublin with an 021 cork number?

Oh the kids these days:rolleyes:

vengeance52

yea looks like it, the phone num is not a dub or irish mobile number. id be wary

seasam

There was a similar add last week for a 07 bmw coupe in Dublin with a 021 phone no. Car was in Germany ........ SCAM

JoeA3

Isn't that Cyrus' car off here? If not, its his identical twin! And yeah, its another one of those god damn scams... same invalid cork phone number on them all...

EDIT: looks like this is the real ad: http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/BMW/M3/COUPE/1098839/

miju

that looks like a great deal, think I might jump at that :rolleyes: