I am selling a car and have listed it on Craigslist so far but I haven’t really dealt with too much online buying and selling as I assumed I would be meeting in person to discuss terms and pricing for the vehicle. However, I got this response for a potential buyer who is “on a boat” and I’m not sure if this is legitimate. Do you think this is just a person trying to scam me by getting account information?
Hi,
You should consider it sold .I want to buy it for someone ,and
the payment would be through PayPal . I am working in a ship at
moment, i am out to the sea,So it is a pick up agent that would be
coming for the picking up. i would like you to forward your Paypal
email add. and name with more pictures .
I would be expecting your prompt reply,with the name and the
email address on your PayPal account so that i could make the payment
asap and i will appreciate if you could send more pics as i would
not be seeing it in person and the pick up would be at a designated
place or your residence.And, Lastly , i am offering additional $ 100
to your final price for you to keep it off from other offers.
Sounds scammy. Is the car so rare that buying it sight unseen would be something a normal person would do? Or are you like selling a 2003 Taurus or something?
I am just selling my '95 Mustang. Nothing rare. Selling because I would prefer a four cylinder with a roomy trunk (this car is not used by me, but instead by a family member who finds a two door with a small trunk to be ill equipped for her needs). It’s a good car but I already have a couple cars myself so I am more inclined to just sell it than add another car to the collection. In any case, I am wary to give information online as I don’t much feel like getting ripped off. I don’t see why the “agent” couldn’t just bring cash. How come this guy has an agent? I want an agent. Doesn’t seem right that a guy on a boat has an agent and here I am with nothing. lol
Are you willing to take PayPal payments, and if so what are the various ways you can be scammed by giving someone your PayPal-registered e-mail address? Personally I’d want cash for a car sale, I got $8,000 cash from the guy who bought my 91 GT.
I think you’re right. I have literally never listed anything on Craigslist before (did buy this car originally on Craigslist from a seller only a few blocks away) but after some googling it sounds like a common scam so I’m not going to bother writing back. The guy is on a boat anyway so if he gets distracted reading my replies about “Hey I would prefer to meet in person and be paid in cash” then he could get all flustered and maybe even fall into the sea. It just isn’t worth the risk. lol
I don’t want that on my conscience, ya know?
Thanks for the advice guys! It helped! I’ll be on the lookout for more of these in the future.
As far as I can tell the way they use the details (from what I"ve read through Googling is that they make a payment using either a compromised account or a fake account and then reverse the charges claiming that the car wasn’t described honestly and that they were ripped off, PayPal refunds their money, etc. Also read that sometimes they get the rest of your details from you and may even break into your house and steal stuff. So that’s what the agent is for!
Shame on me for asking if it was a scam? I didn’t realize being an inexperienced buyer/seller was going to offend anyone. Sorry for getting your panties all bunched up. Just wanted advice. Thanks anyway to the people who didn’t respond with butthurt.
I’ve sold (I think it’s up to) 4 vehicles now through Cragislist. I wouldn’t bother responding to that e-mail. Even if it’s legit (slim chance) I wouldn’t want to go through the hassle.
Keep it simple. Local, in person, cash only.
Serious buyers will call you, not e-mail.
More likely it works like this. I live overseas but I want that car. I’ll buy the car for your $5,000 asking price no haggling. I’ll even give you a little bit extra. Ok good we have a deal. By the way I need to work through an agent since I can’t be there. I’m sending you $6,100. Keep your $5,100 and send the additional $1,000 to my agent.
Then of course the $6,100 disappears and you are out the $1,000.
I was offended on Panzerram’s behalf by your post, which was obnoxious and dickish in the extreme. You called him gullible, what do you expect, roses? Prefacing your post with “no offense” has absolutely NO value, given the nature of your post. You can’t say “don’t be offended” and then post something offensive, things just don’t work that way. If you had a clue, you’d know that.
Agreed, especially the part about him being glad he’s not gullible like the poor fellow here. Panzerram you did nothing wrong. Ignore the one bad apple in the bunch.
Also notice that the email doesn’t use the word “car” even once. Just refers to the car as “it”. Classic scammer trait - they don’t even have to modify their stock email before they send it out. Same email works for a car, a boat, a washing machine, rollerblades, anything.
Say “Sure, make sure the pickup agent has the cash in hand for me” and he’ll have an excuse. He’s going to send you a check, ask you to keep your money and you’re going to wire a portion (the pick up agent’s fee) to the pick up agent. If you back down he’ll change the extra $100 to an extra $200. Then it’ll all disappear and you’ll be out the pick up agent’s fees.
No one will ever come by to pick up the car.
Here’s a thread from when someone tried to do it to me…
and Kayaker
Your’s is a littler different, but still the same, just on a smaller scale.
What always amazes me about these “offers” is that they can’t be bothered to use proper capitalization and punctuation. Would that be so hard? It would make them more difficult to spot.
