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

[jittsl]

I'm pretty certain I just got ripped off by someone who claims to be Richard Mosley from Smokey Auto sales in Sanford Florida. The car in question was a white 912 67 soft window targa which I know actually exists (although I'm now not sure who owns it) because I had it inspected (unfortunately I let him bring it to the inspector rather than having the inspector go to it). What doesn't appear to exist is Smokey Auto at the address on its (very elaborate) website. Having thought I had done my due diligence I sent the money and it wasn't till my transporter went to pick it up the next day that the real owner of a different car company at the claimed address made it clear that I had been scammed - never heard of the man, the company or the car.

Let this stand as a warning to all out there - be really careful. If anybody knows anything about the car - there can't be too many that fit that description in The Orlando region - I'ld love to hear from them.

[RSBob]

Sorry to hear that. Call the Sanford police and the state attorney general. Give them all the info you can - web site, phone numbers, what every you can think of. Thanks for putting out the warning.

[pors1968]

They are getting smarter and better.Sorry the hear that.

[Justin@Athens]

This guy is known on the ferrari chat side too unfortunately...https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/206-246/426302-anyone-know-car-06422-a.html

[vintagecarlover]

How did u pay?

[sc_rufctr]

What a horror story but... (someone has to say it, apologies in advance. I don't mean to upset you with this post)

You should have gone in person to buy the car. Or what would it have cost you to fly to Florida from Texas?
You must have lost many thousands of dollars. Why wouldn't you go to see the car in person and make the deal?

Considering the cost of airfares today I would never ever ever buy a car without seeing it in person.

Late last year I flew to Singapore to look at a "cheap" Aston Martin. As it turned out it was not as stated in the advert so I walked.
(severely cracked leather, engine, gearbox and suspension issues. I would have had to spend over 60K to put everything right and it wasn't even running)

Yes it cost me the airfares but I was lucky because I was able to stay at a friends house and I did get some time to walk around and see the sites.
Had I bought the car the owner said he would have refunded me the airfares.

I'm really sorry. I hope you get your money back.

[jwakil]

That sucks man. Sorry to hear that and hopefully you get your money back. I almost got suckered recently when I put a WTB add for some wheels on the Pelican classifieds. I got an email from some guy named jim ramirez (pelican name j1mz) who sent my a picture of just the wheels I wanted at a decent price. So I started emailing him with questions. While he sounded pretty knowledgeable about the wheels, I got a little hint of a scam when he said he only took Money gram payment since his Paypal was 'dormant'. Still I thought, how many people know about Lindsey Fuchs and have pictures and know the price range etc. So finally I was ready to pull the trigger and talk payment so I asked for his number to call and talk. His response of 'I'm hearing impaired' saved my but, because until then he had me. Anyway, I'm glad I kept asking questions and didn't rely on emails. That's my advice even if you are buying small things.

[jittsl]

Originally Posted by vintagecarlover

How did u pay?

Wire transfer from BofA to BofA. I've already contacted bank to see what they can do.

[jittsl]

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

What a horror story but... (someone has to say it, apologies in advance. I don't mean to upset you with this post)

You should have gone in person to buy the car. Or what would it have cost you to fly to Florida from Texas?
You must have lost many thousands of dollars. Why wouldn't you go to see the car in person and make the deal?

Considering the cost of airfares today I would never ever ever buy a car without seeing it in person.

Late last year I flew to Singapore to look at a "cheap" Aston Martin. As it turned out it was not as stated in the advert so I walked.
(severely cracked leather, engine, gearbox and suspension issues. I would have had to spend over 60K to put everything right and it wasn't even running)

Yes it cost me the airfares but I was lucky because I was able to stay at a friends house and I did get some time to walk around and see the sites.
Had I bought the car the owner said he would have refunded me the airfares.

I'm really sorry. I hope you get your money back.

In hindsight I absolutely should have flown over but, even if I had, wouldn't he have simply picked me up in the car, driven me somewhere (that I'm sure he could have organized), dropped me back to the airport and then disappeared before I had the car picked up? Would it have occurred to me that I need to see his actual yard? Probably not. Maybe something would have clicked, and don't think it didn't occur to me that this was a scam, but sometimes we let our guard down. As a PS the guy was clever enough to make the price not too cheap / not too expensive ($29K) and didn't make outrageous claims about the car's condition.

