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Autotrader scam?


burgels

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I am selling the cougar on Autotrader and this guy emails me and tells me that he works for a dealership and that he wants to know if the car is still for sale and in good condition, so I email him back and say that it is, and I get this in return:

 

Dear Shane,

Thanks for your prompt reply.After your mail I got in touch with my client on the details of your reply to our enquiry on the vehicles condition and it is satifactory to him .

He really commended your vehicle from its features in the Autotrader advert and has instructed me to carry on the transaction at the price of $3,700 without negotiating further,since the vehicle is still for sale and in good condition as described by the advert.

I am therefore happy to tell you that I have concluded with my client and he has instructed me to carry on with the transaction, He said I should let you know that payment will get to you in a Money order of $9,900 which is a refund payment of a cancelled order earlier made by him.

Due to companys policy this payment has to be made out in this amount to you ,because company policy only allows a refund payment to be settled on the next single transaction by the customer, so you are required to deduct the cost of your vehicle which is $3,700 when payment gets to you and refund balance which is $6,200 to my client's shipper,who will come for inspection/pickup for him to be able to offset shipping & tax charges, and other cosmetic repair costs.

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), make some cosmetic touches then drive to a prepaid shipper for the vehicle to be shipped to my customer.

Confirm this and forward your Names, Address and Phone number for payment to be made out to you as soon as possible.

Your honesty, understanding and co-operation will behighly appreciated.

 

Have a nice day,

Alex.

 

YOUR QUICK RESPONCE IS ACTUALY NEEDED

 

Sounds like a scam of some kind. Money laundering? I'm planning to ignore it unless someone can explain how this could be legit.

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Got one very similar to that.

 

 

Dear Ben,

Thanks for your mail. Due to time constraint on the fact that we are running short of time,actually my client want to use the vehicle as a birthday gift to his wife. I am delighted to tell you that he has commended your vehicle after considering what you said, he instructed me to carry on with this transaction, he also instructed me to inform you that payment will get to you in a cashier check of $17,300, which is a refund payment of a cancelled order earlier made by my client. Due to company policy this check has to be made out in this amount to you ,because company policy only allows a refund payment on one cashier cheque. So you are required to deduct the cost of your vehicle $9,900 when payment gets to you and refund balance $7,400 to the shipper for him to be able to offset shipping & tax charges, and other cosmetic repair costs. After payment has reached you and balance sent to shipper, the shipper's agent will come for pick up of vehicle & s! igning of title papers,handle some cosmetic touches if any and drive to a prepaid shipper to be shipped to my customer. Confirm this and forward your Names, Address and Phone number for payment to be made to you as soon as possible.

 

Best Regards to you.

 

Tim.

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yeah, i almost went to jail in a similar situation. kinda funny story. guy bought my mountain bike on ebay for like $3k. sends me a bank check for $6.5k. i email him saying he sent too much. he said it was a mistake and asked me to send the rest back to him. all sounded fishy so i went to the bank the check was written from. yeah, sherriffs show up and handcuff me. they were arresting me for passing a stolen check. nice. after they confiscated my computer and kept me for six hours they finally let me go. i told the bank teller right up front that it all sounded fishy and that's why i was there. thankfully i didn't get fucked. here's how it works though:

 

say guy sends you money order or bank check for $10k to pay for item costing $4k. you deposit the mo/bc into your bank. providing it is from another bank then your's, it will clear. you then send the money on to the guy. then two weeks later, the deposit disappears from your bank. the bank it was written from realizes it was fake/stolen and retracts the money. you're left without the item, money, etc. it is an exploit of our wonderful banking systems. and these scams always come from other countries where it is legal to do so. the government cannot do anything about it except try to warn the public. nice.

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An officer just arrested a guy at the 5/3 bank at morse and karl for the same thing. He had stolen people's mail that contained their bank statements and would come in with a 5,000 check and deposite 3,000 and get cash back on the rest depending on how much the person had in their accounts. His ass is in jail on felony charges now. See this more and more. People walk right in with special duty standing their and think they won't get caught but eventually they do.
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Originally posted by Bgbdbn:

Got one very similar to that.

 

 

Dear Ben,

Thanks for your mail. Due to time constraint on the fact that we are running short of time,actually my client want to use the vehicle as a birthday gift to his wife. I am delighted to tell you that he has commended your vehicle after considering what you said, he instructed me to carry on with this transaction, he also instructed me to inform you that payment will get to you in a cashier check of $17,300, which is a refund payment of a cancelled order earlier made by my client. Due to company policy this check has to be made out in this amount to you ,because company policy only allows a refund payment on one cashier cheque. So you are required to deduct the cost of your vehicle $9,900 when payment gets to you and refund balance $7,400 to the shipper for him to be able to offset shipping & tax charges, and other cosmetic repair costs. After payment has reached you and balance sent to shipper, the shipper's agent will come for pick up of vehicle & s! igning of title papers,handle some cosmetic touches if any and drive to a prepaid shipper to be shipped to my customer. Confirm this and forward your Names, Address and Phone number for payment to be made to you as soon as possible.

 

Best Regards to you.

 

Tim.

i think my roomate got that exact one....
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I reported this same scam to the FBI 2 years ago from and add on Autotrader. Fact is the only take the statment and nothing really comes out of it. Internet crimes are a huge pain in the ass for the FBI, and I would guess other law enforcement.
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