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

(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

Hi again,
Right now I’m on a military base, getting ready for Afghanistan. So I am not able to talk on the phone for now. The vehicle is already at the shipping company warehouse, ready to be shipped. The vehicle is enlisted in the eBay VPP program so this deal must go through them. In accordance with eBay Vehicle Purchase Program  terms, you have 3 days from the time you receive the vehicle to inspect it and decide whether you want to keep it or not. The vehicle will be shipped free of charge, along with all documents, clean title with my signature on it, owner’s manual and keys. It has never been involved in any accident, there’s no body damage or mechanical problems. Here is how it will work:
 
1. First of all, I will need your details: Full name, shipping address and phone #.
2. Once I receive the details from you, I will forward them to Ebay VPP for processing.
3. After they process your information, they will send you an invoice with all the details on how to make a refundable payment. Basically, you will have to issue a Western Union payment to a verified eBay VPP Agent and the payment will be secured with them. Only you will have access to the payment.
4. Ebay will contact me and I will ship the vehicle. After you receive it you will have 3 days to test and verify the vehicle. If you decide to buy it, I will receive the payment from Ebay. Otherwise, the vehicle will be shipped back free of charge on your side and you will be fully refunded. If you wish to make the transaction, please send me the necessary information so we can proceed.
I’ll wait your response.
 Thanks

Scam reported at FightTheScams.com

Fleetwood Camper

Hi,

The car has 100,500 miles,automatic trans.It’s in perfect condition,no electric/engine problems,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,title,documents.I’m selling this car because my son of 21 years old died 6 months ago, he was hit by a drunk driver that went thru a red light. Now this Passat brings me bad memories and I really can’t drive it anymore…hope you understand my pain in this moments.If you are really interested in buying the car please do take care of it as we and my son did because it’s a beautiful car and it would be ashamed not to…The last price is $1000.
Me and my husband travel a lot with our personal business and we want to make this deal through eBay’s Vehicle Purchase Protection Program.I just need your full name,full shipping address, 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 will take care of the shipping so don’t worry.
We hope to hear soon from you.

For more pictures here is a link to the car’s photo gallery:

http://photobucket.com/passat27

Thank you for your interest!
Albert & Gloria Smith”

What a beautiful story………I sent them my son’s address & phone number to allow him to handle the purchase of the vehicle, but they never contacted him………they sent me the invoice allegedly from eBay VPP and further instructions see below:
Hey,
Everything is taken care of, I forwarded your info to eBay and they should shortly contact you with all the transaction details.
After you will hear from them please email me back because I need to know for sure if this is a done deal!

Hoping to hear from you soon,
Albert & Gloria Smith”

email from ebay and the invoice…..as a .pdf file
“Dear XXXXX XXXXX ( I am omitting my son’s name)

We are pleased to inform you that the Transaction Case ID #VPP89896542991 between you and mr. Albert Smith has started. We have attached your payment invoice to this email (pdf format). Fallow the instructions on the invoice to complete the payment and confirmation in a safe and secure method. Please note that the payment must be confirmed by September 10 2010. If you have any questions or problems reading the invoice contact us to avoid any future delays or transaction canceled.

