"Romanian Style" Car Scams

If you have seen the car of your dreams on an on-line small ad site ...then your dreams could be just about to be shattered.

If the answer to your first enquiry looks anything like this, then it is a scam :

Re: 2000 Toyota Celica GT-S Like New - $2900 (rd)Friday, December 5, 2008 8:26 PM
From: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]

Hello

First of all I want to thank you for your interest for my car. I am selling it at this price ($2900) because I just finished the divorce with my husband. When the divorce ended i owned this car.Now i really don't want it in my backyard.
This car is in excellent working condition, no scratches, flaws or any kind of damage, slightly used in 100% working and looking conditions and comes with a clear title.
From the beginning you have to know that for the payment I request only secure pay, I prefer the payment to be done using eBay services.
We will use a safe payment method because I am affiliated at eBay and I have a purchase protection account for $20,000. The final price that I want for this car is $2900 US including shipping and handling.
If you are interested in buying it please provide me your full name and address so I can initiate the deal through eBay.

I will wait your answer(if you are interested to buy) very soon.

Thank you
Janette Evans

e-bay doesn't offer any payment services for this kind of transaction.

If you do reply again you will receive a very good looking, but fake, invoice from e-bay detailing the bank details that you need to wire your money to.

Make no mistake ....you will never get to see the car or your money ever again.

Just adding to that;

After your payment has been sent and lost it is likely that you will be approached for another unexpected fee, this is simply another way to squeeze more money from their victims.

I know about this scam from first hand experience with some neighbours who lost a lot of money when trying to purchase a "too good to be true" priced car.

She is changing name but address always same in Lemoore hill college, ca,93245
Hello

First of all I want to thank you for your interest for my truck. I am selling it at this price ($3000) because I just finished the divorce with my husband. When the divorce ended i owned this truck.Now i really don't want it in my backyard.This truck is in excellent working condition, no scratches, flaws or any kind of damage, slightly used in 100% working and looking conditions and comes with a clear title.
From the beginning you have to know that for the payment I request only secure pay, I prefer the payment to be done using eBay services.We will use a safe payment method because I am affiliated at eBay and I have a purchase protection account for $20,000. The final price that I want for this truck is $3000 US including shipping and handling.If you are interested in buying it please provide me your full name and address so I can initiate the deal through eBay.


I will wait your answer(if you are interested to buy) very soon.
Thank you
Janette Evans




Hello,

First of all I want to thank you for your interest for my golf cart. I am selling it at this price ($2400) because I just finished the divorce with my husband. When the divorce has finished i own this golf cart. Now as a woman i don't need it. This golf cart is in excellent working condition, no scratches, flaws or any kind of damage, slightly used in 100% working and looking conditions and comes with a clear title.

From the beginning you have to know that for the payment I request only secure pay, I prefer the payment to be done using eBay services.
We will use a safe payment method because I am affiliated at eBay and I have a purchase protection account for $20,000. The final price that I want for this golf cart is $2400 US including shipping and handling.

If you are interested in buying it please provide me your full name and address so I can initiate the deal through eBay.


So I thought an ebay secure payment. It must be safe!


Then I get this from what looks to be from ebay to finalize the purchase:


eBay sent this message to Gary Rumberger.
Your registered name is included to show this message originated from eBay.

Your invoice for eBay Motors purchase - 2004 Gas EZ-GO Golf Cart

Invoice for VPP Transaction Case ID 3279D32W8256F between Dana Washington , as the Seller and Gary Rumberger as the Buyer.
Please follow our instructions to complete the transaction safely.

Seller:

Name: Dana Washington

Address: 7800 North kendall Dr
Miami Florida
33172
United States

Buyer

Name: Gary Rumberger
Address:
Pottsville
PA 17901
United States

Transaction Details:

Case ID: 3279D32W8256F
Date: 14.05.2009
Status: Payment Pending

Item Description: Used
Price $2,400.00 US
Quantity Sold: 1
Insurance: Yes
Shipping: Check with the seller

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shipping to*: Gary Rumberger

Pottsville
PA 17901
United States

*Please check the details for an accurate delivery in order to avoid delays.


