Yet Another eBay and Craigslist Scammer
Posted at 4:07 pm. Filed under: Tips, Rants, WTF, Law / Crime
Last week I was browsing through craigslist to see if i could find a reasonably priced vehicle in my area. I came across a silver 2001 Honda Civic EX Coupe for right under $3,000. The price seemed very nice so I contacted the owner via the craigslist sale email address.
The person replied a few days later with the following email message:
Hi there and sorry for the late reply.
The car is still available for sale. This is a 2001 Honda Civic Ex Coupe, 1.7L 4-CYL VTEC, 5-SPEED Manual Transmission, Silver, 112000 MILES, VIN 1HGEM21951L088189.
It is in EXCELLENT condition; the body and paint are great, no scratches and no dents; the interior is clean; it has never been involved in an accident.
Here you can find more pictures with the car:
http://picasaweb.google.com/joel8matrix/Civic I’m an US Air Force Lieutenant currently stationed in UK. And the car is here with me. It was bought in the US and shipped to Europe, but it was never permanently registered here, the car is still registered in the US.
The car is for sale locally as well, but there are slim chances of this to happen. First of all this is a US model car, with the steering wheel on the left side, as opposed to a UK model, that has the steering wheel on the right side. And second, in order to be able to register this car here in UK the buyer would have to pay very high import/custom taxes that will double the price. So I decided to sell the car back in the US.
As I’m unable to travel in the near future and I don’t have anyone back home to help me with the sale I decided to make this transaction through eBay.
So how this actually works? Simple: the buyer sends the payment to eBay and they hold the money until the car is delivered; I ship the car to US; I get my money only after the buyer receives the car and makes sure everything is as agreed. I believe this protects both buyer and seller and it’s the right way to do this.
The final price is $2,999 including shipping from Europe to the US and delivery to your home address.
So if you decide to buy this car or need further information please get back to me as soon as possible.
Thank you and have a great day,
Lt. Joel Miller
joel8matrix@hotmail.com
At first it seemed like a very good deal. A great car for an even greater price. I even got a Carfax check on it and everything looked good.
I then replied to the person and asked for more details regarding exactly how it works, going through eBay and all. They replied with pretty much the same information that was in their first email. It seemed a bit vague, so I started getting a little suspicious.
I told him I would give it a shot and I went ahead and emailed him my address and contact information. Shortly after sending him my information, I received 2 emails, both appearing to be from eBay Motors. The emails looked very legit and included my information, a picture of the car and the sellers information.
The thing I noticed, however, was the email addressed they were sent from. They werent sent from eBay.com or any subdomain of eBay.com. The emails were sent from protection-ebaymotors.net. I forwarded the emails to eBay’s spoof department and just as I suspected, the guy is a scammer. He almost got me for $3,000 dollars.
There is no telling how many people actually fall for scams like this. Posting a car or other item that is worth far more than your asking price, just to get alot of replies, making it easy to scam unsuspecting internet shoppers such as myself.
If you receive any emails from protection-ebaymotors.net or any other email address that you suspect may be fraudulent, forward the emails to spoof@ebay.com. They will review the email and tell you if it’s a legit eBay email or if its fake.
> Email this story to a friend so that they don’t fall victim to this same kind of scam!
Posted at 4:07 pm on Tuesday, August 21st, 2007. |
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September 12th, 2007 at 1:05 pm
[…] my post a while back regarding the Craigslist and eBay scam, I was browsing through Craigslist looking for more cheap cars and came across several of them. […]
December 14th, 2007 at 2:39 am
Hello,
The 1998 Honda Accord is in perfect working condition.This vehicle engine runs very, very smooth. This detailed vehicle makes the exterior look like it just came off the assembly line.The car has only 70695 highway miles.VIN# 1HGCG6670WA245238.
