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If
you are a seller, there's some
things you need to know. Believe
it or not (tongue in cheek)
there are some unscrupulous
people overseas (and here) that
will try to rip you off.
Probably more so overseas
because it's harder to get the
law on your side from afar. There
are many ways they attempt to do
this. Here's one. Someone
contacts you about the car you
have for sale. They make you an
offer "for their
client" without having even seen
the car and you accept. Then you
get a "seemingly" good
check in the mail that's for a
few thousand more than what the
deal was for. The
"buyer" tells you that
it was a mistake with some story
about that being their
commission or "finders
fee" and wishes you
to send them back the difference
in a check. You unwittingly go
along with this, after all, you
have their check. You send them
the $X amount of dollars and a
few days later you find out that
the "seemingly" good
check was a fake. You not only
didn't sell your car, but you're
out a few grand too. Here's
another one. A "buyer"
contacts you to buy your car. He
wants to wire transfer you the
money. You say okay because
that's the best way of getting
paid. So you send him your
account and routing number and
the next thing you know you're
overdrawn and he's cleaned you
out. NEVER give someone your
account and routing number in a
case like this. If you must,
open a new account with $100 (or
less) and give them that one. At least
all they can get is $100 if it's
not on the up and up. And as
soon as the money hits your
account...YANK IT OUT! The best
way to do a transaction of this
type is to insist on a Western
Union money transfer. They have
to pay it up front and you get
the money. But let's be for real
here. If a buyer is for real and
can afford to
buy a street rod, he can afford
to get on a plane, fly to your
city, look at your car and plunk
down the cash. And while I'm on
the subject...even Cashier's
Checks can be forged. Happens
every day. Before someone leaves
your driveway with your pride
and joy, make sure the check's
good. The best way is to just
take CASH.
Bottom
Line: If it smells fishy...it
usually is. Don't be the one
that wants to sell so bad that
you take a risk and end up the
loser. Think hard about any
transaction when it sounds too
good to be true. Trust your
instincts. If there's something
nagging at you in the back of
your mind...WALK AWAY.
Read
On...
I
recently received an e-mail from
Dan that is proof that the
scammers are still working
overtime trying to get their
hands on YOUR car. Dan e-mailed
me a few weeks ago that he had a
serious inquiry on his car but
the "buyer" was
foreign and the deal didn't seem
right. He had read the scam page
on this site and was concerned
that this might not be a
legitimate transaction. He
trusted his instincts and
checked things out and he was
right. The cashiers check was
bogus and he STILL HAS HIS CAR.
The following below is the
e-mail Dan sent me. This info is
so the rest of you can BEWARE
this "buyer".
I
wrote to you a few weeks ago
about a pending sale on my 57
Chevy. I was emailing a man with
the email address of
jacksonjones55@yahoo.com. After
a few weeks of exchanging notes
and pictures of the car, I got a
cashiers check drawn on a bank
in
Dallas Texas, it came from
Rotterdam, Netherlands. As in
your
scam messages, it turned out to
be worthless. Luckily I had read
them and demanded that the car
and title wouldn't leave my
hands
until full payment was complete
and all checks and or money
orders were cashed. This guy
talked legit from day one and
never
let up even after I told him the
check was worthless. I told him
I was going to do business with
someone else and that was that.
I'm giving all of the notes and
check with the return info from
the bank to the local
authorities. My wife has a
friend in the detective dept.
that wants to look into it. I'm
sure the tracks have all been
covered by the alias Jackson
Jones and he'll be clean because
he had a friend to mail it from
another country. I'm sure he
doesn't know anything about it.
That's what I'd say too if I was
guilty. It worked for Clinton:)!
Thanks for the information you
provide and the service. Maybe
the next guy will be the real
buyer.
Reid |
