Motorhome on Ebay

[email protected] is another one.
VW Camper on ebay.
Exactly the same scam as above, and Barclays bank again!

I am really fuming -
I was nearly had today for just under £4k for a VW campervan. Fortunately I spotted it but I still don't have my campervan! I had already run a chck on the vehicle and the resulting info including import date etc all seemed legit - but I was alerted by the fact that payment was being requested by an invoice attahed an email which claimed to come from ebay, and which had reply address <[email protected]> - both of which seemed unlikely. THe emails looked very convincing, right graphics, disclaimers etc. I reported to ebay and then I googled the invoice address: this thread came up. Will post details below in case it helps others -I am new to this site so hope this is the right info. It seems bonkers that this started in the summer and same scam with same postal address, and including personal bank details still ongoing - shouldn't these people be caught before they rip anyone else off? Do ebay report to the police or just close the account?

Ebay ID: spongefish1
Emails came from from: Juliette Jones [mailto:[email protected]]

copy of 1 of 3 emails purporting to come from ebay :
You can find attached the purchase invoice. You are currently involved in transaction Case ID 14ESC3VL5 for item titled 1993 VOLKSWAGEN TRANSPORTER T4 2.4 DIESEL CAMPERVAN, total amount involved is 3,850. Your Case ID 14ESC3VL5 is a genuine eBay transaction approved for Buyer Protection Program and the amount of 3,850 is 100% insured. Seller details are verified along with transaction details, VW Campervan documents were verified listing started, once we verified all documents and confirmed they are in good order we have approved the listing for buyer protection program. Seller is an eBay Member since: 22-Aug-06, all details are verified and confirmed by us.

Main details from the "Invoice" which came as attachment to an email:
Invoice for VPP Transaction Case ID #14ESC3VL5 between Juliette Jones, as the Seller and [my name], as the Buyer. Please follow our instructions to complete the transaction safely.

http://pics.ebaystatic.com/aw/pics/tbx/squares.gif Seller:
Name: Juliette Jones
Address: 76B Strathern Road
Dundee, Angus
DD5 1PH
Scotland


Case ID: #14ESC3VL5
Date: 10.27.2011
Status: Payment Pending
Item titled: 1993 VOLKSWAGEN TRANSPORTER T4 2.4 DIESEL CAMPERVAN
Buy It Now Price £3,850.00
Quantity Sold: 1
Insurance: YES
Delivery: Delivery details will be provided by seller after payment.
Shipping to*: [my details]

*Please check the details for an accurate delivery in order to avoid delays.

Payment must be submitted via Bank Transfer to the eBay Financing Center Agent Bank account in charge of this transaction. The payment will be secured until the Buyer receives, inspects and accepts the vehicle. Or, if it will be the case a full refund is given to the Buyer.

Beneficiary: P. Lorient
Bank Name: Barclays
Account no: 23503038
Sort Code: 20-41-41
City: London
Country:
United Kingdom

*The Bank Wire transfer will be sent using this name and address.

http://pics.ebaystatic.com/aw/pics/tbx/squares.gif Payment:
Invoice #14ESC3VL5

Subtotal: £3,850.00
Shipping(Free): £0.00

Deposit: £0.00
Total: £3,850.00

Send the payment using eBay Financing Center Agent's bank account (found below) as payment details.

+44 (0)207 504 8111
*We strongly recommend that you confirm the payment by both e-mail and fax.

Important Notice
For security reasons please DO NOT release the payment details to the Seller or any other unauthorized person.
All the transaction, payment and personal information is considered confidential and will not be released under any circumstances.Vehicle Purchase Protection program security measures are constantly reviewed and modified given evolving circumstances globally.
http://pics.ebaystatic.com/aw/pics/tbx/bullet.gif Our main and constant priority is the safety of our customers.
Bank Wire transfers can be submitted with the help of your banking institution. To send a wire transfer, you need to have the following information:

- Beneficiary (person to whom the wire is being sent)
- The receiving bank's Sort Code and name of the bank
- Account number of beneficiary
- Location of the receiving bank.

You can proceed safe and secure with your purchase, a full refund/return policy is available just in case you do not accept the VW Campervan.

