Autotrader AUDI A1 scam - seller from Spain

Besides Google Wallet not being what the scammer says it is, the writing style is that of a West African, not that of someone from England or Spain.

I thought this was a cracking buy, as anyone would at £4,370!!

I am so glad I googled the registration plate as it sent me to this site.

The email being used is [email protected]

These are copies of the emails that were sent to me:

2nd email ( see below for 1st)

Hello again,

Due to the fact that i am located outside UK and we can not deal in person,i`ve contacted Google Wallet regarding this issue and they told me that they could offer to me a program that is created especially for international transactions that protects both of us. They agreed to supervise this deal.
You will send the funds to Google Wallet and they will keep the money until you receive the vehicle and test it.In this way both buyer and seller are 100% covered during the steps of this transaction. They will hold and insure your money until receipt of the car in good condition. That is how their service is working. As far as the seller concerns, i will be glad to know that Google Wallet is in possession of the funds during the delivery period.
You will be given a 15 days inspection period from the day you receive the car at home( i will ship it to your address insured for full value to you ).
If you decide to keep the car, then you will have to authorize Google Wallet to release the funds to me, and the transaction is complete.If the vehicle is not as described ( perfect interior,exterior,mechanical condition ), you will be able to send the vehicle back through the same shipping company ( return postage at my expense ), and ask Google Wallet to return the money to you.

If you want to check the car here are the reg details #:

VRM: GJ10 YMV
Vin: WAUZZZ8P7AA098312
34000 miles
The V5 serial number is BQ6595184

If you want to read more about Google Wallet service please visit :

http://google.wallet.com-buyonline-inc. ... #how-works

If you wish to purchase it and agree to these terms i will need you to provide your full name and address. I will then notify Google Wallet and they will contact you to explain the entire procedure.

I will be waiting for your reply as soon as possible

Thank you!!

1st email:

Hello there,

I am glad to hear that you are interested to buy my 2010 Audi A3 1.6 TDI S LINE 3DR !My car is still for sale but I want to inform you that, after all the offers we received last days i decided to sell this car for 4,370 GBP (the price includes shipping to UK and insurance fees).Although I am registered in the UK,i recently moved to Cadiz, Spain (where my family is from) and the car is being shipped from here. I want to sell it in UK due to the fact that it's an UK version (right handed),it meets all UK standards.I bought this car from UK and It still has UK registration, so you won't have to pay any import and insurance fees.The car meets all United Kingdom guidelines so there will be no problem regarding UK Customs policy on receiving the car.The car is in perfect condition, the bodywork is immaculate,no scratches, dents or hidden defects as well as the interior in excellent non-smoking condition , never been implied in any accident and it is as advertised .The car comes with log book, HPI cleared, No finance. You will get from me the keys and all documents to register the car in your name.If the car is not how i described it, i will offer a full refund. It will be insured during transportation and will be delivered at your address in maximum 10 days.he price is low because the car is right hand drive in a country where all cars are left hand drive so in Spain is very difficult to drive this type of vehicle and nobody wants to buy it here in Spain.Instead of keeping it in garage (during this economical crisis), I decided to sell it to someone back in the UK for a really attractive price.
I want to take this opportunity to assure you that this deal is 100% legitimate,the deal will be manage by a well known company,in this way both buyer and seller are 100% covered during the steps of this transaction.

Let me know if you need any further details or if you would like to buy my car.

Thank you!


CAN NOT STRESS ENOUGH - IF IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE IT IS!!!
BUYERS BEWARE!!!

I would be even more strict Mbambi in saying that, unless you know the seller personally (which you won't if you're buying from an ad) and trust them implicitly, you must never ever buy any vehicle without at least viewing it first before paying any money. You may risk losing the car, but the greater risk is that you'll lose your money, and it's better to have your money and no car than no money AND no car.

The seller may be completely trustworthy but you can only know that by risking losing every penny you send them, and that's a reckless risk to take. The scammer will give you every excuse in the book as to why viewing the car is impossible and, at that stage, you should drop your interest. Persistent scammers will offer you all sorts of make believe schemes that will keep your money safe and secure and they have the fake spoofed mails ready to use on you, but nothing is better than seeing what it is your supposed to be buying in real life.

