How Does This Scam Work?

[uofipilot]

Ok,

I'm selling a car on Ebay. It was listed with a Buy it Now of 4,000. Someone purchased the car via Buy it Now. The person has zero feedback and zero history, and is no longer a registered user on Ebay. Sounds fishy.

I (and the car) am in Chicago, IL. Buyer is in FL. I sent the buyer an email stating that if he/she is not serious about buying the car, I'm going to re-list. This is the response I got.

"I will need to know if the item is the same as described in the auctions also if there is anything included which you did not include in the auction in addition payment will be made via any of this means which depends on whichever you prefer Certified Cashiers Check or Money Order and will be sent you via Fedex Express Next Day Delivery as i will be living for Germany in the next few days.The payment (Check)will contain some extra money which you will help me get across to the shipper as we have arranged with a shipper to come and pick up the item from your address.I have few questions to ask you:



1. Will you be able to cash the check the sameday?

2. Will you be available when the shipping agency will come for the pick up

3. Will you be able to help me get the extra money sent to
the shipper upon cashing the check?

4. Is the condition of the item the same as described in the auction.

5. I will need you to email me : Name,Address,cell phone,personal email address where you want the check sent.As soon as youget back to me with all this details,i will have the check sent to you via FEDEX NEXT DAY.Need a response ASAP"


So, what do you make of all this? I guess it's easy enough to not let the car leave the driveway until I have 40 crisp 100s in my hand, but it still sounds odd. No longer a user on Ebay, in Germany for a few days, I have to pay the shipper, can't put together a sentence with any grammar, etc.

Thanks in advance. I dont want to get ripped off, and I don't want to deal with a bunch of shit.

 

[PureStang]

dont do it. i saw 3 sentences in that paragraph. you could easily get 7 sentences in the first "sentence".

 

[Common]

Sounds legit, I got a bridge in NYC I want to sell too, pm for details!

 

[needSVTsoon]

Here is how it works. You deposit fake check. You withdraw shipping money that was included in the check. Option 1 is you send the shipper the money and you never hear from them again. Option 2 is they come pick the car up and take the shipping money and you never hear from them again. Check bounces after 2-3 weeks and you are out the shipping money or the mony and car. That is how it works.

 

[Dusten]

Sounds legit, I got a bridge in NYC I want to sell too, pm for details!

he's not asking if its legit, he's asking how the scam actually works

 

[Uncle Meat]

The scam works because these scumbags have very legitimate looking bogus checks & money orders.

Here's how it works...

They send you a check for $6000. $4000 for the car, $2000 for "shipping".

You cash check at bank and deposit $4000 into savings and send the remaining $2000 to the "shipper".

Shipper never shows.

Bank calls 2-3 weeks later informing you the check/money order was fake or not being honored at the institution it was drawn from.

You now owe your bank $6000.

Scammer got $2000 from you for the price of a fake check and a FedEx overnight shipment.

I say go ahead and tell him to forward the check via FedEx. Throw it away once you receive it tell him it never arrived. Make up some crap about your address being a digit or two off. Make him send another check via FedEx. Repeat this process until they get tired of wasting money on FedEx overnight charges.

U.M.

 

[uofipilot]

Thanks for the replies. I clearly don't like the way this one smells. However, if I go to the bank and cash a bank check, and actually get the 4,000 cash in my hand, can the bank call me in 2-3 weeks and demand their money back? I was under the assumption they couldn't. And I would also tell him/her that I will not be dealing with any shipping company. If they're serious, they they can figure it out.

And thanks for the replies. Maybe I'll just have some fun with this tool.

 

[IveGotTheBlues]

The scam works because these scumbags have very legitimate looking bogus checks & money orders.

Here's how it works...

They send you a check for $6000. $4000 for the car, $2000 for "shipping".

You cash check at bank and deposit $4000 into savings and send the remaining $2000 to the "shipper".

Shipper never shows.

Bank calls 2-3 weeks later informing you the check/money order was fake or not being honored at the institution it was drawn from.

You now owe your bank $6000.

Scammer got $2000 from you for the price of a fake check and a FedEx overnight shipment.

I say go ahead and tell him to forward the check via FedEx. Throw it away once you receive it tell him it never arrived. Make up some crap about your address being a digit or two off. Make him send another check via FedEx. Repeat this process until they get tired of wasting money on FedEx overnight charges.

U.M.

^

This. LOL

 

[BLK03SVT10TH]

Thanks for the replies. I clearly don't like the way this one smells. However, if I go to the bank and cash a bank check, and actually get the 4,000 cash in my hand, can the bank call me in 2-3 weeks and demand their money back? I was under the assumption they couldn't. And I would also tell him/her that I will not be dealing with any shipping company. If they're serious, they they can figure it out.

And thanks for the replies. Maybe I'll just have some fun with this tool.

Wrong. The Bank will come after YOU for the money once the Check is determined to be FAKE.

