# Stupid Car Scammers! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 22, 2004, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-car-scammers/265491 "2004-09-22T15:09:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tower\_Dweller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@Tower\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tower_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2004, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-car-scammers/265491/1 "2004-09-22T15:09:03Z")
I posted my car for sale on craigslist, and I seem to have fished out a cashier’s check forgery scam. This is not the first that Craigslist has heard of this sort of thing: [http://chicago.craigslist.org/about/scams.html](http://chicago.craigslist.org/about/scams.html) Here’s the email I got: > [@](#): > > SUSAN STORE LTD. > application to purchase ; > dear sir/ma, > i am MRS SUSAN ROY, i got you advert on your [ 1988 Honda Accord > 106K - $2000 > ] for sale and i will want you to get back to me with your least price > of it i reside in miami/florida.get back to me asap. > > i wil be hoping to hear from you soo. > > thanks. > > SUSAN. This really doesn’t do it justice - the email was in about 5 different colors, with mismatch HTML tags all over the place. I cleaned it up so as not to submit the Teemings to it’s full horror. I wrote “Susan” back just for fun, and got this back: > [@](#): > > hello, > thanks fior your mail am ok with your price infact i wil like to pick the truck up ontime if you will accept cashier cheque i can now instruct my client that is owing me $6,000 on our last deal to procure a cheque of all the amount his owing me in your name as soon as you get the cheque you will deduct your money and help me wire the balance via western union to the shipper that will come for the pickup in your locatiuon. > if that is ok buy you i can now stand on your trust to help me send the balance of the cheque to my shipper so that they will come for the pickup in you location as soon as they get there payment via western union. > mail me back with your full name that will appear on the cheque and your full address,cell phone# so that i can pass your infor to my client to goahead with the payment by sending the check ontime. > thanks. > regards. > susan. Ok, first of all it ain’t a truck, unless Honda made an Accord with a half bed or something and I somehow missed it. And even if I hadn’t heard of the cashier’s check scam, how the hell would this make sense? If this client of yours owes you money, why doesn’t he give you the $4000 and then me the $2000? And pick up a grammar book, you fucktard! I would totally have worked with the cops on flushing this person out, but I have not idea how to go about doing that. I think what pisses me off the most is that people actually fall for this crap. Idiots. ---
**Author:** ![GaWd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@GaWd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaWd)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2004, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-car-scammers/265491/2 "2004-09-22T15:20:07Z")
Interesting. I listed my truck on craigslist about a month ago and promptly received a scam E-mail. The name was Susan Roy, but the E-mail came from some other name like Katherine or something. I just replied and told them to fuck off. I hate to think that some people actually fall for this crap. Sam ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2004, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-car-scammers/265491/3 "2004-09-22T15:23:36Z")
Have you tried forwarding the e-mail to the police? They may be able to trace it back to the originator. It’s a ridiculous attempt at a scam. I wonder how many people fall for it? ---
**Author:** ![Tower\_Dweller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@Tower\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tower_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2004, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-car-scammers/265491/4 "2004-09-22T15:39:42Z")
I posted a complaint with the FTC, who seem to handle this sort of thing. The FBI may be interested due to wire fraud, or maybe even the Secret Service. This works because people think that Cashier’s Check == CA$H. I can’t blame them, I thought that until I started hearing about this scam. Why does it take a week for the check to actually clear? And why do they let the customer’s think that the check has cleared when it hasn’t? Kind of crappy. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2004, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-car-scammers/265491/5 "2004-09-22T15:43:15Z")
I was trying to sell a car in [AutoTrader.com](http://AutoTrader.com) for a while, and got four or five of these sorts of emails. As a rule, I won’t do any business with someone who obviously can’t spell (a typo here or there is okay, but if every other word is spelled wrong, no way). ---
**Author:** ![GaWd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@GaWd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaWd)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2004, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-car-scammers/265491/6 "2004-09-22T16:11:25Z")
If you really want to do something about it, engage them. When you have engaged them, and have worked the deal to receive the cashier’s check, give them a phony name and address, and keep the authorities apprised of what’s going on. Once you’ve gotten the phony check, let them(FBI, FTC, SAG), know everything and you’re an instant hero. Otherwise, ignore it and move on to a real buyer. Personally, I’d move along… Sam