Craigslist sale - Help please!

[AudiPWR]

Hello all, I just have a question about the legitacy of this email I have received from some dude who claims to want to buy the car. I'm sure it's a scam, but what would I be losing?
The sequence of emails goes as:
Him:

Hello,I am Jeffers Landrup,a business tycoon from the states and i also have a house in Canada where my parent lives presently,I saw your car for sale ads and i am so much interested in buying the car for my father so i will like to know if the car is still available for sale,what are the things i need to know about the car apart from the once you have written on the site ,more pictures of the car if you have and also whats your last asking price for it.I want you to know that my mode of payment is by Cashier Check and i will be taking care of the transportation of the car to the destination by myself.


Await your urgent response.
Jeffers Landrup

Me:

Hello, the lowest I will let the car go for is $13,000 Canadian. The things that you will need to know that are not listed are that it is 5 speed manual transmission, leather interior and a brand new set of tires. I don't have any other pictures of the car presently but I can take more if you please. Thanks for your response to the add.

Him:

I want you to know that i am satisfy with all you have said but as for the payment i will wait till the cashier check cleared into your bamk account before anything will be done concerning the transportation of the Car and i want you to know that my parents are not around in Canada presently,I just want to buy the car down for him till they will be back from Virgin Island in which they have gone for holiday,so get back to me with your full name and address with phone number for the payment to be send to you as soon as possible.

Thanks for your co-operation
Jeffers Landrup


Now I'm sure this is a scam but whats to lose if I give him this information? What are your thoughts?

[dj_rice]

I think you've been living under a rock if you haven't clued in its a scam....

[Pollywog]

Originally posted by dj_rice
I think you've been living under a rock if you haven't clued in its a scam.... :werd:

Tell him to fuck off.

[AudiPWR]

I'm not selling the car to him by any means.
I'm just curious how someone in my position could be scammed.
Like worse case you cash the cheque and it doesn't go through in 2 weeks time or whatever so you don't sell him the car...

[Pacman]

Tell him you guys have a deal, and ask for payment via Western Union. You ship the car when the cold hard cash is in your hands.

You won't get a response.

[clem24]

Hahahaha I like how he refers to himself as a "business tycoon".

Anyways, his hope is that you take the cheque. It will clear in a few days assuming it gets through the first round (i.e. bank can't detect it's a fake right away). Then after it appears to clear, he'll arrange to have a car transporting company pick it up. After it's gone, in about 2-3 weeks, the bank will realize the cheque is a fake (I heard sometimes it can take up to a month for funds to clear a foreign bank but by law they can only hold the cheque for a week or something). So after the car is shipped, the bank tells you it's fake, you have no money and no car.

[scat19]

I'm a rollercoater tycoon.

[Kloubek]

If you know it is a scam, WHY would you give him your information... even if you believe it to be safe?

[AndyL]

Do what I do with them...

Please remit payment to:

Ssgt Dewey Screwem Andhowe
C/O - ECU
133 - 6th Avenue SE
Calgary, AB T2G 4Z1
(403) 266-1234

Please ensure your contact information is enclosed - as I do so much buisness that It's hard to keep payments straight.

Only had one thus far who didn't send the payment to the CPS :)

[clem24]

^^ that's actually quite clever. How do you know they actually sent the cheque?

In any case I have a feeling the CPS won't give a shit. They have important things to do like catching people going 32 in playground zones.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[x.staygold.x]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak


This is as far as I would have gone before responding

Who the hell refers to themselves as a Tycoon... other than the Monopoly man?

Hahaha thats exactly what i thought. It smells of scam from the get go.

[AndyL]

Originally posted by clem24
^^ that's actually quite clever. How do you know they actually sent the cheque?

In any case I have a feeling the CPS won't give a shit. They have important things to do like catching people going 32 in playground zones.
Because Invariably you get an email about 10 days later asking where their western union payment is... (I usually reply with - please call me at 403-266-1234 to discuss the matter)

No clue if they're actually doing anything with it - There's only so much you can do... Perhaps I should get the staff seargents name from the economic crimes unit - but "Dewey Screwem Andhowe" i'd think would be a dead giveaway...

Worst case - they spent the funds on sending that fake cheque to the calgary police service... At least I've wasted some of their funds, time and energy...

[bjstare]

Originally posted by AudiPWR


.....Now I'm sure this is a scam but whats to lose if I give him this information? What are your thoughts?

This is how identity theft happens. They don't need a lot of info to get the ball rolling.

[wintonyk]

They talked about this shit on the news a few weeks ago. Apparently when a check clears it doesn't necessarily clear. It can be up to a few years and they come back and say that 13000 cheque was a phony.

i enjoy getting scam emails. I think they are hilarious to read. Especially when someone like a business tycoon can put two sentences together better than a 3rd grader. Or read for that fact. I had one for my MR2 and the person asked what is the make and model of the car when clearly listed is the exact details.

[dexlargo]

Sometimes they send you a cashier's cheque for more than the agreed price, then say "oops! Please just send me back the difference, and keep an extra $100.00 for the trouble." So not only are you out your property that you sold them, but they try to get cash too.

Often that's all that they're really after. I wouldn't be surprised if you received a cashier's cheque for $5,000.00 too much and he asked for a refund of that amount before he gets the car, because he needs it to pay for the shipping, or whatever. You send that money to him and never hear from him again. Then you find out the cashier's cheque is fake and you're out the difference.

[FraserB]

Get him to send the cheque and frame it. I have a friend who has about 75k in bad cashiers cheques from these things.

[AudiPWR]

I told him in the email that I wouldn'ti give him the title untill the bank has cleared the cheque and they are happy and the money is in my hands. He said that is fine.... so i could have to potentially wait a year to see if it's legit? (In all reality im sure its not but just thinking the scenario over)

[AndyL]

Virtually 100% of the time - it's a matter of they're going to send you too much - and ask you to forward the 'extra' to their shipping company... Haven't heard of them actually trying to pickup a vehicle yet...