 

[VictorySong]

Sounds legit, I got a bridge in NYC I want to sell too, pm for details!

I lol'd.:lol1:

 

[Maching-U]

Tell him he has 3 options to pay you or no deal.

Option 1 - Deposit the check that he will be sending and tell him that he needs to wait 3 weeks for the check to clear.

Option 2 - Tell him to wire fund to a nearest Western Union near you. Do not give him your bank account# for him to do direct wire.

Option 3 - He can paypal you plus p/p fees.

 

[BlckBox04]

it's clearly a scam and UncleMeat gave the best explanation

 

[BJB]

The scam works because these scumbags have very legitimate looking bogus checks & money orders.

Here's how it works...

They send you a check for $6000. $4000 for the car, $2000 for "shipping".

You cash check at bank and deposit $4000 into savings and send the remaining $2000 to the "shipper".

Shipper never shows.

Bank calls 2-3 weeks later informing you the check/money order was fake or not being honored at the institution it was drawn from.

You now owe your bank $6000.

Scammer got $2000 from you for the price of a fake check and a FedEx overnight shipment.

I say go ahead and tell him to forward the check via FedEx. Throw it away once you receive it tell him it never arrived. Make up some crap about your address being a digit or two off. Make him send another check via FedEx. Repeat this process until they get tired of wasting money on FedEx overnight charges.

U.M.

U.M, that is some great advice!!! At $20 bucks a shipment that would cost the scum bag some money. Some people spend more time trying to beat the system, then just playing by the rules!!

 

[blazer427X3]

Here is how it works. You deposit fake check. You withdraw shipping money that was included in the check. Option 1 is you send the shipper the money and you never hear from them again. Option 2 is they come pick the car up and take the shipping money and you never hear from them again. Check bounces after 2-3 weeks and you are out the shipping money or the mony and car. That is how it works.

Yep, thats how its done, and you see it a lot on Craigslist too.

 

[oldmodman]

Thanks for the replies. I clearly don't like the way this one smells. However, if I go to the bank and cash a bank check, and actually get the 4,000 cash in my hand, can the bank call me in 2-3 weeks and demand their money back? I was under the assumption they couldn't. And I would also tell him/her that I will not be dealing with any shipping company. If they're serious, they they can figure it out.

And thanks for the replies. Maybe I'll just have some fun with this tool.

Yep.
Even if you have no cash left in the account the bank will come after you for the money. And there are some circumstances where you could actually get charged with fraud just for depositing the check. This very thread could be used against you since you colud no longer sya that you did not know it could be a fraud.
Even if the crook sent you a United States Postal money order it could be phony, and the Post Office could even cash it and come after you a year later.

Tell the crook to withdraw cash in his own country, convert it to dollars, and have a courier hand deliver it to you. This will insure that you will never hear from him again.

 

[uofipilot]

Well, I was thinking about this some more, and the bank cannot come after me after they cash the check. I just to a CPA exam covering this material. I would technically be a Holder in Due Course. A bank (really nobody) can recover from a holder in due course if the holder did not contribute to the fraudulent check. The bank would be able to go after the maker of the note, but not a holder in due course.

HOWEVER, that is simply what a textbook/CPA exam have to say about it. There's probably more to the story, and I don't want to deal with it. This guy is gonna get the "go pound sand" reply.

 

[uofipilot]

Here's the response I gave:

"The only payment I will accept is a cleared check. I will not let the
car out of my posession until the check clears, which will take 2-3
weeks. I will also not be involved in the shipping process
whatsoever. If you want the vehicle shipped, you can pay the shipper
directly. As the auction clearly stated, the buyer (that's you) is
responsible for all shipping arrangements. I see no need for me to be
involved with paying a shipper. I can be here when the shipping
company arrives, but I will be disassociated with the shipping
contract/payment.

If you would like to contact me to discuss this further, please email
or call with the number I already provided.

If I don't hear from you in a day or so, I will assume you are not
serious about buying, and I will re-list the car.

Thanks,
Matt"

That ought to do it. Now I get to deal with Ebay to try and have them credit the 30 bucks worth of fees I paid seeing as how the car didn't really sell. I hate scumbags.

 

[FISHTAIL]

When I sold my last car I got tons of those emails. At first I had fun playing with them, but eventually I got tired of dealing with it and just started responding "cash only". That's the quickest way to get rid of them.

 

[highdensity007]

Fake. But, when I get these scammers I mess with them until they figure it out.

I would respond back with:

You: This sounds great, just let me know what other information you need from me

(scammer response)

You: Thanks for the quick response, so what is the plan?

(scammer response)

You: Afternoons work best for me for pickup, do you like legos?

(scammer response)

You: I can count to 10, how high can you count?

etc etc etc...

 

[uofipilot]

^hahahahahahaha. Do you like legos? That's awesome. Legos > MegaBlocks