Buying & Selling Safely
With identity theft on the rise you need
to be extra sure you know who you are dealing with in an online
transaction. Although many consumers and ethical dealers have
benefited greatly from the Internet, so too have crooked buyers
& sellers. As such, you need to be aware of potential
scams to solicit deposits. Here are some of the most common
ones directed toward buyers & sellers online in (but not
limited to) the US, UK, Canada and Australia.
These instances are few and far between
and are not limited to just "Internet crime." These
unscrupulous people can just as easily perpetrate these scams
through a local newspaper. The following tips will help you
identify fraudulent situations and safely buy or sell a vehicle
online or offline.We have found that one of the best ways
to immediately address this is to:
- Never
send or wire money to sellers or buyers. This includes
never mailing a cheque or using payment services like Bidpay,
Western Union or Money Gram to pay for vehicles advertisied
on MotoSeller.com.
- When
buying or selling, you should meet in-person
to see the vehicle and exchange funds.
Safety Tips When Selling when
buying
Sellers beware! This new "counterfeit
cashier's check " or "money advance"
scam targets the average person who's selling through classified
ads or auctioning goods over the Internet. Sellers have been
targeted in the US, UK, Canada and many other countries -
so it's important for everyone to be educated.
Here's how it works: You put a large
item up for sale (a car, for example) then you're contacted
by someone overseas. They may misrepresent themselves from
time to time as a local resident. They pretend to be interested
in buying your item for themselves or their client. They ask
you if a friend/contact in the United States (or your
own country) can mail you a cashier's check to cover
the purchase price of your item plus will want to pay you
extra for shipping fees.
You may see no reason to object, since,
unlike personal checks, cashier's checks cannot bounce because
the amount is paid to the bank when the check is issued (similar
to a money order).
After the cashier's check is deposited,
you are asked to wire the extra money for the shipping
fee back to the buyer or directly to their accomplice
(the shipper) so he can arrange for the transportation. It's
only when the cashier's check is discovered by the bank to
be counterfeit that you realize you've lost the money you
wired for the shipping fee. Your bank will come back to you
for those counterfeit funds, sometimes weeks after the fact.
There are also variants where you ship the
item and lose everything (although very rare as they just
want your advanced fee). The deal can be canceled at the last
minute for some reason and a refund for the cashier's check
is requested from the buyer via wire transfer too. This
could also be any other type of request for an upfront fee
advance just to get your money!
Actual
Suspicious Messages:
Good Day i am interested in buying
your (car) I will like to know if you would accept a cashier
check for the payment, i also need to know the price, and
your full name and address including your phone number is
also needed in which payment will be sent to . i have a
shipping company who takes cares of my shippment .So don't
bother about the shippment. I will also like to know if
is still in good condition and shape. urgent response is
needed for procedure of payment.
regard
brian
xxxxxxxxx@yahoo.com
---------------------------------------------------------------
Hello,
Thanks for the swift response and so sorry for the delay
in my response to your acknowledgment. I'm based in Florida
and i have five other collections centres in the country
to assist in prompt networking with my prospective customers.
So i'm really interested in buying the van and proximity
is not a problem at all. I am a restorer, i will like to
pay you as soon as possible. Kindly consider it sold to
me.
Since you have acknowledge my interest in the purchase of
the car i will like to make payment available to you as
soon as possible. I will go for $1000. i mean i will pay
$1000 and i will like to send the payment as soon as possible.
Presently i am out of the country for my honeymoon in holland
and i will be back in a couple of weeks, but i can at present
instruct my client in state to send you a Money Order of
$4000 that will include the cost of the shipping,as soon
as you received the check,deduct yours and send the remaning
balance via WESTERNUNION MONEY TRANSFER or MONEYGRAM to
my shipper who will be responsible for the test driving,
signing of the tittle and pickup. If you have any of its
pictures dont essitate to email me.
