FRAUD and SCAM ALERT

Scam Alert for Corvette Sellers - Scam Alert for Corvette Buyers

Never Western Union money, especially overseas.
Sellers: No one is going to buy your very expensive car sight unseen w/no inspection.
Buyers: No one is going to sell you a car worth $50,000 for $9000.

To Corvette Sellers

Please beware of a scam where someone offers to buy your car with a certified check and comes up with a reason to write the check for significantly more than the asking price and request the seller to wire the difference to someone else.

They will send you a counterfeit check and your bank may clear the check, however, in a week or so, the check turns out to be counterfeit and the bank requires the car seller to cover the money for the phony check. The scammer will use a free type e-mail such as yahoo, hotmail or gmail.

To avoid falling for such a scam call the issuing bank prior to accepting the check and then wait seven to ten days after deposit to find out if a check has cleared the issuing bank before doing anything with that money or handing over the title to the car. Better yet, never accept a certified check from overseas.

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Some info from another automobile classifieds site:

We have been informed by several of our advertisers that they have been contacted by some people from Africa who stated that they wanted to buy their Corvette. This sounds very similar to a recent scam that caught one customer of another site. We would like to urge our customers to be cautious. Here's the way the scam reportedly worked:

The advertiser was contacted by some people from Nigeria who stated that they wanted to buy their car and sent them a fake cashier's check. The crooks sent more money than the price of the car stating that the extra money was to be sent to someone in the US to ship the car to Africa. The amount of money to be used for shipping was even close to what the actual shipping cost would be. Once the American seller sent the money to the person who was supposed to ship the car they discovered that the original cashier's check was a fake. These individuals lost $8000 of their own money in the scam. Apparently the scam has been tried on others. According to the people who lost their money it can take over three weeks for a bank to realize that a check is fake. They also suggest that you contact the issuing bank and get any verification in writing. The money you save may be your own!

This type of scam is called "4-1-9" fraud after the section of the Nigerian penal code that addresses such schemes. You can find out more about it on the Secret Service Web site.

You can read the CBS News Report on the story if you click here.

FBI Internet Fraud Page
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There are several different versions of the scam, and some emails indicate that the shipping costs or crating costs can also be deducted from the cashier’s check sum. There are also several different locations mentioned in various emails, some saying the person is from London, and some mention traveling in South Africa, Nigeria, Africa, and we have even seen an email that mentions Canada. (Some emails do not mention a country). The reality is, it doesn't matter what country they say...the fact is that the wired money does go overseas, and most often you can't get your money back. There is even speculation that the money could be funding some terrorist activities. There are probably many cells of these scammers in many countries, including in the United States.
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To Corvette Buyers

No one is going to sell you a car worth $50,000 for $9000.
Also watch for ads for nonexistent fixer-upper cars. Click here for more info.

If it sounds too good to be true than guess what? It has come to my attention that scammers will post fake ads using stolen credit cards. The address on the ad will be USA but usually the seller will be overseas. They will try to get you to Western Union cash. The phone number will probably not be valid. If you are on E-bay often you may have noticed the same problem there. The scammers will hi-jak someone else's profile so they will appear to have positive feedback. They will try to get you to make the deal outside of e-bay. Read the first line in this paragraph once more!

Never Western Union money to anyone, especially overseas.
Scammers will reference third party shipping websites which are fake.

These are fake sites setup by scammers. Do not send them any money!!
These site will eventually disappear.

Below are copies of e-mails from a few of these low-life scammers:
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hello,
I have thecar available and its in perfect condition. Now Im in Europe with some business but the car is with a shipping company.Its there because I already had a potential buyer who backed out because they couldn't afford it.
I will pay all shipping taxes thru a shipping company.Using this company you have 5 days inspection period and in this time they will hold your money.If you are not satisifed you can return it and they will return you all amount.If you are happy with it they will send me your money and this deal is close.
The name of the company is www.cargo-worldwide.com
For start this deal you have to register and they will send you more info for payment and shipping.
Thanks ,
Jerry

