Another autotrader.com scam

I received a scam email via autotrader.com. This is a first for me, as I "usually" get them via motoseller.com. The email headers are not useful because the message is relayed through autotrader. Unfortunately, the IP address of the "buyer" is not provided by autotrader (like it is for motoseller.com). All the usual warning signs are there.

SALES LEAD - Received from AutoTrader

Name: Mrwilson
Phone: () -
Email: [email protected]

Question
Hello seller, I am mailing you to make enquiry regarding the "item"
advert you had placed for sale. I will like to inform you of my interest
to buy this item urgently. I will like to know the present condition and
your last asking price for it.. Also make available some recently taken
pictures of the item for a closer look. I will like to know if you will
accept Canadian Money Orderas mode of payment. Kindly get back if you
still have this item available for sale . Thanks. Mrwilson

No doubt about it. That's a scam.

[Michelle]

The e-mail contains the classic words and phrases used by many on-line listing scammers.

Note that he doesn't name whatever he is interested in, he uses the word "item" so he can simply 'cut and paste' from a pre-prepared set of scripts.

He wants photographs of the 'item' - this is to give his scam some degree of authenticity.

He wants the 'item' urgently. This is because he wants his intended victim to send his fake 'shipper' (who will be introduced later) part of the overvalued cheque that he has mailed out as soon as possible.

This cheque or money order will be fake, even if the bank cashes it or says that it "cleared".

The bank will find out in a few days, or even weeks, that the check is fake, and will demand all of the money back, even the money sent to the scammer. The bank might even have the victim arrested for cashing a bad cheque.

Please contact Autotrader.com's customer service fraud dept. I work for ATC, and we take these kind of things very seriously... here are the instructions from our site...

Fraud Awareness Tips
Because there is no foolproof way to prevent fraud, awareness is the best defense. Please review our tips below, and use your best judgment in all transactions.
Help us stop fraud. If you receive a suspicious email or are the victim of a scam, email us and law enforcement right away.

Step 1: If you are the victim of a scam, please email us with as much information about your particular situation as possible.
Step 2: Forward any suspicious emails to us immediately at [email protected]. Don't change the subject line or send it as an attachment because doing so could prevent us from identifying trends and preventing similar scams. To speak directly to a Fraud Watch Customer Service Representative, call 1-877-742-8040 (Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. EST).
Step 3: File a complaint with the Internet Fraud Complaint Center to inform federal and state law enforcement agencies. We strongly recommend that you report fraud to local law enforcement as well.

AutoTrader.com investigates submitted reports in an effort to protect our customers against future fraud. We support law enforcement agencies in the prosecution of Internet criminals and work diligently to prevent fraud.

OT: My company has worked with Trader Corporation (now owned by Yellow Pages) for many years. I have never seen anyone refer to it as ATC. surf2wake must be an old timer there.

"Step 1" is the problem. I have never been the victim of a scam, so there is nothing for me to report to them.

BTW, there does not appear to be any direct way to get to the "Fraud Awareness Tips" that surf2wake posted from within autotrader.com. There used to be, since I found the page through google. There still should be, since it contains more information than the "Fraud Bulletin" link, which does not give a phone number to report fraud attempts to Auto Trader. They do provide a link and number to PhoneBusters, but I found them to be unresponsive to a previous, unrelated scam attempt. (Oddly enough, I received a fake cheque from Trader Corporation. The police were not interested and PhoneBusters never returned my email. I gave the cheque to a real Trader Corporation rep. I hope it made its way to the fraud dept.)