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galaxie	Some jerk out there is trying to sell my car. This is a scam. The car is NOT for sale, I'm having too much fun driving it. If this happened to someone else, please tell me what recourse I have. Any help would be appreciated. I don't know how to stop this from happening.
Snoman	A lot of this on auto trader and Ebay dont think there is much you can but buyer beware there are a$$holes everywhere.
quincy	Galaxie, How do you know its 'your car'? Are 'they' using your vin #? How is this 'scam' constructed? How did you discover it? What's the purpose? To try to get money from you? Or, is it just a picture of your car that someone is using as false representation of a similar product? Would appreciate additional details for education purposes!
galaxie	The a$$$ used the vin# of the car. They got it & pics. of the car off the internet(where I first saw the car for sale). They are trying to sell the car thru Auto Trader. I just want people to be very careful when buying off the internet. I guess we can't stop this, just don't send any money up front.
kat hunter	Typical scam is to try to get someone to send a deposit to hold the car. You can never find them when it comes time to pick up the car.
Chiefload	This might be time to remove all of our Vin's off of this website. This could be a blank check for scam artist, to attack any of our vehicles. Something to think about.
meandmykitty	I AGREE WITH KAT HUNTER, THERE IS SCUM OUT THEIR TRYING TO GET DEPOSITS ON CARS THEN IT WILL COME BACK TO WHOEVER OWNS THE CAR THEN YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH GETTING OUT OF THIS PROBLEM,AND PROVE YOU HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE. I GUESS IT WOULD BE SAME IF SOMEONE WOULD BE SELLING SOMETHING ON E BAY AND NEVER SENDING THE PRODUCT. RICK
Marty Usher	If some scum advertises my car on ebay or autotrader and the price is high enough I just might take the price! Galaxie - I hope you don't have any hassle over this. This message has been edited by Marty Usher on 10-24-2005 at 06:28 PM
halicat	sounds like you need a tough cop...
quincy	So all of this works thru a 'private seller'?? This person is trying to sell a 'product' that really does not exist?? All they want is your 'deposit', which could be substantial. Once you send your money, they cash the check or what ever, and skip/delete their information? This type of action could severely damage sites such as E-Bay. How does one protect one's self? Escrow accounts? Other? Can't the Feds stop this rip off? I purchased my Prowler from a Lexus dealership out of Arizona off of E-Bay, and I spoke to the dealer many times while bidding to ease my concerns. My worst fear was buying a used car, sight unseen, never test driven, and 'in the dark'. Vehicle was 'as listed'...perfect!
kat hunter	quote: Originally posted by Chiefload: This might be time to remove all of our Vin's off of this website. This could be a blank check for scam artist, to attack any of our vehicles. Something to think about. I tend to agree with Chiefload on this. The vin numbers need to be protected so they are not available for viewing. I know we can select the option of whether to show them or not in the owners registry, but my opinion is they should all be protected and we don't have a choice. One way to attempt to determine whether a particular item might be a scam is to call or email and try to set up a time and place to see whatever it is in person. Generally a scammer won't reply. It doesn't matter if you can really go to see it or not, just make them think you can. Yes, this only protects you and leaves the scammer free to prey on someone else, but sometimes that's all we can do. The POA has members all over the country and a lot of us are willing to look at things other members are trying to buy, so it doesn't hurt to ask if someone can check out and item for you. When I was trying to buy my prowler, I ran into a couple of sellers that had pictures posted of "their" cars that looked like they were sitting on a car lot. When I tried to set up a time to see them, I never got an answer from the seller. The question in my mind about these guys is were these some of the deposit scam guys or where the cars for sale at a local lot, and they were going to play broker and buy the car off of the lot then sell to me once they knew they could turn a quick profit. Anyway, once they didn't respond to where I could see the cars, there was enough doubt in my mind to not deal with them. This message has been edited by kat hunter on 10-25-2005 at 12:19 PM
galaxie	I truly belive that this a$$hole got my car & Vin# off the original add posted on e-bay. Not to say that maybe we shouldn't have the Vin# off the site. I called the # again & just get a voice mail. I hope this issue is put to bed & the jerk gives up. I did make a police report with the info. I had. Would sure like to catch the people that do this sort of thing.
ed monahan	I think the fact that the VIN is listed on eBay helps protect us. That is how this scam was discovered. I agree the price was a total red flag but then a member could simply check the registry and determine who owned the car, alerting Galaxie to the scam. If we did not have the VIN, we might have all wondered but we would not have gotten to the bottom of it nearly as quickly. Good work by all involved. That is just my 2 cents. Here is the reply from the seller, to my email inquiry. Hi, Thank you for your interest in purchasing my car. I have worked in USA for the past 6 months and I purchased the car there. My company wanted me back home, so currently I'm in Italy. I didn't bring it home with me because the car's have US specification,and so it's difficult driving it around the Italy. The vehicle is in good condition, has no technical damage at all, no scratches or dents, no hidden defects, no smoking, remaining warranty available. It's fun and robust to drive. Technical inspection and emissions testing is passed and stamped as well. It has title of ownership, cleared of any obligations or fees and comes with all the documents you need to register it. The car is now located at the AutoTrader.com warehouse in Denver, Colorado. The car will be shipped and insured by AutoTrader.com and Square Trade. AutoTrader.com will act as a 3rd party for our transaction. You will not have to pay additional taxes for this. To be able to receive or pick up the car you'll have to make a $1,900 deposit.After you inspect the car if anything seems wrong you'll be able to receive a refund from AutoTrader.com.The rest of money(6,100$) you will send me after you will receive,verify and register the car on your name. Please send me your full name and shipping address to forward them to AutoTrader.com. They will contact you with all the information you need. Thanks for your interest, please feel free to email me any questions or concerns you may have. Respectfully, Marius >From: dealerleads@autotrader.com >Reply-To: emonahan@cinci.rr.com >To: alberooo888@msn.com >Subject: Owner 57091256: AutoTrader.com: Vehicle Lead 2001 Plymouth Prowler >Date: Sun, 23 Oct 2005 22:16:07 -0400 (EDT) > >***VEHICLE LEAD*** > >The following lead was generated from AutoTrader.com's web site at >http://www.autotrader.com. >To view the vehicle, click the link below: >http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=191208376 > > >VEHICLE INFORMATION >Make: Plymouth >Model: Prowler >Year: 2001 >Price: 8000 >Mileage: 1177 >Body Style: Convertible >Color: Orange >Cylinders: 6 Cylinder Gasoline >Transmission: 4 Speed Automatic >Doors: Two Door >Stereo: Unavailable >VIN: 1P3EW65G31V701861 >Description: 2001 Plymouth Prowler Convertible SUPER PRICE ONNLY 8000USD. >The car is in 100% perfect condition both optical and technical. > > >BUYER INFO >Name: ed monahan >E-Mail Address: emonahan@cinci.rr.com >Day Phone: (513) 678-1934 >Comments: I'll take it. > > >Fraud Awareness Tips For Sellers: >http://www.autotrader.com/research/shared/article_popup.jsp?article_id=12125 > _________________________________________________________________ On the road to retirement? Check out MSN Life Events for advice on how to get there! http://lifeevents.msn.com/category.aspx?cid=Retirement
galaxie	Ed, After reading your comments I totally agree. I would like to thank all members involved especially Kat Hunter for giving me a heads up. As I said before you guys are great. It's good to know I have friends that I haven't even met yet. I guess we all have to look out for each other. Sure glad I found this site. Mac