Another Scammer

[NickP]

Mike Earl also responded to my WTB post for a LWB fender with a price way too good to be true. Nice of him to suppy the red flag alert that way. Scum bag; I detest thieves.

[sithot]

Speaking of scammers. Should you order anything from Amazon do not employ a 3rd Party Vendor. You have little to no recourse. We use the Amazon Prime service. As it were I ordered some items that qualified for Prime but wanted it a bit faster. The seller charged me "plenty" for the luxury of USPS (a well oiled machine) and the part showed up taking more time than the Prime shipment would have. Contacted Amazon and got the "Sorry Charlie" routine. "They are a 3rd Party Vendor and we have no control over them and their shipping policies."
3rd Party has refused to refund the charges for shipping.

[VintageExcellen]

Fraud Vehicles for Sale:

I want to warn people on here that there is a scam artist on the loose trying to sell Porsches that have been previously sold a while ago. Yes we have all seen this in the past but there is a guy currently operating scams with much more elaborate falsified information. I have seen a few scams from what I believe is the same person, all these false vehicles have the same details:

• Pictures of the car from previous cars sold - HERE IS THE BIG DIFFERENCE - he is changing the last digit of the VIN through photoshopping the COA, you therefore can not look up the previous ad and see that is is a scam, there is no Googling the car as it wont show up.
  
  He claims to own a dealership - they are always based in Florida, he will show you a website but it will be a bogus site. Please note that one of these scams there actually was a dealership located at the address furnished but this actual dealer had no affiliation with the fraud.
  
  He has false business licenses, dealer licenses, he will make any document you would like to see. Aparently in Florida you can get these licenses legally and never be in the state. The Florida Police will not help you, the Florida Attorney General will not help and they do not seem to care about this matter at all because they say there is no one nearby to arrest.
  
  HE IS USING A USA BANK ACCOUNT - this is what gets me, due to the Patriot act a holder of a bank account must prove who they are, the banks have allowed this guy to open up multiple bank accounts at multiple banks without proving who he really is. The banks should be at fault for allowing this to happen and should be held responsible.
  
  You can actually call this guy and speak with him, most scams prey on your emotion and greed so you never actually talk with a real person, this guy will talk with you and then yell at you when you do not send the money, he even threatened to sue one of my clients who did not send money when agreed.
  
  He is posing as a dealer that took the car in on trade and he plays dumb on the detail but will forward over most of the info you ask for. Try this, if it is a dealership then chances are someone has a iPhone, you can facetime and get a real time view of the person and the car - if it is a scam then they can not show you the car on live video
  

A friend of mine "bought" a 68 912 softwindow from this guy, sent him $29,000 and then got home to find someone else raving about being ripped off on the same car. My friend caused a big stink with all banks involved and the police (who were of no help here in California or Florida). The receiving bank was Wells Fargo in Florida (not Western Union or out of country account). The money is now locked up in a Escrow account and my friend is supposed to get it back - luckiest scam victim around.

Today I get this from a client who wants to buy a 67 911S that I already knew about. First picture below is of the actual VIN when I looked at the car a year and a half ago, second picture is of the COA that the scam artist made. Should anyone search VIN# 305688 or 305688S then please know that if it is a red 67S sunroof originally Aga Blue then the car advertised is a scam - the last know ad was on Craigslist in Maine. You can see from the images below that the COA has been modified.

Please be careful, my friend who sent the money for the targa is an astute buyer that has bought hundreds of cars, the scams are getting more elaborate.

Another scam is when they hack into your server, find recent invoices or bills of sale and then they contact your customer from your email account and ask them to change where you send payment. If it sounds fishy then investigate. If it is too good to be true then it is.

Here is this current scam artists website, although it could change to a multitude of various names:

http://www.steelwheelautosale.com/



Here is the payment infor he just sent over, now all of this will change from scam to scam, if you google the address there is a street view of a dealer with the same name, Check further than just a quick look:


Hello again,
As per our conversation here is the payment info :

Bank : US Bank
Account # 1993-7506-5513
Routing # 091000022
Account name AUTOS CONNECTION GROUP INC

We can get as low as a 5% refundable downpayment.

Fax # for payment receipt : 888-462-9913
--

Robert Lewinsky
Sales Manager - Steel Wheels Auto Sales

www.steelwheelautosale.com
sales@steelwheelautosale.com

[sithot]

My advice is to leave cars in FL alone. I won't sell into FL or buy out of FL. I've been involved in a couple of purchases years ago where I learned about the lack of integrity and dishonesty among the populous. When I see ANYTHING for sale there I just turn the page and move on. You can ONLY trust who you know and you are taking serious risks if you do not know your seller.

Here's a really sad story out of Florida:

http://rennlist.com/forums/vehicle-m...ica-3-8-a.html

The buyer took a beating on this. He may have been a little naive about things but there was no excuse for the sellers behavior. He took advantage of someone who, in his mind, was an easy "mark" due to geography.

