Selling my car, had a strange request

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karl210

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Evening all.
Im currently selling my s3 which i put on ebay last night, ive had an e-mail from someone saying that there definitely interested but hes in the forces and is away for 9 more weeks. So he said he can pay me the full amount now bank transfer or paypal and he will get a transporter to pick the car up in a week or 2. Seems a bit strange to me that he wants to buy a car he hasnt seen or test drove, so what do we think is this some sort of scam? also how would i go on with signing the v5 etc? he said he's ready to send the money via paypal right now, please help asap haha
 
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no mate ive had this tryed on me twice its a skam dont do it your end up with no cash in your bank ! luckley i thort twice and sent them packing
 
cheers mate, i thought it might be some sort of scam but then i got thinking i wouldnt let the car go untill ive got the money in my bank and once its in my bank he cant get it back? or with the bank details i give him can he get into my bank or whatnot?
 
If you check the Paypal rules, you'll see that the Seller Protection Policy does not cover car sales. Do not under any circumstances accept payment for a car by Paypal.
 
yeah i would prefer to do it through my bank anyway, so where would i stand with that, he said once its cleared i will arrange a transporter, so surely if its in my bank cleared im good right? or is there then a way he can claim it back or it bounces or anything? thanks for the advice
 
Sound like a scam, don't do it. When I've sold cars in the past, I go to the bank to do the deal with the log book and keys once the money is in the account then I hand over the keys to the buyer.
 
yeah its a strange one, ive read about the scam with paypal but if its going into my bank then once the money is in, its in right? or could he still get it bank or use my bank details to access my account? cheers
 
The question to ask yourself is would you send cash by Paypal or Bank Transfer to an anonymous ebay member for a car you have never set eyes on?

The answer is no.

If it smells then it is probably off.
 
yeah it definitely seems dodgey i was just hoping it was true to be honest haha.
 
i must of had about 6 e-mails all off different account names but all there addresses ended in @gmail.com and all had too obvious names and the way they typed was a bit funny. It must be because ive supplied my e-mail address. I might take it off
 
Yes, do not list contact details on the actual listing, let them contact you using the "contact seller" link on eBay. That way eBay can filter out the scams for you.

You could link us to you ad on here, someone might be interested.
 
Take the bank transfer. No problem with that. Once it hits your bank you'll know that it's not a scam, maximum these days is 2 days minimum 2 hours. He can only put money in not take it out.

My mate had the same last year, the guy even sent the transporter to collect his MX5 and drop it off in London and the buyer wasn't even going to be in the country for another couple of months. My mate's eBay listing was very detailed and took 20 odd pics so it wasn't like he needed to view it - gave him £4.5k. These army guys get no time to spend their wages so when they are almost at the end of a tour they want to treat themselves, and an S3 is certainly a treat.

Get him to call you and gauge what he's like on the phone. Don't worry about the typing either, most people are illiterate these days :)
 
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Yup i agree with the others, been in the same situation myself. Amazing the amount of people in the forces who want to give you the full asking price without seeing the car isn't it?

Maybe it is someone genuine but i for one couldnt take the risk.
 
play along with him
you will end up geting a forged cheque
 
JudderMan said:
Not with a bank transfer he won't. He'll either get the cash in his bank or won't.
Click to expand...

Yes, but he might also get the transfer into his account reversed (after releasing the car) if the holder of the account from which the transfer was made subsequently complains that he or she did not authorise the payment. Bank transfers are not immune from fraud.
 
Nice car mate.

Bank transfer is safe in that you know it won't bounce like a cheque could for lack of funds, but the fraudsters send money from an account they have broken into. If it is a fraudulent transaction, you could be suspected of being involved. Not worth it.

Saying all that, it is just the circumstances that make it suspicious, not that it is by Bank transfer or Paypal which are both safe way to sell a car. Paypal does not give the buyer protection for cars in the same way it does for other items.

It is because they guy has not set eyes on the car but is prepared to hand over the "cash" that makes it suspect. Cash on collection is safe as long as you make sure the notes are real. You can buy a counterfeit note checking pen.
 
jdp1962 said:
Yes, but he might also get the transfer into his account reversed (after releasing the car) if the holder of the account from which the transfer was made subsequently complains that he or she did not authorise the payment. Bank transfers are not immune from fraud.
Click to expand...

This.

