SnailHerder Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 A couple of months ago I was still searching for my perfect Zed to purchase. While doing the usual regular trawl through Auto Trader I saw one of those adverts that was quite obviously too good to be true. I was lacking in entertainment that evening so I thought I'd send the scammer a message just for fun. The advert was for a '2006 NISSAN 350 Z NISMO BLACK', immaculate condition, asking price £5K. The seller wasn't contactable on the phone, only via email. My first email, 18th May "Hi Gareth. I saw your advert for the Nismo 350 Z and am quite interested. Could you tell me a little more about the car please? In particular I would like to know if there is any damage at all to the vehicle. Have the wheels been kerbed? Has it ever been smoked in? Thanks, Simon." Scammer's response, 18th May "Hello there, I am glad to hear that you are interested to buy my 2006 NISSAN 350 Z NISMO BLACK. 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 will be delivered at your address in maximum 10 days. Final price is £5000 (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!" I wasn't totally convinced by the assurance that the deal was 100% legitimate, but didn't let that spoil my fun My reply, 19th May: "Thanks for the information Gareth. I am still very interested in purchasing this car, it sounds like exactly what I am looking for. What is the best way I can pay for it, ensuring we are both safe in the transaction? Thanks, Simon." Scammer's response, 19th May: "Hello, I want to inform you the the car is in Cadiz 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. The car will be shipped in a container; it will be loaded direct into a 20 ft or 40 ft steel shipping container at the port and it will be secured to the flooring rings of the container by ratchet straps and the wheels will be locked into position by wooden chocks, strapping to stop any movement. All vehicles are securely blocked, braced and tied down ensuring absolute security during transportation. Due to the fact that i am located outside UK and we can not deal in person,i`ve contacted Yahoo Finance 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. Regarding the transaction, you will send the funds to Yahoo Finance 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.Yahoo Finance 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 Yahoo Finance 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 Yahoo Finance 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 Yahoo Finance to return the money to you. If you want to read more about Yahoo Finance service please visit : http://www.yahoo-finance.com.uk-groups. ... .index.htm If you want to get more info about their terms and condition please contact Yahoo Finance at: support@yahoo.uk-finance-inc.com If you want to check the car here are the reg details #: Reg: CX06 CNO The chassis number is - JN1GAAZ33U0301003 Engine - VC35-856351 MOT Expiry: Apr 2012 Mileage: 28500 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 Yahoo Finance and they will contact you to explain the entire procedure. I will be waiting for your reply as soon as possible Thank you in advance!" Wow, that Yahoo Finance service sounds really handy! I took a look at the link and it all looks pretty legit. But type 'Yahoo Finance scam' into a search engine and you'll soon see the full story; the fact is Yahoo don't offer any kind of escrow service. Pretty obvious to anyone who is internet literate, but I can understand how people might fall into the trap. My response to scammer, 20th May: "Hi Gareth. The Yahoo Finance service sounds great. However, I have some time off work next week and would like to fly over to collect the car. My house is not far from an airport and the flight is only a short one. I have been to Cadiz before, it is a beautiful place and I would like to see it again. Driving the car back home across Europe would be a great chance for me to get to know my new vehicle. Please let me know if this would be convenient for you. Simon." Scammer's response, 20th May: "Hello again, Unfortunately I am not available earlier than Friday next week, that is why i choose to use Yahoo Finance service because i don't have time to handle this deal. Also the car is at shipping company and wait for my confirmation email and shipping address to start the shipping.Please let me know your decision, i have people waiting for my decision also. I will prepare all the things that the vehicle needs to leave from here and proceed with the shipping immediately after I will have the payment confirmation from Yahoo. Please keep me up to date and I'll do the same. Sincerely, Gareth" Naturally I was very disappointed that he wasn't available for me to personally collect the car, but I didn't let that deter me. My response to scammer, 20th May: "Hi Gareth. It is a shame you are so busy, but I am very busy too so I understand. As this is all happening very quickly I am having trouble finding the full £5000 for the car. I have £4000 in my account now and can go ahead with that if it is ok for you? You said that you have other people interested and if you want to go ahead with one of them, I understand. For me unfortunately it will be one month until I have the full £5000 in my account. Please let me know what you think. Simon." Response from scammer, 20th May: "Hi Simon, i see you are very honest man and i agree to sell the car to you. so let me tell you how we do, you will send to yahoo GBP4000, when yahoo confirm your payment, i will ship the car for you and after you receive the car and get the remaind balance GBP 1000, you will forward the money to yahoo. Please let me know if you agree with me and if your answer is yes please email me your shipping details. Best regards, Gareth" Such a kind offer! But I felt I needed time to think