The search for a new car finally ended. The journey was fun and we encountered the full gamut of deals ranging from decent to laughable. But the most fun part along the way was encountering the scammer that waits on the net ready to pounce on the unsuspecting chump who falls trap to the “unbelievable deal.”
Fortunately for me I was able to spot these scams. Actually it would take a completely naïve fool, on par with Woody Boyd to mistake one of these things for reality. If a car is advertised at 60% below Blue Book and you aren’t giggling then you deserve to have your money siphoned off to some warlord in Namibia.
There is something, however, that we can do to, not only combat this fraud, but have fun with it. This is called Scam baiting. And for those of us with a sense of humor it is a great way to level the playing field. Let me give you an example.
So we’ve been looking for a BMW X5. We’ve searched long and hard and have a very good idea of what the current market is for this vehicle. So when we found a 2007 X5 4.4 with 10,000 miles at an astounding price of $15,000 (KBB is roughly $50k) we knew we had found the bait.
We took the bait, responded, and waited for the fun. Sure enough within a day we got the following response.
Hello there,I am glad to hear that you are interested to buy my 2007 BMW X5 4.8I V8 FI DOHC 32V. Although I am registered in US, but I recently moved in Portugal (where my family is from) and the car is being shipped from here.The car is in a perfect cosmetic and engine conditions, and meticulously maintained. No damage, no scratches or dents, no hidden defects, never been into accidents and it is as advertised. I bought this car from US but when i tried to register it here in Portugal they said that i can't register it because it's an US vehicle and we have to do serious engine modifications in order to comply with the EU emission standards. As I said before, it is an US model (which complies with the american emission standards) and Europe regulations are different, also the fees to register it here in Portugal would be around 15,800 euros.I want to sell it in US because the car is still registered there.The price is low because here in Portugal nobody wants to buy it and so instead of keeping it in garage I decided to sell it to someone back in US.As no one will buy a car from overseas instead of local one only if the price is really attractive.The car comes with clear title, it is free of loan and liens.You will get from me the keys and all documents to register the car on your name.The finacial part of this deal will be manage by the shipping company and in this way both buyer and seller are 100% covered during the steps of this transaction.It will be insured during transportation and will be delivered at your address in maximum 15 days.Final price is $ 15,500 (the price includes shipping to US and insurance fees).Let me know if you want to move forward.Thank you!
Yes! We struck gold. This entry contained the classic signs of a baiter. The car was no longer in the country. The new country just didn’t value the car and the owner was forced to sell it at below market values. You are told to deal with a third party.
Fortunately for me I was able to spot these scams. Actually it would take a completely naïve fool, on par with Woody Boyd to mistake one of these things for reality. If a car is advertised at 60% below Blue Book and you aren’t giggling then you deserve to have your money siphoned off to some warlord in Namibia.
There is something, however, that we can do to, not only combat this fraud, but have fun with it. This is called Scam baiting. And for those of us with a sense of humor it is a great way to level the playing field. Let me give you an example.
So we’ve been looking for a BMW X5. We’ve searched long and hard and have a very good idea of what the current market is for this vehicle. So when we found a 2007 X5 4.4 with 10,000 miles at an astounding price of $15,000 (KBB is roughly $50k) we knew we had found the bait.
We took the bait, responded, and waited for the fun. Sure enough within a day we got the following response.
Hello there,I am glad to hear that you are interested to buy my 2007 BMW X5 4.8I V8 FI DOHC 32V. Although I am registered in US, but I recently moved in Portugal (where my family is from) and the car is being shipped from here.The car is in a perfect cosmetic and engine conditions, and meticulously maintained. No damage, no scratches or dents, no hidden defects, never been into accidents and it is as advertised. I bought this car from US but when i tried to register it here in Portugal they said that i can't register it because it's an US vehicle and we have to do serious engine modifications in order to comply with the EU emission standards. As I said before, it is an US model (which complies with the american emission standards) and Europe regulations are different, also the fees to register it here in Portugal would be around 15,800 euros.I want to sell it in US because the car is still registered there.The price is low because here in Portugal nobody wants to buy it and so instead of keeping it in garage I decided to sell it to someone back in US.As no one will buy a car from overseas instead of local one only if the price is really attractive.The car comes with clear title, it is free of loan and liens.You will get from me the keys and all documents to register the car on your name.The finacial part of this deal will be manage by the shipping company and in this way both buyer and seller are 100% covered during the steps of this transaction.It will be insured during transportation and will be delivered at your address in maximum 15 days.Final price is $ 15,500 (the price includes shipping to US and insurance fees).Let me know if you want to move forward.Thank you!
