WARNING scammers are listening and sharpening their skills

914agogo · 09-26-2014, 08:28 PM

in light of the fact that scammers are having a hard time hooking new suckers using emails only, they have graduated to using the telephone and studying closer how they can be more fluent about the items they are offering.

202 area code (Washington DC ) is heavily used for fraud and scams. So that should be your first clue/flag.

Here's what happened a couple of days ago.
the day before yesterday a friend saw a 74 911 on CL and emailed the seller.
he quickly got a reply with a phone number 1 202 910 9568
the guy was friendly and seem to know the car well. He provided plenty of pictures and a copy of the title.
A deal was struck and Andy sent a $1500 wire to a TD Bank in Manhattan and was to wire the rest the following day and have the car p.u later that afternoon.

the problem is my friend called me after the fact to run it by me..oh oh after the fact? DOH!
I asked him for the VIN and did a quick search... found the same car in a expired Ebay auction with pictures and title photo. I also found it for sale in 3 different cities of which one was the real bonafide owner. I called the real owner who confirmed my suspicion that this was a scam, he still had the car
My friend was still communicating with the dirtbag when I ask him to ask the dirtbag to take a photo of the car with that days newspaper, which he said he would do the next morning.

meanwhile shortly after...
...the REAL owner called me back to say that a guy had just called him, wanted to buy his car and that if he could take a picture of the car with a newspaper for him. Hahaha I then realized that the scammer needed more time to access the funds so we quickly contacted his bank explained the situation and they filed fraud case which froze the funds. The transfer was done late in the day so scammer was not able to get the money.

they are getting better at this , so ....due diligence folks...

COLB · COLB's Garage

If you are having to wire money for a sight unseen car -- especially on craigslist! -- that should be plenty to set off scam warnings.

SilberUrS6 · 09-27-2014, 07:20 AM

The problem is that for longhoods, it's pay right now, or miss the deal.

I suppose you need to use something like PayPal where you have some recourse, but still - you're either quick, or you're dead.

techweenie · techweenie's Garage

Last week, we had a guy here in LA post a 1965 911 for $8000. I'm quite certain many hopefuls wired money right away to lock that one up. Scammers are attracted to a superheated market.

pmax · pmax's Garage

Seriously !

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-cars-sale/831917-cl-find-no-affiliation.html
Hellafunctional
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 9

CL Find - NO AFFILIATION
I found this great deal on CL. Wish I had the funds but I bet someone on here could snag it up right away.
I am in no way affiliated to the seller, so it could be a scam for all I know.

1969 Porsche 911 T - $27000 (beverly hills)
1969 Porsche 911 T, less then low miles ......all original. matching numbers this car is solid. no corrosion at all. runs and drives very strong. it is in pristine condition.. I bought this car brand new me and my old lady. we had a lot of fun with it. but it's time to let it go. the kids grew up...and it needs a new driver. it was always maintained by Porsche dealer only....everything is working everything is up to date...selling below book value...collectors are welcome...my name is Sammy call me at anytime thank you and God bless...(202)910-9568

BTEMY · 09-30-2014, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pmax

Seriously !

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-cars-sale/831917-cl-find-no-affiliation.html
Hellafunctional
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 9

CL Find - NO AFFILIATION
I found this great deal on CL. Wish I had the funds but I bet someone on here could snag it up right away.
I am in no way affiliated to the seller, so it could be a scam for all I know.

1969 Porsche 911 T - $27000 (beverly hills)
1969 Porsche 911 T, less then low miles ......all original. matching numbers this car is solid. no corrosion at all. runs and drives very strong. it is in pristine condition.. I bought this car brand new me and my old lady. we had a lot of fun with it. but it's time to let it go. the kids grew up...and it needs a new driver. it was always maintained by Porsche dealer only....everything is working everything is up to date...selling below book value...collectors are welcome...my name is Sammy call me at anytime thank you and God bless...(202)910-9568

Another Scammer. Just talked to him, he wanted a deposit right away and then he would ship it to California. Quickly done a research and found the car being sold from Boston for a market price.

Buyer beware!

cudabnu · cudabnu's Garage

Same thing is happening on thesamba.com, had a friend get bit for $3500 for a bug, Same M.O., pics, pic of title, and answered intelligent questions. Saw the car he was scammed on in completed items on ebay, they copied and pasted the ad word for word but changed the contact number. This one was out of Vegas.

afterburn 549 · 08:32 AM

Greed BRINGS OUT THE very worst in people. I be dammed fi would wire anyone money !
I will tell you what id did. I thought it was pretty smart.
It was a Antique Harley and the story was a mystery with holes in it, But the story would be the same for a P. car-
I said I would send the money to his local H.D. shop.
Take the bike there, drop the bike , pick up the money and i would pay storage till i figured how to get it out.
Of course I called the H.D. shop B4 hand and worked out the details so it was no surprise to them
Was simple. Was Fool proof.
The storage cost me a little extra. But I got time to find a deal on transport.

pmax · pmax's Garage

^^^ Try that with a bargain basement Porsche deal and you run the risk of someone local jumping in with cash. See post #3.