Anyway, everybody be aware.

[sc_rufctr]

Laurence

It takes a big man to admit he may have been wrong. Learn from this and move on.
I really hope you get your money back and I wish you and your family the best.

[zedsn]

I am so sorry to hear about this. I have been taken before but not near this much. Don't let this go and talk to the police about this and see if you can press the issue with them.

[cabmandone]

Saw you paid by wire BofA to BofA. Hopefully they can reverse the wire if it hasn't been too long. A real person had to open that BofA account but most likely under fraudulent name/SS number.
It's for this reason that whenever I buy a machine long distance I get a reputable 3rd party to hold the piece and I pay them to do so with a contract for their service in the transaction. Once the machine is secured at the 3rd party location, I send payment.

Sorry you got scammed and I hope you get your money back.

[Mike80911]

Sorry to hear about this. It sucks to live in a world where you simply cannot trust anyone anymore. Since the money was transferred via bank wire I think there are several federal agencies that would get involved in the investigation. I am sure you already began with local LE but I think the FBI might also get involved call the local field office and tell them your story.
This has to be a lesson to all of us. I have purchased several cars and motorcycles over the internet and thankfully it always worked out but from now on as said before I will go to wherever the car is and if I buy it take actual possession of the car as soon as the deal is done.

[gliding_serpent]

I find it helps to speak with people. You can gauge a lot there. Ppi at a place of your choice. In the future i would also have a pelican scope out the car and owner first.

This was a blatant rip off scam. I hope you get your money back. That being said, "questionable" ppi's and "forgetful" or "oblivious" sellers can also lead to softer forms of rip-off when cars are bought remotely.

[Jonesy78]

If you do a "whois" search of the website mentioned in the F-Chat thread, you get the following contact info. May be bogus, but worth passing along to the authorities.

Domain Name: SMOKEYAUTOSALES.NET
Registry Domain ID: 12858254
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.1und1.info
Registrar URL: Web Hosting, Registration of cheap domains | Internet websites services | 1&1
Updated Date: 2014-11-11T00:00:00Z
Creation Date: 2014-11-06T00:00:00Z
Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2015-11-06T00:00:00Z
Registrar: 1&1 Internet AG
Registrar IANA ID: 83
Registrar Abuse Contact Email: abuse@1and1.com
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +1.8774612631
Reseller: 
Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited https://www.icann.org/epp#clientTransferProhibited
Registry Registrant ID: 
Registrant Name: John Paulson
Registrant Organization: Smokey Auto Sales  Inc.
Registrant Street: Guhman Ct 7818
Registrant City: Hazelwood
Registrant State/Province: MO
Registrant Postal Code: 63042
Registrant Country: US
Registrant Phone: +1.4075125944
Registrant Phone Ext: 
Registrant Fax: 
Registrant Fax Ext: 
Registrant Email: smokeyautosales@gmail.com
Registry Admin ID: 
Admin Name: John Paulson
Admin Organization: Smokey Auto Sales  Inc.
Admin Street: Guhman Ct 7818
Admin City: Hazelwood
Admin State/Province: MO
Admin Postal Code: 63042
Admin Country: US
Admin Phone: +1.4075125944
Admin Phone Ext: 
Admin Fax: 
Admin Fax Ext: 
Admin Email: smokeyautosales@gmail.com
Registry Tech ID: 
Tech Name: Hostmaster ONEANDONE
Tech Organization: 1&1 Internet Inc.
Tech Street: 701 Lee Rd.
Tech City: Chesterbrook
Tech State/Province: PA
Tech Postal Code: 19087
Tech Country: US
Tech Phone: +1.8774612631
Tech Phone Ext: 
Tech Fax: +1.6105601501
Tech Fax Ext: 
Tech Email: hostmaster@1and1.com
Name Server: ns-us.1and1-dns.com
Name Server: ns-us.1and1-dns.us
Name Server: ns-us.1and1-dns.de
Name Server: ns-us.1and1-dns.org
DNSSEC: Unsigned
URL of the ICANN WHOIS Data Problem Reporting System:  http://wdprs.internic.net/
>>> Last update of WHOIS database: 2015-02-22T13:00:00Z <<<

[jittsl]

Originally Posted by gliding_serpent

I find it helps to speak with people. You can gauge a lot there. Ppi at a place of your choice. In the future i would also have a pelican scope out the car and owner first.

