How does this scam work?

[romad]

Buddy found this 07 camry on craiglist for 2500 bucks, I told him it was a scam but he send a email anyway...this is what he got back

Hello,

The car is still available. 2007 Toyota Camry SE 2.4L - Mileage : 55,611 - Exterior Color: Charcoal Gray, Interior Color: Charcoal Gray, Engine: 2.4L, Automatic Transmission, Leather Seats, Air Conditioning, Cruise control, 6CD/MP3, Power Sunroof, Power Windows/Mirrors, Traction Control, Power Locks, Power Steering, Remote Keyless Entry and much more. The vehicle has been well taken care of, always kept in the garage. Flawless exterior/interior condition, no scratches, no dents, accident-free, full service history, no outstanding finance. The buyer will receive the original invoice, logbook, keys and all the documents needed for registration.

Reason for selling is that I have divorced my husband and after the divorce I own this vehicle. I need a quick sale in order to pay my house mortgage and my daughter school fees. The time is short and that's the only reason I dropped the price on the car. The Camry will be shipped from Helena, Montana and the delivery will take 3-5 days, depending on your location.

My final price is $1,990 shipping included, and all documents will be provided along with it. We will use eBay to secure our deal because it protects both buyer and seller. You'll send the money to eBay and they will hold the payment until the vehicle arrives. You have 7 days to inspect it and I get the money after you make sure everything is OK and decide to keep it. After you decide to keep the vehicle eBay will wire me the money. If you don't like the vehicle and want to return it, I will pay the return shipping and you will be 100% refunded by eBay. I'm sure it won't be the case because it's a good vehicle. The car is paid off and comes with a clear title which will be signed and notarized in the buyer's name.

Giving the nature of this transaction please note that my sale terms are final and nonnegotiable. If you wish to proceed I will need your full name and complete shipping address, so i can register the deal with eBay.

Kind Regards,
Melanie Ross

Do they set up a fake ebay site or what? How do they get people to fall for this?

[pc100porsche]

To start with Ebay won't "hold money" therefore the place you pay to will be a false address masquarading as ebay ... they simply keep your money and never send you a car

[biosurfer1]

any time I see "shipping" and "Kind Regards" in the same paragraph, its a scam.

BTW, couple those with the eBay thing and this is 100%, without a doubt a scam and if your buddy sends any money anywhere, it will be gone.

[ShortBus Driver]

Tell Buddy to hop on.

[stomachmonkey]

Yeah like a divorced woman who needs cash fast to pay the mortgage is going to sell a $15,000 car for $2,000 including shipping AND offer a money back guarantee including return shipping?

Tell your friend I have a Ferrari I'm selling cheap to pay for my kids braces.

$2,500, I'll send a limo to his house to take him to the airport for a 1st class flight down here to check it out and if he does not want it I'll give him a 1 week all expenses paid vacation in Maui for his troubles.

[LakeCleElum]

I tell them my brother lives in their town and will come by with cash...If you don't hear back, it's a scam.......

[John Rogers]

When I bought my last car several months ago it was from Craigslist San Diego. I passed on the ads that had prices that said "call to get price" or "click here to get the price" or seemed a bit too low as those all had SALVAGE titles and in CA that is bad juju unless you are making a race car. Since my racing days are over, I wanted something else and called a couple of ads and settled on one where the price was a little over 2K below KBB as the US Marine was getting out and moving back to Arkansas in a month. Met, drove it, looked and sounded okay and paid cash. Had a license/registration company do the paperwork as I was teaching several classes a day so did not have the time. All went well.

The big item is saying "make sure you have the title and I'll come look". I would not bring cash the first time unless the seller sounds fine on the phone.

[DanielDudley]

Wow, you can buy things from Ebay without having an online auction ?


Where do I sign up ?