Thank you for using
eBay Vehicle Protection Program

Dear  XXXXX XXXXX,
Congratulations! You are approved to buy!
At request of Albert Smith, registered with Case ID #VPP89896542991 we record the transaction for item:
2002 VW Passat GLS 1.8
Transaction Case ID #VPP89896542991 – 2002 VW Passat GLS 1.8
This item was insured by eBay Motors Vehicle Purchase Protection. The buyer will be allowed to buy the item when the
payment by Western Union will be completed. Please continue with this deal as you both are fully insured against
fraud.
Payment must be submitted via WesternUnion transfer to following eBay Motors Agent. eBay will secure the payment until the Buyer
receives, inspects and accept the vehicle. Or, if it is the case, eBay will refund the full payment to the Buyer:
Locate the nearest WesternUnion Agent location in your area by clicking here.
Go at any WesternUnion office with cash and send the payment to our agent, using his name and address below.
After the payment is made send us the receipt from WesternUnion by FAX or send a scanned copy (e-Mail).
Transaction is 100% legit and all your funds are fully insured by our company after verification.
Fax us the payment receipt to the following fax number: +(1) 206-337-3939
Vehicle Information
*Item: 2002 VW Passat GLS 1.8
*Millage: 100,500
*Title: Clear
*VIN Number : WVWPD63B22P305478
*Transmission: Automatic
*Inspection: 10 Days Period
*Invoice#: #VPP89896542991
*Subtotal: $1000.00
*Invoice Tax : $35.00
*Carfax Report : $0.00
*Shipping Tax: $0.00
*Total Due: $1035.00
Delivery Information:
Vehicle Owner Details :
* Owner of Vehicle : Albert Smith
* Address: 401 N Church St 402
* City/ State/ Zip: Charlotte, North Carolina 28202
* Country : United States ( US )
Delivery Address :
* Buyer Name: XXXXX XXXXX
* Address: XXXX Denny Street Apt X
* City/ State/ Zip: Pittsburgh , Pa 15201
* Country : United States ( US )
* Shipping Company: DAS AUTO SHIPPERS
eBay Agent Payment Details:
* eBay Agent Name: Steve Thomason
* Address: 140 Caistor Park Road,
* City/ State/ Zip: Stratford, London, E15 3PR
* Country : United Kingdom ( UK )
Page 1 / 2
The eBay Vehicle Purchase Protection (VPP) program provides protection of up to $50,000 against certain losses associated with any type
of fraud like paying for a vehicle and never receive it, paying a refundable down payment and never receive it, paying for a vehicle and
receive it but not being as advertised, described and agreed.
The VPP program is FREE with no sign-up, opt-in, no registration necessary. The buyer is automatically enrolled in the program, on seller’s
request, at no charge. Complete your VPP Transaction in 5 easy, secure and safe steps
1. The buyer and the seller agree on the transaction terms and selling price. The seller contacts VPP with the transaction details;
2. VPP approves/declines the transaction*. If the transaction was successfully approved the buyer receives the transaction confirmation and
the Payment Invoice along with payment instructions (if the transaction is declined, no further action is required from either the buyer or
the seller);
Note: * MotorVPP verify all the transaction details about the seller, vehicle, ownership documents and the ability to sell the vehicle at the
advertised price before approves any transaction.
3. The buyer follows instructions and sends the payment** to the eBay VPP Agent designated for the transaction. After the payment is
cleared and verified by our eBay VPP Administrator on charge, it will be secured into a non-interest bearing trust account. Payment being
secured, the seller is notified to ship the vehicle*** to the buyer. The seller has three business days to contact the buyer and VPP with the
tracking number of the shipment. If no tracking number is provided, a full refund is immediately sent to the buyer.
Note: **The buyer should submit the payment in three business days from the date the Payment Invoice is received. If the buyer is unable
to proceed with payment as requested and agreed, he should notify the seller or VPP, and explain his reasons and mention an exact date
when payment will be submitted.
***The seller must ship the vehicle for inspection along with the certificate of title, signed bill of sale in the Buyer’s name, all keys and all
ownership documents. The vehicle must be delivered along with all documentation requested by the buyer in order to allow him to change
the registration in his name as soon as he will decide to accept it after the inspection period will be over.
4. As soon as the shipping procedure will start, the buyer should wait for the vehicle and documentation to be delivered. The buyer receives
the vehicle and has 10 days to inspect it. The inspection period will not begin until VPP has confirmed delivery of the vehicle by either
buyer’s or shipper’s notification;
5. After the inspection period is over, the buyer contacts VPP with the result of the vehicle’s inspection****. If the buyer refuses the vehicle,
a full refund is immediately sent to the buyer if the reason that determined him to not keep the vehicle is found in the “Situations where an
immediate refund will be sent to the buyer” section lower detailed. The seller will have the obligation to make all necessary arrangements in
order to take the vehicle from the buyer’s possession in three business days. If the vehicle and documentation are as advertised, described
and agreed, the buyer should accept it. If the buyer accepts the vehicle, the payment will be sent to the seller within three business days.
Note:****When the buyer accepts the vehicle or the inspection period expires (at which point, the buyer automatically accepts), the
disbursement of payment to the seller will begin.
The funds will not be released under any circumstances. We will hold the payment until you will send
us your confirmation that you have received, inspected and you agree to keep the motor vehicle. When
we will have your confirmation we will transfer the funds to the seller and close sales.
Note: DO NOT specify that you are paying for a vehicle at WesternUnion. You will be EXTRA charged.
Help
If you need answers to your questions, please fell free to reply to this email
or contact us using the Live Support button.
Vehicle Purchase Protection – Overview
Copyright © 1995-2010 MotorVPP Inc. All Rights Reserved. Designated trademarks and brands are the
property of their respective owners. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of the eBay MotorVPP.
Page 2 / 2

Scam reported at FightTheScams.com

2002 VW Passat

Scam reported at FightTheScams.com

cars.com scam via kateatkns28@msn.com

Scam reported at FightTheScams.com

2002 Toyota Tacoma $4200 – Marie Portela

Sorry for the late response, but I have just arrived in Madrid, Spain. I wanted to let you know that the X5 is still available
for $16,000+$300 shipping fees anywhere in Canada. It is in great condition
inside, outside and mechanically, no mechanical problems, clear title, 50,000kms on it. The car is in Vancouver at the shipping
company World Safe Shipping ( Click here to view their website World Safe Shipping).
Let me know if you have any questions. If you are still interested please come back so I can explain you how the deal work.