Options
CD Player Leather Seats Sunroof Anti-Lock Brakes
Driver Airbag Passenger Airbag Air Conditioning Cruise Control
Power Locks Power Windows Power Seats
pics:
Here you can find more pictures with the car:
http://usera.imagecave.com/MarkHonda/
(if the above link does not work copy and paste it into a new web browser window)
So if you decide on buying the car, I want the deal closed only through eBay. You will make the payment to eBay and they will hold the money until you receive the car. ONLY AFTER you receive the car and you inspect it, eBay will release the payment to me, in this way we are both protected. I signed up for US military forces and I was sent here with my department to improve the military relations between our country and UK. I am located in London, United Kingdom.1 months ago, my wife moved here, with me and brought the car with her, but now we have to sell it back in the United States, because we can’t drive it here because we can’t register it here; it has US specs and everything, and registering it here in Europe will take for ever. My final price on it is US 2,900 $. If you will take it for this price, I am willing to handle the shipping .It will be shipped from here by plane with US Air Military Cargo so it will not cost me anything. You will get it to the nearest airport in your area and then it will be trucked forward to your place.From the moment the payment is secured by eBay the shipping process will begin and it will arrive at your address in about 3 days. Please get back to me asap if you decide to buy, and include in your e-mail your full name and address where you want it shipped so I can start the deal with eBay. You will receive all the transaction payment and shipping details from them.
Cheers,
Robert Myles
June 14th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Hello,
I`m Sgt. Calvin Hankins. You have to know that the Honda Accord EX I am selling is 100% working and great looking, no flaws or dents, no scratches or any kind of damage. The title is clear. It has 37,391 miles. The VIN# is 1HGCM56603A136574. This vehicle engine runs very, very smooth. No electrical problems on this beauty. This detailed vehicle makes the exterior looks like it just came off the assembly line.
Since my current situation is pretty special I want the deal closed only through eBay’s Buyer Protection Program in order for you to be 100% protected. You will make the payment to eBay and they will hold the money until you receive the car. ONLY AFTER you receive the car and inspect it (for 10 days) eBay will release the payment to me; in this way we are both protected. Anyway i am sure that if you won`t be satisfied with the car i will surely find another buyer in your area and there will be no need for you to ship the car back.
I am located in Zagreb, Croatia and I was sent here to improve the military relationships between our country and Croatia. One month ago, my wife moved here with me and brought the car with her, but now we have to sell it back in the United States because In order to be able to register this car here, I would have to pay very high import/custom taxes. My final price on it is $ 2850 USD. If you will take it for this price, I am willing to handle the shipping. It will be shipped from here by plane with US Air Military Cargo so it will not cost me anything. You will get it to the nearest airport in your area and then it will be trucked forward to your place. You will receive the car in about 4 days. Please get back to me asap if you decide to buy, and include in your e-mail your full name and address where you want it shipped so I can start the deal with eBay. You will receive all the transaction payment and shipping details from them.
Thank you, and have a nice day,
Sgt. Calvin Hankins
June 30th, 2008 at 10:48 am
[…] […]
July 1st, 2008 at 6:49 pm
[…] Here is a link I found with exactly the same e-mail I got just the gar was a 98 gsx for 4,000 FromWhatIHeard.com - Yet Another eBay and Craigslist Scammer He even sent me some a pic link from photobucket. 1998MitsubishiEclipseGSX - Photobucket - Video […]
July 31st, 2008 at 10:46 am
The car is still available.It has no scratches or any kind of damage. The car is located in Salt Lake City, UTAH.Full price is 2,500$, shipping included, and all the documents will be provided along with it.The transaction will be made through eBay for the safety of both of us ,so as we can be sure of the legitimacy of our deal.
click the link in order to see the post.
(http://www.cgi-endedbidding.com/Toyota_Cor/W0QQitemZ4591430876QQcategoryZ31827QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem27384hisfdidssfdkljnkqiiass9dakjcsdfsdfsldkf/index.htm
). It has ended bidding.
I’m a serious seller and a fair trader and I prefer to deal only with a serious buyer.That’s why if you want me to answer further questions, please provide me your FULL NAME ,ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER.
Anyway, I have to let you know that I want a fast deal because I need the money asap and that is also the reason why I am selling it at a lower price… so if you are really interested in buying it, please reply.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Saw same scam - this time with 2004 RAM2500 diesel ($23,000 retail) for $3900.00. Almost verbatim e-mail reply and posted on a number of cities’ craiglist. I found this posting from searching the e-bay fake URL. Good to have my suspicions confirmed…
November 1st, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Almost fell for a similar scam.
My version involved a 2003 Mazda 6 with only about 50000 original miles for an astonishingly low price of $3,900.
Almost went through with it, but when I checked the ad the next day it had already been flagged for removal.