[email protected] fake escrow scam for VW Camper

After seeing a potential Scam on a VW campervan on Gumtree I decided to look at another van that looked to be too cheap. Low and behold I got introduced to another fake escrow scam.

I asked if the van was still for sale and got a mail back confirming it was and why it was for sale. The scammer went into detail about why it was for sale and so cheap (see below)

Thank you for your interest in my 2007 VOLKSWAGEN T5 EXPLORER TDi 4 BERTH, 5 SEATS CAMPERVAN,45,000 miles ,DIESEL, Full Service History. All documents in original folders. 2 key fobs. The camper is in perfect condition, 4 new tyres, no accidents, no damage, scratches or dents. HPI clear and fully paid.
I am selling it at £4,000 because I've just finished the divorce and I am very glad that I took it, because it was my ex husbands most precious thing. He cheated on me although we have 2 kids together, anyway I don't wish to bore you with my life's story...
As you can see from the pictures my camper is in perfect condition.
I am the registered Owner.

Please contact me if you want a secure transaction.

Kind regards,
Dr. Isabel Horton

I laughed to myself but decided to follow up. I asked if i could view the van

This was the next response i received

I'm very busy with my job ( I'm a surgeon ) in a training program(medical stuff) right now, in Germany.
I will fly to UK only if I have a genuine buyer.I can't fly for all potentials buyers,this is the reason for using secure transaction.
The deal will be handled by www.escrow.com
Using escrow services, you get free shipping, at your place in 48h.You will have a 7 days inspection. Or I can fly and meet with you if you wish.
In case the vehicle is not as i described, the transaction is canceled and Escrow will refund your money back in,immediately.
Escrow companies are supposed to be the safest way to do online transactions, particularly when dealing with Internet auction sales of expensive items such as Vehicle.
eBay recommend to use this service for all transaction. http://pages.ebay.com/help/pay/escrow.html

If you are not familiar ,Please visit www.escrow.com and if you agree please contact me.I will register the transaction and Escrow will send you the notification with all the information regarding our transaction.

Please keep me updated and hope to conclude this deal successfully.

Kind regards,
Dr. Isabel Horton



I said was interested but would want to use an escrow service I had used before and trusted. It would appear that Dr Isabel didn't take any notice of this and then proceeded to set up the sale as I got the following response

Ok
Thank you
I will start the transaction with Escrow.
You will receive a notification from Escrow with all details.
Please note that all Escrow transaction are made in Euro,the international coin. You will not be charged,the convert will be made automatically when the payment is made. The total price agreed is £4,000,you will pay in pounds,no fees required.
You will receive the notification equivalent in Euro,€4,718.

After you will accept ,Escrow send you the payment invoice for UK customers in £ pounds.

Kind regards,
Dr.Isabel Horton

Shortly after the following mail came from a very convincing Escrow payment site

[img]Seller Isabel Horton ([email protected]), has selected Escrow.com Payment Services to handle a secure online transaction with you.

Transaction: 2007 VOLKSWAGEN T5 EXPLORER TDi 4 BERTH

Amount: € 4,718.00 ( £ 4,000.00 ) *

* Conversion according to www.xe.com - 1 EUR = 0.847746 GBP

Escrow.com is the best way to conduct secure online transactions --select one of the links below or copy and paste it into your web browser:

If you have never used Escrow.com before, please use [email protected] as your email address to register at:

https://www.escrow.com/support/registration-form.aspx

If you would like to use a different email address, please reply to this email before registering.

If you are a returning Escrow.com user, use [email protected] as your email address to sign in at:

https://www.escrow.com/support/login-form.aspx?

To indicate you have received this email, please reply with your name, a mobile phone number and the date when you are able to make the payment.

An email containing your Payment Invoice for UK Customers will be sent to your email address [email protected]

You will receive an email with British Pound Bank Transfer Instructions shortly.

For more information on using escrow, see https://www.escrow.com/why-escrowcom.aspx

Escrow.com [email protected] , Fax: +44 (0)20 8043 2055


Security Tips

We encourage our customers to use caution when conducting online transactions, even when using our escrow service. We only offer our escrow services at Escrow.com.If you are a non-EU resident, please refer to the user agreement for the contact data of your contracting party.This message is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged,confidential, and exempt from disclosure under applicable law.
You are hereby notified that any dissemination,distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited.
If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender immediately and destroy this message.Escrow is committed to your privacy.

Copyright © 1999-2016 Escrow.com. All rights reserved./img]


I have not been caught out by this one but others may as all of the sites look very convincing.

Beware

is being used for email only and is a one-year, privacy registered domain.

Domain Name: SUPPORT-ESCROW.COM
Registrar: GODADDY.COM, LLC
Sponsoring Registrar IANA ID: 146
Whois Server: whois.godaddy.com
Referral URL: http://www.godaddy.com
Name Server: NS73.DOMAINCONTROL.COM
Name Server: NS74.DOMAINCONTROL.COM
Status: clientDeleteProhibited https://icann.org/epp#clientDeleteProhibited
Status: clientRenewProhibited https://icann.org/epp#clientRenewProhibited
Status: clientTransferProhibited https://icann.org/epp#clientTransferProhibited
Status: clientUpdateProhibited https://icann.org/epp#clientUpdateProhibited
Updated Date: 28-nov-2015
Creation Date: 28-nov-2015
Expiration Date: 28-nov-2016

Thank-you Kingofthetwisties, I came across the same scam on Gumtree last night, almost word for word. Finding your post on here confirmed it for me, the lovely VW was indeed too good to be true.

unfortunately I was caught out by this exact scam a few days ago and lost several thousand pounds. exactly the same word for word as described above. cant understand why authorities havent closed this down as it seems to have been going on for years, advert was on gumtree, same story of poor divorcee left with two kids suppose to be in germany, blah blah blah, I had never tried anything like this before and had not looked at the average price of such vans, she recomended escrow.com and the links on the email take you to the legitimate company, it's only the email address that you then communicate with to get the payment details thats false, so I had thought I had checked it was ok to go ahead with the payment, very foolish, I know now but a very expensive and devastating lesson.

Hello for everyone’s information more on this one now valued at £6,200 [email protected]

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