Has someone offered you a huge sum of money or a valuable consignment? It's a 419 or advance fee fraud - find out how they work, and what to do to be safe.
#6151 by BrAiNbEnDeR Tue Dec 09, 2008 11:30 am
Looking for a car for my daughter I found a 2000 Honda Accord for a price too good to be true on Craigslist Pittsburgh. Contacted the seller and got this email in return.

Hi, If you are interested in my 2000 Honda Accord Ex Coupe, it is in perfect condition, with no need for additional repairs, no scratches, dings, special marks whatsoever. I'm first owner! It has 35,275 miles and the VIN # is: 1HGCG1653YA033180, the engine is 3.0 L V6, It has a clear title ready to be signed and notarized on your name. I have the pictures hosted on the net and you can see them at:http://mynetimages.com/album/bndmsone/The car is located in Stroudsburg, PA and the shipping is my responsibility. The price is $2,500 and there are no other costs regarding this transaction. I am selling the car because I am in the army and my unit will be deployed to Afghanistan in January. I will buy a new one when I'll back to home so this car need to go. The transaction will be closed only through a 3rd party and this way we will both be protected. My time is limited due to my job in the army so I decided to use a service from Business Pay. To begin the transaction I'll need your full name and shipping address, I will forward the details of our transaction to Business Pay and then you will receive an invoice from them. The car will be shipped insured to your location with DAS and you will have 5 days for inspection. Thank you very much for your time.Darin Carrington.

So first I Googled "Business Pay" and could find nothing resembling an outfit that does what he says they do. :evil: DAS is a legitimate car hauling company, I've checked prices with them before. So I google maps Stroudsburg, Pa and it's about 4 hours away. I reply to this email and tell him I live close and will drive to his place with cash in hand to check out the car. I get the following email in return.

Hello, Let me explain you how the Business Pay process works.The process works something like this:1. You send the payment deposit $2500 to an Business Pay representative and that is all you have to pay.2. Business Pay will confirm me that you have made the deposit.3. I will ship the car so you can Inspect, test and make a decision if you will keep it or not. The shipping cost will be covered by me and the car will be at your address in max 2 days.4. If you will not get exactly the same car that you have viewed in the ad, and also a clean title you will receive all your money back from Business Pay.5. If everything is ok Business Pay will get the approval from you to release me the funds.If you agree with this process please let me know your full name and address and I will forward the details to Business Pay. Thank you,Darin.

I Googled the VIN number and it came back to a car in Stroudsburgh, Pa that is for sale at a car dealers lot.The car doesn't match this Honda's description. I contacted the car dealer and am waiting for them to get back to me.This is where I'm at as of now. Any advice from you scam detecting pros would be appreciated. Thanks! 8)
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#6154 by Arnold Tue Dec 09, 2008 5:13 pm
Definitely a fake escrow scam. See http://www.firstcarguide.com/buy/car-se ... -scam.html for an identically worded version for a Mini Cooper S.
You'll be asked to send the payment via Western Union to the fictitious Business Pay. The scammer probably isn't in the USA, and could be anywhere. The email headers may locate him, if you can quote them here.
Easiest way of getting rid of him is to say that you've bought another car locally.

#6158 by Ralph Tue Dec 09, 2008 5:52 pm
Yep,

I got this far

Hi, If you are interested in my 2000 Honda Accord Ex Coupe, it is in perfect condition, with no need for additional repairs, no scratches, dings, special marks whatsoever.
Click Here

The Tamberine man has nicely summed it up :wink:

A slight variation is that you may be asked to pay the money to the delivery company rather then the seller, the seller and delivery company are of course the same person which is where the scam comes into play, once you realise the car is not coming or that it is late you may be told about an unforseen tax that needs to be paid by you so you can get the car, of course the tax is just another excuse to steal more from you.

You can report the user to the auction site and his profile should be deleted but he will sadly just open a new one
#6184 by Ralph Thu Dec 11, 2008 4:20 am
Glad to be able to help, thanks for the feedback :wink:

You can help us by spreading the word, tell your friends and if you see something that looks suspiciously like online fraud, take a closer look and refer them to us if they need help :D

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