jaykkub

If this isn't the appropriate place, please delete this thread or move it. Sorry, I couldn't think of a better place to post about this to warn others.

There's someone claiming to be named Shane Moore (from Discovery's Deadliest Catch) who is selling a 1996 993 C4S for $32,000. The price itself should be a red flag, but I was lured in regardless. This tactic involves a third party company, Quay Shipping, who will "handle" all the steps necessary for the sale. Buyer will pay all shipping costs and if the prospective buyer backs out due to a mechnical issue with the car or otherwise, the buyer can receive their full refund back and will not be charged any type of shipping fees. Sounds too good to be true. As I started to dig into the car, the seller, and the shipping company, it became apparent that this is fraudulent sale that they were trying to lure me into. Here are the redflags that I encountered:

• CarFax came back clean, but showed that the car was shipped to the Netherlands
• CarFax shows that the car has over 50k miles on it, but the seller claimed it only has ~46k
• The seller is out of the country for the duration of the sale and it's all being handled by a third party shipping company known as Quay Shipping
• Quay Shipping cannot be found on Google Maps; I searched and it shows some barren looking warehouse, but doesn't look like it's for cars. If you try to search Quay Shipping via Google you'll get hits for another company based out of Australia. That is NOT the same company.
• The bill of sale and other materials from the shipping company didn't appear "professional". Honestly, when I saw it my first though was... I could've created that in Microsoft Word in like 15 minutes
• The car's price point is way under the car's actual market value (I can only wish it were available for 32k)

Unfortunately, it sounds like these people are doing it with a number of cars and people. I found this thread on Facebook ( ) that indicated it's fraud and that he's pulling this scam on multiple people. I've reported it to the FTC and I've ceased all communications with the seller and the supposed shipping company and the manager handling the sale (George Riva). I wanted to spread the word in case anyone else was in contact with this seller for this specific car or other cars they are pretending to sale. Hopefully no one was lured by the price point and made a grave mistake.

Here's a link to the car's ad when originally caught my attention:

• https://cars.trovit.com/listing/1996...w.1x1_T1glr1gV
• http://hotclassicdeals.com/details.p...trovit-premium

And here's the story that Shane sent over, which is the same story he's using on a lot of prospective buyers:

"I have attached more pictures to see the condition of the car. The car belongs to my father but he is too old to enjoy it. He is disabled in a medical center and I am forced to handle this sale. Because my time is very important and I'm dedicated to my career a third party company is the best choice for us. They will protect both of us in this transaction. Now the car is located in Pierre, SD crated and ready to go. I arranged for the sale right before I left the country so my presence won't be necessary. They are supervising the entire sale process from payment, shipping with a inspection period (7 days), title transfer service or/and (if needed) returns and refunding. As for the payment we can start a transaction through the shipping company where I'm already registered. You will have to register too on their web site, then you have to contact me to start the transaction. If you are serious about buying the car, I will ship it anywhere with no extra cost.

If you want to move forward please contact me back so we can get the ball rolling."

I'm hoping this will help save others from some serious heartache. Good luck and stay safe! And if anyone is aware of a great condition 993 C4S let me know The hunt continues!

Churchill

You mean to tell me a mint C4S in a rare, desirable color for $32K with free shipping is a scam? Well I'll be damned.

ginch

No **** thats a scam! This has been going on for years. Anytime the sellers not in the country and there is a third party facilitating the transaction its a scam!

e9stibi

The price said it all.

Magicscott

The ad reads like "way too sweet of a car and deal to be real"--SCAM! We appreciate the alert.

Chuck W.

I just sold a Porsche and got hit with multi scam attempts. The most prevalent one is where they will exchange several emails with you regarding the car. Then they'll ask if you have documentation showing the car is one owner and accident free. When you mention CarFax they will respond that they don't trust CarFax and ask you to buy another company's product. They'll send you a link to that company with the agreement that if it is also clean they'll come look at the car and reimburse you for it's cost. The web site looks real. In reality it is a scam where they are just getting you credit card information.

I got several of these. The last ones I replied with the following....., " I am having an issue here. I just went on the roadfax.com site you sent me and attempted to enter all of my information and credit card. But, all of a sudden I get a pop up IM window from someone claiming to be the FBI. They claim the site is a scam and asked me to assist them by entering credit card information they would supply me with. This is odd. I don't know if I should believe the IM information or are they trying to scam me. Or, are you?"

Oddly, after sending that reply I never heard from them again. I can only hope that it scared them.

fsa

Good info Chuck,
But, why not sent that crap file and exchange to the FBI or AG of LA County? Someone less savvy than you may get screwed.

TouringTeg

Those vehicle history reports scams are common in Canada as well.

After one email reply they say they will pay full price but they want a report from their preferred website. They are either steeling your CC info or they are just looking to profit from the report you purchase.

jaykkub

AOW162435

sp1965

Similar situation happened to me several months ago. Seller claimed to have exported the car to London, but couldn't afford the conversion cost. He was willing to ship the 1997 C4S to me and accept all the charges. Selling it for $11,000.00, with about 30k miles on it. I knew this was fake, but I was curious to see where it would lead. Claimed to be a dentist is London. Long story short they were associated with Russian organized crime. I provided all their information to the LAPD, which is aware of this issue. Many of these cars are stolen. But I don't know what law enforcement can do since they are out of the US.

Chuck W.

The problem is these crimes are very small in the big scheme of financial crimes. Seven years ago I know that LAPD would not investigate any financial crime that had less than a $25,000 loss. With that baseline you know that attempts aren't being investigated and I would bet that the minimum loss to investigate has gone up. There are so many internet crimes being committed, or attempted, law enforcement agencies are completely overwhelmed. And, as devastating as these crimes are to the victims, the limited police resources will always be directed towards investigating violent crime. Our best defense is knowledge.