Closer to home:

One of our "friends" sold a pristine "as good as it gets car" to a Floridian who specialized in shakedowns after he gets a car. Fortunately our friend has the wherewithal to step up to the plate and let the guy try his luck in court. The judge threw it out. BUT, it still cost our friend a chunk of money which is why this shyster tries it in the 1st place. He figures that a lot of people will fold up the tent and give in. It wasn't his 1st foray into shaking sellers down. Apparently that came out in discovery.

Florida is famous for a lot of great things but honesty and integrity may not be in the Top 10 and that's too bad. Heck, H & I may not be words we can use anywhere with the advent of on-line auctions and "lists" where ANYONE can sell.

I feel for the straight shooters there who are friends but it is what it is. It was and is the last stop-off and how Miami became Miami in the 70's and 80's.

[Veronica87911]

Tom is absolutely correct about Florida. I lived there for 18 years and that state is crooked as they come, from Governor Skeletor on down. You here stories every night on the news about fake doctors, lawyers, dentists, etc. Scam artists up the wazoo. I would NEVER EVER buy a car there unless it's from people I know.

My advice is to leave cars in FL alone. I won't sell into FL or buy out of FL. I've been involved in a couple of purchases years ago where I learned about the lack of integrity and dishonesty among the populous. When I see ANYTHING for sale there I just turn the page and move on. You can ONLY trust who you know and you are taking serious risks if you do not know your seller.

Here's a really sad story out of Florida:

http://rennlist.com/forums/vehicle-m...ica-3-8-a.html

The buyer took a beating on this. He may have been a little naive about things but there was no excuse for the sellers behavior. He took advantage of someone who, in his mind, was an easy "mark" due to geography.

Closer to home:

One of our "friends" sold a pristine "as good as it gets car" to a Floridian who specialized in shakedowns after he gets a car. Fortunately our friend has the wherewithal to step up to the plate and let the guy try his luck in court. The judge threw it out. BUT, it still cost our friend a chunk of money which is why this shyster tries it in the 1st place. He figures that a lot of people will fold up the tent and give in. It wasn't his 1st foray into shaking sellers down. Apparently that came out in discovery.

Florida is famous for a lot of great things but honesty and integrity may not be in the Top 10 and that's too bad. Heck, H & I may not be words we can use anywhere with the advent of on-line auctions and "lists" where ANYONE can sell.

I feel for the straight shooters there who are friends but it is what it is. It was and is the last stop-off and how Miami became Miami in the 70's and 80's.

[Veronica87911]

Possible new scammer?
I had posted looking for a windshield washer reservoir to pick up at Hershey and got this from a Gary Rauckman:
Greetings!!!
I'm please to inform you that i still have the item in very good mechanical and cosmetic condition, guaranteed to be fully operational.Send me an email if you might still be interested in the purchase.
Regards,
Gary.
My response was to ask him how much...Just received this
Hi Serge,
Thanks for the note. I'm asking for $200 for it including postage to you. What's your complete shipping info?
Regards,
Gary.

and responded
$200??? I don't think so! Plus I said Hershey... http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/..._pg2.htm#item4

His email is: garyrauckman8522@hotmail.com
Anyone here every get an email from him in response to a WTB?

[Veronica87911]

Just got this in response to my WTB for Fuchs:
Hi,

I can help with the required item(s). E-mail me on fosterautos@gmail.com and let me have a contact phone number to reach.

Cheers,

Ian Foster
United Kingdom

[Carparc]

Just got this in response to my WTB for Fuchs:
Hi,

I can help with the required item(s). E-mail me on fosterautos@gmail.com and let me have a contact phone number to reach.

Cheers,

Ian Foster
United Kingdom

Yes, Ian Foster is a scam too, he tried it with me on my wtb ad for wheels, he even included pictures:


Great ! I have a set of original early 4.5x15
fuchs wheels in excellent shape and condition, ready to mount on. I'm
asking £2,500 GBP and I will be shipping via UPS or FedEx on a 3 - 7
working days delivery and will accept payment via bank transfer only.
What's your complete shipping address?

Many thanks again and regards,

Ian

[71gold]

Also beware of another scammer he is Michael Durham and uses e-mail durhamm78@gmail.com.
Fortunately he only got me for $150 for some sunroof parts. The adress for the money gram was Florida
So not photos , no real adress and only money gram, sketchy info ...start away.
Frank

[71gold]

Anyone live near Tarpon Springs Florida ? They scammer Michael Durham when I stupidly sent $150 for sunroof parts ,
Had payment made to Pamela Koster with address of 411 Gulf Rd, Tarpon Springs Fl.
Hope some is close and can drive over and check out the scammers residence ....or his assistant.
Let us know
Thanks
Frank