Craigslist classified for used car: Cheque fraud scam

Here is the craigslist ad I responded to asking for more pics, records, etc

http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/ctd/1535078769.html

Does this have a clean title (Carfax)?
When can I look at it/test drive it?
How many miles?

I get this response
********************************************************************

Hello and sorry for the delay,

I'm Sgt Pool Johnson.The 2007 Toyota Camry LE is in a perfect working condition. My experienced tech has fully checked out the car and gives it a special high rating has a CLEAR and CLEAN TITLE, a great history and mechanically without any problems ever, safety check and pre-delivery inspection along with a fresh servicing before I ship or deliver the car.
It has 9,747 miles and the VIN# is 4T1BE46K57U621002
I have the pictures of the car hosted at the following address:

http://s679.photobucket.com/albums/vv154/camry07arg/

As I know that my current situation is pretty special I want the deal closed only through eBay's Buyer Protection Program in order for you to be 100% protected. You will make the payment to eBay and they will hold the money until you receive the car. ONLY AFTER you receive the car and you inspect it(for 10 days) eBay will release the payment to me; in this way we are both protected. Anyway i am sure that if you will don`t be satisfied about the car i will surely find another buyer in your area and there will be no need for you to ship the car back.

I am located in London,United Kingdom and I was sent here to improve the military relationships between USA and United Kingdom. One months ago, my wife moved here with me and brought the car with her, but now we have to sell it back in the United States because we can't register it here; it has US specs and everything, and registering it here in Europe will take for ever. My final price on it is US 2,970 $. If you will take it for this price, I am willing to handle the shipping. It will be shipped from here by plane with US Air Military Cargo so it will not cost me anything. You will get it to the nearest airport in your area and then it will be trucked forward to your place. You will receive the car in about 3 days. Please get back to me asap if you decide to buy, and include in your e-mail your full name and address where you want it shipped so I can start the deal with eBay. You will receive all the transaction payment and shipping details from them.
Best Regards,
Pool and Lisa Johnson

********************************************************************************************

Here is the latest email I got from this schmuck asking for money. I have also reported this email to : spoof@ebay.com

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: eBay Financial Department
Date: Mon, Jan 4, 2010 at 5:02 AM
Subject: eBay Motors VPP Invoice # 71057015 - 2007 Toyota Camry LE 4 Cyl
To: xxxxxxxl.com

eBay sent this message to Mohan Simha ( msimha@gmail.com )

This e-mail message was sent to you from eBay , with the full support of the eBay Payment Security Inc.

Complete your eBay transaction in 5 easy steps:

1. Buyer and seller agree on the transaction terms and a selling price. Seller contacts eBay with the transaction details;

2. eBay 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);

3. The buyer sends payment to eBay Safe Harbor. After the payment is made , the buyer must notify eBay sending the payment details ONLY to our SafeHarbour Team. The seller has three business days to provide eBay and the buyer with the transport tracking number. If no tracking number is provided, a full refund is immediately sent to the buyer.

4. Buyer receives the merchandise and has 10 (ten) days to inspect it. If it is as expected and as what agreed over, the buyer should accept the merchandise. If he refuses the merchandise by any valid reason, the buyer must ship the merchandise back to the seller at the seller's expense within three business days.

5. Upon the inspection period, buyer must contact eBay with the result of the inspection. If buyer refuses the merchandise, a full refund will be sent to the buyer after the tracking number for the returning shipment is verified.
It is recommended to send the payment as soon as possible, because your purchase protection plan is valid for 30 days only. Sending the payment by any other method of payment will void this transaction and your right to a refund.

Payment instructions:

Click here to locate the agents in your area .

1. Make the payment using CASH ONLY (ONLINE CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS ARE NOT ACCEPTED) at your nearest Western Union location, to our eBay Agent, using the information given in section eBay Customer Representative Agent, assigned for your transaction ( Item: 2007 Toyota Camry LE ) as follows:

First Name: Felipe
Last Name: Contreras
Street Address: 48 Wimpole Street
City: London
State & Zip Code: London, W1G 8SF
Country: United Kingdom

2. Once the payment was sent, E-MAIL US (by replying to this e-mail) the following information:

a) 10 digit MTCN Number (Western Union Money Transfer Control Number);
b) Exact Sender's name on file with Western Union;
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Purchase protection and refund:

Currently, this seller has a 10,000.00usd deposit in an eBay managed purchase protection account. Transactions with this eBay seller are covered by purchase protection against fraud and description errors. For your safety, this account was locked today, for 30 days time period. 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 account is managed by eBay's SafeHarbor Team .
This transaction is supervised by eBay's Security Center.
CONDITIONS TO BE MET BEFORE YOU MAY ASK FOR A REFUND

Here are the situations suitable for a refund request:

1) If the item doesn't arrive and/or the seller stops communications after the payment was received;
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4. Should you need to dispute this transaction, keep the transaction number at hand when contacting eBay. Any complaints must be filed within 30 days from the verification date.

