pistoncollector Posted November 22, 2004 Share Posted November 22, 2004 Recently I purchased a car and initally thought that I might resell it. However, after getting it home and playing with it a while I decided to keep it. But prior to that, I let it be known that the car might be for sale. Since that time I have recieved a number of emails making very high offers on the car. They always seem to be written in poor English and want to know where to send the money if their offer is acceptable. The latest of these came from an email address in the UK. I have been told by a friend that this topic was discussed on the AACA forum earlier this year but I haven't been able to find the thread. Can anyone share information about this? Have any of you had a similiar experience? Just curious.PAI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted November 22, 2004 Share Posted November 22, 2004 VERY Popular scam, they pay with a phony check for more than the car is worth, you ship the car, check bounces, you repay the bank for the lost funds AND you lost the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted November 22, 2004 Share Posted November 22, 2004 Yep, definitely a scam. I still have the $14,000 fake check one of them sent me for our Miata. A very good reproduction, right down to the correct phone number at the bank to call to check for fraud.I like the idea of making them go to the effort to make you a check and Fed Ex it to you--from the UK, that could cost $50 or more. Have them pony up the cash to send you a check, then tell 'em to stick it. They won't do anything to you.These dopes deserve any misfortune they receive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pistoncollector Posted November 22, 2004 Author Share Posted November 22, 2004 Wonder if anyone has ever asked them to wire the money to an account number? That might sort out the crooks from someone who honestly wants to buy your car. I do know that with the strong EURO there are a lot of people in Europe looking to buy cars in America due to the weak dollar. PAI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted November 22, 2004 Share Posted November 22, 2004 Wire it to your BANK, not to your account, unless you want your account drained. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pistoncollector Posted November 22, 2004 Author Share Posted November 22, 2004 You're probablly right. Wiring it to the bank is probablly safer. I wasn't aware that this sort of thing was going on until a friend of mine told me the other day. PAI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomchaney Posted November 23, 2004 Share Posted November 23, 2004 I received a number of similar offers when selling my 1912 Hupmobile. The "buyer" offers you a high price and wants to send a cashier's check for more than the amount. You're expected to cash the check and a) send them back the difference or mail the difference to a compatriot who is presumably handling the shipping. Of course, the check is a phony and you're out your cash and your car. Sometimes they don't even bother with the car, but you're still out your cash. The most amusing one I received was after I offered a lot of misc. parts on eBay. I got a very poorly worded (and obviously automatically generated) email basically stating: "I am very interested in your (mixed parts lot) and want to purchase them immediately. Please tell me how much you want and what they are." Yeah right. He doesn't even know what I'm offering, but is very interested and wants to pay a high price. I may have been born at night.... but not last night! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aanderson44 Posted November 23, 2004 Share Posted November 23, 2004 Good friend of mine put his AMC National Silver Award-winning '68 Javelin up for sale last spring, and guess what, he got one of those come-on's as well, by email.He decided to string along, see what happened. Sure enough, in about a week, here came a Bank Officer's Check for $27,000, drawn on a bank in Tennessee--and of course, the check is a phony. This one came by first class mail, from an address in Maryland, complete with a Maryland postmark. Now, the US Postal Inspectors not only have something to work on, they also likely even have a DNA sample from the envelope--the perp was probably stupid enough to lick the envelope to seal it! Oh, and my friend still as all his money, and the car as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVAnderson Posted November 23, 2004 Share Posted November 23, 2004 I always answer these thieves by sending a stock reply thanking them for their interest (in stealing from me, but I don't write that) and stating that I will accept ONLY payments IN FULL and TO THE EXACT AMOUNT in NONNEGOTIABLE and IRREVOCABLE US legal tender before any item will be shipped or allowed to be picked up. That always ends it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stexch Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 As a banker, I can tell you that no US bank is going to accept a wire that is just sent to the bank. The wire must specify the name, address, and account number of the receiver. DO NOT give out your account number to anyone unless you are confident of their integrity. Anyone in possession of a check that they determine to be fraudulent is encouraged to turn it over to local law enforcement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest imported_Dwight V. Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 What amazes me is people are actually stupid enough to fall for these scams. I mean, how much more obvious can it be? I got about a dozen on the last car I sold.I have vowed the next time I will string them along for as long as possible, get their phony check, and hopefully have enough to get them jailed for mail fraud. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.Would YOU buy a car for MORE than the asking price without ever seeing it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryJ Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 This doesn't have anything to do with the purchase of an automobile from me; however, I just received an urgent E-mail from of all places .....Nigeria! Folks, I was just offered $30,000,000. I,m retiring and moving to the South Pacific!!!!! Included with this bonanza were 17 spyware programs. Such a deal!! Nigeria must be populated with crooks. I have had several of my friends here in Atlanta approached with all sorts of wierd offers and cons coming from Nigeria. One had $50,000 stolen from his bank account because a Nigerian got to be teller at his branch. He got his money back; the Nigerian teller disapeared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitch Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 Call me mistrusting if you will but I can't conceive of ever accepting paper(check) for a car. Even if it's a cashiers check I'd make sure it cleared before letting a car ship. And if the hot buyer sent me any other check he'd have to wait for it to clear the bank. The only way is wire transfer- bank to bank.And that Nigerian BS scam has been around for years. I figured everyone knew about it. If that was a chain letter it would have been successful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glys06482 Posted December 4, 2004 Share Posted December 4, 2004 Hey dont think we are all crooks in the UK, i have just bought a Reo from the states and my money was wire transfered NO PROBLEM at all what i sugest you do is ask for a phone number and address from the proposed buyer in the UK then either do one of the following log on to http://www2.bt.com/edq_resnamesearch and check the details on there or ring 044 118 500 (directory enquireies) DO NOT accept phone numbers starting in 07.... (mobile numbers) as they are NOT fixed to an address hope this helps .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mika Jaakkola Posted December 4, 2004 Share Posted December 4, 2004 I study Internet Technology here in Finland.. And the saddest thing is that Over 50% of all scam/junk email comes from The States... I remember that from Nigeria came something like only 12% of all junk mail/phony offers... I can check that out.But the difference between REAL buyers and fake-buyers is that (I've had also those fake emails.. ) do they ever mention the item by name? I mean.. it's always .. " we would like to purchase your item ..etc etc..", Not " I'm interested in buying your nice 1957 Ford Thunderbird.. " If I (as a foreign ) have bought something, I ALWAYS pay EVERYTHING in advance. Well.. I have bought LOT's OF STUFF from US and ALWAYS everything has worked out great! Three weeks ago I decided to buy 10 DVD($100) set of Laurel and Hardy films from Germany.. Well.. The stuff hasn't showed up yet and the seller won't answer my emails.. great! I would suggest that you guys don't accept check from foreign buyers.. Only PayPal/Money Order/ Wire Transfer ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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