Scam Alert red 97 TT on cars.com

[Cosworth]

Scam Alert red 97 TT on cars.com
Heads up! Some scum is trying to scam a red '97 TT on cars.com
Here's a copy of the email header followed by the correspondance (in reverse order).

The ad on cars.com
Description — $12,500, This is an immaculate 97 Toyota Supra Twin Turbo 15yr Anniver Limited Edition. The vehicle was purchased in 03/02 ...


email HEADER:
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Date: Sun, 13 Nov 2005 15:08:22 -0800 (PST)
From: - Paul - <thomspaul321@yahoo.com>
Subject: RE: 1997 Supra
To: "Jones, Tracy" <>
In-Reply-To: <7D608D40A240CB4C818913D1A2FB2D67E52CA0@excincymb02 .cinergy.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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X-CINESP: ESP<22>=RBL:<0> RDNS:<0> SHA:<14> UHA:<0> SLS:<0> BAYES:<-11>
SenderID:<0> URL Substring Dictionary (TRU8):<0> Spam
Dictionary (TRU8):<19> NigeriaScam Dictionary (TRU8):<0> HTML
Dictionary (TRU8):<0> Porn Dictionary (TRU8):<0> Embed HTML
Dictionary (TRU8):<0> Obscenities Dictionary (TRU8):<0> URL
Dictionary (TRU8):<0> CAN-SPAM Compliance Dictionary (TRU8):<0>
Return-Path: thomspaul321@yahoo.com
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--0-1035924952-1131923302=:82320--
___________________________________________

THE CORRESPONDANCE:
__________________________________________________

Scammer,

Get a life, or at least get another hobby.

http://www.cars.com/go/search/preview.jsp;?tracktype=usedcc&searchType=21&pageNu mber=0&numResultsPerPage=50&largeNumResultsPerPage =0&sortorder=descending&sortfield=PRICE+descendin g &certifiedOnly=false&criteria=K-%7CE-%7CM-_47_%7CB-13000%7CA-10000%7CD-_437_%7CN-N%7CR-10000%7CI-1%7CP-PRICE+descending%7CQ-descending%7CZ-45150&aff=national&paId=184439968&recnum=2&leadExi sts=false


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From: - Paul - [mailto:thomspaul321@yahoo.com]

Sent: Sunday, November 13, 2005 6:08 PM
To: Jones, Tracy
Subject: RE: 1997 Supra



Hi,
Yes i have a clear title in hand.
Right now i am out of town for few job interviews and i don't have a phone here. Please email me your questions and i will answer them all. I don't have the papers with me so Im not able so send copies to you.
If you decide to buy the car i have to come to VA and i can ship it to your address with no extra costs or we can meet there and take the car to a dealer for an inspection. Anyway before i do that i will need the payment to be made, as i don't want to make the trip in vain. If you think you could do that we can make this deal work. Do you have all the money ready for the car? I know that $12,500 is a large amount so to get started i will ask for a 50% down payment.
For our safety I want to make this deal through an escrow company and they will act like a third party. I will register the transaction with them and I will pay for the transaction fees, as it is my request. If you decide to make this deal I will need your full name and home address in order to start the transaction.
Just email me back and let me know your decision. I'll wait for your email.
Sincearly,
Paul



"Jones, Tracy" <> wrote:

Paul,
I am in Cincinnati, Ohio. The car looks great in the pics and I'm very interested, but I have a bunch of concerns.

Do you have in your possession a free and clear title, or is it being held by a financial institution? Please understand that before I drive/fly 650 miles I'll have to have absolute proof that you own this car and that it does in fact exist.

Can you meet me in Hampton Va for a personal inspection and test drive? I'll have to see it and drive it before I can commit to a purchase.

What is the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)?

Could you send me scanned images of all documentation, including maintenance records, that you have on the car?

Call me at your earliest convenience.