Also as part of my policy i always like to run a mechanical
restoration process on any purchased car so the part of
the remainder is also this purpose, so you don't have to
worry so much about the repairs and your daughter bringing
the car to montreal, it will totally be taken care of. I
just feel i need to expanciate on the issue of overage amount
($4000) i'm sending to you. The overage amount is the estimated
amount and over times of experience it has been always working
and you dont have to worry. Again, i'm not asking you to
setup any shipping for me i guess if you read the context
of the email i sent to you earlier, you will discover that
it's not in my style to make an overage payment and always
want to be at the point of transaction i made but i had
to go on my honeymoon.
The remaining balance is not for shipping alone, some part
of it is for the expenses to be incure while the car has
been pick up from your place to my workshop because before
i make the final delivery to my client, it is part of my
working principle to run a routine mechanical check up on
the vehicle where somethings like the car battery and radiator
are replace despite the fact they may still be working well
while with the owner. The engine will also be serviced and
many other things that i can't start to enumerate right
now which also include the interior but that is the way
i do my thing and that is why i have many client patronizing
me.
My shipper will be coming over to your place to do the pick
up as soon as the Money Order is cleared at the bank. Thanks
for the understanding.
Kindly let me have the legal name to be written on the check,
your contact address and your phone number. Looking forward
to reading from you soon.
Regards,
Micheal
xxxxxxxxx@yahoo.com
---------------------------------------------------------------
Dear seller,
This is Dr Mark Olsen,I am presently
runing a private clinic
in the united arab Emirate (U.A.E) . i am interested in
the purchase of your above name (CAR) advertised on one
of the best internet market site in USA, recomended to me
by a colleague in this regard. i am making the purchase
as a gift for my daughter who is wedding in USA in NOVEMBER,
she will love it.
i am very ok with the details you have provide on the internet
advert
and i am ready to make payment for it as soon as possible,
hope is still available for sale. i will like you to email
me the below information to assure me of the sale:
1) is it still available for sale?
2) email me the last price you will accept to sell it to
me in dollar including tax.
3) email me your address where it is located presently so
i can
know what it will cost me for the transportaion.
4) also let me know if there is need to replace any part
before use.
Do not worry about the shipping, this will be a bit costly
for me but i will sort it out, i will arrange with a freight
forwarding company who will send an Agent to your location
after payment is made for the pick up, it will be shipped
and transported along with my medical equipments in europe,
this will make it easy and sheapper for me compare to the
high price here.
I will appriciate if you can send me a more recent picture
of it via my email.
Please make the price considerate since i will be paying
for the shipping.
i await your email with your last offer price.
kind regards,
Dr Mark Olsen.
Phone: 447024023693
Be
Extremely Skeptical:
- Of
Overpayment:
A buyer or seller will send you a cheque and then ask for
money to be returned to them. Often the cheque will bounce
and you will have lost all money you sent to the other party.
- Of
Fake escrow sites:
A buyer or seller suggests using an escrow service to complete
the transaction. Often these escrow web sites are run by
fraudsters (even though they may look "official")
and they will take your money and never send you the product.
- Of
overseas offers from someone you do not know. They may use
broken English or pose as a poor mother, widow, minister,
or foreign government official.
- Of
payment by cashier's check / bank draft / certified check.
- Of
buyers sending more than the purchase price of the item.
- Of
buyers who seem more worried about payment than the shipment
of the item to them once payment is made.
- Of
buyers who show little or no concern to the condition of
the item they are purchasing.
- Of
buyers who want to bring others into the transaction like
their client, a shipper or friend owning money to the buyer.
- Of
buyers who ask you to forward or wire money for what ever
reason.
How
to protect yourself:
- Always
ask about their location to identify "the scam"
if not obvious! Get the buyer's address, telephone number
(not a cell phone number).
- Trace
their IP address or their ISP
source. The source IP address is included with our security
protocols and will be listed, with links to trace, within
the initial email inquiry you might have received from our
system.
- If
the buyer has a free e-mail account (e.g. yahoo, hotmail,
fastermail etc.) ask for a fixed e-mail address (e.g. somelbusiness.com,
comcast.net, etc.). With a free e-mail account the buyer
can remain anonymous.