Thank you for being part of the eBay community.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/

Welcome to ScamWarners. To answer your question

shouldn't these people be caught before they rip anyone else off? Do ebay report to the police or just close the account?

It would be great to catch these people. With 7 Billion people in the world and millions of email addresses, some of them are used by scammers to rip people off, it is a huge task. Take into account countries with sketchy law enforcement which can be bribed and differing international laws which make chasing down "petty" internet criminals difficult.

Ebay does have warnings all over their site, as does Craigslist, Western Union and all banks.

Even ebay closing accounts does not stop scammers, they just open a new account. Scammers do a lot of work to trick people. We try to stay up and people like you posting information here is the best way to stay up on what scammers are doing.

There is no one internet authority to view the billions of emails that go out each day. I don't know that I want anyone peering into each email I send. We try to expose the scammers and educate users about scams and give support to those who have been scammed.

It is frustrating to all of us that scammers do succeed so often.

Thanks for your reply Bubbles, I do think though that surely there must be a way for the collective power (and anger!) of so many people to do something to catch these people! What about if we 'spam' their various email accounts - if we each of us sent 100 large emails a day the minute a new address is reported, how could they operate? Or surely there is a clever way to scupper them?

Whilst each indiviual transaction is quite small, collectively this is a large amount of money. And a lot of heartache for a lot of people - if you look back at the length of this thread - and there is a similar thread relating to gumtree, same people, same wording, same scam - that's a lot of grief. Shouldn't there at least be a hotline for reporting centrally - I have heard nothing back from ebay so don't think they are the answer in terms of regulating.

Rant over, and to warn other poeple, I have just been approached for the same scam via a different wesitete - caravanselecta.co.uk.

Item is a Transit mk5 motorhome. Same price - £4500 (which is too good to be true, btw, so a lot less cunning than the last scam(. Listed for sale in Cambridgeshire.

There is a phone no - 0758365980 - but it doesn't work.

When contacting, I got virtually the same email that the seller is in scotland due to work commitments blah blah blah but will deliver to me in Brighton. Said If i wish to purchase they would list on ebay and I could buy as a buy it now.

name/ Email address used this time is Sarah : [email protected].

Hope this helps someone avoid a rip off.

If there was an effective way of preventing Internet fraud, someone would have thought of it already. Publicity and education is the only answer. Unlike just about all other crime, it can only work with the unwitting assistance of the victim.
There's just too many scammers for the police to cope with. They simply don't have the resources to start an international operation with no chance of success.

Thanks for your reply Bubbles, I do think though that surely there must be a way for the collective power (and anger!) of so many people to do something to catch these people! What about if we 'spam' their various email accounts - if we each of us sent 100 large emails a day the minute a new address is reported, how could they operate? Or surely there is a clever way to scupper them?

It is frustrating that scammers get away with taking money. Scammers have been around for hundreds of years. Some get caught, most do not because they stay anonymous.

Mail bombing as you suggest is illegal and the scammers would just open a new email account (or a dozen). I received a scam email and there was a reply to because the scammer expected the sending address would be closed. He can carry on the scam with other email addresses.

Whilst each indiviual transaction is quite small, collectively this is a large amount of money. And a lot of heartache for a lot of people

You are absolutely correct, it is estimated that billions are lost each year.

- if you look back at the length of this thread - and there is a similar thread relating to gumtree, same people, same wording, same scam - that's a lot of grief. Shouldn't there at least be a hotline for reporting centrally - I have heard nothing back from ebay so don't think they are the answer in terms of regulating.

I hear your frustration. A hotline would not do any more than what we do here, in fact, we are searchable so people can find information about scams with a few clicks. Educating, warning and exposing scams is the most that can be done at this time.

Frustrating? Sure, bue we do make a difference one person at a time. Tell your friends about scams and our site. That is the way to slow this down and hurt the scammers.

