New kind of scam...at least for me

Off-topic
1

I have a vehicle for sale listed out on Yahoo auto ads: http://my.autos.yahoo.com/usedcars/detail/index.html?cid=automobiles-1124480613-574162 and received the following email about my ad:

Hello, I am a procurement agent here in England and i have a client who wants your car as a wedding present to his newly wedded son who is resident in Canada. Please provide more details below. Any accident history or air bag deflation …?

Contact: Tony Keneth
Phone: 44-870-1331129
Email: alabama_autodealer@yahoo.co.uk
Best time to contact: Anytime
Best contact method: Email

Vehicle info:
Make: Dodge
Model: Ram Van
Year: 1995
Price: $0
Mileage: 117000
VIN: 2B6HB21YXSK511847

– (attached message from Yahoo)
Although there is not a single surefire way to identify fraudulent
buyers, there are certain countries that have a higher incidence of
fraud and often have untraceable addresses. These include: Nigeria,Romania, Macedonia, Belarus, Pakistan, Russia, Lithuania, Egypt,Colombia, Malaysia, and Indonesia. You may want to decline to sell to buyers in these countries, even if the buyer offers to use a U.S. cashier’s check. If you are at all suspicious, it’s a good idea to do some research. Learn More

Thank you for using Yahoo! Autos

My response:

Tony,

Please pardon my bluntness, but I am very wary of
overseas inquiries of vehicles for sale in the U.S.
Any transactions initiated outside of North America
will need to be cash-upon-delivery deals. Right away,
I have cause to be suspicious as my vehicle is not a
car.

As I have no way at this moment of recognizing
fraudulence, I can answer your question by saying our
vehicle has not been involved in any accidents. You
have the VIN from the Yahoo! ad and can verify the
history of the vehicle via carfax.com.

If I can answer any more questions, please feel free
to contact me at this email address.

Bruce

As I understand it, one of the scams is for someone to send a cashier’s check for a purchase in an amount more than the asking price to cover incidentals, then ask that the overage be returned. Once the money has been returned, the original cashier’s check turns out to be a fake.

2

Re: New kind of scam…at least for me

That’s one of the scams. There is another scam that involves trying to deposit money directly into your checking account but in reality they are trying to get enough info to withdraw money from your checking account. I’m not sure of all the details on that one.

There’s lots of web pages on scams that sellers need to be aware of. Here’s the scam warning from Craigs List. Google for more scam warnings. Cars and other high ticket items are targets for scams.

3

Okay, I’ll go with this for now. I can see some possibilities here where they ask me to ship the vehicle across the border only to find out that their check is fraudulent. Thing is, until I have cash in hand and someone signs the title officially taking responsibility for the vehicle away from me, I’m not shipping it anywhere.

Here’s his latest response:

Hi Bruce and Mary Edwards,

I hereby acknowledge the receipt of your mail.Meanwhile thanks for your prompt response to my enquiry concerning your 1995 Dodge Ram Van advert.

Please note that as i mentioned earler, my client wants to conclude this transaction as soon as possible since he wants the vehicle as a present for his son who is resident in Canada.As you know,we here in England drive on the right side while those resident in Canada and US drive on the left side.So the 1995 Dodge Ram Van will just need to be shipped across the border to Canada in time before the couple return from their honeymoon.

The details are okay so kindly re-confirm your firm price today by writing it boldly in your next mail and writing the word firm boldly beside it for my client’s benefit so that we can proceed.

Have a pleasant day.
Tony Keneth.

4

I’ll lead him on for awhile:

Tony,

I’m so excited to play a part in someone’s happiness, especially when it comes to marriage. What a blessed experience.

In answer to your inquiry, the price on the vehicle is $3100.00 USD firm.

Here are the deal specifics: As I previously mentioned, in this situation, it must be a cash on delivery transaction, no cashier’s checks will be accepted. The purchaser must travel here to sign the title in my presence and take possession of the vehicle. I will not ship the vehicle without a signature on the title from the buyer himself and am not willing to have the title leave my possession prior to his signature. If you are still interested in pursuing this deal, please respond promptly.

Bruce

5

there’s just something in the way these guys write that gives me the creeps
nobody but a scammer or an insurance salesman starts a letter ‘Bruce and Mary Edwards’
oh, ok, maybe Real Estate Agents as well

6

I believe that’s how I’ve got our Yahoo account title set up. So the manner of his salutation sure does remove some of the personal touch, doesn’t it.

7

yeah, it just reads like a form letter that was written by someone who’s english isn’t quite as good as they think it is

keep us posted on how this one develops
i can’t wait to see the scam unfold

8

Heh, a P-P-P-P-Powerbook II might be nice.

9

no no no, we drive on the right side of the road.

10

Re: Re: New kind of scam…at least for me

Yeah, some guy tried to pull that on Lucal. He explains it here.

priceless.

11

Gilby,

That one blew right by me. I hadn’t noticed his mistake. I’ll have to call him on it.

Thanks,
Bruce

12

Gilby,

That one blew right by me. I hadn’t noticed his mistake. I’ll have to call him on it.

Thanks,
Bruce

13

No, we here in England definitely drive on the right side of the road. It’s everyone else that’ wrong! HAHA

:smiley:

Sorry…

Loose.

14

Hehe… but he was also correct as he didn’t specify whether it was the car or the road. But here in the US we say that we drive on the right side of the road. Maybe in the UK, they say they drive on the right side of the car. Afterall, we all want to claim to be driving on the correct side. But then again, this guy is probably from Africa anyways.

15

Rii-i-i-iight…

hey, wathchit!

16

This is interesting. Just got this today.

Hello sir/ma’am, I am a procurement agent here in England.I have a client who wants your Vehilcle for his son resident in Canada. Any accident history or air bag deployment? Are you first owner?Pls e-mail asap.

Contact: ben davis
Phone: 7753635047
Email: graciaway_autos@yahoo.com
Best time to contact: Anytime
Best contact method: Email

I copied the original email I received from the first guy and sent it to the second guy. Gee, I wonder if this confirms that this is a scam?

B

17

Since the conversation is about a car (van), one can assume they were talking right-hand drive vs. left-hand drive. When specified that way, it means which side of the car the driver sits on.

What one cannot assume is that this is a legitemate attempt to buy the not-car. So far the potential buyer has not spoken in any way outside of what seems a structured form-letter type of reply. You could try asking some specific questions and if they get ignored, you’ve probably identified a scam.

Certainly you don’t need to be hearing from a procurement agent in England if you have requested and in-person cash transaction…

18

and here’s the email he just received from me

19

I love it!

20

New twist. I also called the phone number listed only to get a recording saying the number didn’t exist.

Hello Seller, This is auto spare parts distributors a subsidiary of oklahoma parts inc base in iowa, united states. I am interested in purchasing your motor vehichle for spare parts supply in africa. I will like to offer you the sum of 2,850.00 USD.

Contact: williams james
Phone: 5148360428
Email: atlantic_logistictech@yahoo.com
Best time to contact: Anytime
Best contact method: Email

My response:

Sold. Matter of fact, I’ll only charge you $2500.00. Terms are cash upon delivery, no cashier’s checks, and personal visit from the buyer to sign the title.

Love,
me