about it so did not respond immediately. Response from scammer, 21st May: "Hi again Simon, are you still interested in my offer? , please let me now your decision Thank you Gareth" I could have strung things along a bit further, but I thought it would be best to put the scammer out of his/her misery. My response to scammer, 22nd May: "Hi 'Gareth'. Thank you for your kind response, but I will not be able to take up your offer. The fact is I know you are a scammer, and I knew it from the first time I contacted you. I only pretended to be interested in buying your non existent car because I was bored. I could point out the obvious mistakes you made which told me you were a scammer, but where would be the sport in that? Good luck with the scamming!" I didn't hear back from Gareth. If you got this far, I hope you found it amusing. If you spot a scammer I encourage you to have a go yourself. Scammer baiting should be a new sport! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marzman Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleDeuce1973 Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 who's car is that though?? it is a correct reg plate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leonk Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 All light hearted stuff but the worrying thing is that the registration and chassis numbers he gave you are some other poor souls, perhaps even on this forum. I would forward the details to the police. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Search for 419 baiting on Google....its already a well established sport. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leonk Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 419 baiting is great. What I'm trying to say is how do you let the poor sod whose details have been stolen know?? If reading those e mails, it was my reg, I would be well and truly pi**ed off! Am I taking this all too seriously???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnailHerder Posted July 5, 2011 Author Share Posted July 5, 2011 I passed the details of the listing to AutoTrader before my initial contact. They appeared to be on the case as they took the advert down the next day. It reappeared and disappeared quickly a couple more times after that before vanishing for good. Good point about passing the details on to the police though, they would most likely be interested in knowing that the car details are in the public domain I'll make contact with them tomorrow. Search for 419 baiting on Google....its already a well established sport. Thanks for the tip there Ricey. I wasn't naive enough to think I was the first to do it, but had no idea the sport was so widespread! Also hadn't heard of the 419 before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwanageDave Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Well done, great bit of fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveRS Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 I think I know what car you are talking about I remember seeing the advert. The car In question was actually up for sale for real a week or so before the scam ad appeared. I think they must have just nicked one of the photos to use I'm there scam ad. I contacted the people who were actually selling the zed for real as i too have been looking for a one. The sale price was just under £14k if I remember right, had a custom exhaust and the tan interior. A local dealer was selling on behalf of a family as the owner had sadly passed away. I think there may be a pic of it I'm one of my topics as I remember asking if anyone new what exhaust it was. That's my detective bit over Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Search for 419 baiting on Google....its already a well established sport. Thanks for the tip there Ricey. I wasn't naive enough to think I was the first to do it, but had no idea the sport was so widespread! Also hadn't heard of the 419 before. Its rife on autotrader mate - this is my little foray into the market viewtopic.php?f=13&t=47999&hilit=419+scams viewtopic.php?f=13&t=42998&hilit=funny+autotrader Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnailHerder Posted July 6, 2011 Author Share Posted July 6, 2011 Search for 419 baiting on Google....its already a well established sport. Thanks for the tip there Ricey. I wasn't naive enough to think I was the first to do it, but had no idea the sport was so widespread! Also hadn't heard of the 419 before. Its rife on autotrader mate - this is my little foray into the market http://www.370z-uk.net/forum/viewtopic. ... =419+scams http://www.370z-uk.net/forum/viewtopic. ... autotrader Thanks for a good laugh there Ricey. I loved the first link in particular and had people in my office looking at me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarmac@TarmacSportz Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Nice one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 I do remember a website someone set up about 8 years ago dedicated to one scammer he kept going for something like 4 months. He got him to send pictures through, record voice messages onto mp3 files and everything...wish I could find it, it took about 30 minutes to read the whole thing but it was legendary. It ended up with him getting the scammer to send through a picture of himself in his village holding up a placard which the guy asked the scammer to write out. He said he wanted him to see evidence of his number plate which he said was 1D 10T so the scammer wrote it down held it up for all to see he was indeed an idiot That was the last post on the webpage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 It's called 419eater col......frigging legendary those guys are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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