important information for all

[beandip]

Today I was helping a fellow member and checking out a Z that is for sale. The seller informed me upon arrival that he had sold the car overnight to a full price buyer from Africa. This reminded me of a scam that is being pulled here in the states. They will pay the full selling price by cashers check , but they want to cut the check for the full ammount of the car and the shipping and handeling as well as the brokers comission . Usually double the sale price of the car . You are to cash the check and two days or so the agents will arrive and do the paper work and collect the extra funds . and take the car. Here is the problem , the cashers check is a conterfit but so good the bank cant tell. In about 10 days when the check bounces the law shows up at your door ane you are liable for the total amount + you are out your car. Beware and be INFORMED , this has been going on and it happened today. to one of our members , two actually the seller and the byer. The FBI and the Police were both called and they both said just dont sell the car. Were not interested and they will do nothing, HOW DOES THAT GRAB YOU . :sick: :angry: From a strictly legal stand point maby only a sting would catch the thief and He is in Africa . maby that is why ?

[Bambikiller240]

Originally posted by beandip

................ The FBI and the Police were both called and they both said just dont sell the car. Were not interested and they will do nothing, HOW DOES THAT GRAB YOU . :sick: :angry:

Civil Servants my A$$!:sick: Why am I not surprised? No wonder people pull stunts like this, it's because they can get away with it!

[2ManyZs]

This was going on for a while on Ebay.. guess they've started using any web-sites selling cars since they weren't able to pull the scam on Ebay like they used to.

I think the problem lies with our inability to prosecute anyone in a foreign country without a reciprocity agreement. Mostly I've heard these were Nigerians pulling the scam, and last I heard, the US and Nigerian gov't are on the best of terms..so if they're are being sheltered by a crooked gov't, this is going to continue....

[Bambikiller240]

Originally posted by 2ManyZs

...............so if they're are being sheltered by a crooked gov't, this is going to continue....

I hear what you're saying but there is a great way to stop it from continuing. We start prosecuting the local people acting as agents for the foreign crooks as accessories to the crime. When that happens, the supply of people willing to take on this kind of work without practicing due diligence and taking the necessary steps to ensure the financial instruments (check, bank draft, whatever) are valid will disappear. If this is "known scam" that happens frequently, then IMO, the local agents have an obligation to go the extra mile to ensure that a legal transaction occurs.

$.02

[2ManyZs]

I think that's part of the problem, as the "local agents" don't exist.... most of the times they want you to mail the return check before you ship the vehicle.

One of the posts I saw about it, said they requested a certified check be placed in the mail and sent back to them so they could hire these supposed "local agents" to organize shipment. Once you get the cashiers check and mail it, you are out half the supposed "transaction" and they have a tidy profit since the check they originally sent was a forgery.

[Bambikiller240]

Originally posted by 2ManyZs

I think that's part of the problem, as the "local agents" don't exist.... most of the times they want you to mail the return check before you ship the vehicle.

One of the posts I saw about it, said they requested a certified check be placed in the mail and sent back to them so they could hire these supposed "local agents" to organize shipment. Once you get the cashiers check and mail it, you are out half the supposed "transaction" and they have a tidy profit since the check they originally sent was a forgery.

Ah, I see. So then part of the problem is sellers with a short supply of brain cells. :stupid: Some folks are their own worst enemy. Very sad that some people will fall for stuff like this. It does, however go a ways to explaining how certain politicans get elected. Glad that someone like Gary (beandip) is around to save their bacon, and start the education process.

[Ben]

I have seen this scam attempted here in Australia too. It is basically a variation of the '419' (I've got $25M locked away & I need your $10K to get it out of the country) scam. But it appears a little more personal, as they speak about YOUR car. Only a few weeks ago, I got a 419 e-mail, that referred to my family name! (such a nice personal touch....)

SELLER BEWARE!!!!

It's ironic that these scams have surfaced, as a friend of mine has just sold his 610 rally car to an guy in Africa (it arrived there a week ago)!

(It's all legit, we know the buyer & the car is being used in a historical rally series).

[AxtellZ]

for reference- i got an email, not about buying a car, but rather a bogus africa $ transfer for some "plane crash victim's estate" or some such story. I reported it in a few places:

Thank you for your submission to the FBI Internet

Tip Line. In as much as the FBI receives reports

of this type of activity on a regular basis there

is no need to forward any such additional emails

to us.

A review of the information you provided revealed

that you are being approached over the Internet to

participate in one of many variations of an

advance fee scheme being perpetrated by

individuals from various West African nations,

particularly Nigeria. This scam has also become

popular and perpetrated by individuals all over

the world, including in Korea and the UK.

Victims have lost substantial funds in the past

and all requests for travel to foreign locations

should be ignored. The United States Secret

Service (USSS) has developed an excellent,

detailed description of this fraud scheme, which

can be accessed at

www.secretservice.gov/alert419.shtml. If you have

been victimized by one of these schemes, please

forward appropriate written documentation to the

USSS, Financial Crimes Division, 950 H Street, NW,

Washington, D.C. 20223, or contact them via

telephone at (202) 406-5850. We encourage you to

share this Web page with family and friends. Your

continued cooperation in this and other matters is

greatly appreciated.

You do not need to forward the emails to us. If

you have not, simply delete them from your

computer. Also, if you know that you are

receiving spam mail, it is advisable not to open

them, because even if you do not reply, the sender

has validated your email address. And, you may

get other spam mail.

For your information, the Internet Tip Line (ITL)

was created on 9/11/01, in response to the

terrorist attacks upon America. We quickly

established a mechanism for the public to submit

information to the FBI via the Internet, and we

received our first tip at 10:31 AM that first day.

Director Mueller has since made the ITL a

permanent part of FBI operations, and we have thus

far received over 840,000 tips from around the

globe, from which thousands of leads have been

sent to FBI Field and Legal Attaché offices for

action.

Initially, almost 100% of the tips received were

related to the terrorist attacks; now,

approximately 45% of all tips received are related

to almost every other FBI criminal program, e.g.,

drug trafficking, organized crime, money

laundering, pyramid schemes, child pornography,

fugitives, bank robbery.

Our operation is completely automated and

paperless. Submitted tips are received

immediately, reviewed within minutes and

prioritized by trained Professional Support

personnel, and Agents set action leads within the

hour, as appropriate.

We encourage you to share this information with

your family, friends, and co-workers, and

encourage them to not hesitate to submit

information they may deem of interest to the FBI.

IMPORTANT - NOTE THE FOLLOWING:

The FBI does not maintain an email address to

submit information or attachments to directly;

therefore, please do not reply directly to this

message via your email client. The FBI maintains

an automated system that is designed to track all

information received, to ensure that all tips are

addressed in a timely and efficient manner.

Therefore, please visit the FBI.GOV Web site again

should you have occasion to submit additional

information. We WILL NOT open or respond to

“reply” email.

[AxtellZ]

here's the secret service report link:

http://www.secretservice.gov/financial_crimes.shtml#Nigerian

[Zrush]

Many moons ago when I was a teller in a bank, we had a well established customer try and deposit a large dollar cashiers check. Upon further review of the check the bank had determined that it was bogus. The poor man had sold his Ferrari and by the time he realized the check was no good the car was long gone. "Buyer AND Seller Beware"

Vicky