Oh and my roommate is a total computer geek, and she was able to find his IP address, he’s located in California.
Here’s the post on CL: http://terrehaute.craigslist.org/tid/2827160551.html (I flagged it for removal)

Here’s the photobucket: http://s1159.photobucket.com/albums/p634/aldo_2345600/

And here’s a copy of the emails.

“Hi there,

The 2002 Ford Mustang Sport it is in perfect condition, there’s not a scratch or any dents on it. Everything from engine to tires is mint condition. I have a clear title with no liens or loans. I’m selling it low as my medical team will deploy back to Afghanistan on February 15 th for a 2 year contract and I won’t let it go to waste in my backyard, therefore I need a fast and reliable buyer. If you decide to buy it I will be paying for the shipping charges. The total price is $2.435 with no other hidden taxes. Please email me back if you are interested in buying it.

A few words about the car:
2002 Ford Mustang Sport
Mileage: 92,000
Price: $2.435
Body Style: Coupe
Exterior Color: Blue
Interior Color: Beige
VIN: 1FAFP42X42F236986
Fuel: Gasoline
Engine: 8 Cylinders
Transmission: Automatic
Drive Type :RWD

- Pics available at: http://s1159.photobucket.com/albums/p634/aldo_2345600/

Best Regards,
Senior Medic Sgt. 1st Class Harry Stewart ”

And this is the one that raised the BIG Red flag for me:
“Right now I’m in a military base of Alabama National Guard. Due to military security reasons I’m restricted from leaving the unit’s facility under any purpose and have strictly limited phone access. I hope you can understand that we will have to stick to email for now. The vehicle is here with me at the base but I’ve already made all the arrangements with DAS to pick it up from the base. DAS will also handle the title transfer for an extra $75.00. I think the car will be in 3-5 days to your address. As I said in my first email will take care of shipping charges. I will send all necessary paperwork (clear title, bill of sale, user’s manual, pink slip etc). Regarding the payment I want to use eBay protection program. You’ll get 5 days to inspect and test drive after delivery. During that 5 days testing period I will not be getting any money. Once you inspect and decide to keep the car, will confirm your decision with eBay and only then they will re-route me the money. In this way we are both protected.
I need to know if you are interested in buying it so I can ask eBay to send you the details on how this works. I have to fill out a form on eBay and I need the name that will go on the title and an address where you want the car delivered. Once I do it, eBay will email you all the details on this transaction and we can get the ball rolling.”

Thanks to this website, for allowing me to post to help others, and to others for posting and helping me.

Scam reported at FightTheScams.com

Mustang GT Craigslist Scam!

Buyers – Please be aware of such scammers. “How to recognize a vehicle scam attempt on CL:

# Shipping a vehicle to you is suggested by seller
# eBay Motors or another intermediary is specified by seller
# Payment by Western Union or a money wire is requested
# Price is unusually low (fraction of blue book value)
If you see these tell-tale signs, flag ad as “prohibited” and avoid

I sent him a list of questions that i had and i got the below reply.

From: Jessica Calhoun [mailto:jessica.calhoun@msn.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 25, 2012 3:39 PM
Subject: 2006 Toyota Corolla S

Hi,

This 2006 Toyota Corolla S, 1.8L L4 FI DOHC 16V ,VIN:1NXBR32E76Z645153 , runs and drives excellent. It has been extremely well maintained with a full service history, Only 69,452 miles! Transmission is Automatic shifts smoothly.
It has no leaks or drips and does not smoke at all, slightly used in 100% working and looking conditions with a clear title free of encumbrances and liens. I bought it when i was serving in Fort Hood base in Texas and now I am deployed in Spain . The car will be delivered from Texas , US.
I have dropped my price to $2,800 (purchase price) since this is an Urgent Sale! and I need to sell it before February 10, when I will be deployed in Afghanistan with my platoon replacing the troops scheduled to come home.
If you’re interested to conclude this purchase in a timely manner email me your: Full Name and Shipping address, to open a case with eBay. They will contact you to explain the entire procedure. The financial part will be managed by eBay, which means that you will have a 10 days inspection period before committing to buy the car. In this way both, buyer and seller are 100% covered during the steps of this transaction.

