Scams through autotrader.com
I have recently been involved in a scam through autotrader.com with a person named Scott Hale who posted an address of 111 W 8th St, Jefferson, NC. He, she or it posted a Toyota Tundra for $3000 on autotrader.com. I contacted him through the email service and he in turn sent me an email with all the details about the vehicle and what I should do to receive the merchandise. I followed all the procedures and he was suppossedly using eBay Motors as the go between with an agent named Paul Brown of Austin, TX. The monies were sent via Western Union, which eBay Motors only uses Pay Pal as the money channel as I later found out. I have a valid VIN and posted pictures which depicts an area in Jacksonville, FL next to a business called Neat Rides. I located the business off Blanding Blvd in Jacksonville. The information is being sent to local Sheriff’s Depts and the FBI. Be aware that every bit of info sent looked official but was not as it turns out. Seems you cannot trust anyone or any service anymore. But with all the information I now have, I can only hope that these folks involved get their just due.
Scam reported at FightTheScams.com
jmbecker13 says:
From what I have the read, the FBI doesn’t care about these “small” rip-offs. And the guy is probably not at the address he gave you so the sheriff can’t do anything. With Western Union, they can pick up the cash anywhere. Thanks for posting your situation, hopefully someone else will benefit. Now I have to ask, but didn’t you do any research before sending the money? Ebay and Western Union websites both warn of this exact scam and Autotrader also warns of similar scams. I have collected dozens of these invoices and I have to say none of them look official to me.
January 10th, 2011 at 7:16 pm