Yes! We struck gold. This entry contained the classic signs of a baiter. The car was no longer in the country. The new country just didn’t value the car and the owner was forced to sell it at below market values. You are told to deal with a third party.
We decided to take action and call him out by telling him that in an absolute sign of good fortune I was planning to visit Portugal and I would like to arrange to visit the car in person. Naturally the response was that the car was unavailable for view. As it stands right now we are going to try and get our fraudulent friend to send us a picture of him with the car as a good faith gesture.
So if there is a moral to this story it’s this. Have fun with the people trying to bilk innocent people of their money. Don’t let them have the last laugh.
Addendum #1: It should be noted that I once fell for this scam back in 2005. It took a few days and a few people calling me an idiot before I came to my senses and realized that it was all smoke and mirrors. So, apologies to Woody Boyd.
Addendum #2: We are now in the shipping phase of the process. We were sent actual account information that we are to wire our money to and information on a shipping company called, Best Global Cargo Ltd.
So if there is a moral to this story it’s this. Have fun with the people trying to bilk innocent people of their money. Don’t let them have the last laugh.
Addendum #1: It should be noted that I once fell for this scam back in 2005. It took a few days and a few people calling me an idiot before I came to my senses and realized that it was all smoke and mirrors. So, apologies to Woody Boyd.
Addendum #2: We are now in the shipping phase of the process. We were sent actual account information that we are to wire our money to and information on a shipping company called, Best Global Cargo Ltd.
10 comments:
I have never blooged before, but had to sign up after seeing your message.
Wow! We got this same message, word for word on email, when inquiring on a 2006 Cadillac CTS.
The info he gave on the car, vin #, etc. checked out just fine on carfax.
Also, the shipping company that would be used to ship the car, pulled up a legitimate looking website, etc.
We kept looking for the "scam" since it sounded to good to be true. We ended up googling the vin # and found one other link, which matched the cars vin #.
We found out the cars real owner lives in Texas and currently has the car for sale online.
Though its great we have vin #'s to research used cars on Carfax prior to purchasing, thieves are also using this info, which looks legit and posting on Auto Trader too. Without them having the car of course, just wanting our money. Scary, isn't it?
This American Life did a great story on a group of guys that try to string along internet scammers for fun.
Your story also reminded me of why I love you.
How funny!
So regarding your last entry, what kind of man drives a mini van???
Yes, Best Global Cargo ltd. is the same shipping company that emailed us too.
We were told to send them the money within two days. since we haven't just waiting to see if the seller emails us again inquiring if we're moving forward or not. I'll keep you posted.
Hi -
Got your phone message, but didn't get the number to call you back. So call me again or send me your number so we can talk X5's.
Scott
Ryan, your posts are awesome. So entertaining, I find myself laughing out loud! It's fun to check in on you and see what you guys are up to.
Soooo have you heard back or did the guy finally give up?? lol
It pretty much ended last week when we couldn't get the guy to take our bait and we became bored.
is there any recourse for falling for this scam?
I'm no expert but I think it would be difficult for the following reasons:
- Would be hard to locate exactly where the funds were sent. Most likely international.
- International laws would make it more difficult.
- These guys are shadows. They thrive on being anonymous. You can't prosecute what you can't find.
I haven't heard anything about someone successfully recouping their money. Best thing you can do is identify it early and 1) Avoid and report them or 2) Have mild amounts of fun with them.
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