Item: 2007 Toyota Camry LE VIN:4T1BE46K57U621002 9,747 Miles

Payment Information - Buy with Confidence

Sale Price $ 2,970.00 US
Sales Tax $ 0,00 US

Shipping Fee $ 0,00 US
Down Payment $ 2,970.00 US
Total Price $ 2,970.00 US
Delivery Information:

First Name:
Last Name:
Street Address:
City:
State & Zip Code:
Country: United States
eBay Customer Representative Agent assigned for your transaction:

First Name: Felipe
Last Name: Contreras
Street Address: 48 Wimpole Street
City: London
State & Zip Code: 48 Wimpole Street
Country: United Kingdom
Seller Information:

First Name: Pool
Last Name: Johnson
Street Address: 23 Featherstone Street
City: London
State & Zip Code: London EC1Y 8SL
Country: United Kingdom
Other Related Information:

eBay SafeHarbor takes several steps to protect both the Buyer and Seller against fraud:

1. all payments by the Buyer are verified as "good funds" before the Seller is instructed to ship,
2. all shipments are tracked to ensure the Seller shipped and the Buyer received the merchandise,
3. if the merchandise is fraudulent, it gives the Buyer the chance to return the merchandise before payment is released to the Seller.

Once we receive the fax from you that will include the payment details as explained above , we will instruct the Seller to start the shipping process. We will secure your payment until you send us your confirmation that you are satisfied with the product you received. As soon as we receive your confirmation we will release the payment details to the seller.

Our Customer Support Department will verify the transfer and if the payment is available we will notify the seller to proceed with shipping the merchandise.

Safe Trading Tips - Buy with Confidence

eBay will not ask you for sensitive personal information (such as your password, credit card, bank account numbers, Social Security numbers, etc.) in an email. For more tips, go to learn more or look for the Safety Shield.

Safe Trading Tips - Buy with Confidence

From: laryandu@aol.com
Subject: 94 honda prelude!
To:
Date: Monday, January 4, 2010, 9:58 AM

Sounds good,
I am still willing to purchase the item,Because it is need urgently and i had seen the picture which i think it pretty okay. Hope is still in excellent condition,do you have any other picture to view. Although I am currently away for my business trip and i will want International Auto dependable Shipping Company to handle the pickup once the check is clear.My form of payment would be via (E-CHECK).The electronic cashier check was drawn on bank of America. Immediately the check verify and clear in your bank i will contact International Dependable Shipping Company to come and pick it up from your place once you have your money for the item.To proceed further not to delaying the transaction you will probably need to purchase Blank Business Check Paper at Shopping Mall Or Office Depot nearest to your area.Once you have the Blank business Check paper with you. kindly email me your Name and Address With your email address so my client can proceed and send the check via your email with the following instruction on how to get the check printed out immediately,So you can have it deposit for instant cash. Additional $20 would be added to your asking price to cover the cost of paper you
purchase. Email me back to proceed further.

I've been looking for a car on Craigslist and every car that seems to be a great deal is a scam. Emails from sellers are always full of grammatical errors. It is obvious the 'seller' is from a foreign country. They put 's' on the end of words that shouldn't be plural. All of the replies I've gotten have some kind of shipping deal involved. Some say it's going through Ebay 'to be safe'...but the car is never in the state you are looking for a car in...!

Craigslist clearly states that all deals involving shipping are a scam. It's interesting (and sad) that there are so many crooks trying to pull off some way to screw you. They all appear to be from Osama Bin Laden.

Buyer beware. We are smart enough to stop this. Don't comply...don't get taken.

A letter from a guy who want to buy my item.
He first wanted to use a check, then asked if I had paypal. I gave him the
paypal link (button i made) and no reply,,,

From him:
Okay,
I am willing to purchase it as a present gift.Hope still in excellent condition,My form of payment would be via Paypal because the item would need to used for wedding ceremony.Email me back with your payment invoice Name and email address to proceed and send the payment.I am going to Add additional $50 to cover the shipping cost via Express Mail Service(EMS) of USPS to my friend place.await to hear from you

Thanks.

Hello All,
I just read an earlier post about Sgt Major Barbara Morris and I was righ in the middle of doing a transaction with this individual whenI googled the name and found this site. This Scam artist is currently at it again on Indiana CraigList ( sale-qz3cd-1572856591@craigslist.org) tryintg to scam people on a 2003 Winnebago Rialta QD -$4900.00
Fortunately I did NOT send any cashto hold the vehicle. It sucks this individual is using a military name when trying to scam people.