Help fast!

[Blaze3517]

ok i wanted to know if this is a real autotrader email because i think im getting scammed. also this is the website that is supposed to ship the car http://worldwide-bestshipping.com/. it looks ligit but im not sure, she even gave me a tracking number that works.




used cars for sale, sell your car, auto financing and insurance



Dear Buyer,


Silvie Maran has agreed to finalise the following deal with you:




1996 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX (VIN #4A3AI54F8E406152)

Your Price :


US $ 5000.00

Date :


Jun-13-05






Don't let this get away!






It's that easy to get your car!

Instructions: (please read carefully)

Complete your Autotrader.com transaction in 5 easy steps:

Buyer and Seller agree on the transaction terms and a selling price. Seller contacts Autotrader.com with the transaction details; Autotrader.com accepts the transaction and offers purchase protection to the buyer (if the transaction is declined, no further action is required from either the buyer or the seller);
The buyer sends payment and the seller receives it. After the payment is cleared, the seller must notify Autotrader.com. Buyer will send the payment details directly to the seller's email address. The seller has three business days to send the buyer and Autotrader.com the tracking number of the shipment. If no tracking number is provided, a full refund is immediately sent to the buyer;

Buyer receives the car and has 30 days to inspect it.
If it is complete and as described, the buyer should accept the car.
If he refuses the car, the buyer must ship the car back to the seller within three business days. After the inspection period is over, the buyer must contact Autotrader.com with the result of the inspection. If the buyer refuses the car, the refund will be sent to the buyer after the tracking number for the returned shipment is verified. To enjoy the purchase protection, you must send the payment by the insured payment method below. Attention: Sending the payment by any other method will void this transaction and your right to refund.
Details and instructions of this transaction:



Item insurance policy:


The following car is clear for Autotrader.com's insurance policy.


Seller's verified payment address:

Silvie Maran
Via Tiberina #29
00188, Roma
Italy

Buyer's shipping address:


Pine Valley, New York
14872, USA


Your Order:
1996 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX (VIN #4A3AI54F8E406152)
Amount Insured: US $5000.00



Payment must be sent by Western Union Money Transfer
Next step to be taken: The buyer must send the payment to the seller.


Payment instructions:



To submit the payment with Western Union Money Transfer you have the following option:
Pay for the transfer with cash at a local Western Union agent.
Click here to locate the agents in your area :
http://www.westernunion.com
Once the payment was sent, email the seller the following information:
1) 10 digit MTCN (Western Union Money Transfer Control Number);
2) Exact sender's name on file with Western Union;
3) Your street address on file with Western Union;
4) City and country where you sent the money from;
5) Amount sent;
Then wait for the confirmation the payment was received. Within 3 business days, you will receive the tracking number for your car.


Purchase protection and refund:
*****************************************
Currently, this seller has a US$ 5,000.00 deposit in an Autotrader.com managed purchase protection account (bank account). Transactions with this Autotrader.com seller are covered by purchase protection against fraud and description errors.
For your safety, this account was locked today, for 30 days time. The seller is unable to withdraw any money from it, within this period. Should you need a refund for this transaction, the insured amount will be taken from the seller's purchase protection account and sent to you. The refund is sent to your bank account, or by check or money order.
The way you are refunded is at your choice. You have 30 days from the above verification date to request a refund. Refund requests are processed within 3 days.
The insurer of this transaction is Autotrader.com Corporation.

***CONDITIONS TO BE MET BEFORE YOU MAY ASK FOR A REFUND
Here are the situations suitable for a refund request:
1) If the item(s) doesn't arrive and/or the seller stops communications after the payment was received;
2) If the car you receive has different specifications than the ones you agreed on;
3) If your car arrives in a much longer period than the one you agreed on (more than 15 days from the payment clearance day);
For cases 2) and 3) you have to send back the car to the seller prior to ask for your refund. If you did not pay the seller by the required payment method, your refund request would be declined.
Important Usage Guidelines:
******************************************
1. The contact information should only be used for resolving matters related to Autotrader.com. Any other use is strictly prohibited.
2. This transaction is protected by Autotrader.com services such as insurance, feedback and dispute resolution.
3. You may buy and sell with confidence in all transactions with this Autotrader.com member.
4. If you need to dispute this transaction, keep all the transaction info at hand when contacting Autotrader.com. Any complaints must be filed within 30 days from the verification date.
This e-mail message was sent to you from Autotrader.com.com Corporation.
The seller was informed about this transaction being started and is awaiting your payment. It is recommended to send the payment as soon as possible, because your purchase protection is valid for 30 days only.If you encounter any problems with this transaction, please contact us.
When contacting our support team, use the reply feature so that all previous correspondences are included in your email. Otherwise, we will not be able to process your request.
To ask for a refund, simply reply to this notification and enter in the subject line:
Refund request for Autotrader.com Transaction #F301XP00FD76XG0






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[96spyderman]

How did you recieve this email?
Um... the seller is in Roma, Italy? WTF?
Is this car in Italy?
$5000 for a 1996 GSX?
I wouldn't touch this with a ten foot pole...