If the car is located somewhere you can't visit, then it's not practical to buy it, and consider how you'll feel if you lose all your money. The scammers offer the best and most tempting deals - all they ask is that you trust them, and doing that is fatal.

Wow, I'm glad I did little search after making an enquiry for a Nissan Qashqai which seemed too good to be true. Now I'm sure it's a scam.

The ad has since been taken down from the Autotrader website but had photos with a Yahoo email address and a mobile number that didn't work. Here's the email:

"Hello there,

I am glad to hear that you are interested to buy my 2012 Nissan Qashqai 1.6DCI N-Tec+ 4x2. Although I am registered in the UK,i recently moved to Cadiz, Spain (where my family is from) and the car is being shipped from here. I want to sell it in UK due to the fact that it's an UK version (right handed),it meets all UK standards.I bought this car from UK and It still has UK registration, so you won't have to pay any import and insurance fees.The car meets all United Kingdom guidelines so there will be no problem regarding UK Customs policy on receiving the car.The car is in perfect condition, the bodywork is immaculate,no scratches, dents or hidden defects as well as the interior in excellent non-smoking condition, never been implied in any accident and it is as advertised. The car comes with log book, HPI cleared, No finance. You will get from me the keys and all documents to register the car in you name.If the car is not how i described it, i will offer a full refund. It will be insured during transportation and for all Inspection Period that you will have ( 15 days ), will be delivered at your address in maximum 10 days. Final price is GBP 5,000 (the price includes shipping and insurance fees).The price is low because the car is right hand drive in a country where all cars are left hand drive so in the Spain is very difficult to drive this type of vehicle and nobody wants to buy it here in Spain.Instead of keeping it in garage (during this economical crisis), I decided to sell it to someone back in the UK for a really attractive price.

I want to take this opportunity to assure you that this deal is 100% legitimate,the deal will be manage by a very well company,in this way both buyer and seller are 100% covered during the steps of this transaction.
Let me know if you need any further details or if you would like to buy my car.

Thank you!"

Soon as I got that I knew it was suspicious. Watch your step out there!

It came from [email protected]

Steveyneo.

These idiots are still around.
One is selling a BMW 2 door coupe for £4000.
Same story - settled in Spain etc. They want my post code and Google acccount name - why do they want this?

And mine came from
Julia Osborne <[email protected]>
and another from
Diane Hunt <[email protected]>

It is pathetic that there are so many on Autotrader!!

Welcome to Scamwarners, but I'd correct you on one point.

They aren't idiots, they're thieving low-life scum.

Without seeing their message, with your personal info removed, i couldn't say for certain. Usually all they want is money that they can pay in to accounts they've opened in the UK against fake ID. As soon as they get it they'll move it out using Western Union. From what I've seen it doesn't even always go abroad. They've been operating so long they have a well oiled system set up to handle everything.

It's most likely that they're trying to verify that you're a genuine buyer as there are people contacting these scammers to get information on them.

It's not the fault of ad sites, but there are so many scammers on all ad sites it's becoming increasingly likely that they'll wither and die, certainly as far as UK consumers are concerned. The core problem is the ease with which criminals can open bank accounts in the UK against fake ID and use them for fraud. If the victims are idiots for falling for the fraud, then so are the local government authorities who lost £7m in 2011 and the government department who paid out benefits to one criminal it is reported managed to open over 750 bank accounts in the UK fraudulently.

Until someone does something about it, when some major fraud is perpetrated or companies are driven out of business, the best thing you can do is only ever consider buying a car you can view. You can still be scammed, but at least you know it exists. Buying one you haven't seen is recklessly risky, unless it's from a close relative you trust implicitly.

Just thought I'd let you know the scam is still going on

Although the Ad doesn't say they are from Spain until you reply

The same car OY61 XED Fiat 500 C Lounge as earlier in this thread, except price has now dropped to £3000 and was on ebay instead of Auto-trader. Nice photos of the car by the way

When I responded I got exactly the same emails as the others in the thread. I reported it to ebay and they removed the listing,

First I thought it may be cheap because it was an insurance write off or stolen so it cost me a Check on the car - which incidentally comes up clean!! Got suspicious with the email replies and then google came up with this thread.

