Auto Trader Viper Scam

PittsburghRT

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I just wanted to warn all of you about a scam on autotrader.com advertising a 1994 RT/10 with 5,100 miles for $27,000. Plus the car is supposed to be a 1994 when the engine pic. shows a 4 fin intake instead of a 3. I noticed this after I contacted him the first time. I have heard from others about these scams, but never encountered one.

Here is the latest reply from him: (In a previous email I told him I wanted to drive it home instead of shipping it).


Tom,

You can pick up the car also , but we will use escrow.com because I am not
able to transact in person.
I tried to call you but I am having some problems with my roaming calls
service,
because I am out of country this month, Budapest, with my job.
The car is in US , has been crated and it is in container, I took care of
this before I left because I could not have this taken care of as long as I
am out of country.
I do understand your concerns but my suggestion is to use escrow.com
services
(https://www.escrow.com/solutions/vehicle/escrow.asp ) , because we will be
both protected and you will not buy the car unseen , because you will have
10 days inspection period, and if you accept the car, upon your confirmation
they will release the funds to me, or in case the car is not suitable for
you from any reason,
I will take back the car on my cost and you will be 100 % refunded.

Please let me know if you agree because I have another person ready to buy
but you were interested first and I am a man of my word,


Thank you
Kevin
+36-1-326-7744

This guy is a joke, but I just wanted to share this. :bonker:
 

Mister XR

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When I was shopping for mine, I found a few people who were trying to scam like this. None of them wanted to use escrow.com - they all wanted to use some scammer "escrow" company. I might have been interested if they were willing to use a reputable company like escrow.com. I heard about a guy who fell for this scam and lost $55,000 while trying to get a good deal on an M5.

Seems like I'm seeing more and more people trying to scam like this. When shopping for a phone(HTC Universal), a lot of people were trying to get me to send them cash through Western Union. It's hard to belive that anyone could have that combination if greed and gullibility to fall for these kinds of things.
 

bth1

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Regardless of whether this is a scam I believe that some early 94s did have the 4 rib intake. When I was looking I noticed some 4 rib intakes on 94s. I think that once they used up the 4 rib they went to the three.
 

Nuck

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I used Escrow.com for my purchase. Ebay supports them as well I think. Whether the car is what he says it is or not, a buyer doesn't have to accept it, and the seller doesn't get his money unless the vehicle passes inspection. BUT, if you check their site, the buyer is typically responsible for shipping, and that included shipping it back to origin if it is rejected so there is a cost to saying "no thanks". The risk is shipping and inspection costs rather than the purchase price.
 

HARDVIPER

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They can Ripp U Off from Ebay Also: This Is One here. It also has all the ebay signs and pictures that did not show up in this post.







Transaction Steps
Step 1: Both parties agree to terms, which includes a description of the merchandise, sale price, number of days for the Buyer's inspection, and shipping information.
Step 2: Buyer sends payment informations to eBay : When paymentis received, it will be verified.
Step 3 : After payment is secured, the Seller is notified by eBay to ship the merchandise to the Buyer.The Seller ships the merchandise to the Buyer using an approved delivery service.
Step 4: When the Buyer accepts the merchandise or the inspection period expires (at which point, the Buyer automatically accepts), the disbursement of payment will begin.
Step 5: If the Buyer accepts the merchandise, the Seller will be paid.
If your merchandise arrives in a much longer period than the one you agreed on or it is different than the pictures, you are also entitled to refund.

Under these circumstances you have to send back the item.
You ar e also entitled to a refund if the item doesn't arrive at all




eBay Protects Online Buyers and Sellers from Fraud




Very Important:
Do not reply this email as your message will not be received. All you have to do is contact your seller at: [email protected].

Details of the Transaction: #48857001911


The following item(s) are protected in this eBay transaction:


1997 DODGE VIPER GTS
Confirmed Status: READY TO BE SHIPPED
The item is located in Los Angeles, CA. Our experts, SGS, inspected the vehicle
and it matches the description that you are aware of!
No accidents reported!
No flaws on it reported!
No mechanical problems reported!
Vehicle is in perfect condition!
eBay guaranteed!

Important details about the seller:




Name: Edward Schneider
Address: 11854 West Olympic Boulevard
City: Los Angeles
State: CA, 90064
Country: US
Transaction number : 48857001911
Purchase insured for: $23,000.00
Payment type insured: eBay member
Shipping type insured: DAS
Next step to be made: Buyer sends payment details to eBay


Delivery Informations





First name: Joe

Last Name:

Address:

City / Town:

State / Province:
Zip / postal code:

Country: US



eBay Details




The item is located in Los Angeles, CA. Our experts,SGS, inspected the vehicle and it matches the description that you are aware of! This is a charity auction in aid of the children who suffer,are sick and have nobody to help them or come from a poor family that can't affort to have them treated. The auction is managed by "Memorial Foundation" ([email protected] ) together with eBay. For a good coordination of this charity auction the payment for this transaction needs to be done in cash. eBay recommends, due to the special profile of this transaction, that the payment will be exceptive sent through Western Union. eBay guarantees the legitimacy and the security of this transaction. The seller "Memorial Foundation" passed successfully through a detailed ID verification process, assisted by eBay Security Department and Los Angeles Police Department. "Memorial Foundation" is an ID Verified seller.