The scammers are counting on this fear. That's why I've stopped looking anymore unless it's local.

afterburn 549 · 10-22-2014, 10:19 AM

Then you have to ask " Is the risk worth it?"

MoreGAS · 11-13-2014, 06:13 PM

Just a quick head check- If you are being tempted to wire money before the car is s even verified as existing, nor less by the "seller", you are being foolish.
I was looking into a longhood S a few weeks ago, was asked to wire money by a dealer w a fake website just established a month earlier(fact easilly found on Google as was the address was a vacant lot on Google Earth) , I offered a 10K deposit on my AMEX to secure the deal as I was traveling, which they did not jump on at all, then it became show up w payment in hand as a long distance deal is a hassle. Long story short, I was going to send someone from another Back East town nearby the car to see it existed, of course that day it was sold.
Detectives I reported the group to in that town shared 3 others has wired money for a Ferrari and a Corvette to same Klan, sight unseen, and got the shock when they showed up to drive them home and there was a vacant lot.

The most shocking part to learn that these detectives shared- likely 50% of CL ads are scams(this was not a CL ad) , and worse that The FBI who has much greater jurisdiction in these matters to get funds frozen and search warrants for G mail address( the criminals fav's along w VOIP phones) have little interest in these internet based crimes until either a huge number of cases pile up, or a huge $$ figure is attached to a given group. These poor bastard's 30K was a drop in the bucket. It is truly The wild west out there for financial crimes....

Count the scam ads for early 911s on this site: collectorcarads.com
I found 3 scams and stopped looking at 50-100K undervalue cars. M.O. of sellers all the same ..voip phones, no mbl #s, not able to be reached easily, want deposits, offer financing even w fake dealerships...

914agogo · 05-20-2016, 05:42 AM

forgot to update this

going on 2 years since this happened and Andy is still out of his $1500 deposit.
TD Bank has left this to their fraud dept which their motto is " we dont care for suckers"
Andy's fault he failed to stay on top and follow up on his claim.

afterburn 549 · 05-20-2016, 05:46 AM

Wiring a money to someone you do not know is a very high risk that I would not take.

thamlin000 · thamlin000's Garage

I never send deposits when buying nor ask for deposits when selling. All transactions are done in person.

I'd rather pay over market value and do the deal in an 'old fashion' type of way. As for selling, if I don't meet you in-person to exchange money and title, you aren't getting my car.

The risks associated with trying to beat the crowd by throwing deposit money at a seller in order to score a great deal are just not worth it to me.

Jay993 · Jay993's Garage

usually if it's too good to be true, it usually is

specialtyoneinc · 05-20-2016, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jay993

usually if it's too good to be true, it usually is

Amen

Unobtanium-inc · 05-20-2016, 06:50 PM

Want to know the trick to getting a good deal on a good car. Join your local club, make friends, get involved and pass the word you are looking for a specific car. Just like Sun Tzu said,
"If you wait by the river long enough, the bodies of your enemies will float by."

Well, if you have money, are involved, and wait for a good car, it will happen. The best cars never make it on the open market, they just trade hands amongst friends. Oh, and the added benefit to this strategy, you make friends, who are into Porsches!
Now if you are looking for cars to flip, this is not a good strategy, but if you are looking for a good car for yourself remember that most guys want to pass their car on to a friend, and not deal with the general public.
I know of a Speedster in PA, that has had 5 owners since new, and never made it farther than a 20 mile radius, it was always sold to a local guy.
Craigslist is dead for finding cars, at least good deals on them. And when you stay up all night searching the web and find that weird obscure website with the great deal on the car, and you can't decide if you are the smartest guy in the world or the luckiest, just know you are neither, and there is no car, just a jackass who wants to milk you for a deposit.

---Adam

upwardr · 05-21-2016, 05:32 PM

I got a Facebook Message referring to a Craigslist ad for a 54 ragtop bug, seemed like a good deal and I jumped on it. A little worried but I was #2 in line, I offered to send a deposit to become #1. He wanted it sent as a gift and not a purchase to save the 3% I chose to pay the 3% and have that PayPal.
Well it worked out ok, guy was very nice we met in Syricus NY and I got to see the real car.
I still don't have the car yet but I know where it was last seen, he is nice enough to keep it until I get the paperwork to import to Canada.
I think you have to trust your gut and get info how to reach this person. Be careful greed does not rule your brain.

BK911 · BK911's Garage

I use wire transfers all the time.
Can't the account holder be identified if a scam?

bmendel · 05-22-2016, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BK911

I use wire transfers all the time.
Can't the account holder be identified if a scam?

the way that works is the account is either opened with a fake ID, or it's a real account owned by some meth head who could care less what happens as long as they get their small commission. There was an article about this recently, the fact there is an actual bank account barely matters, once the money is out of that account, it's gone.