I was ripped off last week for $1,000. Stupid me! Please read and learn from my mistake.

[George Albright]

Hi Everyone: Here is the police report I filed Monday,with the names and contact info deleted. The AACA forums have warned us numerous times not to Western Union money to strangers. Guess I will have to live and learn! This guy knew which old car words and phrases to say to suck me in. It can happen to all of us. Sincerely,George Albright,Ocala,Fla. REPORT: "To whom it may concern: My name is George Albright,and I am an attorney,and the elected Tax Collector for Marion County Florida,population 350,000. On Monday April 9th,around 5 PM I received a call from cell phone number ---------------. A very nice sounding gentleman who identified himself as "Robert" introduced himself,and said he got my name from a guy in Utica,New York.He sounded in his 30s 40s or 50s age wise. He said he lived in the greater Oakland,California area.I am an old car collector and I buy and sell antique cars and parts. Robert said his 94 or so year old next door neighbor,-------------,was moving to an old folks home in Arizona in a day or two,and had the remains and parts of a 1905 Brennan automobile. Robert knew I was looking for Brennan car parts because I have also run ads in the Internet on some old car collector websites. Robert and I talked several times,and he informed me I had to Western Union wire IMMEDIATELY made out to ----------,or the scrap dealer was coming over the very next day to get the parts and destroy them for scrap. Two hours later that night,around 8 PM my time,I went and wired $500 made out to ---------------. Robert called me to tell me ------------ received the money and I now owned the parts,and he,Robert,would move the parts to his garage next door,as he lived next door to -------------. All last week Robert and I talked about 15 times and we discussed the Brennan car parts. 2 days later I called offered Robert $250 for handling the transaction for me.Robert went on to tell me when he moved the parts to his house,he badly cut his hand,and had to go to the hospital,and get 4 stitches. He said it cost him $261.00 to go to the ER room at the hospital. I felt sorry for Robert so I offered to also send him an additional $261.00 to pay for the hospital bill. Robert said thanks,and send another $250 for medical bills in addition to the $250 I offered to pay him for his help and we would call it even. I was about to wire Robert the money on Wednesday May 11th,when Robert called me to tell me he just realized his drivers licence was expired,and he could not go to Western Union without a valid ID to pick up money. He asked me to wire the $500 to his co worker friend --------------,and ---------------- would pick up the money. He and ------------ picked up the Western Union $500 that afternoon. Several things here: I called ---------------------- cell number which I found in my research on Lexus/Nexus. -------- cell is ----------------. ---------- answered his cell and informed me he went with a guy who must be Robert.and acted as the front man to pick up the second $500. I asked him if he knew Robert,and he said no. He said someone named -------------- called him on Roberts cell phone and said they needed someone with valid ID pick up a Western Union wire. He said he did that Wed afternoon and immediately handed the money to Robert,and they left. We have the location of where they picked up the money,with --------------. On Wed. Thurs,and Fri. Robert called several times to inform me he would have one of his other co workers who worked at the "station" cleaning toilets,come over and take photos of my Brennan parts in Roberts garage,and email them to me Sat. then Sun.Both days came and went and no photos. Then on last Sunday night I tried to call Robert numerous times,and since Sat. or Sun. he has NOT answered the phone-just disappeared. I gave him the benefit of the doubt all week,hoping he would call or the photos would come through on the email address I gave him,which is the one I listed above. I never got an email address for Robert or his co-worker. They merely had mine,which I gave Robert over the phone,so I could see what I bought,then arrange shipping of the parts from Roberts house to my home in Fla. On Friday,I finally realized I had been taken! Thus I started during research. All I had was the name Robert,and his cell number. We researched the cell number and found it belonged to a ---------------- in the San Francisco Bay area. I also forgot to mention Western Unions criminal fraud department was contacted by me on Friday,and they have opened a criminal fraud case against --------------,and----------------. Western Union informed me they will be providing Marion County and/or Oakland police with the ID information on both of the people that picked up the $500 both times,once contacted by the police. I informed ------------------ that unfortunately for him,he is now part of a criminal investigation,and to expect a call from the Oakland police concerning Robert using him to criminally defraud me,in the days to come. Sincerely George Albright"

[PONTIAC1953]

hi george, i sure do hope you'll get some if not all your money back, i myself, have been contacted by persons claiming to have parts that i advertise that i'm searching for. so far i've been smarter than they were. good luck george, charles coker, 1953 pontiac tech advisor.

