The Better Business Bureau heard today (actually, we hear almost every day!) from a consumer who was shopping online for a car. The offer included beautiful pictures, a CarFax report on the vehicle, and a great price, maybe one too good to be true.
The seller had an explanation, “The reason I'm selling this car under the market value is because I need some money to save my business.” And more: “Right now I'm having a business trip abroad and I will not be able to handle the sale in person.”
For a copy of the message received by the would-be buyer of this vehicle, CLICK HERE. As you'll see, “Peter” (the scammer and supposed seller) has it all figured out. He writes in the e-mail to a potential customer:
…I've already arranged the shipping and the title transfer. The shipping is included in the price. The transaction will be made through eBay for the safety of both of us. In order to do this we will have to follow a few easy steps:
- I start the transaction through eBay.
- eBay send you the transaction details.
- they send you an invoice with the payment details.
- you send the money to eBay Motors.
- I ship the car.
- you receive the vehicle and inspect it.
- you accept the vehicle and eBay pays me.
The clean title will be sent along with the car. eBay Motors will hold the money until the car and the title are delivered to you. I think that 5 days of inspection are enough. If the car is not like described you will have to ship it back on my expense and eBay will give you a full refund. This way, you will be able to inspect the vehicle before committing to buy it and I know that you have the money and you aren't just fooling around.
Giving the nature of this transaction please note that my sale terms are final and nonnegotiable. In order to move forward I will need your full name and the shipping address.
Thanks,
Peter
For anyone who follows up trying to purchase this car, two things are certain:
1. “Peter” is trying to steal your money; and,
2. The beautiful Toyota Tundra in the pictures will never show up in your driveway.
The BBB frequently sees cases where “Peter” (or some other name used by a scammer) starts out talking about “you send the money to eBay Motors.” But a reason usually arises why the payment to eBay Motors can’t include the shipping or some other expenses. According to the scammer, this portion of the payment will need to be handled separately by wiring money to someone.
Once money is wired, it’s gone. No shipment will follow. The only accomplishment: a happy scammer. BBB’s advice: Never wire money to someone you don’t know well and trust completely.
In addition, no system is foolproof. Scammers sometimes figure out ways to circumvent whatever protections eBay or Paypal might have. So it is not impossible that this scam may be carried out through eBay Motors. But more than likely, there will develop a reason why at least a significant part of the transaction, usually the shipping, can’t be handled through eBay Motors and will instead need to be handled through a Western Union or MoneyGram wire transfer.