Yabo

matt. your case sounds like it could be not a case of fraud though. i know people that buy cars online, that they think is cheaper than what they could sell it for, so they buy it just to resell it. that would explain that. this story though, is a much different case.

rsrdan

I have a friend that works for the FBI in internet fraud,I will ask his advise!!

mbonner

Am I wrong or it is a legal obligation when you put a bid on anything on ebay?. Just a thought. Be careful though I understand you're madder than a hornet.
We are having lots of trouble in the fine gun end of things, some crook in Italy is hijacking photos and descriptions of guns advertised by high-end dealers and running the ads on GunsAmerica with very low prices, like $5,000 for a $20,000 English sxs shotgun. GunsAmerica pull the ads when we let them know what's going on. This crook has even listed fine shotguns from Aussie dealers as well as British and American ones.
Mike

Dave

Don't bother letting Ebay know about it, they'll just end the auction so they can say they took action and their reputation isn't hurt by this. Call the FBI asap, once the auction ends it may get harder to track this scumbag down and if he is out of the country it will take some extra time to work with authorities in that country. Note the grammar in the Email, English is probably not his primary language.

seb928s

Be the highest bidder and contact the FBI and let them know the story and that you are willing to work with them on this. A Western Union transaction is always a NO GO for me. After you will the person will want the money sooner or later they will give out information so you can "send" them a money order and have the Cops deliver it Looks small time fraud from this guy he's not even doing it right to really bite and hook.

MAS

I agree... don't call E-Bay. They'll just pull the auction. Call the police and have them direct you to the appropriate authorities. The guy is a con man and needs to be put out of business. The police (FBI, or whoever) may ask you to make it look like you are going (almost) through with the deal... so they can nail the guy properly and with the right evidence to send his *** to jail.

Good luck.

-MAS

Jeremy Himsel

The way this scam works is that he hijacks an e-bay account with good feedback (most of these accounts never buy or sell anything car related) and lists any car he can find. The reason for the odd payment instructions and pre-approved bidders list is so he can settle your questions without you going through e-bay. The low amount is so you bid quickly but there is usually a very low buy it now option.

Generally they'll ask you to wire transfer $999 to their account (which is overseas). This amount makes it very hard for the gov. to get involved when trying to recover money. It is a WU wire transfer so he can collect cash on the other end and walk away from it. If you notify e-bay, he'll just put it back up under another name in a day or so. I've been following a 03 ZO6 for about a month now.

josephsc

Well -- it looks like eBay pulled the auction. I'm going to just file the info and put in a complaint.

BTW, the e-mail he sent me originated at the following IP address: 217.58.122.106 -- so it looks like this scam orginiated in Italy.

Fishey

Good old Italy...

mikec944

ebay didn't pull the auction. I won it!!! You can go ahead and bring the car to me. Who would have thought, a 968 for $500. I can't wait to drive your...I mean, my new car.