Has anyone come across this spiel when selling a car?

GTP370 · 13-07-2011, 08:22 PM

Has anyone come across this spiel when selling a car?

First of all a text message is sent to my mobile (no mobile number attached) requesting I contact them by email. Which I did.

Then I got this...

Mate,thanks for the response,i would have loved to call but due to bad weather our SATphone is currently scrambled please can i know the full condition of the car as am buying it for my wife who just gave birth to a baby boy in my absentia she lives in Darwin presently,am a sailor and am currently onboard.i want to be sure if the car is still in good condition,preferably if i can get more close up picture (engine inclusive), i will not be able to come for inspection now all i really need from you is the exact details of the car.

Due to the nature of my work i am a very busy man working all day .i will pay with the fastest and safest online payment "PayPal" so i will need you to send me your paypal email address so i can effect the payment,as i have my ANZ bank a/c attached to my paypal account.However about the pick up i will be sending my shipping company to come and pick it up and make a personal delivery for my wife in NT after have sorted out with the payment.

PS: In case you don't have a PayPal account,Its reliable fast,secure and easy to use PayPal,all you need to do is to log on to visit
www.paypal.com and register with them. When you are done with the registration send me the email used for the registration with PayPal so i can make the payment.Please get back to me so that we can arrange for pick up as i will like the car to be picked by a pickup agent.Await your response.
Regards,
Oliver.

This has happened to me twice now!

NEEDspeed · 13-07-2011, 08:28 PM

Contractor driver at my work received almost a carbon copy of the reply you have while trying to sell his boat. He also had 2 or 3 more emails quite similar. I'd be pretty apprehensive about parting company with any item or money with that kind of response.

blueoval · 13-07-2011, 08:31 PM

I would be running a mile mate. If this person cannot see you in person or send a person out on his behalf, then I would say this is a scam with intent on getting all your details, where you live, the car rego, engine number etc, and then a promise of payment once the car has been picked up.

If this guy is serious, he would be organizing someone to look on his behalf. Not this crap.

Sounds very sus to me.

I would send a reply back asking for his bank details for proof of credit history and proof of identification with said naval authorities to confirm his identity is legitimate. My guess is he won't bother replying.

Ford_The_Win · 13-07-2011, 08:32 PM

It's a scam, they are always sailors/military/overseas and don't give a good explanation for anything, pretty much a textbook example.

atec77 · 13-07-2011, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTP370

Has anyone come across this spiel when selling a car?

First of all a text message is sent to my mobile (no mobile number attached) requesting I contact them by email. Which I did.

Then I got this...

Mate,thanks for the response,i would have loved to call but due to bad weather our SATphone is currently scrambled please can i know the full condition of the car as am buying it for my wife who just gave birth to a baby boy in my absentia she lives in Darwin presently,am a sailor and am currently onboard.i want to be sure if the car is still in good condition,preferably if i can get more close up picture (engine inclusive), i will not be able to come for inspection now all i really need from you is the exact details of the car.

Due to the nature of my work i am a very busy man working all day .i will pay with the fastest and safest online payment "PayPal" so i will need you to send me your paypal email address so i can effect the payment,as i have my ANZ bank a/c attached to my paypal account.However about the pick up i will be sending my shipping company to come and pick it up and make a personal delivery for my wife in NT after have sorted out with the payment.

PS: In case you don't have a PayPal account,Its reliable fast,secure and easy to use PayPal,all you need to do is to log on to visit
www.paypal.com and register with them. When you are done with the registration send me the email used for the registration with PayPal so i can make the payment.Please get back to me so that we can arrange for pick up as i will like the car to be picked by a pickup agent.Await your response.
Regards,
Oliver.

This has happened to me twice now!

Just ignore it , certainly a shonk trying to rob you

rancidpunx · 13-07-2011, 08:33 PM

Scam!!!

Once they have your email address attached to your paypal they send you a forged email with a paypal header from a domain that is similar to paypal, ie pay-pal.com or pay.pal.com.

The forged email basically tells you the buyer has deposited the funds to you as well as a few hundred dollars extras for you to pass on to their "agent" via paypal again.

For somebody whos not very internet savy it will all look very convincing and as if the have paid.
The idea is that you immediately log into your genuine paypal and send off the few hundred dollars to "the agent".

Bossxr8 · 13-07-2011, 08:38 PM

Scam. I've recieved about 3 similar ones in the last few weeks.

blueoval · 13-07-2011, 08:43 PM

Have you reported this to the carsales support so they can do something about it or is something that falls out of their jurisdiction?

