How does this scam work?

This isn't Galaxie related, but could be. My brother in law is trying to sell his 67 Mustang on Craigslist and gotten this response from a potential buyer.

Sounds Good,
I will like to proceed with the transaction asap and my mode of payment will be via bank check drawn on my bank (Bank Of America) as there are too many scams online with bogus paypal payment and money orders,the car will be picked up from you by my shipper so you don't have to worry about shipment of the car also the check will be sent with the fund to cover cost of car and also shipment by my shipping company due to company policy the amount i placed with my company can only be written on a single check so that is why i want you to receive the check and send the excess fund to my shippers that will arrange the pickup when the check clears at your bank,once your bank verify and cash the check you will deduct your fund and send the excess fund to the shipping company so they will proceed with the pickup because i also have a truck to be picked up,i should have handled this myself but i am not available to do this now i am currently away for my company se minar that is why i want to do this to facilitate the transaction so proceed to delete the advert of this item if my mode of payment is accepted and get back to me asap with your full name,physical address and phone # to send the check to you.

Thanks


My brother in law asked my opinion because he is skeptical and I without hesitation said SCAM! He really wants to sell this car, so he asked how the scam would work because he is really hoping it's legit and wants to try and play it out. If it is a bank check and he clears it at the bank before he releases the car how would the scam play out?

Thanks Mike

I would say no way to this obvious scam. Get cash only in hand when selling a car or a verified chq/money order that the bank will cash and wait to have the funds in your account and cleared before you release the car. Have access to the cash in the account and deal with the bank directly to make sure you have cleared access to the cash amount. Do not accept any more money then what you are asking for the car.

Mr Nagumbo is a scammer of most famous intent.


That is one of the older scams out there. ANYONE that wants to buy your stuff should be able to speak English or know someone that does....

Scam scam scam...

The check won't clear. The buyer is hoping you will accept it and assuming the funds are good because it is a cashier's check (a bogus one at that) you will pay to ship the car and be out your car and the cost to ship it.

What else happens is the check may clear and you sell the car. However, the bank finds out a few days later that the check is a forgery and you are on the hook for the funds.

It is a 100% scam so DON'T DO IT!

Sounds like a scam but I to can not figure out how the seller would be left holding the bag as long as the car and car title remained in his position until the bank cleared his check?
However I would make sure that the address given was not the same as where the vehicle is stored?

Scott...

Sounds to me like they have you cash the check for them and give the excess to the truck guy and you will be owing that much when the check finally clears and it is found to be bad or fake. The only one that gets anything out of the deal is the "driver" of the truck. It sounds too fishy to me and i would avoid it like the plague.

Trust me, my instant response to B.I.L. was SCAM!! Text book wording in the email, but he wants to believe...........

Thanks Mike

The scam works because 1) you get tired of reading that crazy message and send out the car on a clearly bogus check and 2) the scammers send this scam to tens of thousand of sellers. Someone, out of a gigantic computerized list, might fall for it, and it costs the scammer little. All it takes is for one out of 10,000 emails to be a sucker, and the scammer has a victim.

Bottom line, would you or anyone you know try and buy a car like this? The answer is no, no way, no how. It's a scam, and it only works on the most vulnerable, least protected people on the net. Truly, it is perpetrated by the scum of the Earth--except one should not identify these low-lifes (and likely identity thieves) in association with our beautiful home planet.

I reackon the shipping company is the bogus one.
They send you the cheque, you pass on the extra to the shipping company, they clear your cheque, and you are left with a cheque that bounces better than a rubber ball.
At least you still have the car.
But you are out of pocket and done all the running around.

it's all bogus except for the money YOU send them with your stuff....