Or they over pay you, then ask you to send the difference back via Western Union or whatever. Result:

1. The transfer may get reversed when the fraud is discovered
2. You lose the money you repaid for the "overpayment"
3. You lose your car, if they actually bother to collect it (it's usually just an overpayment-refund scam)

People in the forces are not highly paid, certainly not enough to buy a car unseen. Just doesn't happen...nobody does that, unless they've got so much disposable income that they don't care - in which case they'd probably buy something new, right?

Bank transfers can absolutely be reversed in the event of fraud.
 
Fairy nuff. I'd say the best transaction isn't cash but a bank transfer or walking them into your bank and get them to pay with their card or if they do have cash make the cashier check each note.

As mentioned above, there is the signing of the V5 problem.
 
Ok heres the e-mails i got, everything in red is what they said. I will include thier e-mail addys too but i doubt they use the same ones, but all thier names are too common and there all: example@gmail.com and the first e-mail they send is always, hi, is the car still for sale?.

Ralph Herbort
ralphherbort@gmail.com

Still on for sale?

Yes, its still for sale mate.

Hi again,

Thank you for getting back, Anyway, I agree to buy at your price and i am keen myself. How I wish i could come for inspection but i'm currently deployed and will be away for quite a number of weeks,precisely 9weeks according to the programme.

Here is the deal, I know you can't possibly wait for 9weeks but I will make full payment to you and once your payment clears, I will arrange for a shipper to contact you and pick it up from you. This is the best way I can handle this professionally cos I am keen like I said earlier.

Due to this inability to bring cash physically, the best way to pay for me would be through PayPal which is safer for you and I plus i will cover the PayPal transfer fees. Kindly send me a PayPal payment invoice or create an account at www.PayPal.com if you dont have one.

I can also make the payment directly to your bank account through PayPal if you insist on bank deposit, My PayPal account is attachd to my bank account so this is not a problem. I know their are lots of time wasters on internet business but this is real cos I will make a concrete pick up arrangement with my transport person who will be coming over for pick up once you receive full payment into your PayPal account.

I hope we have a deal? Have a nice day and please,I'd like to know certain things too; Are you the first owner? What is your reason for selling? I'm sorry, just want to be sure about the sale before i proceed

Regard
cleardot.gif


Hi Ralph,I would be happy to do this but there are two things concerning me.
1. Are you sure you want to buy a car you haven't viewed or test drove? because i wouldn't. Its also sold as seen so if you get it and didnt like something on it then i wont take a return.
2. Also how would we go about signing the v5?

Yes am overwhelmed by your explanation and i will proceed,Kindly get back to me with your PayPal email
 
ive had similar e-mails off Mark Smith and Jordan David. This is an e-mail i had off Mark Smith, i spy a phone number! i might have to call it.

Thanks for the mail, i am buying this for my son as his birthday gift because i would not be around to celebrate with him i am a petroleum engineer currently on a rig offshore in UK and due to the nature of my work,phone calls making and visiting of website are restricted but i squeezed out time to check this advert and send you an email regarding it. In case if you will want to call me to talk to me on phone you can easily call me on this number +447024041070. I really want this item to be a surprise gift for my son so i wont let him know anything about the item until it gets delivered to him , i am sure he will be more than happy with the item.I insisted on paypal because i don't have access to my bank account online as i don't have internet banking, but i can pay from my PayPal account, as i have my bank a/c attached to it, i will need you to give me your PayPal email address so i can make the payment as soon as possible for the item and pls if you don't have PayPal account yet,it is very easy to set up, go on www.paypal.com and get it set up ,after you have set it up i will only need the e-mail address you use for registration with PayPal so as to put the money through.I have a pick up agent that will come for the pick up immediately you have receive the payment in full.what is your final price including the paypal charges?.
 
Read this entire thread for variants! :) www.scamwarners.com • View topic - buying a car with pay pal scam

There are even "surprise gift" versions in there too. It's always someone off-shore. Petroleum business, US army, whatever. It's almost always PayPal and it ends up in some fee or overpayment refund.

Mate, I'm really sorry that your time is being wasted by scamming scumbags when all you want to do is legitimately sell a car. That totally sucks! :(
 
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overwhelmed by your explanation???? Tosser. You didn't explain anything, you just called him a mug and now he wants to send you lots of money!

Foreigner, probably attached to the University of Lagos.
 
lol just agree you will get a paypal payment that aint real
saying they will hold the money till the buyer is happy
iv had loads.
just play along for a laff
 
StateOfPlay said:
overwhelmed by your explanation???? Tosser. You didn't explain anything, you just called him a mug and now he wants to send you lots of money!

