Scammers...

[Herminator]

Why is the internet full of scammers?

I've just had this email in reply to my autotrader add.

**Good Evening,
Thanks for your quick response and am also excited to hear from you that the vehicle is still available for sale.
And thanks for the information you just gave about the vehicle and am quite delighted to hear from you that the vehicle is still in great conditions.
The reason why am purchasing this vehicle is because My self and my husband just need one additional vehicle.

Please i want you to email me more pictures aside from the one on web advert page if is still available both the exterior and interior.
Due to my condition i will not be able to view the vehicle at present because i'm heavily pregnant with set of twins,and the distance as well.
My personal circumstances do not allow me to travel,like wise my husband is away on a business trip.
According to the Features of the vehicle and the Full Description of the vehicle which i saw on the advert page i'm fully satisfied.

I want you to accept my offer of £***** inclusive the advert fees just because I know what the worth of the vehicle ,and also for you to reserve the vehicle for me.
The only way you will release the vehicle to any one is when the cash is in your hand, i.e. payments cleared at bank, and withdrawn.
I am located in Wales.
I will only required your full name and your postal address, so that the bankers draught could be posted to you via royal mail.
My preffered method of payment is by bankers draft /Cheque in a (GBP) which may take 3 to 5 working days to Clear.
Please note that you will only release the vehicle until you have received confirmation from your bank that the payment has been given value and cleared.

I hope to hear from you today in order to proceed further with the payment and shipping arrangements as soon as possible.
I look forward to hear back from you today.**

I'm pretty sure it's a scam, although more convicing than most.
The language is not bad in places, it seems their English is getting better :roll:

 

[Monkey3.0]

Can't believe these people think anyone would fall for this !!!

 

[mystik]

they suck and have nothing better to do


i feel sorry for those who lack the common sense to read right thru the bullshlaka

 

[Mr Whippy]

Open a new account, stick in the cheque, close the account and get cash once cleared, THEN release the car, hehe.

 

[ksher]

I think they just want your full name and home address, the bank draft will never arrive.

Do they try to clone your vehicle and get a genuine registration document from DVLA?

 

[gannet]

as you say more believable than some...

thing is why would a pregnant mother with twins be wanting a 2 seater car :lol:

 

[sammyz]

If this is a scam I'm not quite sure what they are trying to do here. Not asking for your bank details and someone's name and full postal address is available from electoral register. I presume they've left a phone number so you can speak to them and check it out from that?? I once sold a car to a guy form North Wales who had a broken leg and sent me the money and then asked me to deliver it! It was all legit.

 

[mmm-five]

If this is a scam I'm not quite sure what they are trying to do here. Not asking for your bank details and someone's name and full postal address is available from electoral register. I presume they've left a phone number so you can speak to them and check it out from that?? I once sold a car to a guy form North Wales who had a broken leg and sent me the money and then asked me to deliver it! It was all legit.

They use a hijacked account or fake cheques. These are processed normally and everything is cleared, so you send/deliver the car.

About 2 weeks later you'll get a letter/call from your bank saying that the cheque was fraudulent and they've taken the money back, and if you complain they'll assume you're part of the fraud.

You lose the car, you lose the money. The scammers have your car and they haven't spent any money.

You can usually tell it's a scam by the style of writing.

 

[AlanJ]

I'm rich. Just got an e mail from this really great guy in Nigeria. Said that I had inherited £6m from a long lost relative. All I have to do is send £200 to him via Western Union Credit Transfer to pay for documentation etc and the money will be deposited in my current bank account by next week - I just have to let him know the full details. How can I be so lucky. Now of to the dealers to order my new Z4 and and M5 YAHOOOOOO!

BEWARE: ANY UNSOLICITED E MAIL THAT ASKS FOR YOUR PERSONAL DETAILS TREAT AS A SCAM.......

 

[klarky]

just the way that email is written shouts scam, repeating themselves and general language.

 

[no fit state]

That scam had been around fo ages now. Can't believe anyone would still fall fort it

mmm-five has it the nail on the head!

 

[MrGringo]

This reminds me of a great scam-baiting site. Some of the stuff on there is classic.
http://www.419eater.com/

 

[AlanJ]

Just got this one - what amazes me is that people fall for these scams......

Dearly Beloved,

I am Lady Ruth Latsis suffering from cancerous ailment. I am married to Sir Silas Latsis,a shipping tycoon notable for his great wealth, influential extended family, and charitable activities all his life before his death. Our life together as man and wife lasted for three decades without child. My husband died after a protracted illness in April 17, 2005.

