Soldier Auto Escrow Scam

Last night I got an email from a student ...

My brother is wanting to buy a car that is in the UK. The seller is claiming she will get free shipping from military affiliation. She wants to conduct the deal through eBay's buyer protection program. She's selling a fairly nice car for 1700 dollars. No money changes hands until the car is in my brother's possession and he has approved of the car (10 days to approve). What do you think?

Sounds pretty good, with the little caveat that the seller doesn't own the car, but he DOES own the escrow service where you are expected to put your money! THIS IS A SCAM, usually tied back to Romania.

A recent headline in Boston was Romanian Mobster Arrested in Lexington May Be Tied To Car Scam (April 4, 2012, CBS Boston). In that story, Catalin Buzea of Romania was opening bank accounts with a fake passport when he was arrested. He was said to be "duping people nationwide who are buying cars online ... a well trained thief working with counterparts in Romania ... they successfully direct online car buyers to bogus yet very real looking online payment systems." Buzea wired more than $100,000 back to Romania in three weeks, all the result of online auto scams.

It is rather amazing that Buzea and his crew are still in operation after last year's news. In July 2011, US and Romanian police arrested more than 100 people who had stolen more than $100 million from online scams similar to this. Romanian police arrested 90 people after doing 117 raids in 9 cities. In the US, "money mules" (called "arrows" by the Romanians) would retrieve money from US bank accounts using fake identities, such as Buzea did. In the July 2011 action the case was developed by arresting "arrows" in Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Texas, who were all used to provide clues to the Romanian police. The DOJ Press Release listed many criminals involved in these schemes including Vadim Gherghelejiu, Anatolie Bisericanu, Jairo Osorno, Jason Eibinder, Ciprian Jdera, Pedro Pulido, Ivan Boris Barkovic, Beand Dorsainville, Sergiu Petrov, Oleg Virlan, Marian Cristea, Andrian Olarita, Adrian Culda, Tiberiu Zachiteanu, Marion Potcovaru, Augustin Prundurelu, Georgina Andrei, Sorin Mihai Madaian, Victor Angelescu, Klara Mirabela Rusu, and Eduard Sorin Neacsu. But based on this morning's report from the UAB student, a few more still need to go to jail.

This scam comes up often enough that I thought I might make a post about it here. The language used in the initial contact is "fill in the blank" so I hope that someone will read this and find themselves warned.

Here's a sample message.

Hello and sorry for my delay,

I'm SGT Paul Hayes. This Corolla LE is in perfect working condition. This vehicle engine runs very, very smooth. No electrical problems on this beauty. This detailed vehicle makes the exterior looks like it just came off the assembly line. The car has 35k miles. VIN Number: 2T1BR32E76C639533

CD Player Transmission: Automatic Air Conditioning Anti-Lock Brakes Driver Airbag Passenger Airbag Side Airbags Cruise Control Power Locks Power Windows Power Seats Click this link for more pics: http://s284.photobucket.com/albums/ll7/rr6toy/

As I know that my current situation is pretty special I want the deal closed only through eBay's Buyer Protection Program in order for you to be 100% protected. You will make the payment to eBay and they will hold the money until you receive the car. ONLY AFTER you receive the car and you inspect it(for 10 days) eBay will release the payment to me; in this way we are both protected. Anyway i am sure that if you won`t be satisfied about the car i will surely find another buyer in your area and there will be no need for you to ship the car back. I am located in London, UK and I was sent here with my department of peace maintenance. Two months ago, my wife moved here with me and brought the car with her, but now we have to sell it back in the United States because we can't register it here; it has US specs and everything, and registering it here in Europe will take for ever. My final price on it is 2,950 USD. If you will take it for this price, I am willing to handle the shipping. It will be shipped from here by plane with US Air Military Cargo so it will not cost me anything. You will get it to the nearest airport in your area and then it will be trucked forward to your place. You will receive the car in about 3 days. Please get back to me asap if you decide to buy, and include in your e-mail your full name and address where you want it shipped so I can start the deal with eBay. You will receive all the transaction payment and shipping details from them.

Best Regards,

Paul and Stephanie Hayes

That message is from November 2008, and is ALMOST identical to the message the student's brother received.

So what do you do about Soldier Auto Escrow Scams?

The best investigative team I know that works these issues is actually the eBay Motors security team. They have some great advice available on eBay Motors Security Center website. They recommend that you forward any suspicious emails you receive to "car@ebay.com" -- and they actually don't mind whether the email started at eBay, Craigslist, or anywhere else. If there is a scammer who is selling cars on the Internet, ESPECIALLY if it mentions an escrow service or eBay, please send a copy to "car@ebay.com"!!

