Craigslist, Ebay and other online buying/selling scams.
#127783 by parkinsally Fri Oct 05, 2012 8:44 am
Looks like this scam is still going, had the exact same replies as above and when asked if we could view the camper van and i was told "I've told you! at this moment I am In Dundee" Again if it sounds too good to be true ...it is! does Barry Budden Camp know they are being used in this way!? may be they should do an announcement, lucky escape for us guys! Nice van though ::
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#128440 by Gesika Wed Oct 10, 2012 8:31 am
OK - I've been had. :cry: This 'John Neale' did the dirty via the so called eBay Protection Scheme. Because I thought I was protected, I went for it. Because I received the emails via my phone, I didn't notice the small things wrong with the 'web page'. Now I'm short of £6k.

I've contacted Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 and PLEASE can I encourage EVERYONE who's had dealings with Mr/Ms Neal ([email protected]) please, please contact the Action Fraud line and then MAYBE he'll get caught.

I'd been scammed once before, and you think I'd know what to look out for. But the eBay thing was SO real.

I've contact the Barclays Ombudsman to complain that they won't do anything about the account I paid into (cash, what an idiot!) and I'll get onto my MP and write to the PM too. If I get no joy with Ombudsman, I'll go to the national papers...I'm NOT a happy bunny. They've taken ALL my savings. I'm devastated.

Is there anyone else out there who knows what I should do next? My chances of getting some/all my money back? etc

Thanks - just wish I'd found your site earlier - but I had NO idea that they were scammers...they're that clever. In retrospect, I can see the little clues - but retrospect's no good now. Please learn from my mistake. :oops:
#128446 by parkinsally Wed Oct 10, 2012 8:55 am
I sooo feel for you, we felt physically sick at the thought that we nearly passed on the money! unfortunately, there is no Mr Neale! they use a different name every time! sometimes a women, i contacted Gum Tree where the VW was advertised they took the details and i left it with them. I dont think you will be the last, but we need to let others know that this is a scam.

hope your able to do something about this

sally
#128489 by llannefydd Wed Oct 10, 2012 1:37 pm
its not just camper vans they are doing it with mini diggers, caravans and any thing they can think of.
if Mr Neale or Sarah@btwep is using barclays bank to filter his ill gotten gains surely if they had been informed on the first occasion, any time their bank is used after that they are guilty of facilitating a fraud. i am sure if all the victims get a bit of legal advice and put a bit of pressure on barclays they might change their attitude, for them to allow it to continue is a disgrace. the last thing they need at the moment is some bad publicity about being in league with fraudsters. normal people need a letter from god to open a bank account to get their wages paid, must be different rules for scum. maybe there could be a bit of compensation to keep barclays out of the news. there is no shame in being caught by these people i was within a whisker of being caught by them.
best of luck
#129978 by BDG Sun Oct 21, 2012 12:15 pm
Hi new here :)

Great site found it by googling the email addy of the scammer!!

Which is mentioned here on other threads

[email protected]

Phoned an ad on autotrader for a VW Campervan today £5000 some poor old lady answered and said she had been having numerous phone calls and it was the wrong number. Emailed got the standard email back as described on numerous other threads here.

I had already realised this camper van was at least a 1/3 of the price it should be and when I read the email message from the scammer realised it was a scam. Emailed back and said "no thanks not interested without viewing". Got a reply do it through ebay and it would be all fine ebay protection etc etc. I already knew vehicles are not covered.

The point being there are on looking through the ads for this weekend for autotrader probably at least 4 or 5 bogus ones some with identical pictures! The price is the give away. So why are auto trader not policing it a little bit better given this thread is now a couple of weeks old?

Someone somewhere probably will fall for this scam this weekend. There is no trace on the ip apart from back to google as far as I could see but no expert. I don't think this is an english first language email either you can tell from the sentance structure of the emai and what jumped out at me as soon as I read it.

http://motorhomes.autotrader.co.uk/used ... ransporter

emails as follows:

Hello,
Its still for sale. Immaculate condition, no damages, nothing to worry about. All necessary documents available. My current location is Scotland due to my work commitments,If this is going to be a quick sale, I will let it go for £5,000 delivered at my costs. Are you familiar to eBay? I will list the camper on eBay Motors for the £5,000 buy it now price and I will send you a link to my auction, so you can buy it immediate.
As soon as you will confirm the payment to eBay, I will proceed delivery without any additional costs for you.
In case you are not familiar with them, please read their Buyer Protection and will see that they cover 100% the transaction done through them up to £50,000. You will receive the camper with all the documents. As you know eBay is the best company of online transactions. If indeed interested in buying it and have the funds, I will list it on eBay, as I have a 100% positive feedback with them.
Please let me know your decision.
Thank you
Caty