Thanks!
Amanda

…

The car has 50,00kms on it. Because I’ve moved in the US and I can’t close the deal face to face, I want to use eBay Motors VPP for this
deal, because you will have protection up to $50,000 trough eBay Motors Vehicle Purchase Protection so, we will be 100% secured in this deal.
I need your full name and your shipping address so I can initiate the transaction with eBay Motors. They will contact you with further details
regarding the payment and the shipping process. You will have to make the payment on the name of an eBay agent, they will confirm it and
the shipping will be started. You will have 14 days for inspection from the moment the car arrives before you confirm or you can cancel the deal and eBay will give you the money back. The car will be returned free of charge. It is not a sight
unseen deal. On the other hand I can ship the car knowing that you are a serious buyer and you won’t disappear with it. We are both covered.
Sorry for the long emails I have tried to explain the entire process.

Amanda

Scam reported at FightTheScams.com

Scam via s324d2@googlemail.com

Scam reported at FightTheScams.com

Scam via marciamaher262@gmail.com

Something came up and I had to leave urgently on a business trip. I wanted
to let you know that the truck is still available. I had a buyer offering
$2,800 but his loan did not get approved.

I am selling the truck for only $2,500. This Toyota Tacoma looks like new.
The truck is in great condition inside, outside and mechanically. It will
come with a clear title, bill of sale signed by me as well and all the
papers (including the original manuals and keys) that you will need to
register it under your name. I am selling the truck due to some financial
changes in my life, thing that has caused me a great loss of funds and the
quick selling of this truck (which I honestly rarely using it now) would get
me a quick budget necessary for my personal problems and I need to pay in
less then two weeks some debts.

So I’m willing to let it go for $2,500.00 and since I only have one, first
come, first served.

Although I am not home, we can still close this deal through ebay. I have
purchase a protection program with them (Condition Guarantee by Seller
Program), so ebay will guarantee up to $50,000 for any vehicle I sell.
Shipping is already paid, as I explained, my buyer didn’t get the loan after
I have made the arrangements to ship the truck. The trucking company would
not refund me but can ship the truck to anywhere within continental US, so
I’ve left it at their warehouse and it’s ready to ship at anytime. Also,
this purchase protection guarantees that the truck is exactly as I
described; basically, once delivered, you’ll have 5 days to inspect it at
your home and if you decide not to keep it you will get refunded in no time
and they will charge me with the return costs.

If you agree with these terms, please email me your shipping name and
address so I can start this process through eBay. It is not necessary to be
a registered user with eBay to benefit from their vehicle purchase
protection program.

I await your email with the requested details.

Thanks,
John Essenpreis

…

Dear Terry,

The shipping has already been paid. I will have the truck sent to you for inspection after you will make the deposit with eBay. Right now the truck is at DAS (trucking company) warehouse kept in a sealed container ready for delivery and since I am not at home right now a test drive is not possible or a view. However I told you I do offer an inspection period prior buying the truck if we close the deal trough eBay motors vehicle purchase protection program. Let me explain you how the eBay process works.

The process works something like this:

1. You send the requested amount to an eBay motors bank account.

2. EBay will confirm me that you have made the payment.

3. I will ship the truck so you can Inspect, test and make a decision if you will keep it or not.

4. If you will not get exactly the same truck that you have viewed in the ad, and also a clean title you will receive all your money back from eBay motors.

5. If everything is ok eBay motors will get the approval from you to release the funds to me.

If you agree with this process please let me know and I will forward your details to eBay motors to set up our transaction.

Thank you for your time.

Scam reported at FightTheScams.com

Scam via johne1014@gmail.com

…

As I told you I’m currently in a business trip and I will be back in May this year. Because this is a charity sale a company must be used to make the transaction so I chose to use eBay.This way, you will be able to inspect the vehicle before any money reach me and on the other hand I am sure I have a serious buyer.

Here is how the process works:

- you give me your shipping address so I start the transaction on eBay Motors and then to use it for shipping
- they review and accept our transaction and provide you with the payment instructions,
- you make the payment to eBay Motors VPP,
- they give me the confirmation that they received your payment to them and I start the shipping,
- you receive the vehicle and inspect it,
- you tell them that you want to keep the vehicle and only then they send the money to me.

All car’s documents are in the glovebox and you’ll receive them along with the car. This includes the title, all service records, original manuals and a bill of sale. The title and the bill of sale are signed by me, all you have to do is to put your name on them and the agreed amount on the bill of sale. You will need the full service records so you can transfer the remaining warranty under your name.
eBay Motors will hold the money until the car is delivered to you. You will have 5 business days for inspection. If the car is not like described you will have to ship it back at the end of the 5 business days on my expense and have your money back from eBay Motors VPP. But I am sure this will not be the case and you will love it.

In order to move forward I will need your full name and shipping address.

eBay will get in touch with you with further details and instructions.
Looking forward to hear from you!

Scam reported at FightTheScams.com

Scam via nicole.benneth@googlemail.com