too good too be true ??

Manxman_in_exile

Mercdriver wrote: »

+1 ................

Thanks Merc. Think I'm ok now - see above

AndyMc.....

ginashamz wrote: »

Why anyone would pay for a car online that they've never seen in person is beyond me

Why would anyone pretend to own a car they don't?

Brijjy

David John Rose is at it again, this time with a 2001 Land Rover Defender 90. Advert on Ebay. Emails between us, with him saying that he uses Uship and they hold the money in escrow. Apparently the vehicle is in Douglas on the Isle of Man but I can't go and view it or pick it up. I emailed him saying my friend is going to the address provided to have a look. What a surprise, David John Rose hasn't replied.

oscarward

A variation on the scam happened to a friend of a friend.

What I was told was that a Land Rover was advertised, someone was interested and on enquiry was told vehicle could be inspected at owners home.

All good so far, vehicle was inspected and matched documentation at sellers house so deal was struck and money handed over.

It came unravelled when purchaser tried to register and was visited by police who informed it was stolen. Apparently the documentation was forged and sellers had rented property with false papers. Said sellers had disappeared rapidly with money.

Buyer was left with nothing for his £25k

mcpitman

ginashamz wrote: »

Why anyone would pay for a car online that they've never seen in person is beyond me

Shouldn't that read;
"Why anyone would brag about a car online that they've never owned seen or driven is beyond me"

SmallB

I agree, although eBay make it difficult to view a vehicle before purchase as they regard that as an opportunity to arrange the purchase outside of eBay, so they search for any messages between seller/bidder that contain contact information. That's for auction style ads anyway. I still wouldn't pay until I saw the vehicle though.

For classified ads there's no excuse. I'm looking at one now on eBay which I was interested in as it's the right car at a good price. It's lower than book price, but then it might turn out to be a Cat S repair or similar, so that in itself doesn't mean it's a scam. The eBay seller ID with zero feedback was a warning flag. I phoned the mobile number but there was no response. I then got an anonymous SMS text from "David" saying he owned the car and could I email him on the address in the text. The warning bells were really ringing now but I thought I might as well go along with it. I got an email back from a different email address with the same car details and I replied asking where I could view it. I haven't had a response to that yet. The last email was signed David John Rose.

I searched on the mobile number and it turned up another eBay ad for a different vehicle, although that ad was finished. I searched on his name and it brought me to this forum.

If I get any further information such as where to transfer funds to, is there anything useful I can do with that info to put a stop to this?

SmallB

Ok, I obviously haven't got the hang of this. I thought I was replying to a post further up that asked why people would send money without viewing a vehicle, but it didn't include the text of that post in my response. I must have missed something.

waamo

SmallB wrote: »

Ok, I obviously haven't got the hang of this. I thought I was replying to a post further up that asked why people would send money without viewing a vehicle, but it didn't include the text of that post in my response. I must have missed something.

If you hit the quote button on the post you want to reply to it starts a post.

Dasa

These gangs make a fortune doing this. It was on TV a while ago.They even fly people in from Romania just to open bank accounts to put the money through.


Its amazing how many people fall for it this gang had made millions before they were caught and they didn't get much of a prison sentence.

Planahead

Guy also goes by josac67 - just got the same message today about him being in the Isle of Man! Er, don't think I'll be taking him up on his offer. The vehicle location on the eBay advert was London.