Never give your home address - there are some great sites dedicated to scam baiting if you're into playing with them. Every once in a while it's fun to convince one of them to UPS the cheque... They get really mad if they're out of pocket UPS fees :D

And BTW - this is canada - you don't have a title to your car.

[lilmira]

Business tycoon buying a $13,000 car? It must be bad with the recession down there.

[Super_Geo]

Originally posted by AndyL
Every once in a while it's fun to convince one of them to UPS the cheque... They get really mad if they're out of pocket UPS fees :D

That's actually pretty clever.. I'm guessing it wouldn't be much to UPS a letter (maybe $10 tops?), but the pain in the ass that it would cause them would be well worth it.

Tell him you want the cheque UPS'd because that way you can provide a signature upon receipt so that you can 'prove that you actually received the cheque.'

And just write 'fuck off' on the sig box :)

[AndyL]

Nah... I'm going on a jehova's witness mission to africa - if he wants that handled and western unioned the 'extra' before I go - he better get that cheque to me in two days...

10$ is 10$ - 9.50 more than it cost him to snail mail it...

:rofl:

Yes must use their own tactics against them... I'm about to open a bank in banff :D

[thinmyster]

sounds legit to me

[Kloubek]

Originally posted by AudiPWR
I told him in the email that I wouldn'ti give him the title untill the bank has cleared the cheque and they are happy and the money is in my hands. He said that is fine.... so i could have to potentially wait a year to see if it's legit? (In all reality im sure its not but just thinking the scenario over)

IT IS NOT LEGIT!!!!

It seems you are coming on here really wanting someone to agree this is legit and you should go for it. That someone does not exist (I hope). Stop talking about "potentially" waiting a year. It isn't going to happen.

[szw]

Originally posted by AudiPWR
I told him in the email that I wouldn'ti give him the title untill the bank has cleared the cheque and they are happy and the money is in my hands. He said that is fine.... so i could have to potentially wait a year to see if it's legit? (In all reality im sure its not but just thinking the scenario over)

give it up already

[quazimoto]

Come on, its a scam. But but but try to scam the scammer.

http://www.419eater.com/

People try to seriously get the scammers to send real money to you. They most often will send money via western union if you request smaller amounts.

Aka tell him your bank is requesting $300 to cash the cheque and you need him to send you the money by western union. You'll be surprised how often they do this. Then just donate the money to a good charity!

UPS letter charge is almost $30 as well since they only use those express packs for them lol.

[dexlargo]

The first (and in my opinion, best) scam the scammer prank I ever read was the p-p-p-powerbook scam.

Short version - guy offers to buy buddy's powerbook, but wants to use an obviously fake escrow service for payment. Our hero sends him a package with a declared value of $2,200.00 (the price of the powerbook) - to pick up the powerbook, the scammer had to pay a 22.5% Value Added Tax (the scammer was in the UK), and all he got was a fake computer - but what a fake! Check it out here (http://www.zug.com/pranks/powerbook/).

[acura_el]

Originally posted by Kloubek


IT IS NOT LEGIT!!!!

It seems you are coming on here really wanting someone to agree this is legit and you should go for it. That someone does not exist (I hope). Stop talking about "potentially" waiting a year. It isn't going to happen.


I think he's probably already sent the bank info and is looking for reassurance that he didn't send it to a scammer.

[sxtasy]

Powerbook scam
haha awesome!

[AudiPWR]

Okay, the next guy seems a little more legit.
He asked questions about the car, and said he was looking around at others and tried to lowball me, anyways we finally agreed on a price but hes only offering to pay in:
"I can bring a Company Cheque, my personal cheques are Royal Bank Certified Cheques or a Certified Cheque from Bank?"
Are any of these safe?

EDIT: He's also from edmonton and is planning on taking a look at the car tmrw.

[clem24]

Originally posted by AudiPWR
Okay, the next guy seems a little more legit.
He asked questions about the car, and said he was looking around at others and tried to lowball me, anyways we finally agreed on a price but hes only offering to pay in:
"I can bring a Company Cheque, my personal cheques are Royal Bank Certified Cheques or a Certified Cheque from Bank?"
Are any of these safe?

EDIT: He's also from edmonton and is planning on taking a look at the car tmrw.

There's only 1 way to verify that it's real.

1.) Take option 3 (certified cheque)
2.) Go to the bank with them
3.) Have them draw the cheque then and there.
4.) Finish the transaction at the bank and take the cheque and run!

That's the only way you can be rest assured 100% that the cheque is real and that you can get your money.

[goat_killer]

If you get any emails from a "business tycoon" consider it a scam haha

[Skrilla]

Wtf you guys talking about......he looks legit to me :dunno:

http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc89/Duzzee/monopoly.jpg

[clem24]

Got this response on Autotrader.com (US):


The car is still available.It has no scratches or any kind of damage. I am in Wyckoff, NJ.Full price is 16.100$, shipping included, and all the documents will be provided along with it.The transaction will be made through Yahoo Autos for our safety,so we can be sure of the legitimacy of our deal.I'm a serious seller and a fair trader and I prefer to deal only with a serious buyer..Anyway, I have to let you know that I want a fast deal because I need the money asap and that is also the reason why I am selling it at a lower price... so if you are really interested in buying it, please reply.


Mileage: 17,911 miles
Title: Clear
Body type: Minivan/Van
Engine: 6 Cylinder 3.5 Liter
Transmission: Automatic
Fuel type: Gasoline
Interior color: Gray

Seriously I think these guys need new methods of scamming people. It's just so cliche. Ah well.