I hope you will stay with us and help expose the scam emails you receive. The more the better! Thank you for your concerns. All of the staff here are concerned as well and we are all volunteers

Hi all
Many thanks to you all on this web site, my wife and i have been looking at motor homes and found what we thought was a bargain, however we went through the same issues that other people went through with the ebay scam and the I AM AWAY IN SCOTLAND AND CAN DELIVER ect, the scam is still going around as we found out today, luckily not parting with any money, so all please many thanks for you passing on your experiences and we will be doing the same
many thanks
Andy & Emma

Welcome to ScamWarners andy+emma, we are pleased you found us before losing money to a scammer. It really makes our day to hear a scammer didn't get someone's money..

Please take some time to look around and learn what scammers do so you can keep yourself safe on the internet.

Hi,
A VW motorhome popped up on Pistonheads with the similar details. I emailed to question the price and got this BS email response, was suspicious straight away!


Hi,

I am selling this vehicle because my brigade will deploy for 6 months to Afghanistan. I'm under enormous time pressure cause I need to sell it fast, before April 08th that being the reason for selling it so low. It is in perfect condition inside and out, never involved in accidents. From the beginning I must say that the vehicle has all the paperwork, full year MOT and Tax Road. Also i got the full service history. I've never smoked in it, and I want to sell it to a serious person.

It is still available for sale if interested, price as stated in the ad £5,000. The vehicle is in Barry Budden Camp - Dundee, Scotland, UK in a military base, and in case it gets sold I will get it delivered. Let me know if you are interested, email back.

Thanks for your interest,


SGM. Catherine Maddock, ( 86th BCT)

email being used was: [email protected]

Good job i found this site, i typed an email address in the google to see if this person selling a vw camper was genuine. Luckily the email came to this site ([email protected]).

I had the same email also i sent one back to see what they would say if i found it a little fishy and this is what she came back with "Hello,

Of course i have all the paper work and full service history, all will come with the van.
I've told you, at this moment I am in Dundee, Scotland, UK in a military base, getting ready for Afghanistan (I hope for the last time). I'm doing a special training program each day and I am not allowed to get out of the unit or give calls whenever I want. The delivery will take 2 to 3 days depending on your location and it’s not a problem because I can do it at no cost for you. Because it is a large transaction, we will complete the deal only using an authorized third part like Google Checkout coz I already prearranged the whole process with them, using their Google Safe Pay Solutions (bank-to-bank wire transfer) for vehicles.

The money will be sent to Google Checkout, before you will receive the vehicle. So, you will deposit the payment directly into the Google Checkout agent's bank account in United Kingdom, either online or at most banks and they will hold and secure your money during the entire transaction. I repeat, they will hold and insure your money until receipt of the vehicle in good condition and will release the funds to us only after you decide to keep the vehicle and you register it, into your name. You will have an inspection period of 7 days. In this time you can check, test and inspect the vehicle. If by any reason (the vehicle has any hidden damages or is not like I describe it) you can reject the deal. In this case Google Checkout will refund you totally and they will deliver the vehicle back.

Let me know your shipping details (your full name, full address and home phone number) so I can open a transaction case with Google Checkout and declare you as buyer. They will contact you with further information regarding payment and delivery.

Regards,

SGM. Catherine Maddock ( 86th BCT )"

Thank you to be honest i found it fishy anyway a 2007 camper for 5 grand lol.

Hi, just registered to share this with you all, add my voice to the choir. This was a motorhome found on Auotrader, for whatever reason i didnt't really think Autotrader was a bad place for scammers but i suppose its online so why wouldnt it be? It was an X reg Fiat, looked too good to be true.

My initial email was a request for a working phone number as the one listed wasnt working. I got this back:

Hi,

I am selling this vehicle because my brigade will deploy for 6 months to Afghanistan. I'm under enormous time pressure cause I need to sell it fast, before April 10th that being the reason for selling it so low. It is in perfect condition inside and out, never involved in accidents. From the beginning I must say that the vehicle has all the paperwork, full year MOT and Tax Road. Also i got the full service history. I've never smoked in it, and I want to sell it to a serious person.

It is still available for sale if interested, price as stated in the ad £4,500. The vehicle is in Barry Budden Camp - Dundee, Scotland, UK in a military base, and in case it gets sold I will get it delivered. Let me know if you are interested, email back.

