Another scam "65 Gran Sport on CL?

[65VerdeGS]

As many of us do, I occasionally peruse Craigslist to see what's out there.  My search for Buick Riviera turned up this surprising listing close to me here in Canada:

 

 

Of course my interest was quickly drawn to the fact that this is purported to be a Gran Sport, highly optioned.  Also, the seller is claiming to be located near Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island, just a ferry ride away from me.  Upon closer look I noticed some 'anomalies' such as the bullet outside rear view mirrors on both sides, and the Gran Sport emblems on the fenders and trunk are not in their factory correct locations.  Nonetheless, the car has the 2x4 engine, deluxe interior, A/C, etc.  The first hint that something may be amiss with the listing is that the price is rather low, especially as the seller is in Canada and presumably is asking for Canadian dollars ($1.00 Cdn = $0.70 US).

 

So, I sent an email via CL's server to ask the seller a few questions about the car.  A day or so later I got a reply via CL from the seller, but he didn't answer ONE of my questions.  He asked for me to communicate with him via my personal email.  That raised another red flag.  A closer look at the listing's pictures raised further suspicions.  The vegetation behind some of the photos is not consistent with what you'd normally see here in the Pacific Northwest (I'm an expert on trees).  Hmmm.

 

To further investigate whether this may be a scam listing I Google Mapped the supposed location of the seller (as shown on the location map in the listing).  The houses and trees don't match the photos in the listing, confirming my suspicions of this being a scam listing.

 

I further read on this forum that there had been ads for a green GS floating around online that were scams.  Is this the same car?  

 

Lastly, how does this scam work?  If the seller gets my personal email address, what could he do with it?  Wouldn't he need rather more info to do something nefarious?

 

I'd never buy a car based merely on an online ad.  I'd want to go inspect the car and drive it, etc.  A transparent scam would be to offer a car like this for super low price hoping some sucker might send a money order or bank transfer without actually seeing the car in person.  Do people fall for that?

 

Your thoughts?

[drummerboy]

Ad must have been pulled because I can't find it on CL Nanaimo.  Two ferry rides away for me in Gibsons IF there was something to see.  Good catch.

[Rivdrivn]

Scammers can easily steal photos and descriptions, spoof locations (just like all those calls we get) and have stock responses to inquiries. They are only after your money, often through a wire transfer. The clues are usually evident to the careful observer. That said, I have successfully acquired 4 Rivieras over recent years; 3 Gran Sports from eBay sight-unseen, another (a convertible) from Craigslist via a Facebook Riviera group. So, it can be done. Just be very careful out there. Ask questions, get additional info and photos, talk on the phone or at least text, to make sure a real person actually possesses the particular car offered. Then, watch out for undisclosed title issues, misleading photos, critical omissions, and the like. Good luck and happy hunting!

[cjp69]

That green Riv seems to be a favorite of the scammers (or it is the same scammer over and over again), I have seen it posted dozens of times in different cities in the last year, and it has been discussed in the "for sale" thread. 

[65VerdeGS]

On 1/16/2019 at 2:37 PM, drummerboy said:

Ad must have been pulled because I can't find it on CL Nanaimo.  Two ferry rides away for me in Gibsons IF there was something to see.  Good catch.

 

Yes, I this ad was pulled down from the Vancouver CL yesterday.  Good to know it was a fake.  Figured as much, - the low price was the first sign.