Due to my location and since view is not an option I have requested personal support and I was approved to use Buyer Protection Program. Here is how the process works through the Buyer Protection Program:


- I make the private listing on eBay for you,
- you go and buy it through their website,
- you have to pay for the item to eBay to secure the funds,
- they confirm me that they received the funds,
- I deliver the van,
- you receive the van,
- they send me the money,


Everything is covered by eBay. I will get paid only after you confirm that you received the van in good order.
Let me know if this is acceptable. Thank you


Caty
#129988 by BDG Sun Oct 21, 2012 2:03 pm
Although what is worrying me slightly is they have one of my email addy's and mobile phone number all courteousy of it being passed on via autotrader!

Still not a lot I can do about it now.
#130037 by Admiral Mon Oct 22, 2012 3:57 am
Currently calling themselves Laura Blue [email protected] and still selling on Autotrader out of Barry Buddon Camp - Dundee, Scotland, UK. This is for a 1999 PEUGEOT AUTOSLEEPER RAVENNA 4 berth motorhome.

Just wanted to add their new details to this post so that the forum is up-to-date with the latest info on this scammer. I had one of those "too good to be true" moments and then as soon as they wanted a wire transfer with no working phone number I knew something was up, especially as I offered to view and collect the vehicle and was told I couldn't !!!

It's a shame I can't do anything to help the rest of you who have been scammed while I am in correspondence with this person.

The email ...

Hello,

I already told you that i have the full service history. Last service has been made in Jun this year.I am the fourth owner and I own it in the last 5 years. Yes i have all the receipts.
There is nothing wrong with the camoer, excellent condition inside and out.
I've told you, at this moment I am in Dundee, Scotland, UK in a military base, getting ready for Afghanistan (I hope for the last time). I'm doing a special training program each day and I am not allowed to get out of the unit or give calls whenever I want. The delivery will take 2 to 3 days depending on your location and it’s not a problem because I can do it at no cost for you. Because it is a large transaction, we will complete the deal only using an authorized third part like Google Checkout because I already prearranged the whole process with them, using their Google Safe Pay Solutions (bank-to-bank wire transfer) for vehicles.

The money will be sent to Google Checkout, before you will receive the vehicle. So, you will deposit the payment directly into the Google Checkout agent's bank account in United Kingdom, either online or at most banks and they will hold and secure your money during the entire transaction. I repeat, they will hold and insure your money until receipt of the vehicle in good condition and will release the funds to us only after you decide to keep the vehicle and you register it, into your name. You will have an inspection period of 7 days. In this time you can check, test and inspect the vehicle. If by any reason (the vehicle has any hidden damages or is not like I describe it) you can reject the deal. In this case Google Checkout will refund you totally and they will deliver the vehicle back.

Let me know your shipping details (your full name, full address and home phone number) so I can open a transaction case with Google Checkout and declare you as buyer. They will contact you with further information regarding payment and delivery.

Regards,

Laura Blue ,
#130141 by BDG Mon Oct 22, 2012 8:24 am
Well for the time being my email to autotrader seems to have worked.

All adverts I saw have been pulled. I can't see the one mentioned by Admiral above either. I pointed out to them that they were responsible for passing on personal data via their website and that they should be more vigalent in spotting adverts that were clearly well underpriced and "too good to be true".

Can I please ask what is trading standards take on all of this?
#130519 by bazd Wed Oct 24, 2012 2:05 pm
would appear this person does not just advertise VW campers for sale.
Thought it looked too good to be true so typed into google to get more info about thier pay site and saw an attachment that pointed me to this site, many thanks to you all.
please see the attached correspondance.


Laura or should I say SM Andrea Lewis,
I have just done a quick bit of research into Google checkout as I have never heard of it and have found a strange tail about someone selling a VW camper in Dundee similar MO to yours and strangely enough the same camp and same Op tour.
You have been rumbled lady, watch my tracer

From: [email protected]
Subject: RE: 2004 Mercedes Vito Campervan 111CDI 2.2 Turbo Diesel Motorhome LWB 72,000 Miles.
Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2012 19:26:28 +0100

Hello,

I can confirm that the rock n roll bed is fitted with seat belts.
I've told you, at this moment I am in Dundee, Scotland, UK in a military base, getting ready for Afghanistan (I hope for the last time). I'm doing a special training program each day and I am not allowed to get out of the unit or give calls whenever I want. The delivery will take 2 to 3 days depending on your location and it’s not a problem because I can do it at no cost for you. Because it is a large transaction, we will complete the deal only using an authorized third part like Google Checkout because I already prearranged the whole process with them, using their Google Safe Pay Solutions (bank-to-bank wire transfer) for vehicles.