Payment must be submitted via MoneyGram to an eBay Financing Center Agent in charge of this transaction. The eBay Financing Center Agent will secure the payment until the Buyer receives, inspects and accepts the vehicle. Or, if it will be the case, the Agent will refund the payment to the Buyer.

eBay Financing Center Agent*:

First Name: Mark

Last Name: Shaffer

Address: 2145 Hamilton Avenue
City: Lemoore
State: CA
Zip: 93245
Country: United States

*The MoneyGram transfer will be sent using this name and address.

Payment:

Invoice #8049106637

Subtotal: $2,400.00 US
Shipping: $0.00 US
Sales Tax: $0.00 US

Deposit: $2,400.00 US

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Remaining Ballance: 0.00 US


How to make the payment

Find the nearest MoneyGram office:


Send the payment using eBay Financing Center Agent's name and address (found below) as payment details.
E-mail* [email protected]
the following payment information:
Case ID and Invoice #
MoneyGram reference number - 8 digits number found on the payment receipt
Sender's Name and Address
Receiver's Name and Address
Total Amount Sent
Send the MoneyGram payment receipt to eBay Financing Center Department at our central fax number:
+1 (866) 323-4630
*We strongly recommend that you confirm the payment by send the fax.
Important Notice

For security reasons please DO NOT release the payment details to the Seller or any other unauthorized person.

All the transaction, payment and personal information is considered confidential and will not be released under any circumstances.
Vehicle Purchase Protection program security measures are constantly reviewed and modified given evolving circumstances globally.
Our main and constant priority is the safety of our customers.

If you are not familiarized with MoneyGram services please visit: http://www.moneygram.com.
Pay for the transfer with cash at a local MoneyGram agent. MoneyGram agent locations are independent businesses that provide money transfer service to their customers on behalf of MoneyGram. MoneyGram agents are primarily banks, post offices, exchange offices or retail locations - grocery stores, mail box centers, drug stores, travel agencies, depots, other retail locations.
Independent MoneyGram agents may impose different limitations on the maximum amount that can be submitted per day. For this reason, in case of a larger amount to be sent, we recommend that you go to more than one agent and submit the total sum in separate transfers.

When payment is received, it will be verified and secured into a non-interest bearing trust account. Payment verification process usually takes less than 24 hours. After payment is secured, the Seller is authorized to ship the vehicle.. The Seller has 3 business days to send the Buyer and eBay Motors Customer Support the tracking number of the shipment. If no tracking number is provided, a full refund is immediately sent to the Buyer.
The Buyer receives the vehicle and has 5 business days to inspect it. If it is complete and as described, the Buyer should accept the vehicle. If he refuses the vehicle, the Buyer must ship the vehicle back to the Seller within 5 business days.
After the inspection period is over, the Buyer must contact eBay Financing Center Customer Support with the result of the inspection. If the Buyer refuses the vehicle, the refund will be sent to the Buyer after the tracking number for the returned shipment is verified. If the vehicle is accepted, eBay Financing Center Department submits the payment directly to the Seller within 3 business

I will wait your answer(if you are interested to buy) very soon.

Thank you
Dana Washington

she is still putting some scam on Craigslist in every.
e-bay agent
First Name: David
Last Name: Godfrey
Address: 2145 Hamilton Avenue
City: Lemoore
State: CA
Zip: 93245
Country: United States

same address as usually

Hi Tomo

Welcome to Scamwarners
Thank you for the additional information, it will help prevent others from being scammed

If you have any questions please feel free to ask

Oh my gosh. I almost was a victim. I recently as in hours ago made contact with whoever is doing this. I gave my name and adress and number but no bank or account numbers thank god. I luckily had the brain to contact ebay and sent them the email I recieved. They said it was a spoof and wow it was. Should I be worried that she/he has my name and address though?

Hi Cpernia

Welcome to Scamwarners

I am glad to hear you have avoided being scammed.

It isn't ideal that they have your details but so long as you remain vigilant and suspicious of any emails or letters you will be just fine.