GTP370 · 13-07-2011, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rancidpunx

Scam!!!

Once they have your email address attached to your paypal they send you a forged email with a paypal header from a domain that is similar to paypal, ie pay-pal.com or pay.pal.com.

The forged email basically tells you the buyer has deposited the funds to you as well as a few hundred dollars extras for you to pass on to their "agent" via paypal again.

For somebody whos not very internet savy it will all look very convincing and as if the have paid.
The idea is that you immediately log into your genuine paypal and send off the few hundred dollars to "the agent".

Yep. Although I suspected it a scam I played along with the first one.

You are dead right.

This is when I said good bye....

Hi mate,i was just about to make the payment now when i had a little problem with the pick up agent, i got a notification from them now that they don't accept paypal. They did make me understand that the only means of payment that they accept is western union money transfer. They have as well insisted that before they can make arrangement for the pick up they will have to collect a commission fee of $940aud.

More so, I will certainly not be able to go to a western union outlet here nor a post office where I can equally get the money sent to them because I am onboard , so i wanted to ask if it was ok for me to include my pick up agent's fees in the payments I am about to send through my paypal to your bank account, my pick up agent charged $940aud plus insurance and all 'o that, pls can i include their money in the payments I want to send then after i have made the payments you will help me forward the $940aud to my pick up agent through western union money transfer, this I would have done myself and not bother you but for the fact that I am currently on sea, so after I have made the payments you will help me to send $940aud to my pick up agent through western union money transfer, I just wanted to seek your consent before going ahead with the payments.

PS:the shipping company's Head quarters is in England and any pick up fees to be paid is sent to their head quarters by the payee, so the money for pick up will be sent to their head quarters in England through western union money transfer(this can be done from any post office) or you can do it online at www.westernunion.com. .thanks

GTP370 · 13-07-2011, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blueoval

Have you reported this to the carsales support so they can do something about it or is something that falls out of their jurisdiction?

Just did this, after posting this thread. Now waiting for Carsales response.

blueoval · 13-07-2011, 08:51 PM

Pity you can't send a trojan back when you reply email.

lockieoc · 13-07-2011, 08:52 PM

got plenty of scams when selling a car a couple of months ago, then i decided to write back "F*#% off you scamer". never received another one again. It is a joke how many scamers are on carsales, i got kind of annoyed that you spend the money to advertise and there is nothing they can do to protect you from this nonsense.

blueoval · 13-07-2011, 09:03 PM

unfortunately they target anyone and all it takes is perhaps less than 1% out of those 200000 cars being sold on car sales to be sucked in and it's a successful scam.

last fairlane · 13-07-2011, 09:52 PM

I got a different type of email but along the same lines
the first email from paypal saying there was unusual activity in my paypal account and wanted me to send them my paypal PINumber so they could sort it out
they said someone had hacked my account
and taken money from it
and all I had to do was reply to paypal through them and they would sort it
well I went to google and typed in paypal and entered my account and there had been no activity unusual or not for the past 2 months
so obviously a scam to get into my account
the next email from paypal said my account had been suspended and if I
gave my PINumber they would sort it all out for me
I dont think so
the things people will do
thanks John

vibe_xr6 · 13-07-2011, 10:09 PM

Scam ! Its weird how a name pops up in the number spot in the text message, Try and ring it back, i can guarantee it was sent of a wireless internet, i can text on my wireless and no-one can ring it back

GTP 290 · 13-07-2011, 10:58 PM

I find it funny that he has can access the internet on this 'ship' yet he can't get reception on his satphone lol. Google 'how to scam a scammer' there are some really good ways to get these guys out there.

Booma · 13-07-2011, 11:24 PM

Its not limited to carsales..........I get these scammers while trying to sell cars on Gumtree and Ebay aswell :(

Sad times we live in

GT0132 · 13-07-2011, 11:53 PM

scam written all over it Paul

XR037 · 14-07-2011, 12:42 AM

SCAM FOR SURE. I didnt realise these were going around so much...read a similar thread on here somewhere about this happening on ebay or something to one of the other members.

At least everyone here will be aware of it now...so no one will be sucked in

XRGhia · 14-07-2011, 12:54 AM

I've recieved the same message to both my phone's over the last few days....

i just deleted them, haha

Zero_PSI · 14-07-2011, 01:00 AM

I got that one when I was selling the EF

XRGhia · 14-07-2011, 01:02 AM

oh yeah, i havent got any cars listed f/s either...