Hope to hear from you soon!
Maj. Jessica Calhoun
PS : More photos here : http://www.myalbum.com/Album=L38KHQL7
Carfax link : http://www.carfax.com/cfm/FSBO.cfm?report=56CCE811772F64AB5364BD32EB3DA016

Scam reported at FightTheScams.com

Beware of Cheaper cars in craigslist, being sold by people claiming to be Army Personnel

We now have joined up with Apple inc to advertise their most popular product yet, the Apple MacBook. Once again, we are running this campaign for one-day only. All you need to do is CLICK HERE to check out our web site designed for this promotion and type in your email to get yours for free. Simply be sure to enter your email therefore we may locate our records to guarantee that we have reserved one for you. That’s it!

Congratulations on winning a free Apple MacBook (valued at $1299). If you may have any query or worries, feel free to email me back. However, you need to claim your free MacBook first to guarantee one will be reserved for you prior to the deadline ends. We do understand that you may not receive this email until after the deadline, but, we suggest you check out the website and enter your email to see if we still have yours on hold, which we often-times do as a result others haven’t claimed theirs on time.

Sandra Clark

CEO, C-list

Scam reported at FightTheScams.com

My name is Sandra Clark, Ceo of Craigslist

I would like to share some information I’ve found concerning the eBay Vehicle Protection Program through various channels on the internet. My goal is not to produce a culprit as I do not have that final answer, instead I hope that this post can be instrumental to the victims and watchdogs who report the crimes and are trying to prevent further scams. I will do my best to organize the information for you all here, but remember all the relevant information WILL be found here even if it is not organized in the best way. If you have reported a crime to ic3.gov using this information and IF it is relevant to your situation, then add additional information to your complaint using the password emailed to you as it will increase the likelihood of your complaint being investigated.

First, the email sent from scammers posing as “eBay motors” came from a domain that intends to impersonate the real eBay. There may be variations but, it is mainly “motors-ebay.com” and if you look at sites such as this (http://whois.domaintools.com/motors-ebay.com) there is an owner’s name.

This is their information:

Name: Jay Chow

Address: 515 anting road

3 floor

shanghai

Shanghai,20112

Telephone: +86.5123211

Remember to check the email interactions you’ve had with the fake eBay Motors domain, you can do so by checking the email and clicking on “details” or something similar in your email client. The email address may look like this: “donotreply@motors-ebay.com.” Next, the domain name is what comes after the “@.”

Second, if one searches for the person and their address there are several things come up. The first is that the physical address that the domain and a variation of it is registered with is connected to “Brose” an international engineering company (http://www.brose.com/ww/en/pub/company/international_locations/engineering_sales/shanghai.htm).

Now, the address for the eBay Motors domain is different from the one on the Brose website. But if you look at this other fraudulent domain (http://www.v3whois.com/w/beautifulagany.com) it shares the same address as Brose, except that the owner is Jay Chow.

This is unusual. I’ve tried to contact the company about this case of a scammer squatting on the physical address of their reputable business. I was not contacted back about the situation. You would think a company would be more concerned about being connected to fraudulent activity, but I was unable to get acknowledgment from several people, or email addresses from that company.

Is this one of those facade companies that are used to legitimize large amounts of money that cannot be explain legally? I wanted someone from the company to hopefully deny any connection to “Jay Chow” and hoped that they would try to report the list of sites incorrectly attributed to their physical address, but did not get this.

Also, here is a paypal complaint by a customer who claimed to have been scammed by a “Jay Chow” over a PSP electronic device:

(https://www.paypal-community.com/t5/How-to-use-PayPal/buyer-received-crap-and-seller-rejoice/m-p/33077)

Third, there is a roundabout process that one must do to report these websites to get more information. The “motors-ebay.com” had domain owner information protection by (privacyprotect.org). Now, what you have to do is fill out the form you see on the right hand side of this page, but the only way for them to confirm that domain is used for fraud requires JPEG picture files of the emails. But, there is no space to upload these picture files on the form, so it automatically results in a rejection to release the owner’s confirmation. The solution is to respond to the rejection email with the JPEG pictures attached as it is replied to “abuse@privacyprotect.org.” Since, the information is now public (http://whois.domaintools.com/motors-ebay.com) it does not matter.