- Cross
reference questionable buyers email or phone numbers (not
all scammers are listed there but it's a start) or trace
it using google or the white
pages.
- The
scam always requires you to send money at some point to
someone even though you are the seller!
-
If you receive a cashier's check, call the bank that issued
it (the bank's name will be printed on the check) and ask
them if they authorized that check.
-
NEVER do ANYTHING until a check clears with assurances from
the issuing bank and your bank!
- NEVER
pay anything up front for ANY reason!
-
Ask them to make the transaction through a reputable third
party escrow service, perhaps an escrow account with a law
firm of your choice or www.escrow.com.
Fraud sites often claim they are recommended by eBay, eBay
Motors, or Yahoo! Auctions. You may see the list of sites
eBay actually recommends by clicking
here. We advise against transferring money through a
Western Union Bank / MoneyGram service (this includes BidPay).
If the seller insists on using this payment method, you're
probably dealing with a scammer (even if they send what
seems to be legitimate shipping information or ID).
- Do
not alert this "buyer" to your knowledge of this
scam. Simply back away from the transaction.
- Report
fake check scams to the National
Consumers League's, Internet Fraud Watch.
Anyone can list a vehicle for sale on a
website, or put an ad in the paper with a picture of a vehicle.
Unfortunately there are always people who do business with
bad intentions. A "fake," or criminal type person,
in this scam can list a vehicle for sale without ever owning
it. They simply take the picture, make up a description,
or steal the information from another ad and list the vehicle
for sale as their own.
Buyers will typically note that the deal
seems "too good to be true" (your first clue)!
When you contact the seller, the item for sale will no longer
be located where it was advertised (I just moved, or I'm currently
overseas... etc.) making it difficult for you to view it in
person. They may even say the vehicle is located near you
or is being stored at a MotoSeller.com warehouse (we don't
have warehouse or store vehicles). The seller will request
that you send some money as a "down payment" via
Western Union Wire Transfer to an overseas location so
you don't "lose the sale." or put a deposit down
through a fake escrow website.
Sample
Suspicious Seller Email:
Hello, As the seller, I would like
to take a moment to personally thank you for your interest
in my car. I know that you have many choices out there and
I appreciate your interest. I hope you are serious in your
intention for buying. Don`t take it personally, but I am
tired with people who offer to buy my items and in the end
they turn out to be scammers. That is the reason why I ended
the auction a few minutes ago. Anyway, the car is available
and I guess you could be it`s owner if everything turns
out all right and you are serious about buying. The car
looks and runs exactly as new. The title is clean, and you
will receive it along with the vehicle, so you will have
no problems whatsoever registering it there. The paint is
flawless, the body is in excellent condition.
It was never involved in any accidents.
THE CAR IS US STREET LEGAL, and has US EMMISSION SPECS,
it is DOT&EPA CERTIFIED. I am located in Greece. I moved
here 5 months ago, brought the car with me, but now I have
to sell it back in the States because I can`t register it
here, it has as I told you, US specs, emission standards
and everything. Registering it here in Europe will take
forever. My final price on this is US 7,800$. I know it
seems a little low, but I will be quite happy to get rid
of it, believe me, no one will buy it here and i have no
use for it. If you will take this price, I am willing to
pay for shipping and insurance to your location. I only
want this transaction done through Ebay`s safe transaction
program. Please get back to me asap if you decide to buy,
so we can agree on the terms of the sale.
PS: I require half of the money prior
shipping. As I said, we will use eBay for this transaction
so it will be 100% safe. In case you agree, I will also
need your full name and complete shipping address.
Thanks
xxxxxxxxx@yahoo.com
These criminals may try to tell you we
are endorsing their sale however: MotoSeller.com does not
ship, insure, certify or inspect vehicles, we do not carry
or own inventory and do not have any warehouses or facilities
to hold sellers vehicles. We do not have sales personnel to
meet with you, as we are an Internet business. If someone
tells you this in an attempt to explain why their vehicle
is not available for you to see in person please notify us
immediately as they are likely pulling a scam.