XR037 · 14-07-2011, 01:03 AM

Surprised that nothing can be done to stop these scams...oh welz...

BFZ Wagon · 14-07-2011, 01:51 AM

The ' I work on an oil rig' one also goes around quite a bit too.

I feel sorry for the people who get scammed. eBay car listings are also a big target for this scam too.
There would be people out there who don't realise that it's a scam.

Always best to ignore them. Hit delete and it's gone.

Stefan · 14-07-2011, 08:35 AM

Tell him to send the money, when it clears into YOUR BANK account you will transfer the $940, easy.

But alas it is a scam that I receive 10 times everytime I sell a car. None seem to make the transfer though???

Zero_PSI · 14-07-2011, 08:41 AM

I assumed someone was just wqnting details to come knock off the car.

ch33z1l · 14-07-2011, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by last fairlane

I got a different type of email but along the same lines
the first email from paypal saying there was unusual activity in my paypal account and wanted me to send them my paypal PINumber so they could sort it out
they said someone had hacked my account
and taken money from it

Never leave funds in your paypal account...Paypal will never request password, PIN, etc

my_gxl · 14-07-2011, 09:19 AM

I got these scam ones too, so played along for a while just for fun, then hit then with the you are a scammer, and that I will rape their mother when I find them. The response to that was priceless.

Bud Bud · 14-07-2011, 10:30 AM

Mate selling his BA Ute in March got this identical letter via email after a text response to his ad
[PHP]Mate,thanks for the response,i would have loved to call but due to bad
weather our SATphone is currently scrambled .Please am buying the car
for my wife who just gave birth to a baby boy in my absentia.She lives
in Darwin presently so the car is going to be shipped to Darwin after
have sorted out with the payment.i want to be sure if the car is
still in good condition , preferably if i can get more close up
picture (engine and interior inclusive), i will not be able to come
for inspection now all i really need from you is the exact details of
the car.

Due to the nature of my work i am a very busy man working all day,am a
sailor am presently onboard .i will pay with the fastest and safest
online payment "PayPal" so i will need you to send me your paypal
email address so i can effect the payment,as i have my ANZ bank a/c
attached to my paypal account.I will be sending my shipping company to
come and pick it up and make a personal delivery for my wife in
Darwin.

PS:In case you don't have a PayPal account,Its reliable fast,secure
and easy to use PayPal,all you need to do is to log on to visit
www.paypal.com and register with them. When you are done with the
registration send me the email used for the registration with PayPal
so i can make the payment.Await your response.Cheers.

[/PHP]

So you can see that it is an oldie but a goodie! His response was even funnier,
[PHP]Dear Friend,

Thank you for your enquiry regarding my most bodacious Ford vehicle.

I am sorry for not replying earlier,but I have just traveled back from attending
the funeral of the owner of said Ford vehicle,my most esteemed uncle
Obi Wan Konabi.
He was killed by bounty hunters whilst touring his vast estate of gold mines
in the hinterland recently.
The ford vehicle was his personal transport.
He was most fastidious in the care of this Ford vehicle.

The difficult position I am in is that whilst I am located in Australia this
Ford vehicle is in the care of my great aunt Edna Everage and is
located at her residence in Waigani Papua New Guinea .
She is in the unfortunate position of having to dispose of his assets so she
can return to the care of our family here in Australia.

If you are not in a position to travel to,and,pick up the Ford vehicle from her
personally then we cannot proceed any further in this sale process.
The final cost for this vehcle is $35950 Kina,unfortunately she does not hold
any banking accounts and will only accept cash,as she has to sell all my
esteemed uncles assets,to enable her to return to the care of her family
here in Australia.

She does not trust the corrupt banking system in her adopted country.
Please only contact me further on this email address,as I believe the bounty
hunters who killed my most esteemed uncle have traced me through this
Ford vehicles advertisement,and are trying to locate my great aunt to steal
my most esteemed uncles vast fortune he has amassed, and hidden from the corrupt
banks in Papua new Guinea.

I look forward to further correspondence from you regarding the sale of this
Ford vehicle.

Luke Skywalker
[/PHP]You would have thought with all that gold and wealth kicking around he would have proceeded to find out more but he never heard from him again.

My mate has suggested that it might be fun to send them this same response as they seem to use the same bait, if you wanted to!

Bud Bud

Ben73 · 14-07-2011, 04:32 PM

Tell him If he works all day on a ship he doesn't need a car. And if his wife wants one she can go buy one.

Also I agree with sending the scammers stupid emails back.