But, the actual domain hosting site for “motors-ebay” is REGISTERMATRIX (http://www.registermatrix.com/domain.php). In a similar roundabout way you have to report the fraudulent activity of the domain to them because they are the one’s hosting the site. But, you have to fill out a form that is very similar to (privacyprotect.org), which does not allow you to provide JPEG picture files, which will automatically result in rejection because textual information from the emails is not sufficient evidence. The bigger problem with reporting the fraudulent activity to this site is that they say they will NOT contact you about the status of whether the information was acceptable or not and whether they believe that the site is acting in a fraudulent manner. I reported it to them several weeks ago and it seems that there was no action taken, consider this in contrast to privacyprotect.org’s acceptance by releasing the contact information. To be realistic, if they eliminated this client, they would lose a paying customer (who pays with your funds) and to convince REGISTERMATRIX of the severity of the problem, it may require that more people will have to report it to them. Then, they will realize that keeping one client is not wise if quite a few of FTS community members know of their illegal activity.

Fourth, “Jay Chow” provides (domains@mediaelite.biz) as his email address in the contact information, this address is shared with an “Alex Do” on another site like:

http://www.who.is/whois/wwwsportitalia.com/

Lastly, I hope this will help the community. It takes a community to attack the root of the problem. Other activities, such as reporting the fraudulent ads on Craiglist, are equally important, but if you have the involvement to report or further investigate the root of the problem in ways I have overlooked and did not realize you can lessen the frequency of those CL ads! I will try to keep up with this post and answer more relevant question for the next week or two. Let’s get involved!

Also, your personal situation does NOT need to be outlined in replies to this post. The most important thing to do is to continue adding relevant information to your ic3.gov complaint using the password sent to your email address. If you are involved but do not have a complaint to add to, you can help by facilitating information that can help others when reporting their complaints.

Thanks FTS community members, you and your site are impressive!

Scam reported at FightTheScams.com

eBay VPP Domain Owner request

The email reply came from gordonmiller21@msn.com. As usual it promises a perfect car, a failed previous sale, a frustrated buyer, free shipping to anywhere and ebay VPP. It is a scam.

Here is the email reply:

Hi there, thanks for e-mailing me and sorry for the delay. The car is still available and it’s in excellent shape inside-out, no accidents, always garage kept, never smoked in. It has 68,442 miles and no mechanical problems, dings, dents or scratches. There are no liens or loans on the car and it has a clean title. I’m selling the car below the market price because it’s the only asset I have that can be turned fast into cash to pay off the mortgage as soon as possible.

My husband is a DAS shipping company employee and he can deliver the car at no costs everywhere in the US. This is the second time when I try to sell my car…First time I tried eBay because I only use 100% safe methods and I’ve sent the car through the eBay Vehicle Purchase Protection Program to a buyer from Alaska. I paid the insurance costs and when eBay requested the payment he refused to pay. Why?…because he agreed to purchase the car in the first place, but typically didn’t had the necessary amount to do so….The sale will be managed by eBay Vehicle Purchase Protection Program for our own protection as they act as a neutral third part.

I am a member of the eBay Buyer Protection Program and using this service you will get a 15 days testing period after delivery. The transaction will be made only through eBay. They will be the third party that will hold the money until you will receive and inspect the car. If the car meets your expectations and you want to keep it you will have to tell them to release the payment details to me so I can get paid. Reply me with your full name and shipping address so eBay can contact you regarding the payment and shipping process.
For more pictures, click or copy paste in to your browser the link: http://usera.imagecave.com/gordonmiller2121/
Final Price $1,600.00 (shipping included)