Jon

Welcome to Scamwarners eskdale.

Very useful post. I'll post more later.

This is a very prolific scammer. He's using a fake phone number that doesn't work.

(01729) 346436

His latest ad is here for the same car

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/used-cars/fiat/500/used-fiat-500-1-2-lounge-2dr-sheffield-fpa-201309268979115?logcode=p

Using e-mail addie [email protected] that has been reported previously as being involved in this type of fraud.

Any information, and the more information the better, is useful, particularly about current frauds and what cars they're offering for sale. It can be posted to warn other potential victims who Google to check, and the ads often give clues that can be followed up.

We also like to hear from people who avoided getting scammed too. It's nice to get some good news and confirmation that what we do is having an effect.

Scammer's 1st reply

Hello there,

I am glad to hear that you are interested to buy my 2011 FIAT 500C 1.2 LOUNGE CONVERTIBLE. Although I am registered in the UK,i recently moved to Cadiz, Spain (where my family is from) and the car is being shipped from here. I want to sell it in UK due to the fact that it's an UK version (right handed),it meets all UK standards.I bought this car from UK and It still has UK registration, so you won't have to pay any import and insurance fees.The car meets all United Kingdom guidelines so there will be no problem regarding UK Customs policy on receiving the car.The car is in perfect condition, the bodywork is immaculate,no scratches, dents or hidden defects as well as the interior in excellent non-smoking condition, never been implied in any accident and it is as advertised. The car comes with log book, HPI cleared, No finance. You will get from me the keys and all documents to register the car in you name.If the car is not how i described it, i will offer a full refund. It will be insured during transportation and for all Inspection Period that you will have ( 15 days ), will be delivered at your address in maximum 10 days. Final price is GBP 3,000 (the price includes shipping and insurance fees).The price is low because the car is right hand drive in a country where all cars are left hand drive so in the Spain is very difficult to drive this type of vehicle and nobody wants to buy it here in Spain.Instead of keeping it in garage (during this economical crisis), I decided to sell it to someone back in the UK for a really attractive price.

I want to take this opportunity to assure you that this deal is 100% legitimate,the deal will be manage by a very well company,in this way both buyer and seller are 100% covered during the steps of this transaction.
Let me know if you need any further details or if you would like to buy my car.

Thank you!

He ignored my comment about his phone number not working. All scammers operate with identifying features, especially those who aren't fluent English speakers or who aren't well educated. This scammer falls into this category. I'd like to speak to him by phone then I could find out more, but few of these scammers are confident enough to talk on the phone - though some few are.

After a slap round the back of the scammer's head I get his next reply - he's a Google Wallet aficionado

Hello again,

I want to inform you the the car is in Spain and it will be shipped from here to UK.The shipper I will use will deliver the vehicle to your door, you don't have to pick it from the port. Shipping will take 10 days maximum. Due to the fact that i am located outside UK and we can not deal in person,i`ve contacted Google Wallet regarding this issue and they told me that they could offer to me a program that is created especially for international transactions that protects both of us. They agreed to supervise this deal.
You will send the funds to Google Wallet and they will keep the money until you receive the vehicle and test it.In this way both buyer and seller are 100% covered during the steps of this transaction. They will hold and insure your money until receipt of the car in good condition. That is how their service is working. As far as the seller concerns, i will be glad to know that Google Wallet is in possession of the funds during the delivery period.
You will be given a 15 days inspection period from the day you receive the car at home( i will ship it to your address insured for full value to you ).
If you decide to keep the car, then you will have to authorize Google Wallet to release the funds to me, and the transaction is complete.If the vehicle is not as described ( perfect interior,exterior,mechanical condition ), you will be able to send the vehicle back through the same shipping company ( return postage at my expense ), and ask Google Wallet to return the money to you.

If you want to check the car here are the reg details #:

Vehicle Registration Mark (VRM) OY61XED
VIN (chassis number) ZFA31200000751169
Manufacturer's Warranty 10/2014

If you want to read more about Google Wallet service please visit :
http://google.wallet.com-inc-buyonline. ... of-service

If you want to get more info about their terms and condition please contact Google Wallet
using the blue button from the website ( CONTACT US )

If you wish to purchase it and agree to these terms i will need you to provide your full name and address. I will then notify Google Wallet and they will contact you to explain the entire procedure.

