A single thread for scams and what can be learned from them

[sugarwood]

A friend sent me this recently:

Good one from the Rover community:

https://landroverforums.com/forum/discovery-ii-18/cannibalv8-buyer-beware-78080/

There are a couple of companies that sell manufactured V8s for the Disco II. At least one of them looks like a scam. Maybe they did good work years ago, but if you get through the whole thread it's obvious they no longer do.

"$12,000.00 invested"
"put a piece of tape over the light if it bothered me"

That Cannibal story is really kinda sad. According to some forum regulars they used to do good work. Something happened along the way. Maybe they got in way over their heads, and turned to fraud to get out from under it. A big red flag for me was the fact that they started trying to sell "upgraded" more powerful versions of the engine. They claimed they bored it out to 5.0 liters with custom cams. That's kinda ridiculous. You'd need to be an absolute expert in machining with a shop like a clean room to pull that off, because the factory block was already bored out to within an inch of its life -- Land Rover went from 3.5 to 3.9 to 4.0 to 4.6 liters over its 37-year lifespan in a quest to make more power.

My guess is the shop was started by one guy who knew Rover engines and could rebuild them, then thought he could "add value" and charge more by hot-rodding them, then something happened and he couldn't do all the work himself. Thread mentioned he had health issues. He had to hire some flunky jackass (in Oklahoma. Who da fuq is a Rover tech in OK?) to do the work, and that built crap. By that point the damage was done, and **** like this happens:

When I got the truck back I could not get the check engine light to go off. Upon inspection the first thing that was found was that one of the O2 sensors were missing, in it's place was BMW lug nut and wheel stud screwed into the O2 sensor bung! When this was fixed the CEL still remained on - then we found that the engine wiring harness was put on backwards - O2 sensors on the right were hooked to the left connectors and visa versa - this completely freaked out the engine ECU and it also damaged the ECU, which had to be replaced.

That's called "staring at the floorboards." He wanted to get caught just to end the whole charade. On the Rover, the O2 sensors are literally the easiest thing to change on the truck, and you can see them just by opening the hood. You look right down at the exhaust pipe and the sensor is on top of it. No way to miss that the sensor isn't there.

AFAIK they are out of business now.

[sugarwood]

Buying remotely. Remember this thread? Seller had a copied fake website with the real address of a real car dealer, but a different phone number. Photos were stolen from another online ad. Buyer requested additional photos, which the scammer happened to have access to that were not initially posted (VIN, undercarriage, door jamb plate). Buyer arranged a PPI at a local shop. Called the shop for appointment. Seller then had accomplice call the buyer and pose as the PPI shop to verify the car.

Think I just got scammed by Smokey Auto sales in Florida?

Moral of story. Can't trust photos. Can't trust phone calls. Can't trust websites. Ask seller to send you a video of seller's driving the car, and seller saying "Ok, Boomer" as he shifts from 1st to 2nd gear.

[sugarwood]

Thread where scammer send a poorly photo-shopped title
HELP: potential scam, need help in CO ASAP

Ask for a video of the title ?

[sugarwood]

There was this thread about shoddy bodywork, and how a shop can repossess your car if you don't pay up, even if the work was not performed. Even a well reputed shop can change owners and run into financial problems.

$53k body work or $73k body work? You decide

I'm not sure of the best way to avoid this last one, or at least minimize the risk of having your car taken hostage at a scammy shop. For me, "small job at small shop, and big job at big shop" was my conclusion. I will never get body work done at a small shop.

[craigster59]

I've been getting text messages from "Wells Fargo" asking if I tried withdrawing cash at an ATM in Sacramento, tried using my credit card for a $XXX transaction, etc.

I don't bank with WF, do you think scam or wrong number?

[MRM]

Several times a month I get a call with the same robo caller tone and similar themes. Sometimes the recorded voice tells me that DHL has a package for me that I need to pay to retrieve. Other times it tells me the IRS is about to arrest me if I don't pay a fine over the phone. Or my passport has been stolen and I need to pay something to secure it and buy a replacement. Sometimes my visa has been revoked and I need to contact the embassy immediately to pay a fee or be deported.

The scams aren't particularly convincing because: I don't ship with DHL, The IRS gets my money regularly and sends me a sweet thank you note telling me they've taken enough blood every year, my passport is safely locked in my safe deposit box at the bank, and, the last I checked, I don't need a visa to live in the US.

But here's the real kicker - all the calls are in Chinese. No, I'm not Chinese and no, I don't speak Chinese. One of my partners got some of the same calls. He's even more Anglo than me. Apparently robocalls are so cheap they can be sent indiscriminately to people who don't even speak the target language.

[LWJ]

Put a 911 for sale somewhere off PPOT. The roaches are attracted. Ask my how I know.

[pwd72s]

I love the scam call when the caller says: "Grandpa?" If I don't mind spending the time, I let them tell me of their legal woes...the list is long...falsely arrested in a foreign country, DUI, whatever. Always the bite to save them...I even got one crying of a gambling loss & he'd be killed unless he came up with the loot.

Sometimes I tell them that I warned them that if they get in trouble I wouldn't bail them out. Sometimes I tell them the truth...that I have no grandkids...

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

I love the scam call when the caller says: "Grandpa?" If I don't mind spending the time, I let them tell me of their legal woes...the list is long...falsely arrested in a foreign country, DUI, whatever. Always the bite to save them...I even got one crying of a gambling loss & he'd be killed unless he came up with the loot.

Sometimes I tell them that I warned them that if they get in trouble I wouldn't bail them out. Sometimes I tell them the truth...that I have no grandkids...

Those are the most fun!