This was a blatant rip off scam. I hope you get your money back. That being said, "questionable" ppi's and "forgetful" or "oblivious" sellers can also lead to softer forms of rip-off when cars are bought remotely.

Spoke to him several times by phone. Seemed like a straight up guy - but I guess that's why they call them confidence men.

[jittsl]

Originally Posted by Jonesy78

If you do a "whois" search of the website mentioned in the F-Chat thread, you get the following contact info. May be bogus, but worth passing along to the authorities.

Domain Name: SMOKEYAUTOSALES.NET
Registry Domain ID: 12858254
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.1und1.info
Registrar URL: Web Hosting, Registration of cheap domains | Internet websites services | 1&1
Updated Date: 2014-11-11T00:00:00Z
Creation Date: 2014-11-06T00:00:00Z
Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2015-11-06T00:00:00Z
Registrar: 1&1 Internet AG
Registrar IANA ID: 83
Registrar Abuse Contact Email: abuse@1and1.com
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +1.8774612631
Reseller: 
Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited https://www.icann.org/epp#clientTransferProhibited
Registry Registrant ID: 
Registrant Name: John Paulson
Registrant Organization: Smokey Auto Sales  Inc.
Registrant Street: Guhman Ct 7818
Registrant City: Hazelwood
Registrant State/Province: MO
Registrant Postal Code: 63042
Registrant Country: US
Registrant Phone: +1.4075125944
Registrant Phone Ext: 
Registrant Fax: 
Registrant Fax Ext: 
Registrant Email: smokeyautosales@gmail.com
Registry Admin ID: 
Admin Name: John Paulson
Admin Organization: Smokey Auto Sales  Inc.
Admin Street: Guhman Ct 7818
Admin City: Hazelwood
Admin State/Province: MO
Admin Postal Code: 63042
Admin Country: US
Admin Phone: +1.4075125944
Admin Phone Ext: 
Admin Fax: 
Admin Fax Ext: 
Admin Email: smokeyautosales@gmail.com
Registry Tech ID: 
Tech Name: Hostmaster ONEANDONE
Tech Organization: 1&1 Internet Inc.
Tech Street: 701 Lee Rd.
Tech City: Chesterbrook
Tech State/Province: PA
Tech Postal Code: 19087
Tech Country: US
Tech Phone: +1.8774612631
Tech Phone Ext: 
Tech Fax: +1.6105601501
Tech Fax Ext: 
Tech Email: hostmaster@1and1.com
Name Server: ns-us.1and1-dns.com
Name Server: ns-us.1and1-dns.us
Name Server: ns-us.1and1-dns.de
Name Server: ns-us.1and1-dns.org
DNSSEC: Unsigned
URL of the ICANN WHOIS Data Problem Reporting System:  http://wdprs.internic.net/
>>> Last update of WHOIS database: 2015-02-22T13:00:00Z <<<

Thanks for that.

[tirwin]

Sorry to hear this! Best of luck to you and I hope you find the scumbag and get your money back.

Several years ago my wife and I were victims of identify theft and credit card fraud. My advice is you have to be your own advocate. Keep calling the police. Go to the FBI as someone suggested. Go to your local postal inspector if anything was exchanged via mail. The police are busy and sometimes things like this can be pushed to the backburner and time is not on your side.

Also contact TV stations in your area and in the area where the car was for sale and see if there any investigative reporters who are willing to help. Last year we had a similar thing going on here in Atlanta with motorcycles. A victim got smart and worked with the local TV station and a PD to set up a sting and they caught the bastards.

This is the type of thing that someone has probably done before and will do again.

A domain name has to be registered with one of a few domain registrars. This one was "1and1". They may be outside the U.S. but if the authorities can subpoena them to find out how the domain was paid for, then you might get a lead.

Subpoena Google for the Gmail account. If they can provide a list of times and source IP addresses that accessed the account then you might find the ISP of the scammer. Then subpoena them to find out which customer it was and get another lead. Most people aren't smart enough to erase their digital footprints. The problem is most investigators don't have the time or resources to fully investigate every case.

[tirwin]

I just looked, 1&1 does business in the US so they can be subpoenaed.

1&1 Internet - Facts and figures

[dad911]

Did your guy get the vin# & license plate by chance? Find the car, and you will find someone that was in on the scam.....