I will be waiting for your reply as soon as possible

Thank You!!

Note that the site http://google.wallet.com-inc-buyonline. ... of-service is created by the scammer and is nothing to do with Google.

The website he's directing me to is actually com-inc-buyonline.com but he adds the Google Wallet on the front to impress me, but because it's followed by a full stop it's irrelevant. He could put anything in there.

com-inc-buyonline.com
Registrar Info
Name MESH DIGITAL LIMITED
Whois Server whois.meshdigital.com
Referral URL http://www.meshdigital.com
Status clientDeleteProhibited, clientTransferProhibited, clientUpdateProhibited
Important Dates
Expires On September 27, 2014
Registered On September 27, 2013
Updated On September 27, 2013
Name Servers
ns.heartinternet.co.uk 79.170.40.2
ns2.heartinternet.co.uk 79.170.43.3

Domain Name: COM-INC-BUYONLINE.COM
Creation Date: 2013-09-27
Expiry Date: 2014-09-27
Nameserver: ns.heartinternet.co.uk
Nameserver: ns2.heartinternet.co.uk
Registrant Name: alan ure
Registrant Company: alan ure
Registrant Address: 4 Cragside Gardens
Registrant Address: KILLINGWORTH
Registrant Address: NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
Registrant Address:
Registrant Address: NE12 6GJ
Registrant Address: GB
Administrative Name: alan ure
Administrative Company: alan ure
Administrative Address: 4 Cragside Gardens
Administrative Address: KILLINGWORTH
Administrative Address: NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
Administrative Address:
Administrative Address: NE12 6GJ
Administrative Address: GB
Administrative Email: @yahoo.co.uk
Administrative Tel: +44.1934782374
Technical Name: alan ure
Technical Company: alan ure
Technical Address: 4 Cragside Gardens
Technical Address: KILLINGWORTH
Technical Address: NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
Technical Address:
Technical Address: NE12 6GJ
Technical Address: GB
Technical Email: @yahoo.co.uk
Technical Tel: +44.1934782374

6. Payment Process

All deposits/payments for goods in Escrow ( provided by Google ) should be submitted in at most 48 hours from receipt of our payment terms. Failure to do so will result in the Escrow transaction being voided.

Google DO NOT provide Escrow services. If a site killer doesn't come along, I'll offer it up for fumigation.

He set the site up today - just for me.

It was a risk posting his replies whilst I'm in active contact with him, but he's quite active on Autotrader and he's not hard to pick once you know what to look out for, so I'm confident I can always pick him up again.

If I post how I pick him out it'll just give him the chance to change what he does.

Once I'm organised (if ever) I'll pick out his ads as he posts them once I confirm they scams, which isn't difficult.

In the mean time watch out for this one

My mane Emma.Please contact me via e-mail at : [email protected]

If it's a bargain, the seller doesn't want to use the ad sites means of communication and he/she has an excuse why you can't view the car (and offers some silly scheme to guarantee your payment) run a mile - you're being scammed.

It appears that my little maggot is still with me.

Hello,
Thank you for your details. I contacted Google Wallet today and they told me that the buyer of my car need to be registered with an Hotmail ( MSN ) or Google email before we go to the next level. They ask this because they will issue the invoice only under Google Wallet or Microsoft Corporation Protection. If it's not too much to ask I would really appreciate if you would get an e-mail with them.I will send it to Google Wallet and were will be almost there.
Thank you in advance

It's quite pointless unless he knows his spoofed message won't properly format using other hosts. It would be irritatingly tedious even if I didn't already know he's a scamming criminal.

It's interesting to note that although he knows how to perform some cute internet tricks enabling him to produce some very nice spoofed messages, he lacks the simple basic intelligence in other aspects.

Onwards and upwards, as the intention is to get all his scripts and eventually the bank account at the end of the process, though undoubtedly he will have access to many, from what we've seen. Then I can spread out and cover all his adverts.