Avoid scams from crooked sellers by recognizing
the good deals. Buying locally from someone you can talk to
over the phone and meet face-to-face is still always your
best approach.
How to protect yourself:
- MotoSeller.com will never email you to certify a "seller"
or their vehicle as in good standing!
- MotoSeller.com will never tell you to use Western Union
to pay for purchases!
- MotoSeller.com does not offer shipping, insurance, storage
of vehicles or act as a 3rd party for a transaction!
- Watch for Brand name spoofing/phishing: You get an email
that claims to be from MotoSeller, Western Union, or another
company and offers buyer protection or an online payment
system. These emails will typically request that you send
money via this site or provide personal information. MotoSeller.com
and most other companies will never send out such emails.
If you send money via these sites you are likely sending
money to the fraudsters.
1) If the the seller is overseas
or the information within an advertisement is incorrect, misleading
or you find (through communication with the seller) that the
item for sale is not located where it has been advertised
please advise us immediately!
2) Use extra caution if the price
is unusually low. If an item is listed significantly below
the manufacturer's suggested retail price or book value, take
extra steps to verify the seller's claims.
3) Confirm where the item is located
and always request to see or test-drive it in person. If you
find that the item for sale is not located where it is being
advertised (i.e., different state or country... etc.) please
advise us. If a dispute arises in the transaction, United
States laws may not apply to an international seller.
4) Call the seller or ask for their
phone number to talk directly. Verify the Seller's Name, City
and Email. If the phone number listed is not accurate or match
the area code of the items location, use added caution to
verify the seller has possession of the item. Cross reference
questionable sellers email or phone numbers (not all scammers
are listed there but it's a start) trace it using google or
the white pages.
5) Be cautious if a seller requests
a deposit or any money via Western Union. or is offering Free
Shipping and Escrow. Shipping a vehicle any distance can be
costly and should be reflected in a higher then average price.
6) Watch out for Bogus Online Escrow Services. Online
vehicle sellers often use escrow services, which collect and
verify payment from a buyer. The money is held by the service
until all parties are satisfied with the sale. Select your
own reputable Escrow service, perhaps an escrow account with
a law firm. Wire transfer services do not always provide protection
or refunds if a dispute arises. Before sending funds to any
Escrow Service, be certain to verify it is a reputable institution.
Ask them to make the transaction through a reputable third
party escrow service, perhaps an escrow account with a law
firm of your choice or www.escrow.com.
Fraud sites often claim they are recommended by eBay, eBay
Motors, or Yahoo! Auctions. You may see the list of sites
eBay actually recommends by clicking
here.
There have been some instances of phony online escrow services
operating on the Internet. Make sure you check out the escrow
service with escrowfraud.com.
They catalog the good and bad services.
6) Pay escrow deposits by credit
card because you can often dispute the charges with your card
provider if something goes wrong.
7) If sending money with Western union you
will likely never ever see that money again. Once the cash
is wired to the other end and picked up by the seller, Western
Union cannot get it back. Call the Western Union Fraud Department,
1-800-325-6000 if you have any doubts about a Western
Union transfer.
More info on protecting yourself from escrow
and check fraud at carbuyingtips.com
More
information on scams:
If you have been a victim of any of these
scams, please contact
your local office of the United States Secret Service, FBI
or report by visiting: http://www.ic3.gov
Immediately. If possible, preserve the check and the mailing
envelope(s) for fingerprinting or other potential investigative
examinations. or Report fake check scams to the National
Consumers League's, Internet Fraud Watch.
Scam Victums
United
http://scamvictimsunited.com
Anti Phishing
Work Group
http://www.antiphishing.org
Wikipedia
entries on Internet fraud.
Press
Release:
http://www.state.de.us
File
an online complaint:
http://www1.ifccfbi.gov/index.asp
Internet
Fraud Preventive Measures:
http://www1.ifccfbi.gov/strategy/fraudtips.asp
Nigeria
- The 419 Coalition Website:
http://home.rica.net/alphae/419coal
Nigerian
Fraud Watch:
http://www.nigerianfraudwatch.org
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