2008 Audi A4 20T – Sharon Thompson
Hi – Recently came across what I am nearly certain is/was scam on Craigslist (SE Missouri – Posting ID: 1734491430) – 2008 Audi A4 with 28K miles for only $7,000. Has many of the signs of scam. Interesting how the car was advertised for S.E. Missouri, car is located in N.E. Pennsylvania and the seller is now located in the UK. Below are some of the exchanges with the “seller.”
—– Original Message —–
From: Sharon Thompson
To: aklum@charter.net
Sent: Sunday, May 23, 2010 1:51 AM
Subject: RE: 2008 Audi A4 20T
Hi ,
Thanks for being interested in buying my car. It is in a good condition, no scratches,no damages,never been implicated in any accidents, no problems at the engine, runs very well. It has an 2.0L engine, 28500 miles, clear title.The price is not negotiable ,US $7000 firm. The only thing because i am selling it,because i divorced with my husband and after the divorce I own this car, now as a woman I don`t need it(i don`t have driver license)…we will use only eBay Vehicle Purchase Protection to complete the sale. Let me know if you are interested and you have the funds available. $2900 Deposit and the rest after you receive it.
Thanks.
——————————————————————————–
From: Kevin Lum
To: Sharon Thompson
Sent: Sun, May 23, 2010 7:48:25 PM
Subject: Re: 2008 Audi A4 20T
Hi Sharon -
OK, I think I’m more familiar with the eBay Vehicle Protection now. I would like to come down and see the car if possible.
I could come down tomorrow afternoon or sometime Wednesday if that would be convenient for you? Otherwise, could you suggest an alternative?
Best regards,
—– Original Message —–
From: Sharon Thompson
To: Kevin Lum
Sent: Monday, May 24, 2010 4:43 AM
Subject: Re: 2008 Audi A4 20T
Hi,
The car is located in Hawley, PA, but i am now in the United Kingdom.(i just moved here with my new job) I want to tell you that we will use eBay in this transaction in order for both of us to be 100% protected and insured by them. eBay will supervise this transaction so there won`t be any problems.They will take care of the shipping and all the small details.You will get the car and you will have 5 days of inspection in which you can decide if you buy the car or not.If you won`t like my car you notify eBay and you send it back on my cost,if you want to keep it you announce eBay you send the money(payment method and all the details will be set up by eBay)and you keep the car.Let me know if we have a deal and eBay will send you an invoice at your email in which you will see how to start the this transaction and in which you can see that this transaction is legit.
Thank you !
—– Original Message —–
From: Kevin Lum
To: Sharon Thompson
Sent: Monday, May 24, 2010 5:42 AM
Subject: Re: 2008 Audi A4 20T
Hi Sharon -
Appreciate your response. I’m not sure, but I think that with your re-location to the UK, that puts a bit of a snag on using eBay buyer protection. Among their eligibility requirements is:
4. You, the seller, the vehicle, and the financial institutions on which payment was drawn, and to which payment was made, must have been located in one of the fifty United States or Canada on the listing’s end date.
As you’re now in the UK I don’t think you would qualify, and as far as I can tell, the car isn’t currently on eBay so we don’t even have a start date yet let alone an end date.
Nevertheless, I’d still like to see the vehicle and would be willing to travel to see it. I lived in the general vicinity of Hawley so am familiar with the area. I assume someone is in physical posession of the vehicle, so would it be possible to arrange for a visit to see the car and possibly do a test drive?
Best regards,
Scam reported at FightTheScams.com
vanessa says:
I also was nearly scammed by the same person. i didnt go through with the deal because i googled sharon thompson and found this scam alert from Kevin Lum!! The automobile i was looking at was on craigs list and it is for 2005 honda hybrid $3600.00…when you respond she says the same thing every time as she said to other people..that she is divorced and doesnt need the car she is relocating to United Kingdom for her new job. dont fall for any of her items. she also wanted to go through EBAY Vehicle Portection Program and wanted $2900 deposit down and the rest within 30 days!!! be ware!!!
June 4th, 2010 at 2:06 pm
cglemley says:
Just ran into Sharon again. This time she was trying to sell a 2006 Toyota Tacoma for $6600. Also wanted the $2900 deposit through eBay. Gave the exact same email – ver batim.
July 2nd, 2010 at 6:03 am
loshea95 says:
Hey Kevin,
Thanks a million for posting your scam alert about “the deal”. With it being hard times across America you do run in to great deals. Myself and girlfriend were trying to actually figure out logistics to purchase the Audi A4 from Sharon. We thought “is it cheaper to fly and get the car or ship it”??? We decided to google Sharon the recent divorcee and look what we found…. Thanks again. Her emails are verbatim to previous emails she sent other buyers. I tell ya its a nasty world.
Thanks,
Luke
July 9th, 2010 at 12:52 am
tltomlin says:
I almost fell for this scam as well until I googled her name and found all of these postings.
Thank you for posting this! I got the exact same emails it seems everyone else has been receiving.
July 12th, 2010 at 1:36 pm
jdESQ says:
Sharon Thompson Strikes Again! Now she’s selling a bobcat! I inquired at about 3:30 PM, her reply came back in 8 minutes, only the time is 1:38AM. I don’t think she’s local!
Watch out for anything that sounds TOO GOOD to be true… often, it isn’t.
Sharon Thompson to jimdoan@gmail.com
1:38am
Hi ,
Thanks for being interested in buying my bobcat. It is in a good condition, no repair needed,no damages,always serviced in time, no problems at the engine, runs very well. It has an Kubota diesel engine 81 HP, 228 hours, It is like it rolled off of a showroom floor.The price is not negotiable ,US $5600 firm. The only thing because i am selling it,because i divorced with my husband and after the divorce I own this unit, now as a woman I don`t need it. We will use only eBay Vehicle Purchase Protection to complete the sale. Let me know if you are interested and you have the funds available. $2900 Deposit and the rest after you receive it.
Thanks.
Reply
Forward
JimDoan@gmail.com to Sharon Thompson
3:44pm
I am interested.
I would prefer to examine the unit, and if acceptable, pay you in CASH.
What city do you reside in?
- Show quoted text -
On Jul 13, 2010 1:38am, Sharon Thompson wrote:
> Hi ,
> Thanks for being interested in buying my bobcat. It is in a good condition, no repair needed,no damages,always serviced in time, no problems at the engine, runs very well. It has an Kubota diesel engine 81 HP, 228 hours, It is like it rolled off of a showroom floor.The price is not negotiable ,US $5600 firm. The only thing because i am selling it,because i divorced with my husband and after the divorce I own this unit, now as a woman I don`t need it. We will use only eBay Vehicle Purchase Protection to complete the sale. Let me know if you are interested and you have the funds available. $2900 Deposit and the rest after you receive it.
> Thanks.
July 13th, 2010 at 6:00 pm
saudade says:
“She”‘s selling an Honda Civic now in about 5 diff CL lists across the country. Same story. Smelled fishy to me in the first place so I searched on eBay Protection plan scam and saw similar stories. Once she returned my email, I googled her name and found all of you.
September 20th, 2010 at 2:47 pm
kerrykopp says:
Someone is using the same script calling themselves Tanya Dempsey.
December 13th, 2010 at 4:01 pm