Foreigner, probably attached to the University of Lagos.
Click to expand...


Haha quality!! :thumbsup:
 
I had the same thing when I was selling my iPhone 5. The guy said he was buying it for his daughter who was based at a British embassy. He even gave me a post address, turned out a genuine persons email, and eBay had been hacked.
 
I have had the same email from ralphherbort@gmail.com Reading along the lines of: Hi again,

Thank you for getting back, Anyway, I agree to buy at your price and i am keen myself. How I wish i could come for inspection but i'm currently offshore for my missionary and will be away for quite a number of weeks,precisely 9weeks according to the programme.

Here is the deal, I know you can't possibly wait for 9weeks but I will make full payment to you and once your payment clears, I will arrange for a shipper to contact you and pick it up from you. This is the best way I can handle this professionally cos I am keen like I said earlier.

Due to this inability to bring cash physically, the best way to pay for me would be through PayPal which is safer for you and I plus i will cover the PayPal transfer fees. Kindly send me a PayPal payment invoice or create an account atwww.PayPal.co.uk if you dont have one.

I hope we have a deal? Have a nice day and please,I'd like to know certain things too; Are you the first owner? What is your reason for selling? I'm sorry, just want to be sure about the sale before i proceed

Regard
 
Yeh I would say scam for sure I had similar emails when I sold my last car, I played along with them just to pee them off then right at the end told them to go forth and multiply also saying I had passed all there correspondence to PayPal never heard a word back from them surprise surprise.
when I did finally sell it, my buyer arranged for the money to be available in his bank but at a branch in my town I went with him watched the cashier hand over the money so obviously no dodgy notes full proof, apparently there have even been incidents of fraudulent bankers drafts which used to be as good as cash
 
Thank you so much for this post, you have saved me a heap of trouble, i have recently had the same man try to buy a car i am selling on Auto-trader and the car doesn't even work cause the head gasket has gone, but he is willing to buy the car without looking at it. It's nearly the same as your encounter but with a few differences, i will posts his emails..

Received: 12 June 2013 16:33

NAME: MR Ralph Herbort
EMAIL: Ralphherbort@gmail.com
Message:
Still on for sale?

[FONT=arial, sans-serif]yes it is still for sale if u want to come and have a look.[/FONT]

Ralph Herbot
Hi again,
Thank you for getting back, Anyway, I'll like to know your final asking price. How I wish i could come for inspection but I'm currently out of town for my UN course.

Due to this inability to bring cash physically, the best way for me to pay will be through PayPal which is safer for you and I will cover the PayPal transfer fees. Kindly send me your PayPal account email address so i can pay in. I will arrange with my pick up agent to collect from you as it is the best way I can handle this professionally.

Please, I'd like to know certain things too; Are you the first owner? What is your reason for selling? I'm sorry, just want to be sure about the sale before i proceed on payment.

Regards

[FONT=arial, sans-serif]
Then after asking if he knew the car was not in a working order he still wanted to buy, his next email follows.[/FONT]

 
Don't accept PayPal, he'll just put a dispute in and you will be left with no cash or car.

Having said that, I'd happily buy a car needing a head gasket. They're usually cheap.
 
I've had the same when I messaged enquiring to buy a car which apparently was in a lock up and I'd have to pay through PayPal without viewing and then it would be shipped to me... He was a commander in the forces to. These people in the army buy and sell alot of cars through PayPal don't they!
Steer well clear in real life they would at least have a family member etc or even an independent inspection carried out.
 
JudderMan said:
Don't accept PayPal, he'll just put a dispute in and you will be left with no cash or car.

Having said that, I'd happily buy a car needing a head gasket. They're usually cheap.
Click to expand...

You can't raise this kind of dispute on Paypal if you purchased a vehicle as vehicle purchases are exempt.

What they do is take over someone else's account, send you too much money, then ask you to send some back. So you get sent dirty money, keep your bit, and then send them clean money. It is called money laundering. And you are unwittingly helping this fraud.

Of course we are not silly enough to fall for it, but there are plenty that do. When the owner of the account reports the fraud, the money you were given is taken back from you. You are not allowed to keep fraudulent funds. And of course, the money you sent them is lost forever, as they ask you to send it by Western Onion.

They phish and phish until they find someone who falls for it.
 
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