Edited April 24, 2013 by pontiac1953
spelling correction (see edit history)

[trimacar]

Sorry to hear that they got you, sometimes our passion for the chase of old cars and parts (and particularly a specific marque that he knew would push your buttons) clouds our thinking.

I remember once in my younger days, got a call for a vacation we'd "won", it sounded great and all I had to do was give them a credit card number. My wife was on the line, saying "give it to him", but something held me back. I asked the guy to mail us the information on the trip, and that's when the conversation went south, he insisted on immediate payment or it was no deal.....but luckily didn't cave in....

Unfortunately, there are people out there sitting at a computer, trying to figure ways to swindle other people, and that's how they make a living...if you'd call it that....

Hope you get some satisfaction out of the scoundrels....

[keiser31]

George.....did you ever ask for or receive photos of what was "for sale"? I always ask for a certain photo or a photo from a certain angle from the buyer. If they cannot or will not provide the requested photo, I consider it a scam. I have heard all of the excuses..."I can't get my camera to work", "My camera is broken", "I have the parts, but they are too far away to shoot a photo of". "I am not computer savvy". No photo......no money exchanges hands.

Edited April 24, 2013 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[MarrsCars]

Sorry to hear this, but for others the tactic of an emergency sale or quick need puts us under pressure and causes us to not always take the precautions we might otherwise.

Car scams aren't just online either, when I lived in LA I was out on the street cleaning my interior when a couple of guys in a work truck stopped and asked if I needed the small dent in the hood of my car fixed (a modern car, not a collectible) as they were out doing mobile Paintless Dent Removal for a client and happened to notice my car had the dent. I had actually just called a few places the week before about PDR work so this seemed like a convenient coincidence, so I asked a few questions and they seemed to know the right answers. We agreed on a price, fair but not so low that it sounded fishy and they said they would be finished in an hour. I went inside and when I came back out I noticed the dent area was covered in thick car wax and I asked why, they gave some crazy story about how you need to use this special polish to "set the dent" and if I tried to wipe it off before it dried in another hour I would ruin the work. They asked to be paid, so I said, "sure, let me go get the money" and I went inside, hooked my sweet but intimidating Pit Bull to her leash and came back out. I also brought a rag and wiped the wax off and the dent was exactly the same as it always was so I offered them three options; to leave immediately without any payment, wait for the police to arrive, or deal directly with the dog. They wisely chose to leave.

[danhar1960]

George,

Thanks for posting this as it serves as a reminder that there are always mongrels out there trying to scam you.

It's ANZAC day down here and the word 'Gypped" jumps to mind.

Consider it a cheap lesson in life. A better story and it may have been a lot more.

I hope they catch the bastards and you get your money back.

Danny

(Seeing as you mentioned that you are an attorney and yet still got scammed,

Aussie humour dictates that I suggest you go out the back and give youself an uppercut.

[Matt Harwood]

I'm always saddened to hear when this happens to someone in our community. Unfortunately, George's experience should serve as a warning to the rest of us, and the warning is this:

If they want you to use Western Union, IT IS A SCAM. Not maybe, not possibly, not "well, this guy doesn't have any other way to get the money," IT IS ALWAYS A SCAM. Western Union IS the scam, there's no way to get your money back. It's like you just handed some guy a pile of cash through a hole in a wall, and you never even see his face. DO NOT DO IT IF WESTERN UNION IS INVOLVED. EVER!

This goes for "Ebay Escrow Services" as well, simply because they don't exist.

At the shop, we get messages and calls almost daily from folks overseas wanting to buy our "item" because "Your price seems quite reasonable." Then they proceed to tell us how they'll send us a certified check and since they owe some local agent some money, would we please send any overage to that guy and keep a few bucks for our trouble, because that will save the client money on sending money twice to two different places overseas. I have a stack of perhaps 10 bogus certified checks on my desk that these dopes use to try to buy cars and get me to send cash via Western Union to some other guy. It's getting so easy to pick them out that I can almost hear it in their voices when they finally call. I often end the conversation before it begins by simply asking, "What color is the item you're buying from me?"