Tracy Jones

From: - Paul - [mailto:thomspaul321@yahoo.com]
Sent: Friday, November 11, 2005 6:30 PM
To: Jones, Tracy
Subject: Re: 1997 Supra

Hi,
Yes, the car is still for sale
First of all i need to tell you that I have moved at my parents in Plano, TX after i have lost my job, and the car is locked in a garage in Hampton, VA, at my old address.
I am selling the car only because i have recently lost my job, and i don't have any savings, the bills and the loans i have to pay are too high. I was forced to move at my parents as i was not able to pay my rent, and right now i need to sell the car as i can't afford it.
This Supra is in perfect condition inside and out, has been babied the entire time i have had it, and it was neved involved in any kind of accidents. The car has 76400 miles. It is a twin turbo indeed, and it have an automatic transmission
I have all maintenance records, there has never been any mechanical problem and the oil has been changed regularly. The tires will not need to be changes any time soon. I have a clear title that come with the car so you don't need to worry about this.
I have attached few pics to this email.
Please email me back and let me know if you're still interested in the car, and tell me your location. Regarding to the selling price i could sell it to you for 15k, if we'll agree on the deal, and you'll like the car.
Regards
Paul T


"Jones, Tracy" wrote:

Is your car still available?

[Jeeves]

It has some things that ring as funky. Wish you could get a VIN. He also is doing some very UN-spammer like things.

We're sorry. We did not find a listing for the phone number you entered.
The phone number "(513) 772-8652" is a Cincinnati, OH based phone number and the registered carrier is Cincinnati Bell, Inc. However, due to number portability, some numbers have been transferred to a new service provider other than the registered carrier.

[karma]

what is so fradulent about his post? i'm lost :-/ To me it seems he's pretty reasonable in that he's willing to meet with you directly so you can inspect the car and he wants to deal through an escrow company perhaps like paypal. I'm confused.

[Jeeves]

The price is low for such a new, well kept car. For that car he should be able to sell it for 25,000 easy. EASY.

The odd stuff, is not posting the VIN.
Being (seemingly) USA based (Ohio phone number)

It seems halfway scammish, halfway not.

[karma]

I've personally sold a car for way lower than kbb just to get rid of it quick and i wasn't scamming. I just see it as a deal or maybe he's desperate. of course i wouldn't buy it or pay any money to him without first looking at it personally and viewing the title in his name, but that shouldn't be the part that is keeping this deal from going through.

[bgrieger]

Anyone willing to use a full and proper escrow service agreeable to both parties is likely not scamming. You need to make sure the escrow is legit, and there are many good services out there. If the seller is into that, I have a hard time believing this is a scam, though there is always a chance. Some hard luck stories are true...if they never were, we wouldn't fall for the scams and the cycle would be broken pretty quickly...

Smells fishy, but proper escrow takes all but the travel costs in safe hands.

[Jeeves]

Exactly my thoughts. Depends on who he says is his 'escrow' service. If it's legit, he probably is. If it's not, f' him, he's a scammer.

[Cosworth]

It's clearly a scam.

He wants the money up front before he'll make the trip to meet me in VA.

""If you decide to buy the car i have to come to VA and i can ship it to your address with no extra costs or we can meet there and take the car to a dealer for an inspection. Anyway before i do that i will need the payment to be made, as i don't want to make the trip in vain.""

If that doesn't put up your scam flag, well, I'm selling some ocean front property in Cincinnati.......

[Jeeves]

Well, I certainly wouldn't make a trip without some sort of assurance either. Personally, I'd do what scam-busters do. Ask him to send a photo of some specific thing with the car. Like say "Wear a sock on your head, next to the car."

Like I said though, he's doing some un-usual things for a scammer. The price rings of scam, escrow rings of scam. However, most scammers love the flashy Mk4's, not TT Auto's with average miles on 'em, they also almost never EVER list USA phone numbers.

Anyone tried calling the number?

[Cosworth]

Also,

The ad is listed in two different parts of the country.

He wouldn't provide the VIN.

He says that he's out of town and doesn't have a phone.

I provided my phone number but the seller didn't call me, and never provided me with a contact number so that I could call him. The first real step in any long distance deal is to actually speak to the other party.

The car is allegedly in Hampton, VA and the seller is allegedly in Plano, TX. One of the IP addresses in the email header traces back to Sunnyvale, CA.


I knew the ad was a scam before I replied to it.

[Cosworth]

"Anyone tried calling the number?"

Yup. I got the answering machine of a cleaning service co.

[Jeeves]

Then I'd claim scam.

[karma]

Ok, i retract my previous assumption. This does sound like a scam. I didn't understand the background behind it:-D

[Cosworth]

I sent a note to cars.com and it appears that they have pulled the ad.

F'n scammers are everywhere!