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Hello,
As the seller, I would like to take a moment to personally thank you for your interest in my 1968 CHEVROLET CORVETTE CONVERTIBLE. I know that you have many choices out there and I appreciate your interest. I hope you are serious in your intention for buying. Don`t take it personally, but I am tired with people who offer to buy my car and in the end they turn out to be scammers. Anyway, the car is available and I guess you could be the owner of the Chevy if everything turns out all right and you are serious about buying. Let me tell you a few things about it : the car is in excellent condition, everything works and there is no sign of rust anywhere. The title is clean and fully transferable. It is built for US market, it fully meets all US emission standards and you will have no problems whatsoever registering it there. It has 47,014 original miles. More specifications:

ALL NUMBERS MATCHING!
Engine: 427 cubic inch Tri-power with 435 hp Turbo-Jet V-8
Transmission: M21 Close Ratio 4-speed manual
Axle: Positract 355R
Exterior: Rally Red - Flawless Condition
Interior: Black Leather - Flawless Condition
Ignition: Full Transistor
Windshield: Factory Tinted

I can provide more photos and info if you like, and if you are indeed interested in buying. The car belonged to my late husband, who died 8 months ago serving in the UN peace keping force detached there from Slovakia. He took great pride in his car and loved it a lot, but I really don`t like this kind of classic cars, I just don`t see it as a woman`s car. I preffer
driving arround in my 911 Porsche. This is why I decided to sell the Corvette. I am located in Bratislava, Slovakia. My final price on this is US 13.600$. I know it seems a little low, but I will be quite happy to get rid of it, believe me, ever since my husband passed away, it just sits useless in my garage, and nothing would make me happier than to know that the car will be taken care of and loved as my husband Daniel did. If you will take this price, I am willing to pay for shipping and insurance to your location. I ONLY accept payment though a third party service, which will ensure the funds and hold them until you have the car there, and will guarantee I get the money after you have the car. If you are an honest buyer, I believe you will have no objection to this. I do not know pretty much about theese machines, but I will be happy to assist you in any way. Please get back to me asap if you decide to buy, I can provide more photos and info if we can close this deal.

Kimberly Zook
Brusta 29 Street
Bratislava
SK 355 67
Slovakia

(This is the e-mail address that this person used: kimberly_zook@msn.com , although it was probably a hi-jacked e-mail, and was received from hotmail
This is the originating ip address which is actually from AOL: 152.163.100.195)

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Corvette Buyers also please be aware of ads for non-existing cars, usually fixer-uppers. They will advertise damaged cars at low prices and try to get you to sign up for a service for a monthly fee that allows you to bid on these cars. In most cases the cars advertised do not exist.

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Used Corvettes For Sale
https://www.usedcorvettesforsale.com
The Internet's best site for buying and selling Corvettes
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Example of scammer email.

Hello Seller,
Do you still have the item available for sale? However i will like to know if you still have it.
Q#1. How long have you owned it?
Q#2.Why are you selling it?
Q#3. In your opinion, what sort of condition is it?
Q#4. Any more available photo?
Q#5. How much are you asking for it?
Q#6. Do you accept a ( Cashier Check or Paypal )as a mode of payment.

Am okay with the vehicle and the asking price, I will like you to know that i will be sending you a non refundable deposit in a check.the deposit is to hold the vehicle available as i want my agent to come and inspect the vehicle on my behalf at the moment.

You are to deduct $1 ,000.00 non refundable deposit from the check as your deposit to secure the vehicle available.

The $1,000.00 non refundable deposit you are deducting from the check is for you to hold the vehicle available due to the fact that i do not want to lose this vehicle, the difference funds should be wire to my agent via western union money transfer after you must have received the check and deducted your own share $1,000.00 non refundable deposit.

The $1,000.00 is not part of the sale asking price for the vehicle it only a non refundable deposit to hold the vehicle available for my agent to arrive in your location to inspect the vehicle as soon as you receive the deposit from the courier service in your location.

I want my agent to come to your location and inspect the vehicle in person with you.
All the infonmation needed in this-transaction will be forwarded to you after you must have received the deposit payment from regular mail, my agent -information as soon as you received the payment package.

Your full sale asking price will be paid to you via bank to bank transfer after my agent has finished inspecting the vehicle, I will be responsible for applicable Sales Tax.

Please confinm this and provide payment information for check to be delivered to you via Courier. Payment Information:
1,Your legal name,
2, Full contact address
3, Zip Code
4, Cell Phone#