"Um, uh, well you see the gentleman who is buying it isn't here, I'm just, well, you know I don't really think..."

If your gut says scam, it IS a scam. If it seems totally legit but one little thing doesn't seem to add up, it IS a scam. If you have any second thoughts about it in any way, shape, or form, it IS a scam. Trust your skeptical self.

Please, let's work hard to make sure George is the last one to be taken advantage of in our community!

[Dave Henderson]

When receiving a reply to an item you have for sale, observe whether or not serious questions are asked about it. Scammers I have come in contact with didn't seem curious at all, were anxious to get on with the deal, and never had any qualms about the price. They often would propose sending a too-large check and ask that the overage be sent in the form of my check to a third party, sometimes a shipper who was to come for the item.

Beware that you could be dealing with a very slick operator or operators. I once played along with one and received from them their remittance on a defective check stolen from a university, sent to me via an innocent company's Fed Ex account, and I was to send the $$$ overage to yet a third location in the country. When I didn't respond I was threatened that I would be reported to the FBI. I responded telling the party that he had made a fatal mistake and he should turn himself in and plea for clemency. I never heard another word.

[Lebowski]

What part of "Never send money to anyone under any circumstances via Western Union" didn't you understand? :confused:

[Guest bofusmosby]

George, so sorry to hear this. Most of us have been taken one time or another by someone. It may have been for a piece of candy when we were kids, or loosing an entire fortune to some scumbag. Thank you for posting this. I think that I am too trusting sometimes. I contact a person who is selling on Ebay, then find out that they have another part I need that they are willing to sell me. I pay them on Pay-pal, then hope the part arrives. So far, I guess I'm lucky.

Lebowski, I'm sure that George doesn't like the idea of getting taken, nor does he like the idea of starting this thread. He did this to try and help the rest of us, and no other reason. We all know (as George did) not to wire any money, but why would you want to kick him when he's down?

[Bleach]

It takes a very strong individual to share a story like this with us. It's a lesson that we all can learn from in one way or another, not just from George's incident alone, but from others who step up to share their version. I've been fortunate enough not to have a story of this kind because of taking advice from others who have shared their misfortunes.

I have had many bogus offers by e-mail to which I reply in a very large bold font with a variety of expletives that most can understand.

I like the one about dealing with the dog. I wish there was an cyber version as effective.

[countrytravler]

I sell a lot of parts and cars. To ease peoples minds that we are legit, I'll ask the customer to tell me what kind of article to put with the item that I'm selling, take a picture, then i send or text the picture. Almost everyone has a camera phone, end of story.

[MarrsCars]

I just got an email today that PayPal verified is a new type of scam. Basically the email contained some language we have used in the past on eBay and even our user name, tho it was an older one we no longer use, but the subject line read, "John Doe has rejected your invoice." The email had a link to PayPal which was suspicious even tho it looked like a PayPal web address and the site looked like PayPal, but there was a box for me to put my password in, which I did not do of course. They used a real person's name and email address, I traced those as well and he is a real person at a well-known company but surely has no idea his info is being used. They probably scammed him in the past and got his info too.

I notified PayPal and they confirmed this is a scam, and I then searched the phrase "has rejected your invoice paypal" on google and there are apparently quite a few people who have been taken this way. The scammers get your password when you enter it into the fake paypal site and since they already had your email address, they are able to log in to your account and wreak havoc by buying things they ship elsewhere or changing your account info so your deposits go to them, or any number of things. The scam email even explained that you should always open a new window to enter PayPal, never follow links, which is the correct and safe thing to do even if the link starts with https://paypal... like the real site, but they rely on people being lazy and just clicking the link they provided. Unheard of!

I know there was a lot of hoopla on a thread I contributed to about not naming people or companies, but perhaps a general scam thread is useful? Regardless, be warned and be safe!

