Internet Scams with Simon's Trucks or R. Simon

[UFO Pilot]

It isn't just high dollar items. I have an electric mobile scooter lift for sale on craigslist and I have had 4 offers to buy that were obvious scammers. One guy wanted me to ship it no matter that the shipping costs would exceed the value of the item new. I responded to one of the obvious ones that I had left a zero off the price and the real price was 10 times more, he said that he still wanted it!

[bmacrc46]

I am fairly certain these scammers are running programs that respond to Craiglist listings. They ask "Still Available?" or "I am interested in your item".

If you respond you get a standard response like the one below or something similar.

Hello,

Sorry for the late response. Please I don't have time to come have a
look cause of my Job transfer, I'll take care of that by engaging the
services of a mover but I'll be sending a certified check to cover
the cost and it'll be delivered via United Parcel Service(FEDEX), so
I'll need you to provide me with the following information below to
facilitate the mailing of the check, be aware that FEDEX does not
deliver to P.O box addresses..

1.Your full name
2.Your mailing address be it residential or office
3.Your cellphone number.
4.Final Price

I'll have my mover come over for the pick up as soon as you have
cashed the check. I'll appreciate it if you take down the ad from CL
so as to be rest assured that I'm in hold of the item, I hope to read
from you shortly.

Best Regard

[UFO Pilot]

That is almost word for word 2 of the emails I received for my item.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by bmacrc46

I am fairly certain these scammers are running programs that respond to Craiglist listings. They ask "Still Available?" or "I am interested in your item".

If you respond you get a standard response like the one below or something similar.

Hello,

Sorry for the late response. Please I don't have time to come have a
look cause of my Job transfer, I'll take care of that by engaging the
services of a mover but I'll be sending a certified check to cover
the cost and it'll be delivered via United Parcel Service(FEDEX), so
I'll need you to provide me with the following information below to
facilitate the mailing of the check, be aware that FEDEX does not
deliver to P.O box addresses..

1.Your full name
2.Your mailing address be it residential or office
3.Your cellphone number.
4.Final Price

I'll have my mover come over for the pick up as soon as you have
cashed the check. I'll appreciate it if you take down the ad from CL
so as to be rest assured that I'm in hold of the item, I hope to read
from you shortly.

Best Regard

Tell them to send the check, it'll cost them $25 or more. Then just destroy it.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by radar4simons

OMG.....I keep reading all these posts about Internet scams that members of the forum already know about and thinking did I crawl under a rock or bury my head in the sand because, before I got scammed, I never heard of any of these RV scams. Of course I've heard of the Nigerian thing (which was hilarious by the way)....but the fake RV pics and ads and Amazon....my husband and I found another coach on RV Trader, a 2004 Newmar Essex for 74,000 in Connecticut, gorgeous coach....yeah, right....what's that saying, if it's too good to be true??? Learned that one the hard way!!!

I've been working with computers since about 1968 so have some experience and an AA degree as well as contract experience at Freightliner, the US Forest Service, Blue Cross and US Bank. Plus the equiv of a Masters in transportation engineering.
Still marvel at the ingenuity of some of the scammers out there!!

[radar4simons]

With the help of Ken326 and Ray,IN, I have been able to shut down two of the scammers fraud accts with the help of my detective in my hometown who has been so supportive and they actually got surveillance footage of one of the guys that opened the acct !!! Please keep sending me potential fraud ads because I have been going undercover as a potential buyer, getting the acct info and then call my local detective and having the bank acct frozen. We were actually successful in closing an acct this morning that still had money in it which means some people will be getting their money back in time for X-mas!! So if any of you RVers suspect a scam ad, let me know and I will go undercover to negotiate with them. If they can hide behind their computer....so can I !!! Thanks for all the heart-felt and helpful comments on this site.

[Mickey Mouse]

Imagine if the Scammers put the same effort into something legitimate! So Sad

[radar4simons]

I found this link on the Internet tonight. This fraud ring was busted a year ago. I think their relatives probably took over their scam and changed it to Amazon. I thought complaining to the FBI is what I needed to do, but I think we should be complaining to Uncle Sam (IRS) and ICE!!!

6 indicted in $4 million Internet scam involving bogus online vehicles sales

[georgetown350]

Most likely no one who is reading this thread will fall victim to these scams but that still leaves millions of people who are still willing to deposit there money into pay pal or anyone else's bank account. What a shame.

[tderonne]

Scams are everywhere. There's at least three bogus ads in the irv2 classifieds right now!

"I can arrange delivery to any location." Sure you can.

[georgetown350]

I am satisfied with your price and would like to send you a deposit. It will take me 3 days to drive out there to pick up the item. My car broke down I will not be able to make it out so I will send you the payment in full plus 2 thousand for shipping. After you deposit my fake certified cheque into your account please wire the 2 thousand to my shipping company. I feel that I can trust you bla bla bla.

[radar4simons]

Unfortunately that's not how they're doing it now. They place ads in which you respond as having an interest and then they present an option of using a 3rd party company to hold the funds until you inspect the vehicle. There is no sob sorry about a divorced widow or being in the military. You think you are negotiating for a legitimate rig and unless you know about the taboo on wiring funds, which a lot of non-Internet savvy people don't know about, you're a sitting duck. So the way I was scammed had nothing to do with a sob story. We found a rig on RV Trader that we liked, I figured RV Trader did some type of investigation to ensure the rigs had title, weren't stolen, etc., Much like an MLS listing on real estate... and I learned the hard way that they don't. As a matter of fact, three weeks later we saw the same rig we got scammed on back on RV Trader...talking about salt in a wound!!!

[georgetown350]

Unfortunately that's not how they're doing it now

Don't be fooled into thinking that the criminals stick to one method. The sob story method is still out there in full force along with all the new methods but what they all have in common is their attempt to separate us from our money without meeting in person. Never send a deposit when buying an RV.

[rgreen45]

Originally Posted by Romeo

These SCAMS must be running rampant right now. Here's one I checked into:
[/B]

An excellent bit of work Romeo. Thank you for the post.