Internet Car Sales Fraud??? Please Help

Have seen this before. Check is genuine but stolen. Do not pass go, etc.

it is not reported stolen, tomorrow I will talk with the originator of the check and see what they have to say, they are a legitimate company so we will see.

Re-list your car back up for sale because what you have entered into here has nothing to do with actually wanting to own your car and everything to do with trying to get you to accept fake funds and sending off real funds before you realize the incoming funds were fake.

IT'S A SCAM.

The scam is evident by the need for money to come from you. I have legitimately shipped 4 cars in the past couple of years. Every time, I as the buyer have to pay the shipper directly. That's how the industry works. The "old owner" (in this case you) does not pay the shipper.

Your bank people who you so trust are giving you horrible advice.

Follow this link to what the FBI says about Fraudulent Cashiers Checks.

Pretty predictable, next steps will be.
If you successfully send the $7,000 to the "shipper" the scammers will have earned $7,000 in real money from you.
At this point, if you have not yet figured it out, the scammers will tell you something has changed and they can no longer buy the truck. Overnight, you will gladly get a full refund for the shipping (fake check for $7,000) and you will be asked to send back the $30,000 or truck purchase price.

If you follow through with this you will have sent them a ton of real money and all they have ever done is send you fake checks.

Your bank people should be fired!

Did your checks arrive via FedEx or UPS and not via The US Mail?

This is done because transacting this through the US Mail adds the complexity of Federal Mail Fraud.

I don't see this ending well. Who the hell just hands over a 37k check without any real guarantee. Doesn't it strike you as convenient that a guy several states away also happens to have stuff in storage where you are? Given that you've probably got no idea what those goods are, if indeed by some miracle they actually exist, do you really want to be involved? It could be anything, stolen goods, drugs, a body in a freezer, absolutely anything.

Tread extremely carefully.

Please don't take my words as damning or condescending toward you. The scam works because good hearted people (you) don't think like evil hearted people (the scammer and maybe me...ha)

Don't feel bad for bringing it up here. Actually, be glad you trusted your instincts that something was afoul.

$7,000 is ridiculously high to ship something 2 states away. You could get an entire 3 bedroom house moved across country for less money. I have cars moved for 50 cents per mile; from FL to Ohio for around $500.

As you continue the bogus dialog with the "buyer" tell them you have found him a much better deal on shipping. You'll get that shipper lined up and hand the shipper the savings of the $7k.

I would be eager to hear his reasons for not wanting to save real money on real shipping.

Remember, he doesn't want anything shipped he just wants to turn a fake check into real dollars that you send back to him.

It's all classic Con Man. Remember that "con" stands for confidence. The buyer has earned your confidence (mostly through what trusted bankers have wrongly told you) and once you are confident enough you will act as he hopes/wants which is to send him real money.

it came US mail, I certainly don't take your words damning, I appreciate the time and effort you have put into helping me. Whenever I have a problem I put it on here. Tomorrow I will talk with the originators of the check, I want to find the weakest link, they are legitimate so they may not want anything to do with the FBI,,today I am writing up all the facts, I still have every text, email, envelope the check came in. My aim now is not to sell the truck, it is to catch these people since we are in the middle of the scam maybe we can. Stay Tuned

The Issuing bank may be more interested and willing to get involved since that may have legitimately already been defrauded by the writing of a bogus check that appears to have come from them.

Your own bank may be less interested in being helpful since they have not yet been truly defrauded. Your bank is still operating on the faith that nothing wrong has taken place and even if something wrong has happened your bank will be made whole by taking it from you not by taking it from the "buyer" so your bank feels protected.

Every bank has a fraud dept. Start there. If no help there, ask to speak with someone in the Compliance Dept. Banks freak out when you ask to speak with the Compliance Dept. This is the internal dept that has to report to the FDIC that the bank is doing the right things. You will be told that you can not speak to Compliance but they are real people with real phones on their desks. Certainly those phone must take in phone calls. Ask why they would not want to speak with and help a customer?

Also, it you have a large amount of funds in your current checking account, you may be wise to pull most all of those funds from your account before blowing the whistle on this fraud. In an attempt to protect themselves, your bank may very well freeze your account when you blow the whistle since your bank will be planning to get their restitution from your funds not the "buyers" funds. Leave in the $37k but take out anything that you had in there before this transpired.

Get out of this deal now. It is a scam.

This is a scam. That check will bounce! Do not send or give any money to the buyer or mover.

In international sales, most companies refuse cashiers checks, bank drafts, and other "Safe" funds, as all can be bogus. Only safe way to transfer money is via bank wire transfer.

Just use Pay Pal.

Yeah, we are just concentrated on catching these folks now.

In reply to cwh: Paypal is safe and secure, but with a 3.9% charge, that is over 1000.00.

In reply to Dr. Hess:

this. two weeks for a check to clear. Don't do anything until then. When I was running the online store, we got bit by this with paypal. because we didnt' wait for it to clear, we were out $500 in parts and shipping. buyer's account ended up being stolen and we were screwed.

Wait two full weeks before doing anything.

$7,000.00 for shipping was the tip off for me. Scam...... Lots of good advice already posted.

Keep your car, keep the money, say you never got the check. Scam them.
Seriously this is he scam John spelled out.

In just to watch...

Tell him the check bounced and ask for another.

Maybe say you have the $7k in cash for the shipper and see who shows up?

Following along......

spin_out wrote: Keep your car, keep the money, say you never got the check. Scam them. Seriously this is he scam John spelled out.

You can't say you didn't get a check that's already been deposited in your account...

What I want to know is how you give it back.

Updates please.

Tell him to wire you the money.

UPDATE: I emailed the originator (Closing & Title Company) of the Cashiers Check yesterday, they answered "someone has been using checks that "RESEMBLE" their escrow account checks. They don't claim this check or the money. So the money is still in my account, my banker says leave it alone, what does he know he said the check was good last week. Anyway I still have my truck and the money is still in my account.

OHSCrifle Dork said: What I want to know is how you give it back

That's what I want to know. Fun Facts FBI says since it is ongoing contact your local popo Local popo says what do you think we are going to do "a sting" not lol but close I can tell you this I may try and sell that truck again in 15 or 20 years. ****The return address on the envelope that the check came in was a abandoned Border Patrol Station on the CA/Mex boarder it came USPS with tracking. FBI has a form I can fill out and they will submit it to the proper popo then its up to them weather they investigate. The "Buyer" was suppose to contact me tomorrow do stay tuned.