[alfa] Nigerian car scams

["Sandi" <sandi_ego@xxxxxxx>]

Hi all,

I am sending this as a warning to all fellow sports car enthusiasts to warn
them of a relatively new scam involving cars for sale on the Internet.

I have a '79 Spider for sale and placed ads on several web sites, including in
this newsletter, and put up a web site showing the car. Among several
inquiries, I got one by email from a person who said they were a car dealer in
the UK and that they had a client who wanted to buy my car.

I told them to view the car on my web site. They came back and said they
definitely wanted the car but that they would have to trust me in the
transaction because their client would pay by certified cashiers check in an
amount that exceeded the purchase price. The UK dealer said there was no other
way for the transaction to happen and that once I receive the check I should
send the excess funds to his shipper via Western Union transfer.

I was suspicious from the beginning but continued with it because the deal
could be for real. (I had sold a '54 Daimler drop-top coupe to a person in the
UK through a broker in Florida many years ago.)

The check finally came via FedEx from a UK address. The cashiers check was
drawn on a bank in Georgia for $8200.62 which was $5700.62 more than the
purchase price. But the check seemed suspicious. I found several
inconsistencies with it.

I took it to my bank. I told the teller of my suspicions and he found other
problems with the check (for one, it wouldn't scan). But I deposited it but
did not withdraw any funds. I then told the UK "dealer" the check had come and
that I had deposited it, and asked for the address where to send the excess
funds. He sent back an address in Nigeria.

The next day, I called the issuing bank and they confirmed the check was
counterfeit.

I am still playing along with the UK "dealer" just to see what he does and he
is still in contact because he still thinks he can get away with this scam.

Remember, NO CHECK is "money in the bank" until the issuing bank sends your
bank the money. This is true for cashiers checks as well.

In these scams, they don't want your car, they just want you to send them
money in exchange for a bogus check. Your car is just a pretext for the scam.
After they receive the money, you will not hear from them again.

So, I still have the car, I have not lost any money, and I am a little wiser
for the experience. However, what I did lose was time and several good
opportunities to sell my car.

Hey buddy, wanna buy a car? See website:
http://members.cox.net/sandi_ego/79alfa.shtml

(I have reposted this from AlfaBB where I also posted this notice to warn
others.)
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