Also, not necessarily a scam but something to watch out for when selling on eBay is if you offer Local Pickup as a delivery option, we have had people select that who are actually having it shipped to them hoping we would not notice they removed the shipping charges. You can avoid this by either removing the local pickup option or making sure the payment you receive includes the shipping cost as well.

[h=1][/h]

Edited April 30, 2013 by MarrsCars
added "local pickup" info (see edit history)

[Larry Schramm]

The other place to be watchful of is Craigslist. I occasionally sell items on Craigslist and many times I will get an email asking for more information, price reduction, etc. My standard answer to the email is to call me as my phone number is on the listing and I will meet you and talk price in person looking at the item. And on these type of transactions my standard payment is "In God we trust, All others pay cash"

[Guest Texas Old Car Guy]

The other place to be watchful of is Craigslist. I occasionally sell items on Craigslist and many times I will get an email asking for more information, price reduction, etc. My standard answer to the email is to call me as my phone number is on the listing and I will meet you and talk price in person looking at the item. And on these type of transactions my standard payment is "In God we trust, All others pay cash"

Well said, Larry! Too bad we can't invent a "reverse virus" to send back to the scammers when they email us! Back in the day of the incessant telemarketers who persisted in calling you selling whatever right at dinnertime - I heard one of the best ways to get even with them was to interrupt their salespitch and say, "I've heard enough, I'll take it . . . let me go get my credit card" and then lay the phone down and go back about your business. They would hold for about 15 minutes waiting for your credit card info and lose out on other potential sales while waiting thinking they had a real sucker on the line. The other way to handle the telemarketers if they were "live people" instead of robot autocallers was to keep a police whistle near your phone and blow it as loud as you could in the phone mouthpiece. The telemarketer was sitting there wearing his headset and getting his hair parted down the middle by the loud noise right in their ear!:cool:

Fred

Edited May 2, 2013 by Texas Old Car Guy (see edit history)

[danhar1960]

Ha ha,

We get those telemarketing buggers calling us regularly too. Usually to change electricity companies or phone line suppliers and they always seem to have an Indian accent.

I usually let them convince me to change over to them and ask for a website at the last minute and say I'll sign up on line. It sends them nuts as they think they are missing out on their commission.

(Sorry for the distraction George but it is in the vein of scammers :) )

Danny

[Guest Henry White]

I am sorry to hear of this, I salute the OP for informing, helping others.

Such scammers make it nearly impossible for honest sellers like me who really dont have picture sending ability. I sold parts on ebay for years with about 1800 positive feedbacks, one neg. But I cant do pics now, and folks now days insist on pictures. I understand their concern, but there are still plenty of honest sellers out here, some of us just have no computer skills.

What's a cell phone? I am so 1960

[danhar1960]

Join the club Henry. danhar1960

Scammers are now here on mass and are everywhere.

As I said before, in the greater scheme of things, it is a lot of money but it could have been worse.

I have a friend here that I grew up with and his grandmother was taken for $6,000,000 + !!! $6 Million is not a mistake or mistype.

These bastards were so good at conning (she was also a little gullible too) that even after Scotland Yard had busted them and showed her the proof that she was taken, she still believed (and still does) that she was just another $10,000 away from getting that $15,000,000 from King whoever from somewhere in Africa.

Be real careful out there people.

Danny

[Graham Man]

George,

It really hurts when you want the parts to be real. I was dealing with a guy in England selling me the rear bumper for my 1933 Graham. I had been looking for over 6 years to find one. Yes he had the part, yes the price was reasonable...Yes I required pictures before I would send money. He finally sent pictures.... of my friends Graham.... then I was sure it was a scam.

I really wanted that bumper.... another Graham friend found one at Hershey, only took 8 years and lots of old car friends!

[Amphicar BUYER]

I had a guy a few years ago try to sell me my own car! When I asked for photos of an Amphicar he was selling, he sent me a pic he took off the internet showing me in my car. I pulled his chain and wasted as much of his time as possible for 3 months. It was a lot of fun. He'd call and I would have him call back again and again at odd hours, put him on hold then apologize profusely extending the wait longer and longer until he would sit on hold for 25+ mins at a time. I finally had enough and let him know I already owned that car but if he had one he owned, I'd be interested. Never heard back, hummm?