Maggot's next reply

Hello again,

Let me assure you that you will just love the vehicle, it's a great car and I am sure that you will take good care of it. Just to show that I mean business I have already contacted Google and provided them complete transaction details. I think that they will contact you by email and notified regarding the transaction terms (shipping and payment), and security measures.

Please email me after Google's staff contacts you and let me know if we can proceed forward with the transaction.

I will proceed with the shipping immediately after they will confirm the payment. I will provide all the shipping info at that time, to you and Google.

I look forward to end this deal with you.

Regards,

This is tedious, but the scammer knows that to get his reward he has to divulge his most valuable tool - the bank account he's using and he doesn't want to give it away easily. The sequence of scripts and the methods he uses identifies the group he's working for.

Today is Sunday and Google Wallet don't work on the weekend.
I promise you that you will receive all information about this transaction and payment instruction Monday.
In this way we can proceed with this transaction.
Thanks

Now scammers are working a 40 hour week.

He's replying off script and correctly used an apostrophe - interesting.

Maggot's come up with a bank account for me to use today, and that will be reported to the authorities.

First this

Hi,

I have just received an confirmation from Google Wallet that they have send you the invoice regarding our transaction. Please let me know if you have received this.

I will wait your email

Thanks

Then this

How to send the payment:

Send the payment by Bank Transfer (Priority Service) using the following Google Representative account details :

Google Representative Account Name : IBOLYA EMESE NAGY
Google Representative Address : Calle Pasubio 51
Google Representative City : Granada
Google Representative Zip Code : 18006
Google Representative Country : Spain
Beneficiary Bank Name : CAJA GRANADA
Beneficiary Bank IBAN : ES36 04873001189000259776
Beneficiary Bank Account Number : 04873001189000259776
Beneficiary Bank Swift Code : GBMNESMMXXX
Beneficiary Bank Address : Calle Reyes Catolicos 20
Beneficiary Bank City : Granada
Beneficiary Bank Zip Code : 18000
Beneficiary Bank Country : Spain

How to complete and confirm payment :

1. The payment must be sent by bank transfer to the bank account of our Google Representative.
2. After payment is complete send us the receipt from your bank by FAX or by e-mail.
3. E-mail us the serial numbers of the payment receipt document.
4.Fax the payment receipt to our fax number: (+44) 208 711 2466

It's a nicely formatted document they use.

The only good news is that they didn't supply me with a UK bank account, as I'm sure they'd have given me one if they had it available. I'll play on this to push them to give me a UK account.

I'll report any accounts I'm given but I'm especially keen to deal with UK bank accounts involved in fraud.

It's interesting to note that for all their technical trickery, they didn't perform a simple Google search to discover what I'm doing. Normally I'm more discrete.

With my background I have responded with a very plausible reason as to why I cannot make payment this way, as I'd prefer to get a UK bank account to report if they've got any and, failing that, I'm happy to fill them with doubts as to whether or not their scheme is viable.

I tell porkies (pork pie = lie, thus porkies are lies - Cockney rhyming slang) much more convincingly than any scammer. I'm just not a criminal and lying to criminals is a pleasure.

Wonderfully enlightening reply from the maggot which equates to 'does not compute'.

I didn't throw anything too technical at him and his inability to address the issue I mentioned, suggests he's just following a script with little real comprehension of what he's doing. It looks as if it may be two tier system, with the 'maggots' posting the ads and lining up victims, with the payment side handled by. what could be, an entirely separate team of scammers who merely provide the money disposal service.

The 'maggots' are bad enough but the core facilitators are those behind the money laundering/disposal aspect, without which the scam wouldn't work.

Hello,

I have no relationship with the Google Wallet Representative.
Just that Google Wallet contacted me after asking them to mediate my sale and told me that one of their local representatives will come and inspect my vehicle to avoid description error.
He came and inspected the vehicle , tested it and the status was excellent.This was the only time we met and i have no contact info for him as Google Wallet told me that due to security and privacy reasons will not release such details to me.

Thanks

Having his tiny brain in a vice, I'll give it another twist.

Confirming that on 7 Oct 2013 [email protected] and [email protected] are still active on AutoTrader