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JudyandJim · 11-10-2006, 05:59 PM

We have our motorhome listed online for sale (haven't listed here yet, but will). A few days ago I received an email asking for info. I responded. The next day I got an offer for our asking price, saying they would send me a cashier's check for $24k down payment. They said when the check had cleared, they would send their agent to inspect the MH and make arrangements for us to receive another cashier's check for the balance due.

Well, this sounded a bit too easy, and my red flags went up. My first instinct was to check out iRV2, but I was busy and didn't. And, just in case it was for real, we emailed that we would accept the offer, and included a detailed timeline and terms for the sale. That was three days ago and we haven't heard from them since.
Guess they didn't like my terms!

Today, I did a google search and found the identical email scam... word for word what was in our first and 2nd emails, and from the same email address.

Then, I found more similar ones on this forum, so now I know what they would have tried to pull had they actually sent the check to us. We would have received a check for a larger amount and been asked to give the extra money to the agent to pay his expenses, shipping, etc. Pretty slick. Seems it takes a while for these forged cashier's checks to bounce, and people have lost money this way.

The person who sent our emails was jasonrice64@yahoo.com. BEWARE, he is still out there. I found posts about emails from this guy going back to 2004.

Guess I better stop spending the money!!

Judy

JudyandJim · 11-10-2006, 05:59 PM

We have our motorhome listed online for sale (haven't listed here yet, but will). A few days ago I received an email asking for info. I responded. The next day I got an offer for our asking price, saying they would send me a cashier's check for $24k down payment. They said when the check had cleared, they would send their agent to inspect the MH and make arrangements for us to receive another cashier's check for the balance due.

Well, this sounded a bit too easy, and my red flags went up. My first instinct was to check out iRV2, but I was busy and didn't. And, just in case it was for real, we emailed that we would accept the offer, and included a detailed timeline and terms for the sale. That was three days ago and we haven't heard from them since.
Guess they didn't like my terms!

Today, I did a google search and found the identical email scam... word for word what was in our first and 2nd emails, and from the same email address.

Then, I found more similar ones on this forum, so now I know what they would have tried to pull had they actually sent the check to us. We would have received a check for a larger amount and been asked to give the extra money to the agent to pay his expenses, shipping, etc. Pretty slick. Seems it takes a while for these forged cashier's checks to bounce, and people have lost money this way.

The person who sent our emails was jasonrice64@yahoo.com. BEWARE, he is still out there. I found posts about emails from this guy going back to 2004.

Guess I better stop spending the money!!

Judy

Hitchhiker · 11-11-2006, 01:49 AM

I wonder if a report to local law enforcement authorities would result in any efforts expended to apprehend these thieves?

JudyandJim · 11-11-2006, 07:07 AM

This type of scam originated around 2001 as the Nigerian Scam. They would send a check larger than the motorcycle (or similar type of purchase), saying they were only allowed to send one check out of the country at a time. They would ask the seller to send the extra amount to the "agent" to pay for shipping it to Africa... the money went out of the country.

Now there are lots of "copy cat" scammers out there doing similar things, like the one I refer to in my post. This guy, with the same jasonrice65@yahoo.com has been doing this for several years with the same email account and no one has caught him yet.

Law enforcement has known about these guys for years and can't do much about them.

My first clue that this might not be a scam was the fact that he said the final payment would be either cash or wire transfer. Who pays $80k in cash???? Plus, he wouldn't give me a phone number and did not call me on the toll-free number I provided. And, as soon as I emailed my terms of sale, which required a direct wire transfer from his bank to mine, he stopped emailing me. When I hadn't heard from him in two days, I knew it had been a scam... then did a simple google on his email address (which I should have done when he first made the offer)... and found links to all sorts of info about these scammers.

Buyer be AWARE.... and Seller be DOUBLE AWARE.

I wish I hadn't sent the terms email... it would have been interesting to see what kind of story he came up with for sending more money and getting me to send some back to him.

One of the reasons they get away with the fake cashier's checks is that the FDIC requires banks to fund them in 3 to 5 days... it can take much longer than that for them to figure out that the check was a forgery. Meantime, the scammer is long gone with the money and/or product.

Hitchhiker · 11-11-2006, 07:18 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Law enforcement has known about these guys for years and can't do much about them. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

You'd think they could set up some sort of sting and nab the perpetrator when they show up to take possession.

ThunderRock · 11-11-2006, 08:02 AM

Good thing you just "nibbled" at the bait instead of a "big bite". Good luck in the future.

Roam America · 11-11-2006, 08:39 AM

i had a motorcycle listed on a M/C classified web page. I must have received a dozen emails offering to send me a certified check and they would send a broker to pick up the bike. I deleted them all. A friend responded to one of those, when he was selling his bike. He got the check the same day the "broker" showed up to pick up the bike. When he went to the bank with the certified check it was bogus. Whomever probably made it up on his computer. He called the police and they told him they could take the report, but the bike was probably already out of the country.

A slight variation from what you experienced.

JB Texas · 11-11-2006, 11:53 AM

This a website of a person who has made a career out of "Scamming" the scammers. Pretty interesting reading...

Look Here

JudyandJim · 11-11-2006, 04:55 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">
You'd think they could set up some sort of sting and nab the perpetrator when they show up to take possession.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

They don't usually show up to take possession. They send you a downpayment cashier's check for, say, $5k more than the agreed downpayment. Then they ask you to Western Union the difference to their "agent" who is going to do the inspection, ship the vehicle, etc..... Once you send the money, no one shows up, and then a week or so later you find out the cashier's check was a forgery. So you have paid them the $5k and they are long gone... pretty tough for the police to catch them...

ChristineMarie · 11-12-2006, 04:20 AM

There's many variations, but often the 'broker' may not be in the know. He/she is given the instructions as if the 'buyer' is going to follow through, frequently via phone. The actual perpetrator is outside the state and even country, and trying to coordinate prosecution, even if you could catch them is a fiscal nightmare.. no one wants to fund it. The other problem is, the 'buyer' is frequently in a country where they won't or can't pursue an investigation, or do not work with international extradition agreements. An investigator I work with would love to be able to reach out and lock them up, but can't. The Internet is an awesome thing, but obviously the caution exercised is necessary.

Kazoo Tom · 11-12-2006, 06:52 AM

Thanks for the scampage link, very entertaining reading. Now in addition to the check, the seller should also ask for a $50 bill to be included in the envelope as evidence of "good faith".

JerryofWV · 11-18-2006, 04:28 PM

When I receive an offer like this I play their game. I have two "Cashier's Checks" as a souvenier. One is for $10,000 and I forget the amount of the other. I figure at least it costs them postage to send me the check.

JudyandJim · 12-01-2006, 01:01 PM

I haven't responded to this guy in several weeks, but the check arrived.... it was for $24,000, which was the proposed down payment amount. They had emailed me that it was coming from a Kyle Paxman in Seattle, WA, but the check was drawn on the Northeast Bank in Auburn, ME, and it was mailed with postmark and stamps from Aneho, Republic of Togolaise, a small country in Africa. Plus, the signatures on the cashier's check were African names.

How stupid do they think we are???

Guess I will frame it and put it over my desk to remind me of all the snakes out there in Web Land.

We also decided that we would miss our Sunflyer too much, so are putting off selling for at least another year.

Hitchhiker · 12-01-2006, 01:04 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">How stupid do they think we are??? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

They must think we're as dumb as they are.