The money will be sent to Google Checkout, before you will receive the vehicle. So, you will deposit the payment directly into the Google Checkout agent's bank account in United Kingdom, either online or at most banks and they will hold and secure your money during the entire transaction. I repeat, they will hold and insure your money until receipt of the vehicle in good condition and will release the funds to us only after you decide to keep the vehicle and you register it, into your name. You will have an inspection period of 7 days. In this time you can check, test and inspect the vehicle. If by any reason (the vehicle has any hidden damages or is not like I describe it) you can reject the deal. In this case Google Checkout will refund you totally and they will deliver the vehicle back.

Let me know your shipping details (your full name, full address and home phone number) so I can open a transaction case with Google Checkout and declare you as buyer. They will contact you with further information regarding payment and delivery.

Regards,

Laura Blue ,

To: [email protected]
Subject: RE: 2004 Mercedes Vito Campervan 111CDI 2.2 Turbo Diesel Motorhome LWB 72,000 Miles.
Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2012 17:32:38 +0100

Laura
Thanks for getting back.
Just looked at the photos again and it does not look like the rock n roll bed is fitted with seat belts.

The van looks the nuts but I was hoping for more seating with belts as I have a young family also.

Please can you confirm?

I do not know where Barry Budden Camp is but I am based in Germany at the moment so if was to buy I would need to arrange to meet you somewhere half way.

Probably southern UK.

Would that be an option?

Look forward to hearing from you.

Many thanks,

Baz D


From: [email protected]

Subject: Re: 2004 Mercedes Vito Campervan 111CDI 2.2 Turbo Diesel Motorhome LWB 72,000 Miles.
Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2012 01:25:49 +0100


Hello,

I am selling this vehicle because my brigade will deploy for 6 months to Afghanistan. I'm under enormous time pressure cause I need to sell it fast, before November 17th that being the reason for selling it so low. It is in perfect condition inside and out, never involved in accidents. From the beginning I must say that the vehicle has all the paper works and full service history.
I've never smoked in it, and I want to sell it to a serious person.

It is still available for sale if interested, price as stated in the ad £4,200. The vehicle is in Barry Buddon Camp - Dundee, Scotland, UK in a military base, and in case it gets sold I will get it delivered. Let me know if you are interested, email back.

Thanks for your interest,

Laura Blue ,
#130843 by plastererdave Fri Oct 26, 2012 4:11 am
Hi all

As of today 26th Oct I have been emailing a Rose-Marie Berger, ([email protected]) about an AUTOSLEEPERS RAVENNA, 2003 £7890. The person has asked me to send my name, addy and phone no. so that they can register me on PPPay.com.
If something sounds too good to be true.... The advised that they were moving back to France and would have to pay import taxes which would be expensive to register the van there. Email's below;

Watch out...!

Hi
As i said , the van is located in France but of you are really interested we can drive it to your place and we will be there Sunday.Where do you live?Please don`t understand me wrong but first of all i need a guarantee from you that you are not making bad jokes and you are a serious buyer . Two weeks ago a buyer told me that he'll buy our van , so we must meet in Dover. I came to Dover because I trusted his word, but when I arrived I called him and no answer, so I lost money and precious time on his promise. I don't want to ask you to send me any money in advance, I just want to see that you are a serious buyer. I will come only for a serious deal. If you don't want to buy it after you will inspect it, no problem, but I need to be sure that you will be there.
To be sure that you are real and serious, here is what we propose:
We want this transaction to be managed by the pppay.com .One of our friends recommended us http://www.pppay.com/ ( he bought a watch from a seller from Liverpool on eBid.co.uk and the seller started the transaction through this escrow company ) All we need is your name , address and phone number .Once we have your details we will start this transaction and they will contact you regarding this sale .They are an UK secure and verified escrow company . did you heard about them ? if not you can look on their website https://www.pppay.com/help_centre.php?mo=escrow .
We will wait your email back.
Thanks
Rose-Marie