Now that they know your name and address they may try sending scams by post or they may include your details on a scam email to make it look more legitimate.

If you receive anything you are not sure about please dont hesitate to ask

See,
http://houston.craigslist.org/cto/1493627704.html
http://tampa.craigslist.org/hdo/cto/1497220733.html
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/ctd/1493646079.html.
Probably related to same scam:
http://miami.craigslist.org/pbc/cto/1466280796.html
http://kansascity.craigslist.org/cto/1463593075.html

response from seller:

From: harris elizabeth [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: *********************
To: ***********************
Subject: RE: bmw 530xi

2006 BMW 530XI - 47,800 Miles


First of all I want to thank you for your interest for my car. I sell it at this price ($ 4800 ) because i just finished the divorce with my husband.The divorce has finished 6 months ago and the car is mine now.After the divorce I was forced to buy a new house. Following the financial crisis I can not afford to pay the bank and I decided to sell the car.This car is in excellent working conditions, no scratches, flaws or any kind of damage, slightly used in 100% working and looking conditions and comes with a clear title.
From the beginning you have to know that for the payment I request only secure pay, I prefer the payment to be done using eBay services.
We will use a safe payment method because I am affiliated at eBay and I have a purchase protection account.The final price that I want for this car is $4800.I will pay for shipping and handling.
If you are interested in buying it please provide me your full name and address so I can initiate the deal through eBay.
I will wait your answer(if you are interested to buy) very soon.


Elizabeth Harris


P.S. - HERE ARE SOME PICS OF THE CAR - http://s866.photobucket.com/albums/ab22 ... 512harris/
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Blue book value for this car (assuming sedan, standard options for the series) WITHOUT any options (the ad claims it is loaded with options which would increase the value further):

Kelley Blue Book Private Party Value

Condition Value
Excellent $26,000
Good $24,500
Fair $22,600


Kelley Blue book Dealer Trade-in value
Condition Value
Excellent $23,400
Good $22,100
Fair $19,900

The "seller" (actually, scammer) is claiming the car is in excellent condition. That means that the quoted price is less than 20% of blue book private party value. Even with the current economy, it is absolutely impossible that a seller would be forced to sell this car for this price. Even if "she" didn't want to go to the trouble to sell it privately, "she" could walk into a local dealership and get a dealer to pick it up for 3 times that price or more.

This is definitely another case of "if it sounds too good to be true..."

I just got scammed by a similar story. Just meaning like earlier today. He used the name Pete Mesley and was selling a 2002 Ford F-250 for $5500. I found the truck on craigslist, and emailed him ([email protected]) and he gave me pictures, a carfax report and all kinds of stuff. He said he wanted to go through ebay motor protection program, which to a first time user, sounded legit. I received a email from "ebay" that looked exactly like a transaction email and I was told to send half of the money through western union to a ebay agent in orlando. Not knowing, I did so, I then received an email from "ebay" saying the payment was secure and the truck had been shipped, and I would have to send the rest of the money or they would put a stop on the shipment. I did, and then never heard anything again. If anyone knows how to solve this or is it even possible to get your money back please let me know anything, I am desperate!

Hi Schatty

Welcome to Scamwarners

I am sorry i have no good news for you, once money is picked up from Western union it is gone and there is no chance of ever getting it back.

Western Union is completely anonymous and untracable, there is no way of finding out who or where the scammers are which is the reason it is so popular with scammers and the reason for the warnings not to use that service on Ebay.

There is a very good chance the scammers will try to get more money from you by suggesting there is an unforseen fee holding up the delivery, this is another lie in the hope of you sending them more money.

If you could post all of the emails from these people with any of your own details removed and it may prevent somebody else from being scammed.

We may be able to tell you which country the scammers are if you can provide the email headers, if you dont know how to find them, let us know which email provider you use (hotmail/yahoo/gmail) and we can give you instructions on how to retrieve the headers.

Once again, I am sorry you were scammed before finding us.

If you have any questions, please dont hesitate to ask

I'm sorry to hear you were a victim of this scam. It's safe to say that this is 100% scam as ebay does not have any connection to craigslist and even if they did, they have no program that involves the use of WU.

