Watch out - there's a scammer about!!
1991 300gdl was sold through Ebay a few weeks ago perfectly properly for £8k. Identical ad appeared again a couple of days ago with a different vendor 'scuthbertxxx@yahoo.com'. I asked a couple of questions yesterday and received a couple of emails from the vendor signed 'John Hayward' saying he'd take £4k for a quick sale. Very suspicious so I phoned the original vendor, a classic car dealer in Essex, who'd also seen the new ad and had already contacted his customer and confirmed the new ad was fake.
Ebay have now taken the fake ad down but it still comes up in some searches through other websites.
Presumably the scam would have involved taking a deposit - or even full payment from anyone daft/gullible enough.
I'm presuming there's no realistic way to trace the scammer back through the email he sent me but anyone on here in the Constabulary who knows different welcome to contact me.
"If it looks too good to be true it almost certainly is too good to be true!!"
Hi Chris
if you le me have your Email address I will send you the very authentic Ebay invoice I got and the address in Scotland that reveals some interesting details when you access it on the web..nearly as good as a few weeks ago a 1991 463 lwb 300ge that had the vin plate and regn plates for a 1982 460 280ge !!?? and it was sold for GBP 4800 to some unsuspecting soul in Manchester....some dodgy deals about like the LWB white one currently on at GBP 8500 ?? .when you enqure it is sold but there is an identical one coming in a few days time Champagne coloured no less and at the same price ...you could not make it up could you!!!!!
I saw a similar ad on ebay on 30/09/11, a '91 300gdl in a very pale blue colour, I assume it is the one you are refering to. It was advertised at £5k. Thinking it was too good to be true I enquired about it. Linda Burton was the name used by the seller, 'she' didn't use the phone for internet deals, wasn't available for viewings, but would gladly accept £5k from me and send me the vehicle at her cost. Funnily enough I declined the offer. I can only apologise for not warning the people who use this forum at the time, but I'm sure there isn't anyone that stupid on here anyway!
I saw both these adds.
When I saw the first I popped an email to the original seller to let him know.
I was in bed ill on thursday with nothing better to do than bait him.
I had a 20 email correspondance.
So many holes in his plot that it would be rather confusing as to how anyone would fall for this scam.
By utter coincidence (I hope) The address was just beside my mums in Dundee- I said I was in Belfast. He refused me to view or collect it but he was willing to deliver it to his next door neibour so I could collect from him!!!
apparently, these scammers get you to turn up with the cash at a moody location then take it from you. my advice is if you are going to buy anything of any value these days, take some big friends with you.
Lovely people aye.
Perhaps worth pointing out that the 'punch line' of this scam was a little more clever than taking your cash at a moody location. It appears that he(?) wanted one of us to make payment to a supposed Ebay bank account on a fake Ebay invoice before even seeing the vehicle. That's why the offer price was so cheap - to tempt someone to take a chance on buying it unseen but with the apparent Buyer Protection offered by Ebay.
Frankly might have worked with someone not too familiar with Ebay and I wonder if it has before??
And again...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1991-MERCEDES-G-WAGON-300-GDL-AUTO-G-CLASS-463...
Gary Brown this time!!
I think the pitures he uses are of two different cars. And taken at different times.
If you zoom in on the 6 pic. (the one taken from the front with stables either side, field at the back) you can see another G behind it, OK looks as if it has a brush guard on, but which is similar in colour to the ones taken in the sunlight. However it could be my eyesight.
and he has listed the colour as Gery and not the 'special' blue he mentions on his advert.
Spider1V
I think thats a 460 in background.
listing has been removed !
i wonder why.......?
It is worth bearing in mind that most of these scams are not actualy about trying to obtain money for a fictitious car but about obtaining personal information about you that can then be used to commit fraud.
If you reply to one of these scam adverts then you have supplied the scammer with your email address which may contain elements of your real name or business name. If you have subsequently entered into more lengthy exchange of emails you may well have disclosed other seemingly innocent pieces of information like your geographic location or the fact that you have a paypal account.
The scammer uses this information to then target you in a more focused manner.As an example, he may send you an email apparently from paypal asking you to click on a link and log into your account to update information. When you click on the link this will activate a tracking cookie which will relay your login details to the scammer. He can then access your account, lock you out and either empty the account or use it to commit fraud.
I only point this out because these people are not stupid and the real scam is not about conning you with a fake car sale (unless you are really thick) but
it is all about the harvesting of your personal data.
he's back again, with a new id/name
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1991-MERCEDES-WAGON-300-GDL-AUTO-G-CLASS-463-/...
removed - again! Wooo go e-bay!
Spider1V
if in doubt about an offer send it to spoof@ebay.com and they will sort it out as in this case they removed it ....
Hi all , guess what ! this pale blue wagen raised its head again and was on ebay last eve , knowning it was a scam i emailed her the seller who goes by the by the name of Melissa and it replied back saying would take £3350 but only able to purchase it through ebay due to their rules . Asked me to pay via ebay wouldnt allow me to view g wagen and would deliver it foc from Scotland . Then replied by emailing saying if not happy with condition would refund money , also unable to speak via phone as so called melissa (seller) doesnt own a phone ! , does anybody know who owns this g wagen because it must be the most talked about g wagen in the country ! .
Hi all , guess what ! this pale blue wagen raised its head again and was on ebay last eve , knowning it was a scam i emailed her the seller who goes by the by the name of Melissa and it replied back saying would take £3350 but only able to purchase it through ebay due to their rules . Asked me to pay via ebay wouldnt allow me to view g wagen and would deliver it foc from Scotland . Then replied by emailing saying if not happy with condition would refund money , also unable to speak via phone as so called melissa (seller) doesnt own a phone ! , does anybody know who owns this g wagen because it must be the most talked about g wagen in the country ! .
Hi all , guess what ! this pale blue wagen raised its head again and was on ebay last eve , knowning it was a scam i emailed her the seller who goes by the by the name of Melissa and it replied back saying would take £3350 but only able to purchase it through ebay due to their rules . Asked me to pay via ebay wouldnt allow me to view g wagen and would deliver it foc from Scotland . Then replied by emailing saying if not happy with condition would refund money , also unable to speak via phone as so called melissa (seller) doesnt own a phone ! , does anybody know who owns this g wagen because it must be the most talked about g wagen in the country ! .
I can't believe the cheek of this, it doesn't even make sense to do it with such a specialist vehicle.
I remember it happened with my 460, same photos, writing the lot.
End of the day, if they we're actually clever they wouldn't be spending time trying to scam eBay!
Tom
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