All the best to you and your family,
Gordon Miller

Scam reported at FightTheScams.com

Bogus 1999 Lexus LS400 for $1600 on craigslist

Hi,

First, a few words about this KUBOTA BX22 4WD:
- the tractor is in perfect working condition, garage kept, with nothing mechanically wrong – like new!
- has only 500 hrs, commercial grade & strong 22 hp 3 cylinder kubota diesel 4×4 hydrostatic drive;
I bought this tractor just the way it is. The backhoe has always been attached to it. It does have the quick attach/detach system. LA 210 loader and BT600 Kubota backhoe. ROPS, grille, seat belt. 48″ bucket with lifting capacity of 750lbs. 71.3″ lift height. BT600 Kubota backhoe with 12″ bucket & teeth & 6′ digging depth. Mid & rear PTO. It was used for landscaping and planting trees.
If you decide to buy it, you’ll receive all the papers, owner manual, keys and a buy-sell contract already signed by me.
I have a low price ( $ 2,970 including delivery to your home address ) because I want to sell the tractor very quickly. My husband died 4 months ago and I along with my daughter decided to sell the house and we moved to my sister in Texas. Due to the fact I am very busy at work and don’t stay too much at home I can’t conclude this transaction personally. But I left everything prepared for the sale. The transaction will be made trough Google Checkout buyer protection. This way you can receive assistance for the purchase and delivery.
If you are really interested in purchasing the tractor please contact me asap.

Kind Regards,
Susan Bates

P.S.: If you’d like to view some additional pictures here is a link:

http://imgur.com/a/Ygrtu

Scam reported at FightTheScams.com

Kubota Tractor Craigslist scam

(click on thumbnail for the full-size image)

Here is the e-mail response I received:

Hi, First of all I want to thank you for your interest for my Lawn
Mower (2008 John Deere 757 ZTrak Lawn Mower ). I sell it at this price
($ 2,300 ) because i just finished the divorce with my husband. It has
only 134 hours!!!The Lawn Mower is paid off.I bought it new and has
only been adult ridden and garage kept. This Lawn Mower runs as good as
a new one and has no dings, dents, or scratches. in this moment has low
hours 134 hours .12 mph ground speed, climbs hills and turns on a
dime.  Kawasaki 25-horsepower V-Twin engine, tires are like brand new,
no dents, no damage, used very little on blue grass lawn.  This is a
Commercial Grade zero-turn lawn mower preferred by professionals and
farmers. The divorce has finished 6 months ago and the Lawn Mower is
mine now. After the divorce I was forced to buy a new house. Following
the financial crisis I can’t afford to pay the bank and I decided to
sell the Lawn Mower. It has only been adult ridden and garage kept. As
you can see by the pictures it is in excellent condition. The Lawn
Mower is located in Bismarck North Dakota, if you want to buy it. I’m
very busy with my job and I’m out of town so I can’t meet in person
with you so this is the reason why I chose to sell my Lawn Mower over
the Internet.Regarding the payment I request only secure pay, I prefer
the payment to be done using eBay services (I will receive the payment
only after you receive and inspect the Lawn Mower and only if you agree
to buy it). We will use a safe payment method because I am affiliated
at eBay and I have a purchase protection account.The vehicle was listed for sale
in an auction on eBay but I have removed the add because of some
‘serious’ buyers . They promissed they will buy the vehicle from me but
they proved not to have the money to pay for it .The list price is
$2,300. I will pay for shipping and handling(the loan of my previous
buyer didn’t get approved and he paid the shipping costs) so there
won’t be any additional shipping costs). If you are interested in
buying it please provide me your full name and address for shipping so
I can initiate the deal through eBay. I will wait your answer (if you
are interested to buy) very soon.

Newton Teana Lorias

I started to search for “craigslist ebay buyer protection divorce” to see if it was a scam because putting ebay in there seemed fishy. My suspicions were correct and there are several other similar incidents.