Scammers often answer online ads and pose as buyers in another one of their scam formats, and they may use the information obtained to aid in future scams--chances are someone really was selling that truck sometime in recent history, and your scammer got the photos and report information from the seller while posing as a legitimate customer. In a world of anonymous online communication, this is really easy for them to do.

Unfortunately, as Ralph said, once the money is picked up, your chances of getting it back are pretty much zero, though scammers will often run a second scam, a "recovery scam" in which they claim to be able to get your money back. You need to be careful not to get pulled into a recovery scam at this point in time.

I am assuming you immediately contacted WU and attempted to cancel the transaction when you realized it was a scam? If you haven't, that would be the first thing to do. Unfortunately, scammers know that victims may realize they are being scammed any time, so they generally race to their local WU (WU does not have to be picked up at a specific office--that was another lie to give the victim a false sense of confidence) and pick up the payment immediately to get their hands on the money before they have a chance to cancel the transaction. But, if you haven't done so, it is still worth checking with WU in case they (or their mule) didn't get there to pick up the money.

I almost just fell into this trap. I was on cragislist and i saw a remarkable ad for a 2007 BMW 530xi for only $5000. What a bargain! I immediately became suspicious when i email the person and they went in the exact same path as all of these stories have gone in.

The only difference with this one was that it was an Air Force Major who had he brothers car who had recently died. She was located in the UK and was willing to pay for shipping to the US to my nearest airport. I had 10 days to inspect and test drive the car and if i did not like it then she would cover the charges for shipping the car back to the UK.

There were also a lot of spelling mistakes in her e-mails which made me wonder how she was a Major in a respected army with such bad typing skills. I soon began to research craigslist car scams and came across this website and many others that explained how top spot a scam such as this one. When i realized that I had almost fallen for this trick i soon cut off communications with her.

I am very thankful for this website, you saved me $5000.

If anyone finds this information, be careful it is a scam:


Name: Maj. Martha Robins
Email: [email protected]
Offer: BMW 530xi for $5000
Claim: It was her brothers car who had recently passed away and she was looking for someone who would take good care of it for her.
Possible Sender: USAF carrier to your nearest and most convenient airport for either truck delivery to your home, or for you to pick up at the airport.

Hi, first of all I want to thank you for your interest in my 2004 Nissan Sentra 1.8 S. I sell it at this price $ 1.850, because I just finished the divorce, and I am very glad that I took the car, because it was my ex husbands most precious thing.I don't ask to much for the car because I just want to get rid of it ASAP, since the bastard cheated on me in this car. It is bad memory and I should get rid of it. I have it in Marysville, OH because i live here right now. It has only 64800 miles. The car is paid off,clean title,i have the title in hand. The divorce finished 6 months ago and the Nissan is mine now. After the divorce I was forced to buy a new house.My ex-husband bought it and has only been garage kept. As you can see from the pictures it is in excellent condition. It has many extras including automatic transmission,a/c,cruise control, am/fm, trunk liner, spare is brand new, all manuals are included,2 keys. I had the oil changed about 2 weeks ago. This Nissan runs as good as a new one and has no dings, dents, or scratches. From the beginning you have to know that for the payment I request only secure pay. I prefer the payment to be done using e Bay services (I will receive the payment only after you receive and inspect the car and only if you agree to buy it). We will use a safe payment method because I am affiliated at e Bay and I have a purchase protection account ( i hope you saw this then you contacted me ). The last price for this is $1,850, no trades, only cash and only with e bay, because I cannot sell otherwise. I will pay for shipping and handling(the loan of my previous buyer didn't get approved and he already paid the shipping costs) so there won't be any additional shipping costs).
If you are interested in buying it please email me your FULL NAME and SHIPPING ADDRESS so i can get the ball rolling
I will wait your answer (if you are interested to buy) very soon.


Jennifer Miller,Marysville, OH

P.O.S.....

Welcome JayinVA,
and thank you for the warning. Could you please add the scammer's email address? A lot of victims do a Google search for suspicious email addresses.