Selling a car on Autotrader, spotting the scammer

[GoinAllTheWay]

This morning I put my gf's car up on auto trader. Almost immediately after the ad went live, I get a vague email from a gal asking "can I send additional info on the car" Like what exactly?

So after a couple emails back and forth I get an reply saying:

"I think the price of $1,000 is fair enough, so just send your paypal email so that I can make the payment and we will arrange a specific date and time for the pick up as soon as payment is confirmed in your account."

This is the classic paypal scam, no? They send money and then reverse it somehow after driving away in the car?

[Burninator]

Yup that is a scam.

[Dan02]

Cash only on kijiji. Period.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Yup, cash only is the only way I'll sell this car.

Good to know. Hopefully I get a couple serious inquiries. If not, Kijiji it is.

[Looch City]

Please ship it to Zimbabwe to my son and heir. I will cover the shipping price through Canada Post Expedited.

[8sPOT]

And just as an extra note. If selling for more than say $5,000, it isn't unusual to go with the buyer to their bank to get a bank draft.

[puffnstuff]

What kind of car? Put it in the Buy and Sell on here.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay

This is the classic paypal scam, no? They send money and then reverse it somehow after driving away in the car?

Turn the tables! Take the paypal payment and don't show up with the car.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

Turn the tables! Take the paypal payment and don't show up with the car.

Not sure if serious, but I wouldn't play any games with them.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

Not sure if serious

Very much not.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

Very much not.

Yeah, I didn't think so but you hear these stories on the web where the scammer is led on and fun ensues but I think it can be a dangerous game.

[FlamesAddiction]

I was shopping for a truck last week and responded to many Kijiji and Autotrader ads. Just today, I received this obvious scam email in my inbox. It is actually hilarious how obvious it is:

---------------------------------------

Dr. Carmen R. Carol <carmencaroll05@gmail.com>
to me

Hi,
First of all I want to thank you for your interest in my truck:2008 Ford F150 Fully Loaded .The final price that I want for this truck is $5,890 CAD( including shipping and handling).I sell it at this price because my husband died 3 months ago, I along with my daughter decided to sell the house and move to my parents in London,UK.I know the price is cheaper than normal on the market but i want to sell the truck faster then usually and I assume that a lower price will be a good solution.Between everything that has been going on and working all day, I cannot conclude this transaction personally so I left everything prepared for the sale. The transaction will go through eBay Motors Shipping Company, they will guide us through all the process for a smooth and secure transaction.This truck is in excellent working conditions,NO accidents, slightly used ,100% working and looking conditions,ONLY 147,498 km,always garaged and , is registered and located in Canada and it has clear title.
For more photos with the truck please to check this link: (Link removed because it is probably dangerous to click on, but it was disguised to look like an ebay link, but wasn't...)
I will wait for your answer(if you are interested to buy) very soon!
Thank you and have a great day!
Doctor Carmen R Carol

And here is the cheesy stock photo of a doctor included in the email:

https://plus.google.com/u/0/10691098...89172678579425

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

I was shopping for a truck last week and responded to many Kijiji and Autotrader ads. Just today, I received this obvious scam email in my inbox. It is actually hilarious how obvious it is:

---------------------------------------

And here is the cheesy stock photo of a doctor included in the email:

https://plus.google.com/u/0/10691098...89172678579425

How is it on gas?

[Jackpot_Smooth]

I had this paypal only buyer asking for a car i was selling last month. Said he was a marine biologist out at sea but wanted to buy the car for his son as a surprise birthday gift. Only could use paypal and sent me a link to setup my own paypal after i lied and said i don't have paypal.

I really wanted to question if this was he was playing a joke because the car i was selling needed a lot of work and he'd be a pretty crappy dad to buy this car for his son.

[tvp2003]

Any chance you're selling a P-P-P-Pontiac?

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/p-p-p-powerbook

[Jbo]

Paypal is the absolute worst and offers way to much protection to the buyer. Been ripped off on it once and promised to never use it again. Cash or gtfo

[FlamesAddiction]

Incidentally, the guy that I did end up buying a truck off of told me that he had a paypal scammer as well. It must be a popular trend.

Aside from the seller scam I already posted, I also had another situation where the person showed up with the truck. The were saying that they had to leave the country and that is why they were selling it, but they only owned it for 3 months and couldn't provide any paperwork about the history of the vehicle. When I called them back and asked for the VIN number, the guy suddenly couldn't speak English very well (he was Romanian, but spoke English fine when I went for a test drive).

It almost seems like there are many scammers out there as there are honest people these days.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

I was shopping for a truck last week and responded to many Kijiji and Autotrader ads. Just today, I received this obvious scam email in my inbox. It is actually hilarious how obvious it is:

---------------------------------------

And here is the cheesy stock photo of a doctor included in the email:

https://plus.google.com/u/0/10691098...89172678579425

My favorite is the "Doctor" on the sign off to try and look legit.

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by Jackpot_Smooth

I had this paypal only buyer asking for a car i was selling last month. Said he was a marine biologist out at sea but wanted to buy the car for his son as a surprise birthday gift. Only could use paypal and sent me a link to setup my own paypal after i lied and said i don't have paypal.

I really wanted to question if this was he was playing a joke because the car i was selling needed a lot of work and he'd be a pretty crappy dad to buy this car for his son.

I sold a car in 2012 and got this same premise for it twice. Mother was a marine biologist on the St. Lawrence with only intermittent phone and internet reception. I pretended to be interested in marine biology and sent random pictures of sea creatures asking what it was with each exchange. The last picture I sent before they stopped communicating with me was a jelly dildo laying on a beach.

[peter12]

That is very fine work, Reaper.