MORE FRAUD???

[terry shores]

Hi there!! I have my 01 sl500 listed on oursl.com  I got this email a couple days ago.
__________________________________________________

I AM INTERESTED IN THE ABOVE MENTIONED VEHICLE PLEASE GET BACK TO ME WITH PHOTOS,LAST ASKING PRICE,PRESENT MECHANICAL CONDITION OF THE VEHICLE AND DELIVERY PROCEDURES.
THANKS

__________________________________________________

I responded with the info that he requested.  I then received this email.

________________________________________________-

Hi ,
Thanks for your mail,I have spoken to my client
and he has instructed me to inform you that payment
will get to you in a cashiers check of $ 46,000 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  check,so you are
required to deduct cost of the vehicle i.e $36,000
when payment gets to you and refund balance $ 10,000 to my
customer's agent via western union money transfer for
him to be able to offset shipping charges. Since I reside in
texas.
After payment has reached you and balance sent back to
him,our agent will come pick up title and drive to a
prepaid shipper to be shipped to my customer. I could
send the check to you through ups or fedex courier
immediately. Please forward your full names, address
and phone number now.
Thanks
_________________________________________________________

Obviously this will turn out to be an attempt to get money from me.  My guess is he will give me a bad cashiers check or??? and hope I wire him the 10 grand before it clears.  HAS THIS HAPPENED TO ANYONE ELSE???  WHAT IS YOUR GUESS ON HOW HE WILL try to SCAM ME?

THANKS,
TERRY

71 signal red 280 sl

[terry shores]

To make it more clear to you, my asking price is $36k.  His response was all that you see.  No negotiation, NO OTHER QUESTIONS!!

[Ed Cave]

Terry:

Yeah, an obvious scam. What exactly does, "because company policy only allows
a refund payment on one check" mean? I would let him send the $46k che.......no on second thought I wouldn't even have further discussion with this loser. No reason to waste another moment on this 'qualified' buyer.

Personally, I think people are becoming more and more savvy to this kind of crap. It almost seems in the past 6 to 12 months there is less spam circulating than it once did; maybe because with more people educated and spam blockers/filters, a response rate of 1:1,000,000 is hardly worth their effort.

This blatent attempt to steal from you or anyone else for that matter turns my stomach. Someday (I hope) this will become so much more illegal than even today that I hope those who try it are fewer and more frequently caught.

OK, a couple of Friday evening cocktails [:0] got me on my soapbox. Sorry for the rant, but I'm confident everyone here agrees.

Ed Cave
Atlanta, GA


1971 280SL
1973 911S
2004 A4 3.0
2006 GS430

[George Davis]

This is a fairly common scam.  The check will be fraudulent, but you won't find out until after you've sent them the refund.  Everyone selling a car or other very valuable item should be aware of this one.

George Davis
'69 280 SL Euro manual

[joelj]

Thanks for posting the scam so that all of us would know.

Cheers,

Joel

1969 280sl auto
White /blue
Euro version federalized for US use

[Tom]

Terry, you were obviously alert to this fraud, but some will fall for it and I find it interesting that anyone would send money in an unconventional transaction.  It is obvious that the seller, if sending the check early, is helping the person that is buying the car perpetuate a fraud on his "company".  Of course, how can the seller then complain about being defrauded when the seller was helping to perpetuate an earlier fraud?

I attended a 2 day fraud seminar recently, hearing many fraud schemes.  I am a trusting person, but we live in a world where personal values and ethics are as diverse as the world we live in.  What I learned from the seminar is that for someone to commit a fraud, they need 3 things:

1.  Opportunity (internet)
2.  Pressure or Need (no job-or fraud is your job)
3.  Rationalization (for example, willing to steal because someone did something to me, or screwing them before they screw me)

The opportunity is email and internet and quick wire transfers.  It was a little harder in the past-personal contact was required and that makes it a little harder to look someone in the eye or talk with them on the phone and then steal from them.  Not so today.

Sorry for the rambling, I am just trying to rationalize why someone would do this and you can drive your self crazy by trying to rationalizing the irrational!

Best,

Tom


1971 280sl Tunis Beige Metallic (restored & enhanced)
1971 280sl Tobacco Brown (low mileage stock)
1970 280sl Medium Metallic Blue Beige Interior (project car)

[norton]

Tom did the dark red project car get a color change?

Mike Halleck
Chesterfield Mi
71 280SL
68 250SL (parts car)
94 E320 Coupe

[Tom]

Mike,

Yes, Deep Red is now Medium Metallic Blue.  See attached picture.

Best,

Tom

Download Attachment: Red-to-blue.jpg
42.61 KB

1971 280sl Tunis Beige Metallic (restored & enhanced)
1971 280sl Tobacco Brown (low mileage stock)
1970 280sl Medium Metallic Blue Beige Interior (project car)

[mrfatboy]

My friend is selling is motocycle on cycletrader.  He just got this email a couple of days ago.  Looks similiar.  My friend emailed this guy back.  It was a funny email buy not appropriate for this forum> :twisted:

----------------------------------------------------
 My client has just contacted me to re-affirm his interest to purchase your Bike in it's "as is' condition and has agreed to settle for your asking price of $6,200. He has asked me to inform you that payment will get to you in a cashiers check of $11,000 which he expalined is a refund payment of a canceled order earlier made with a dealer,but was turned down due to a mixup in make and model.
 
The check payment has to be made out to you in this whole amount because of their prevailing company policy which only allows a refunds payment on one cashiers check.So you are required to deduct cost of your bike ($6,200) when payment gets to you and refund balance of $4,800 to the Agent contracted for pickup/shipping for him to offset shipping and tax charges.
 
After payment has reached you and balance sent to him,our agent will come for pick-up and drive to a prepaid shipper to be shipped to my customer while title papers and other necessary documents will be sent by you via courier service to my customer.
 
Please provide Name , Address and Phone Number for your payment to be delivered to you via courier services.
 
Looking forward to your response.
 
Dennis Wells
576 S 10th St.
Lincoln, NE 68508
# 402 403 0038
---------------------------------------------------------------------
 

[n/a]

Hi - I am dealing with the same guy (different name) and decided to look up the Item # from Yahoo Finance - guess what - exact same no. as listed on this web site - must be the same guy that you dealt with except this time it is a 2003 Hyundai in Las Vegas that he is trying to sell to Canada - thank you so much for posting your information  - I would have been burned if it weren't for you - just worried thought that now he has my address do I have to worry about a home invasion or anything?

[n/a]

Update to email just sent - sorry didn't realize you are discussing a new scam - I just got hit with last years scam (July 2005) guess Canada is behind the times - anyway cannot thank you gentlemen/ladies for making this info public - this is my first attempt to get a car through auction on internet and I have to say it has made me want to go back to the old fashioned way of car buying - thank again Pagoda (I guess the scammer has taken a step down in the world now he is trying to flog Hyandais)

[waltklatt]

A scammer by the name of 1948woodie tried the same thing on me with the 1963 230SL I have.
I replied asking many questions to his motives, but to this date he hasn't responded.  
I knew it was a scam all along, but just wanted to see how far he would go without any info from me.
Walter Klatt
1967 220SL-diesel
1963 230SL-gas