[Blaze3517]

i emailed her via autotrader and the car is in SC, said she selling so cheap cuz she is have a baby and she is living with her old parents in italy.

[96spyderman]

That's a little different.. I guess if everything is started from your end and it is a ligitamate sale through autotrader it would be alright... there isn't any shipping charges?
$5000 for a 96 gsx seems like a pretty nice price... for you... I would think it would sell super quick if listed locally for her.. but I don't know....lol
I guess if it is all documented through westernunion and autotrader it would be alright... unless she skips town and moves to italy... lol
Good luck man....

[Blaze3517]

well thats why i put the email up because i wanted to know if it is a fake one.

[macder]

The 10th letter(digit) of the VIN# is the year the vehicle was manufactured. 1996 would have been "T" and on the VIN you posted it's "E". Every year the letter goes up 1 alphabetically, so if you want to do the math "E" is no where close to 1996. The rest of the VIN# check's out

[Whathits14]

I would stay away from the deal unless you can see the car locally and pay for it locally too.....I never trust oversea sellers, and most of the time its because its a scam!

[Jacksfork]

Though this is an old thread, I recently got hit with the same scam.

Of course, I knew from the beginning it was a Con Artist.
$2600 for a GT3000 with only 99K miles on it. LOL I played along.


Everything was identical in the email received except the car. The car I was looking at was a '94 Mitsubishi GT3000.

The name of the owner was different but the address was in Rome also.

"Seller's verified payment address:

Amber Harison
Via Ludovisi 15
00187 Rome
Italy "

The enclosed pics I got with the email were html links to ebayimg.com That was the convincing info that it was a total fake and I reported it to [email protected]. Of course, they only replied with a form email and their warning about such so I doubt much will be done even though this one used autotrader.com in their scam.

Here is a copy of what autotrader said to look for:

* If the email describes a deal that is too good to be true, it probably is.

* If an email that appears to come from AutoTrader.com solicits a payment or financial account information, it's a scam. We only ask for such info when you're placing an ad on our website.

* If an email refers to some program or service that is not clearly
described on our website, it's probably a spoof.

You'll be more likely to spot a spoof email if you know what we do and don't do on our website:

We don't get involved in transactions between buyers and sellers. We'll never send you email urging you to complete the sale or purchase of a vehicle listed on our site. We won't ask you for a deposit or for information about how you intend to pay for a vehicle.

autotrader.com


The same week, right before this one, I got another Con offering up a 94 BMW525i for a mere 3K. He mentioned escrow sale and offered to teach me all about it. He never answered any direct questions I had about anything. I simply replied, I would never turn over any money without first seeing the car and second without title in hand. Never heard back. :-)

SO, beware of anything that is just too good to be true, they'll take your hard earned money and run. Just use some good old common sense and don't let your emotions play a part. Though you may love the car before you ever see it, it ain't real until you are handed the title and the keys and it's right in front of your nose.

BTW, does anyone want to buy some good Ocean Front Porperty in New Orleans cheap? :-)~

* If the email describes a deal that is too good to be true, it probably is.

[Jacksfork]

Originally Posted by Blaze3517

i emailed her via autotrader and the car is in SC, said she selling so cheap cuz she is have a baby and she is living with her old parents in italy.

Mine said she just moved there with her hubby so that he can be closer to his aged parents and they needed the money to fix up the house they were in because she was expecting a baby. LOL

Originally Posted by 96spyderman

That's a little different.. I guess if everything is started from your end and it is a ligitamate sale through autotrader it would be alright... there isn't any shipping charges?
$5000 for a 96 gsx seems like a pretty nice price... for you... I would think it would sell super quick if listed locally for her.. but I don't know....lol
I guess if it is all documented through westernunion and autotrader it would be alright... unless she skips town and moves to italy... lol
Good luck man....

Nope, autotrader.com doesn't broker cars. Also, when Western Union gets your money transfer, no matter what documentation you have, your money is long gone. There is no getting it back.

[Jacksfork]

Originally Posted by macder

The 10th letter(digit) of the VIN# is the year the vehicle was manufactured. 1996 would have been "T" and on the VIN you posted it's "E". Every year the letter goes up 1 alphabetically, so if you want to do the math "E" is no where close to 1996. The rest of the VIN# check's out

They can "borrow" accurate information as well as post inaccurate information. They are starting to get real slick.

Escrow buying is the only way to broker a car long distance. Get a ligitimate Escrow service, though. Only the buyer should use escrow as what they do is take your money, hold it and wait for your approval to send it to the seller. If a seller is on the up and up, they will go along with this.

Goods in hand with acceptance before they get one red cent.

[Eclipse4ever]

Yeah I found a 1997 GSX for $3500 and after making all arrangements for shipping and payments the guy said the car was in Germany. Then he sents me pictures of a similar car but it was an auto so I told him he was shwoing me 2 different cars and he disapeared. Never heard from him again which i knew was a scam.