My husband and I made a vow to uplift the down-trodden and the less-privileged individuals as he had passion for persons who can not help themselves due to physical disability or financial predicament.I can adduce this to the fact that he needed a Child from our wedlock which never came.

When my late husband was alive he had a lot of investments in the capital market(stocks and bonds valued at over $5 Million). Consequent upon his demise this stocks were transferred solely to me.

Recently, my Doctor told me that I have limited days to live due to the cancerous problems I am suffering from though what bothers me most is the stroke that I have in addition to the cancer. With this hard reality that has befallen me,i have decided to distribute this stocks to persons in need,orphanages and motherless babies homes. I have chosen you as one of the beneficiaries hence,i have decided to give you $5 Million worth of my stocks and i want you to use this gift which comes from my husbands effort to better your lot,fund the upkeep of widows,orphans, destitute, the down- trodden, physically challenged children,barren-women and persons who prove to be genuinely handicapped financially around you. It is often said that blessed is the hand that giveth.

I took this decision because I do not have any child that will inherit this money and my husband relatives are bourgeois and very wealthy persons and I do not want my husband's hard earned money to be misused or invested
into ill perceived ventures. I do not want a situation where this money will be used in a worldly manner, hence the reason for taking this bold decision. I am not afraid of death hence I know where I am going.I do not need any telephone communication in this regard due to my deteriorating health and because of the presence of my husbands relatives around me as i am currently bedridden in the Family house and do not receive any visitors
unless approved by the immediate younger brother to my late husband.I do not want them to know about this development in order to safeguard this bequest.

I have authorized my Private Attorney Gavan Connolly in the UK whom i communicate with via emails everyday,to issue a Letter of Authority in your favor to the Security Company handling this stocks and this will
empower you as the beneficiary of this fund,he would also endorse my WILL where i will include your name as one of my beneficiaries. My happiness is that I lived a life worthy of emulation. Please always be kind hearted all
through your life.

I want you to immediately contact my Attorney through his email XXXXXXXXX and provide for him all that he may require to finalize this arrangement, please make sure to maintain a confidential and Cordial relationship with him even in my absence because he is a very Trust worthy and caring person. Please assure me that you will act just as I have stated herein.

Hope to hear from you soon, it is well with you and members of your family. Ensure to keep this very confidential for security reasons until the fundsare safe in your posses ion

With Love,

Lady Ruth Latsis

 

[sammyz]

I still can't see this :roll:

Excuse me for being thick but given that people are alert to 'letter' or E mail type scams why didn't they just come over, view the car in the usual way. return the next day with a (fake) bankers draft which you would pay into the bank then they could take the car??

 

[Herminator]

I still can't see this :roll:

Excuse me for being thick but given that people are alert to 'letter' or E mail type scams why didn't they just come over, view the car in the usual way. return the next day with a (fake) bankers draft which you would pay into the bank then they could take the car??

Because you can send a thousand emails a day and remain annonymus or only view a few cars a day and show your face.
Plus they're usualy done from abroad, which is why the sentances read like they've been put through a bad translater.

 

[Mr Whippy]

I still can't see this :roll:

Excuse me for being thick but given that people are alert to 'letter' or E mail type scams why didn't they just come over, view the car in the usual way. return the next day with a (fake) bankers draft which you would pay into the bank then they could take the car??

There is a thread on Ferrari Chat iirc, about a guy selling his car and getting a 'scam' email from a buyer... but it was actually real, and the new owner over in Aus is now happy with their rhd Ferrari Testarossa!


It's certainly not a lose lose situation. Cripes, they are only in Wales. Just be sensible and do everything by the book and you will be fine. If it is a scam it will become rapidly obvious!

Dave

 

[ChrisL]

It IS a scam - be under no illusion! They simply work on the law of averages - send enough of these and someone will eventually respond. Working in IT Security for the last 15 odd years (currently designing secure email systems) - I've seen the rise of this kind of stuff (spammers will send 10s or even 100s of millions of emails - even if only 0.00001% reply, it's still enough to be profitable). People still fall for the Nigerian 419 stuff all the time. There have been several people murdered in recent years as a result of going to Nigeria to try and retrieve money lost in these scams. Working in the banking world a few years back we were trained in all types of payment scams. The basic rule with anything from Nigeria was to treat it with extreme suspicion. The Nigerian govt for many years ran state-sponsored courses and schools that taught people how to defraud western companies and individuals!