Hello
Thank you for your interest for our van. The van is in perfect condition in and out. Paint is good ,no dings/dents and no accident.We also are both non smokers .
It have valid MOT and road tax and is still registered in UK and have UK number plates . I bought the van from UK since i worked there for 1 year . Last month my work contract expired and i get back home in Juigné-Sur-Sarthe,France. Our last price is 7800 GBP . I know that is a small price for a such van but if we will keep it we need to pay an import tax and it very expensive , also it is a right hand drive and it is very difficult to drive it here .
If you are really interested we are ready to make a trip to UK at the end of the week to meet you and take a look .where do you live?
Thanks,
Jérémie and Rose-Marie Berger
#130877 by Gesika Fri Oct 26, 2012 9:15 am
Please please can you contact Action Fraud and let them know about the 'am away on business in Scotland' scammer? If we all do this, then maybe this oik will be found. The web address for the phoney eBay thing was ai (Aguilla or some such country) so it's a national crime. But you are all right, Barclays need to answer some questions and my MP is on the case - as is the Ombudsman. Let's all rattle cages!
#131053 by Laxton Sat Oct 27, 2012 1:57 pm
We had a similar experience with "Laura Blue" advertising a motorhome on Gumtree for £6800 (actually worth £26,000) which seemed like it was too good to be true ... her emails were worded exactly as the other people below had received:

Hello,

I am selling this vehicle because my brigade will deploy for 6 months to Afghanistan. I'm under enormous time pressure cause I need to sell it fast, before November 17th that being the reason for selling it so low. It is in perfect condition inside and out, never involved in accidents. From the beginning I must say that the vehicle has all the paper works and full service history.
I've never smoked in it, and I want to sell it to a serious person.

It is still available for sale if interested, last price £6,800. The vehicle is in Barry Buddon Camp - Dundee, Scotland, UK in a military base, and in case it gets sold I will get it delivered. Let me know if you are interested, email back.

Thanks for your interest,

Laura Blue ,



I then asked for her contact number and a couple of questions about the motorhome and this was her reply ...

Hello

I've told you, at this moment I am in Dundee, Scotland, UK in a military base, getting ready for Afghanistan (I hope for the last time). I'm doing a special training program each day and I am not allowed to get out of the unit or give calls whenever I want. The delivery will take 2 to 3 days depending on your location and it’s not a problem because I can do it at no cost for you. Because it is a large transaction, we will complete the deal only using an authorized third part like Google Checkout because I already prearranged the whole process with them, using their Google Safe Pay Solutions (bank-to-bank wire transfer) for vehicles.

The money will be sent to Google Checkout, before you will receive the vehicle. So, you will deposit the payment directly into the Google Checkout agent's bank account in United Kingdom, either online or at most banks and they will hold and secure your money during the entire transaction. I repeat, they will hold and insure your money until receipt of the vehicle in good condition and will release the funds to us only after you decide to keep the vehicle and you register it, into your name. You will have an inspection period of 7 days. In this time you can check, test and inspect the vehicle. If by any reason (the vehicle has any hidden damages or is not like I describe it) you can reject the deal. In this case Google Checkout will refund you totally and they will deliver the vehicle back.

Let me know your shipping details (your full name, full address and home phone number) so I can open a transaction case with Google Checkout and declare you as buyer. They will contact you with further information regarding payment and delivery.m

Regards

Laura Blue



... Have reported this on Action Fraud. I hope this helps other people avoiding this fraudster!
#131828 by Scilly Thu Nov 01, 2012 7:49 pm
Well BDG, it looks like we were the ones to get caught and scammed by one of the VW's in auto trader

SO SO wish we'd taken the trouble to Google the email address given as we are now £5,000 lighter. Words fail to describe how I feel and the effect this will have on us...
Details as follows:

[email protected]

Catherine Neale
Address: 32 Arthurstone Terrace
Dundee
DD46QT
United Kingdom

Beneficiary: I. Fediuc

Bank Name: Barclays

Account no: 53943542
Sort Code: 20-41-41

City: London

Have contacted eBay, police, Watchdog, action fraud, credit card companies...auto trader and Barclay's tomorrow; although I am sure I am wasting my time. Might it make me feel a little better though?...And I'm just praying that it might help someone to STOP AND THINK and realize: DO NOT FALL FOR THIS SCAM, DO NOT PAY! There are so many clues to it being fake now I take the time to look. Don't think I'll be sleeping much tonight now I've uncovered the truth- albeit much too late.

