Email verification

[adamred]

My friend is considering making a major purchase via email.

I'm curious, is there a site, paid or free, that you can enter someone's email address and attempt to get any sort of real contact information about them, to do a little back grounding?

Anyone do this?

Adam

[dad911]

For an expensive item, I would want a name, address, and phone number, and google them. I would also consider using an escrow service, that would hold the money until the item is received.

[adamred]

Hi Alan:
Google yielded nothing, but the seller is proposing an escrow service.

The object in question is a 2002 C4, but the guy is asking for $2K in an escrow before even showing the car....I'm dubious and fear fraud but the escrow is legit and the price is really good for the car so my friend is really considering giving it a shot....despite my words of caution.

We'll see, could be reporting the latest scammer in the next couple of weeks, or the deal of the century!

Adam

[widebody911]

Originally posted by adamred
The object in question is a 2002 C4, but the guy is asking for $2K in an escrow before even showing the car....I'm dubious and fear fraud but the escrow is legit and the price is really good for the car so my friend is really considering giving it a shot....despite my words of caution.

What are you using for an escrow service?
Remember, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Better off getting references from the community at large.

[adamred]

The service is at www.escrow-sd.com

Seems legit... My next concern is that the car is a dog, or accident victim although the car fax yields nothing (not that that's the end all of reporting)

Seller has only owned the car for about a month so perhaps he bought at auction and is doing a quick flip, but a 2002 C4 for 42K just seems to good to be true....

Thoughts?

[id10t]

Run screaming, or at least choose a different escrow company, perhaps one that eBay or some other organization that you've heard of recommends. The info below shows that the domain was created/purchased a earlier this month, and there is no real contact information. There should at least be real mailing addresses, etc. Wonder what the phone numbers shown below would turn up?

id10t@localhost $ whois escrow-sd.com
[Querying whois.internic.net]
[Redirected to whois.melbourneit.com]
[Querying whois.melbourneit.com]
[whois.melbourneit.com]
 
Domain Name.......... escrow-sd.com
  Creation Date........ 2004-06-04
  Registration Date.... 2004-06-04
  Expiry Date.......... 2005-06-04
  Organisation Name.... John Smith
  Organisation Address. Tallahassee
  Organisation Address.
  Organisation Address. Tallahassee
  Organisation Address. 32305
  Organisation Address. N\/A
  Organisation Address. GREAT BRITAIN (UK)
 
Admin Name........... John Smith
  Admin Address........ Tallahassee
  Admin Address........
  Admin Address........ Tallahassee
  Admin Address........ 32305
  Admin Address........ N\/A
  Admin Address........ GREAT BRITAIN (UK)
  Admin Email.......... topbpnet@hotmail.com
  Admin Phone.......... +44.6056948243
  Admin Fax............ +44.6056948243
 
Tech Name............ John Smith
  Tech Address......... Tallahassee
  Tech Address.........
  Tech Address......... Tallahassee
  Tech Address......... 32305
  Tech Address......... N\/A
  Tech Address......... GREAT BRITAIN (UK)
  Tech Email........... escrow_sd@yahoo.com
  Tech Phone........... +44.6056948243
  Tech Fax............. +44.6056948243
  Name Server.......... ns1.dns.com.cn
  Name Server.......... ns2.dns.com.cn

[adamred]

Wait a sec, holy s@!$t, you could look that up and tell the possibly the whole escrow service is a fraud. That is incredible, I'm definitely going to tell my client to stay away!


Adam

[id10t]

2 Golden rules in Life -

1) Never get involved in a land war in Asia

2) Never try to scam a geek and give him your domain name

[adamred]

Thank you so much!!!

[osidak]

I was going to say if the owner is suggesting an escrow then there is a good chance it is a scam. If you wish to proceed find your own reputable escrow company and proceed.

From the domain info I would call that a scam in the making

[widebody911]

The escrow bit raised a small question in my mind, but I was more curious about the overall picture.

[RickM]

Escrow fraud has been around for a while. Here's some info:

http://www.carbuyingtips.com/fraud.htm

Scroll down to "The Fraudulent Escrow Service Scam"




Here's a list of some fraudulent service sites: http://escrowfraud.com/services.html
http://escrow-fraud.pgardner.net/?page=reported

[adamred]

Wow, they are a textbook scam, I didn't know this type of fraud was going on, I'm so tuned into the Nigerian who's friend owes him money in Des Moines scam....Face to face transactions for me, isn't technology grand?

[dad911]

If I had known it was a car, I would suggest a local mechanic hold the money, and release it after a PPI.

[adamred]

I just decided to mess with the guy a little and sent him a note with a bunch of questions, including why the stated mileage and the odometer picture don't match, accident history, reasoning for under market value pricing, etc...this is the email I got back, and incidentally it was the exact same email that my friend got...

Hello,
I'm very glad you are interested in buying my car.
It is a great car.Excellent condition.
Here are the selling conditions :
1) Before I ship/drive and/or meet you for inspection the car to you I request a minimum deposit of $2100.
2) We will use an escrow service which will take care of this $2100 deposit.
My lawyers advised that through an escrow company is the best way to close expensive deals.
Here is the link: http://www.escrow-sd.com
The fees are very low (0.75%).
I'm already a member of them (XXXX (name removed by me) is my registered email address).
Also you can check my rating (14 positive transactions and none of them negative) by clicking "CHECK AN USER RATING" from their home page (just enter my email).
Here is how we will proceed:
1) start the transaction with me (or I can start it as a seller if you want,just let me know).
2) secure $2100 to escrow (it will act as a third party securing the funds).
3) after you wire the money , I will ship/drive the car for inspection to you.

IMPORTANT: When you start the transaction , write the first deposit value ($2100), not the total price of the vehicle, we will transact only the first deposit through the escrow service.
After you will approve the car, you will have to wire the balance to me and also tell escrow to release the secured funds to me.
This is the only way I can close this deal with you.
I'm a busy doctor and I can not meet all my potential buyers.
After the deposit is confirmed ,we can move forward.
Regards,

Slime ball....

[RickM]

I still can't getting over the $2100 to inspect a car.
How about you suggest an escrow service that is well known and legitimate? See what he says then...

Do you have the VIN to do a Carfax?