Back on the topic: Bankers draft are no more secure than any other kind of payment. The days when a BD was treated as near cash, because it was issued on cleared funds are long gone. They can be withdrawn like any other payment (I think up to 6 months after they have been deposited and cleared in to your account). If the person is serious, they will come and view your car.

Chris

 

[Inuit]

Whilst these are certainly scams, had a similiar one for my audi - his first email was short and he requested pics, asked all the right questions, gave me his tel no , spoke to him and was really quite convincing, but his last email let him down re payment, very long and worded much like the ones above and then never heard from him when i insisted on cash and would not agree to his bankers draft and releasing the car to a collection company to take to France. They are definetly getting clever. I will only ever accept cash now, bankers draft are too easy to forge.

However, in saying this - i bought my SLK off ebay without seeing it, though it was 6 years ago (guy was emmigrating) paid bank transfer and collected, could have been a scam, but i ended up with a stunning car at a bargain price. When i sold the SLK someone from Devon bought it again without seeing it - they sent me a good deposit and then brought the cash for the balance (invested in a UV bank note checker). Not the wisest move for either me to start with or the person buying off me, but we both ended up with a good deal There are geniune people out there, problem is there a 100 more that want to rip you off.

 

[AlanJ]

Just got this one .......

Dear Sir / Madam,

With warm heart I offer my friendship, and my greetings, and I hope this letter meets you in good time. It will be surprising to you to receive this proposal from me since you do not know me personally. However, I am
sincerely seeking your confidence in this transaction, which I propose with my free mind and as a person of integrity. My name is PHILIP AKUBIA, the son of MULETE AKUBIA, a farmer from Zimbabwe, murdered in the land
dispute in my country. As led by my instinct, I decided to contact you through email, after searching for contacts via the internet, as it is the only means I can contact anybody for now. I apologize if this is not acceptable to you.

The purpose of this letter is to seek your most needed assistance in a business venture. Due to the land and political problems in my country Zimbabwe, as a result of President Robert Mugabe's introduction of new Land Act Reform wholly affecting the rich white farmers and the few rich black farmers, all white farmers were asked to surrender their farms to the government for re- distribution and infact to his political party members and my father though black was the treasurer of the farmers association and a strong member of the opposition party that did not support the President's idea.

He then ordered his party members and the police under his pay row to invade my father's farm and burn down everything in the farm. They killed my father and took away a lot of items from his farm. After the death of
my father, our local pastor and a close friend of my father handed us over will documents with instructions from my father that we should leave Zimbabwe incase anything happen to him. The will documents has a
certificate of deposit, confirming a deposit kept in custody for us in a bank in Athens, Greece. This money totaling Twelve Million, Five Hundred Thousand United States of American Dollars($12,500,000.00) only was deposited in a bank in Athens, Greece.

This violent and barbaric act by Mugabe has since led to the death of my beloved mother and kid sister and other innocent lives. I was continually threatened to abandon my inheritance from my father after he was murdered.
I resisted for a while, but when the danger became unbearable, and I survived two murder attempts, I fled Zimbabwe with the help of my father's close friend Mr. John Casahans from Australia also a farmer who was living
in Zimbabwe with us but left with his family last June following this ugly development. I have tried to reach him but all to no avail.I am currently staying in Athens, Greece where I am seeking political asylum. In fact my
decision to come here to seek asylum, is because the bank is based here in Greece. I need to transfer this money to an account and invest part of the money. Since the law in Europe prohibits a refugee (asylum seeker) to open or run any bank account or to be involved in any financial transaction (especially of this huge sum). This is why I am seeking a genuine, honest, straightforward and reliable partner, whose account this money can be transferred to, hence this proposal to you.

You have to understand that this decision taken by me is a very big and brave one, and it entrusts my future in your hands, as a result of the safe keeping of this money. If you accept to assist me, all I want you to
do for me is to assist with arrangements to claim the deposit from the bank by nominating a bank account where this fund will be transferred to while working hand in hand with my late father's attorney here in Greece
who has been of great help to me and my family back home. The bank will be legally informed of you representing me, as I willforward you the necessary documents.

For your assistance, I have two options for you. Firstly you can choose to have 30% of the money, and helping me open an account and move over to your country, or you can go into partnership with me for the proper
profitable investment of the money in your country. Whichever the option you want, please do notify me in your reply. I am also proposing setting aside 5 % of this money for all kinds of expenses that will be incurred in the process of this transaction.

Thanking you for your anticipated cooperation.

PHILIP AKUBIA........

 

[sammyz]

Let's pass the hat round for Philip Akubia