There seem to be variuos topics on here all relating to the same scam / people in their many guises. It is unbelievable what they are doing and vans are still being listed on auto trader. :evil: :evil: :evil:
#133200 by klj198 Fri Nov 09, 2012 8:52 am
Hello

Just wanted to add another couple of very similar scams. We're currently looking at buying a campervan and received the replies below from two completely people different people on the same day, so fortunately for us that meant alarm bells immediately rang. The reason I've posted the first one is because he attached photos of ID (passport and European health card) in the same name as the email address, which isn't something I've read about before - certainly makes the scams more convincing. They were both on Friday Ads and we've reported them.

There now seem to be so many scams out there that I'm feeling pushed into buying off a dealer, which is a real shame for all those legitimate sellers out there.

Good luck staying scam free everyone!

Kate

Paul Fowler [email protected]
4 Nov (5 days ago)
to me

Hello,
There is no damages the price is low due to finance problems, nothing to worry about.All necessary documents available.My current location is Scotland due to my work commitments,If this is going to be a quick sale, I will let it go for £3,000 delivered at my costs.Are you familiar to eBay? I will list the Ford motorhome on eBay Motors for the £3,000 buy it now price and I will send you a link to my auction, so you can buy it immediate.As soon as you will confirm the payment to eBay, I will proceed delivery without any additional costs for you.In case you are not familiar with them, please read their Buyer Protection and will see that they cover 100% the transaction done through eBay.co.uk them up to £50,000.You will receive the Ford motorhome with all the documents.As you know eBay is the best company of online transactions. If indeed interested in buying it and have the funds, I will list it on eBay, as I have a 100% positive feedback with them.I attached ID, don't like time wasters. I have a serious problem with the hearing I use the phone only on emergency, I just been operated.
Please let me know your decision.

Regards,

Paul Fowler,
Sent from iPad


And response to our query for more information:

Because this is how the sales go...on the internet, I don't know about you because i don't know you think is a scamm i presume but is not the item will be bought through eBay, and the process will work through them is simple.
Do you want to buy all the items i got? I am a dealer this is my work sitting on a dam computer and selling for other sellers that are away or they don't have time!
PS : my friend engine 2.4 diesel MWB
hope you find the item in you are looking to buy cheers....paul


The following one also has a digger available for purchase elsewhere.

Victoria Weston [email protected]
4 Nov (5 days ago)
to me
Hello,
Its still for sale. Immaculate condition, no damages, nothing to worry about. All necessary documents available. My current location is Scotland due to my work commitments,If this is going to be a quick sale, I will let it go for £4,000 delivered at my costs. Are you familiar to eBay? I will list the camper on eBay Motors for the £4,000 buy it now price and I will send you a link to my auction, so you can buy it immediate.
As soon as you will confirm the payment to eBay, I will proceed delivery without any additional costs for you.
In case you are not familiar with them, please read their Buyer Protection and will see that they cover 100% the transaction done through them up to £50,000. You will receive the camper with all the documents. As you know eBay is the best company of online transactions. If indeed interested in buying it and have the funds, I will list it on eBay, as I have a 100% positive feedback with them.
Please let me know your decision.
Thank you
#133285 by Kinder Fri Nov 09, 2012 7:24 pm
Hi all...
Its true if it seems to good to be true there must be something not right.
Saw a T5 on Friday Ad and was surprised at the price £3400.. which is slightly less than you would expect to pay for a 09 T5.... mmmm the cogs started working when I recieved this e-mail below:::


Hello, We were celebrating my son exams, sorry for the delay.

The van is still for sale and its in Immaculate condition, no damages, no damp, nothing to worry about. My husband died and left me with it. Are you familiar to eBay? I will list the van on eBay Motors for the £3400 buy it now price and I will send you a link to my auction, so you can buy it immediate. Please note that you will be able to check directly on ebay the registration and all the information about it.

As soon as you will confirm the payment to eBay, I will proceed with the delivery without any additional costs for you.

In case you are not familiar with them just tell me you are interested and I`ll ask them to send you the same certificate they sent me and you will see that they cover 100% the transaction done through them up to £50,000. You will receive the van with all the documents. As you know eBay is the best company of online transactions. If indeed interested in buying it and have the funds, I will list it on eBay, as I have a 100% positive feedback with them.

Please let me know your decision.

Thank you:
[email protected]

Surprisingly when I mentioned going to view at weekend, as it was close to where we live, I have heard nothing!!!
Some of the wording didn't sound right and I will not be buying this T5. :oops:
Have reported the advert to Friday-Ad and hope this will save some other unfortunate person loosing their hard earned cash..

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