Scam reported at FightTheScams.com

Craigslist Scam: John Deere 757 ZTrak Lawn Mower

Hello,
My name is Maria Duvall,I’m emailing you regarding the 2002 Honda ACCORD EX that I have for sale. The car is in perfect condition, with no need for additional repairs, no scratches, dings, special marks whatsoever, never been involved in any accidents. The interior looks great (smoke-free). It has 105,500 miles, automatic transmission , 4 Cyl ,white exterior and tan interior . It has a clear title with no loans or liens on it. I’m selling the car because my 21′s years old son died 2 months ago in a car accident. A drunk driver hit him and his fiancee. He was with his fiancee’s car coming to our home at his little brother birthday. It was his car and it brings me bad memories and that’s the reason I want to sell it as soon as possible. The price that I’m asking is $2,100.00
 
Here are the pictures with the car : http://s1135.photobucket.com/albums/m638/2002HondaACCORDEX_PICS/
 
Just let me know if you are still interested and where are you located .
Thank you,
Maria

Scam reported at FightTheScams.com

2002 Honda ACCORD EX – craigslist

While searching for a vehicle on Craigs List I came across this nearly too good to be true listing for an immaculate Expedition.  I found it listed on several different cities listings.  When I emailed to inquire about the vehicle this was the response I got.

Hello, 
 The car it’s still available, has 18,583 miles, automatic transmission. It’s in perfect condition, no engine problems (8 Cylinder Gasoline), no accidents/liens/loans. Exterior no scratches, never been repainted, interior no rips/tears/stains, never smoked inside. I have all the car’s manuals, 2 spare of keys, clean title, documents. This Ford Expedition was my son’s car, he loved it very much, but he didn’t enjoy it…He died in a bike accident 9 months ago and now…I don’t need it anymore. It brings very bad memories to me and I want to get rid of it….The price is $3,800.00.
 Me and my husband travel a lot with our business and we want to make this deal through eBay’s Vehicle Purchase Protection Program. I just need your full name, full shipping address, along with your home/cell # so I can open a case (with no further obligation or fees). eBay will contact you with all the Transaction/shipping details you will need.
We hope to hear soon from you.

For more pictures copy or click the following link:
http://s1188.photobucket.com/albums/z412/2000-Ford-Expedition-Eddie-Bauer-Edtion/

May God Bless you Every Day,
Jessica & Martin Brown

P.S: Here’s the VIN # 1FMPU18L1YLA06242 so you can run a CARFAX Report just to make sure you know exactly what you’re buying!!!

After that sappy response I emailed :

Jessica,

I got back on the internet and looked at the pictures on the link from your email.  I actually had your add printed out.  I seen it was listed on both the Kansas City and Des Moines Craigs List links.  Where exactally is the Expedition located or where could I meet you to look at it?  We are willing to drive to you to view it.  I don’t understand the ebay Protection thing, so I would like to speak to you via phone.

  I appreciate your serious intentions in making the deal on the spot, however we decided to post the car on several cities so we can sell it faster. I also choose to use the services of eBay Purchase Protection Program (Buyer Protection Plan) as they provide the most reliable assistance in which regards the on-line sales.
  Let me tell you that my car is located in Morrow, Georgia right now at DAS( Dependable Auto Shippers ) and eBay Purchase Protection offers you a 10 days inspection period and also an Agent will assist you during this period (time of 10 days) with all that you need. The shipping will be made by DAS-Auto Shippers in a sealed container with their 3 days door-to-door Program. Also you will have to decide if you want to keep the car only after your 10 days inspection period. I will have to pay for the shipping prior to get my car shipped and also if you decide that you don’t want to keep my car I will have to make arrangements so I can get my car back. There are no hidden fees or something like that. You will receive the car with the clean title already signed on your name, bill of sale, two spare of keys, & all the paper work.

So let me know if you would like to register you as my client and start the process asap! If so, I will need your full name, full shipping address along with your home/cell # so we can get the ball rolling. After I will register you as my client, they will contact you by e-mail and also by phone with all the information that you need!
 