Thanks for your interest,


SGM. Catherine Maddock, ( 86th BCT )

Me: Is that your bottom line? It's for my dad but his max budget is £4000

Hello,

Ohh... Ok we can go ahead for £4000.
I've told you, at this moment I am in Dundee, Scotland, UK in a military base, getting ready for Afghanistan (I hope for the last time). I'm doing a special training program each day and I am not allowed to get out of the unit or give calls whenever I want. The delivery will take 2 to 3 days depending on your location and it’s not a problem because I can do it at no cost for you. Because it is a large transaction, we will complete the deal only using an authorized third part like Google Checkout coz I already prearranged the whole process with them, using their Google Safe Pay Solutions (bank-to-bank wire transfer) for vehicles.

The money will be sent to Google Checkout, before you will receive the vehicle. So, you will deposit the payment directly into the Google Checkout agent's bank account in United Kingdom, either online or at most banks and they will hold and secure your money during the entire transaction. I repeat, they will hold and insure your money until receipt of the vehicle in good condition and will release the funds to us only after you decide to keep the vehicle and you register it, into your name. You will have an inspection period of 7 days. In this time you can check, test and inspect the vehicle. If by any reason (the vehicle has any hidden damages or is not like I describe it) you can reject the deal. In this case Google Checkout will refund you totally and they will deliver the vehicle back.

Let me know your shipping details (your full name, full address and home phone number) so I can open a transaction case with Google Checkout and declare you as buyer. They will contact you with further information regarding payment and delivery.

Regards,

SGM. Catherine Maddock ( 86th BCT )

I was very skeptical by now but my dad is pretty niave when it comes to the internet, he urged me to email one more time, so i did.

Still interested for for £4000 but i would like to see the van at some point, and pay cash for it.

Hello,

Because of my work the only way to make the deal is exactly like i have explain you.
If you sent me your full names and full address, Google Checkout will sent you the invoice with payment details and delivery.
I will deliver the motorhome to your address, you have the motorhome 7 days for checking and after 7 days you decide if you buy it or not.
If you buy it than the delivery company make the papers on your name , if you decid not to buy it than Google Checkout make full refund to you and delivery company bring me back the motorhome on my cost.

Regards!
Cath.

No need to carry on this stinks to high heaven! the email address used was [email protected]

As a side note my dad works in the motor trade and got a HPI check done on it, all came back legit?

Not surprising that the check came out legit. Often scammers steal the information provided by real sellers to put in their fake ads, so he may very well have given you legitimate information about a motorhome--the only problem, of course, is that he doesn't actually own the motorhome.

If you had continued, he would most likely have sent you to a fake website that was created to look like google. Of course the real google is not involved in any way.

Glad I found this Warning... just got this one back from a Motorhome Ad...

Hi,

I am selling this vehicle because my brigade will deploy for 6 months to Afghanistan. I'm under enormous time pressure cause I need to sell it fast, before April 20th that being the reason for selling it so low. It is in perfect condition inside and out, never involved in accidents. From the beginning I must say that the vehicle has all the paperwork, 6months MOT and Road Tax, also i got the Full service history. I've never smoked in it, and I want to sell it to a serious person.

It is still available for sale if interested, price as stated in the ad £8,500. The vehicle is in Barry Budden Camp - Dundee, Scotland, UK in a military base, and in case it gets sold I will get it delivered. Let me know if you are interested, email back.

Thanks for your interest,


SGM. Joanne Hughes, ( 86th BCT )

Yes I almost got fooled into this too, price was too good to be true and after several emails I got exactly the same replies that everyone else here has had. The motorthome ad is advertised in several places on the net as well as ebay and it is blatant fraud needs to be removed. Any correspondence from a SGM. Joanne Hughes ( 86th BCT ) is a complete scam.

Just nearly got conned into the same thing- knew it was too good to be true! I'm always extra cautious with things like this nowadays, after getting caught up in a Craigslist scam a couple of years ago. Not much money lost, but still, I felt incredibly foolish. I've received exactly the same kind of emails from the following email address :
[email protected]
The listing has already been removed from Ebay- hopefully someone else alerted them that it was fraudulent.