If you actually lost money on one of these, please be sure to report it also to the FBI through the ic3.gov Internet Crime Complaint Center. The form makes it difficult to just share clues if you were not actually stolen from, but if you actually lost money, it would be well worth reporting there!

Related scams

Sometimes the best "proof" you can share with a skeptic-friend who is considering falling for the scam despite your warning is to show them ALMOST IDENTICAL emails from other victims. Here are a few to get you started:

In November 2009 - Fraudwatchers saw SGT John Edwards selling an Altima SL with VIN Number: 1N4BL11D65C376012.

June 15, 2012 - Jules was almost scammed buying a Honda Accord EX from SSgt Monica Dixon with VIN Number: 1HGCM56744A118864.

January 13, 2008 - Katy Lee was offered a Honda Accord EX by Sgt. Robert Parra with VIN Number: 1hgcg1655ya068349.

January 23, 2010 - FightTheScams posted about SGT Jacob Gulledge selling his Accord EXL with VIN Number: 1HGCM66825A031982

They don't have to be in London . . . Sgt. William Thompson is selling his car from Afghanistan using a very similar scam.

Hello,

I am emailing you regarding the 2003 Mazda 6 that I have for sale. The general condition of this car is excellent, very well maintained, no damages and no mechanical problems, the engine runs and sounds awesome, automatic transmission, 4 Cylinder 2.3 Liter, tan leather interior and white exterior with no cosmetic complaints really worth comment. The alloys are all presentable and originals the fronts having a few marks, all tyres in good condition with plenty life remaining. Clean carpets, seats, roof, boot and plastics. Both remote keys are present and they are working, no electrical issues. I do have the title, clear, under my name. The car has 90,136 miles, year 2003 and VIN#1YVFP80C635M26324. I’m not interested in any trades only to sell it!

Price was reduced to $1,995 (URGENT SALE) as I need to sell this car before June 25 when I will leave with my platoon back to Afghanistan and don’t want it get old in my backyard.

I though you might want to see more pics, click on this link:
http://s1148.photobucket.com/albums/o565/WhiteMazda/?albumview=slideshow

Hope to hear from you as soon as possible!

Thank you,
William Thompson

Lt. Steve Hoinski is selling his 2005 Audi A4 from Madrid Spain, but the description sure sounds like he's in London!

As I know that my current situation is pretty special I want the deal closed only through eBay's Buyer Protection Program in order for you to be 100% protected. You will make the payment to eBay and they will hold the money until you receive the car. ONLY AFTER you receive the car and inspect it (for 10 days) eBay will release the payment to me; in this way we are both protected. Anyway i am sure that if you won`t be satisfied with the car i will surely find another buyer in your area and there will be no need for you to ship the car back.

I am located in Madrid,Spain and I was sent here to improve the military relationships between our country and Spain. One month ago, my wife moved here with me and brought the car with her, but now we have to sell it back in the United States because In order to be able to register this car here, I would have to pay very high import/custom taxes. My final price on it is $ 2950. If you will take it for this price, I am willing to handle the shipping. It will be shipped from here by plane with US Air Military Cargo so it will not cost me anything. You will get it to the nearest airport in your area and then it will be trucked forward to your place. You will receive the car in about 4 days. Please get back to me asap if you decide to buy, and include in your e-mail your full name and address where you want it shipped so I can start the deal with eBay. You will receive all the transaction payment and shipping details from them.

Thank you and have a nice day,
Lt. Steve Hoinski

Looks Too Good To Be True

There's dozens and dozens of these, but some good advice can be had from the "LooksTooGoodToBeTrue.com" website that has a page that explains Escrow Fraud. Use the "Looks Too Good To Be True" test on your sale . . . There's a reason they are selling it at "looks too good to be true" prices:

"One month ago my wife moved here with me and brought the car with her but now we have to sell it back in the United States because we can’t register it here; it has US specs and everything and registering it here in Europe will take for ever."

They are going to ship you a car internationally in a very short period of time:

"You will get it to the nearest airport in your area and then it will be trucked forward to your place. You will receive the car in about 4 days." (In reality you would be lucky to get a car from KANSAS in four days!)

They claim the deal is with eBay, even though they aren't selling the vehicle on eBay:

"Please get back to me ASAP if you decide to buy and include in your e-mail your full name and address where you want it shipped so I can start the deal with eBay."

(eBay will only stand behind eBay deals where the whole transaction happens ON eBAY! Don't fall for these scam deals ... when someone tries to steer you OUTSIDE of eBay they are normally planning to rip you off.)

For American buyers, the only Escrow service that eBay supports is "Escrow.com". They have tips for how to do an escrow purchase on the website Using escrow services for eBay Motors vehicles purchases.