Very respectfully,
Jessica & Martin Brown

  Let me explain you now how this eBay Purchase Protection Program works. First I have to open a case with your name and your address. After that, they will contact you with an Invoice and also by phone( The Agent who handle our Transaction will assist you during this period ).  You will have to pay for the car price directly to them, not to me and they will keep the funds until you decide if you want to keep the car or not ( the 10 day inspection period ).
  I will have to make a reservation at DAS and pay prior to have the car shipped. In 2 to 4 working days the car will arrive at your home address with the original title, bill of sale, plates, paper work, etc. After you test it, check it by a mechanic, you will have to announce them that you want to keep the car or not! If YES you will have just to register the car on your name…if NO I will have to pay for the shipping again and get my car back! There are no hidden fees or something like that!
Let me know.

Thanks a lot!
Jessica & Martin Brown

Scam reported at FightTheScams.com

Craigs List 2000 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer Edition: Jessica is up to something!!!!

eBay sent this message to Chad Wolfe. Your registered name is included to show this message originated from eBay.

eBay member Hellen Croom, as the Seller, initiated a new transaction through eBay Buyer Protection program and registered you Chad Wolfe, verified all the details of this transaction and we concluded that they are accurate and the transaction is approved. Please follow our instructions to complete the transaction safely. Your vehicle purchase is protected for up to $50,000.00 or the vehicle purchase price, whichever is lower.

Complete the transaction in 5 easy steps: Buyer and Seller agree on the transaction terms and a selling price. Seller contacts eBay Customer Support with the transaction details; eBay Customer Support accepts the transaction and offers purchase protection to the Buyer (if the transaction is declined, no further action is required from neither Buyer or Seller); The Buyer receives an invoice and sends the payment to eBay Customer Support. After the payment is verified by eBay Customer Support, the Seller will initiate the shipping. The Buyer receives the vehicle and has five (5) business days to inspect it. If it is as described and as agreed, the Buyer should accept the vehicle. If he refuses it, the Buyer must ship the vehicle back to the Seller expense; After the inspection period is over (5 business days), the Buyer must contact eBay Customer Support with the result of the inspection. If the Buyer accepts the vehicle, the payment will be sent to the Seller within three (3) business days.

What does eBay Buyer Protection cover?

Buy with confidence through eBay Protection Program! This program protects your vehicle purchase against fraud and material misrepresentation. This program is provided by eBay for FREE on all eligible vehicle transactions completed through eBay. There’s no sign-up, opt-in, or registration necessary.
The following types of fraud and material misrepresentation are covered:
		Paying for a vehicle and never receiving it;
		Sending a deposit for a vehicle and never receiving the vehicle;
		Paying for and receiving a vehicle:
			That was a stolen vehicle at the time of the transaction;
			With an undisclosed or unknown lien against its title;
			Of a make and/or model that is different than what was described in the seller’s listing;
			Without receiving the title for that vehicle from the seller, if it is impossible for you to obtain a title from the appropriate Department of Motor Vehicles;
			Whose title is subject to an undisclosed salvage, rebuilt, reconstructed, scrapped/destroyed, junk, lemon, manufacturer buyback, or water damage title brand at the time of the sale;
			With a model year that is different than the model year described in the seller’s listing;
			With an odometer reading that is different than the odometer reading described in the seller’s listing.
Your vehicle purchase is protected for up to $50,000.00 or the vehicle purchase price, whichever is lower. The program covers Cars, Trucks, Motorcycles, ATVs, Go-Karts, Scooters, Mopeds, Personal Watercraft, Snowmobiles, Boats, Buses, Commercial Trucks, Farm & Garden, Race Cars, RVs and Campers, Trailers. Help How can I contact Customer Support? We want your eBay experience to be great, and that means making sure you get the help you need as quickly as possible. Contact Customer Support If you’re looking for more help or have a question to ask, please Contact us. To get help or contact customer support: Click Contact us and enter your question or tell us about your issue. Be as specific and concise as possible. We’ll save records of all of our communications with you to prevent duplicate responses, and to keep track of your questions in case you need to refer to them later. Thank you, eBay Customer Support Vehicle Purchase Protection Program

Scam reported at FightTheScams.com

Craig’s List Hellen Croom 2003 Cadillac Scam