I had one telling me he was in a Mexican prison and they were going to put him a cell with the local gang members that thinks he turn them in. I told him I had told him last him he went to Mexico and got arrested that I was never going to bail him out again. I was going to tell him he was dead to me, but the ungrateful little weasel hung up on me.

[Por_sha911]

You cold hearted people! You should tell the grandkid you'll give them your credit card - "just hold on and I'll be right back..." Then make them wait an hour.

[Arizona_928]

Well I just wired some $$ to Japan for a mini truck....

I think the best scams are the ones where they send you a cashiers check. Fun to waste THEIR time.

[JackDidley]

Got this email the other day. Cant wait to get my 1.8 million.

Hello my dear friend,

How are you over there in your country or elsewhere? I believe you are fine and doing well. I hope my mail meets you in good health today. I am much delighted and privileged to contact you again, after all these time, it takes destiny and courage to remember good friends like you and at the same time, show gratitude to you despite circumstances that made us separate and disrupted our transaction, which ultimately did not work out as we had projected then.

I am happy to inform you that I have successfully transferred the fund with the cooperation of a new partner from India. I use this opportunity to inform you that the transaction has finally worked out and I am contacting you to let you know that I have credited $1.8 million in ATM Visa Card and I left the ATM Visa card with Rev Father Charles Brown before I traveled to India to invest my own share of the money with my new partner in India.

I advise you now to contact Rev Father Charles Brown so that he will register your ATM Visa Card to be delivered to you through courier service ok. Here is the email to contact Rev Father Charles Brown:

NAME: Rev Father Charles Brown
EMAIL: charbrown20@hotmail.com

Fill your info as bellow while contacting Rev Father Charles Brown

Full Name:----------
Home Address:----------
Your country:----------
Your phone number:----------
A copy of your Identity:......

Greetings
Mavis L. Wanczyk

[RKDinOKC]

Just yesterday tried to call the company that manages my retirement fund. The first call was intercepted by a scammer that told me they could not answer the phone because of the virus and would sent me $100 gift card for my inconvenience. They wanted my credit card to pay shipping of the card. Told them they should hire people to answer my questions instead of send me a card. They hung up,

The second attempt to call the company went to thru as expected without the scam.

The good news is my 401k increased by 10% in the last 2 weeks.

[GH85Carrera]

My business partner got the call claiming they had hacked his computer and had turned on the video camera and have video of him masturbating to porn. If he did not pay them with bitcoins they would release the video. Like me, he uses all desktop computers with no video camera at all and he does not watch porn as he has a new girlfriend for that. So he told them to please publish the video right away, as it will help in his porn actor career. He was trying to give him the made up name and statistics to go with his porn actor name when they hung up.

[masraum]

Since some of this thread seems to be about scam auto-repair/upgrade places, no thread would be complete without Hennessey of Viper, Venom GT and Chevy LSx upgrade fame.

How about Hennessey? Yeah, that Hennessey, the guy that was originally famous for Viper upgrades, then Chevy performance upgrades, now the Venom (stretched Lotus with a huge engine), etc....
He's got a long history of shennanigans, swapping used parts from one customer car to another customer as part of an upgrade, long turn around times, etc.....
John Hennessy: Criminal Scumbag Disguised As a Car Guy
https://jalopnik.com/ex-employees-say-hennessey-is-a-bigger-mess-than-you-ev-1778134112
https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2016/06/john-hennessey-earns-crook-badge/

[sugarwood]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm2sW5YBCK4

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by masraum

Since some of this thread seems to be about scam auto-repair/upgrade places, no thread would be complete without Hennessey of Viper, Venom GT and Chevy LSx upgrade fame.

How about Hennessey? Yeah, that Hennessey, the guy that was originally famous for Viper upgrades, then Chevy performance upgrades, now the Venom (stretched Lotus with a huge engine), etc....
He's got a long history of shennanigans, swapping used parts from one customer car to another customer as part of an upgrade, long turn around times, etc.....
John Hennessy: Criminal Scumbag Disguised As a Car Guy
https://jalopnik.com/ex-employees-say-hennessey-is-a-bigger-mess-than-you-ev-1778134112
https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2016/06/john-hennessey-earns-crook-badge/

Well who's worse, John Hennessey (who always struck me as a car dude that just let his speed addiction sometimes write checks he couldn't cash) or Robert Neal at Victory, who openly and repeatedly lies to nearly all of his customers about the p-cars he sells them? One's a crappy businessman and one's a scammer.

[Skip Newsom]

Got this in my email this morning, forwarded it to Western Union...

I learned that social engineering has gone waaaay off the rails, and there seems to be no limit as to what they will try.
Scammers trying to scam by telling you you've been scammed.
OY!



This is very obvious but DON'T CLICK ON ANY OF THE LINKS BELOW!



----- On May 5, 2020, at 4:30 PM, WESTERN UNION PAYMENT wrote:

Image result for white people picking money at western union counter
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Address: Shop 4 N1 Business Centre,
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Office Tel:+27 (0) 15 547 0090
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Transfer Status
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MG REFERENCE: 36360857
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MG Ref#: 36360857
Estimated Destination FCY Amount: US Dollars $10,000.00
Exchange Rate: 1 EUR = 1.09073 USD
Tax Invoice No.: 5113-091-150430-125539
GST @1.00000 USD
Transaction Amount: US$10,000.00
Total Amount Payable: US$10,000.00
Purpose Code: Transaction of 1.00000 USD
AND BELOW
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================================================== =====

PLEAS VIEW THE ATTACHED FILE AS WE HAVE ATTACHED YOUR TRANSFERRED SLIP (RECEIPT) COPY VIA EMAIL.

Thanks,
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Director Western Union Money Transfer,
Head Office South Africa.
Our Direct Office Tel:+27 (0) 15 547 0090
Tel: +27 (0) 87 510 0633
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