Payment Details




Buyer: Joe Cimmino

Seller :
Edward Schneider


Deposit Amount: $5,750.00

Remaining Balance: $17,250.00

Shipping: $0.00

Total: $23,000.00



Purchase protection and refund:



Currently, the seller has a $20,000.00 deposit in an eBay managed
purchase protection account.
Transactions with this eBay seller are covered by purchase protection against fraud and description errors.

For your safety, if the owner of this account wants to withdraw the
funds he will have to wait at least 60 days from today before the funds are released and the purchase protection account is closed.




Payment instructions:
*************************



To submit the payment with Western Union Money Transfer , you have 2 options:


1. Pay for the transfer with cash at a local Western Union agent. Click here to locate the agents in your area Find Agent locations Around the World. Go to one of them and send the payment to the verified name of the seller, available in US.
2. If you are now in the USA and need to use a credit/debit card (Visa or MasterCard), call 0800-833-833 and make the payment to the verified name of the seller. An additional fee will be charged on most cards because this transaction will be considered a cash advance on your card.Western Union Money Transfer is the only service that has ultimate authentication of the identity of the receiver of funds. Several IDs and utility bills are required before the funds are paid. Therefore, no one else but your seller can pick up the money. Your payments cannot be lost in the mail, like money orders or checks. However, Western Union Money Transfer is designed mainly for sending cash to friends and family in need, so telling them you are sending the money to an eBay seller will prevent your money transfer to go through and you will be unable to complete this transaction. If, for any reason, you are not satisfied with your purchase through eBay, you can return the product within 30 days of recei pt and get your money back. All the parts must be returned in the original packaging and include all contents. Specifically: packing materials, toolbox, warranty cards, accessories, manuals, and any other documentation as provided by the manufacturer. The shipping back to Memorial Foundation Central is free.


If you are not familiarized with the Western Union money transfer service please visit: www.westernunion.com. If you want to locate the nearest Western Union office in your area please click here. You will have to pay with cash at any Western Union office.

How to make payment?
1. Locate the nearest Western Union office
2. Make the payment with cash using the above seller's details
3. Confirm the payment by sending us the Western Union payment receipt to Fax#: 1 (213) 947-4770.


The payment receipt must include:
- MTCN - 10 digits number from the payment receipt
- Sender's Name and Address-
- Receiver's Name and Address-
- Amount to be received-

As soon as we will receive the fax from you that will include the payment details as explained above we will verify the payment status with Western Union. Once the payment is confirmed by Western Union we will instruct the seller to proceed with delivery to your address as shown above. We will hold the payment details until you will send us your confirmation that you have received and inspected the item and you agree to keep it. When we will have your confirmation we will release the payment details to the seller. He will then be able to pick up the funds from Western Union. After every successfull transaction we encourage both seller and buyer to leave feedback to each other.
About Us

eBay reduces the potential risk of fraud by acting as a trusted third party that collects, holds and disburses funds according to Buyer and Seller instructions.

Internet fraud costs victims millions of dollars each year.
Protect yourself with eBay!
We protect both the buyer and seller with a simple process.

Important Notice:
Never pay via Western Union outside eBay


The payment details are confidential and will not be released under any circumstances. Our customer choose this payment method in order to speed up the transaction. eBay security measures are constantly reviewed and modified given evolving circumstances globally, drawing on both internal assessments and the support of government agencies. Our constant priority is for the safety of our people, our customers, and the general public. eBay always tries to fulfill its customer needs.



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Nuck

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So Hardviper are you saying the above was an attempted ripoff using Ebay?
I thought the service the Ebay offers actually was escrow.com. When I used escrow.com I wired my money direct from my bank to the Bank of America branch they used and no Western Union or other third party service was involved.
I actually remember seeing the above ad at some point a while back and people were talking about how fishy it looked.
 

pocketAA

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A good way to spot some of these potential scams is in the way they write you in emails. Most of the time it is broken English and you have to have a translator next to you in order to understand what the person is trying to say. Most of the people attempting to pull these scams are from overseas....at least that is what I have found...
 

HARDVIPER

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So Hardviper are you saying the above was an attempted ripoff using Ebay?
I thought the service the Ebay offers actually was escrow.com. When I used escrow.com I wired my money direct from my bank to the Bank of America branch they used and no Western Union or other third party service was involved.
I actually remember seeing the above ad at some point a while back and people were talking about how fishy it looked.

Yes they have ebay down too! The page was almost exact as ebay's true escrow service, I sent it to ebay and they said it was spoof mail.
 
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