I've been looking for yet another car recently. One thing I have noticed is that Autotrader now contains large numbers of adverts for cars at ludicrous prices.
Such as this one:
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So umm what's the actual scam? Bang on the head up a dark alley after arranging a meet to pay for the car?
I'm not daft enough to think that anyone would be selling a two year old XC90 for that price, I'm just bemused by the scammer. Surely if the price were just a couple of K less than book they would attract some buyers? If they actually gave a contact number rather than insisting on email contact only they would attract more punters?
As it is, it just screams WRONG! at anyone with two brain cells or more. Or is the aim to attract the absolute dimmest members of society?
Contact the seller and he will probably claim he and the car are in another country where RHD cars don't sell. Will request payment is sent by Western Union and he will arrange for the car to be delivered to your door a his cost.
There's always the possibility that it's a typo with a missing digit. More likely a scam though
Nope , they don't want to actually meet anyone in person - they will just want payment in advance and have the car shipped to you. of course , you can use their trusted (and entirely fake) escrow site so your money will be safe.....
Quite often this will be linked in with the sort of "earn thousands of pounds a month working from home" jobs where they get the gullible people to provide bank details for the scammers to launder the money through.
Either way , you won't get a car and yes , the truly dim and greedy are targeted.
"Steve Firth" wrote in message news:1jdju7v.nyggtbytlsdN%%steve%@malloc.co.uk...
Seeing as he will not take phonecalls, due to the number not being available it will probably be a 419scam. He does have an email address, so why not contact him and ask when you can get the AA to call and inspect the car? Also ask him for the registration number so you can do the HPI Check to make sure it isn't a rightoff and doesn't have existing finance. That is all YOU need to do in order to find it is a scam. Get back to us with the answers he gives you. There wil be some problem over him being away on holiday and a friend selling it for him, or maybe working away and he will need to have the car delivered to you. Whichever way you try to see the car, it will never be available as it is probably a picture pinched from elsewhere. You will be faced by the hard pressure sell. If you try to phone his number will be off, so that ties in with the thing about working/being away. First step of a scam. Next will be an email asking you for your phone number. You will get regular calls and told things like other buyers are interested, so could you pay a deposit etc, or pay the full amount. They try to get as much as possible out of the victim. It will be a payment direct to a bank account or the scammer will get your full bank details and/or credit card details and security code which he will use immediately! If it's a debit card then your account can be emptied in minutes without any protection. Have a look at 419scams on Google and you will find various sites saying how they all work.
Here you go ! As predicted by others in the group, here is the reply from the seller calling himself LESLEY DYSON. All you had to do was ask him some questions about HPI and if you could see the car.
Hello there and thank you for your interest in buying my car. It's still for sale. The Volvo XC90 is HPI clear, it runs and drives excellent and it was never involved in an accident. The interior looks great (NO SMOKING). All the documents, including V5 log book will be provided along with the car.
Since this is an urgent sale I have dropped my price to £5,600 + shipping to your door (please note this price doesn't include delivery). Although I am registered in the UK, I recently moved to Zermatt, Switzerland (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)and 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. If the car is not how I described it, I will offer a full refund ( anyway this is not the case ). It will be insured during transportation and will be delivered at your address in maximum 14 days.
The price is low because the car is right hand drive in a country where all cars are left hand drivem, so in Switzerland is very difficult to drive this type of vehicle and nobody wants to buy it here. Instead of keeping it in a garage (during this economical crisis), I decided to sell it to someone back in UK for a really attractive price.
Because it is a large transaction we will complete the deal using an authorized third party. All the documents will be provided along with the car. You will have 7 days inspection period before committing to buy the vehicle. In this way both, buyer and seller are 100% covered during the steps of this transaction.
For an accurate shipping cost please include your shipping address or postal code in your next email. Please email me soon if you want to move forward and let me know if you need anything else.
Scammer of the year! He still can't provide the registration number - I asked him twice and he suddenly can't remember and also doesn't have the paperwork to hand.
I suggest we all play along with him on this one, send the most unusual questions, generate lots of interest and then all send an email with "SCAMMER" on it.
I also forgot that Zermatt is one of the few places in the world that NO CARS are permitted, well not with engines anyway. Anyone who goes skiing will know from staying at the local hotels. I would love to know how he explains that one.
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