Folks Of Interest Sophisticated Scammer - Trolls the Want Ads! Warning!

I posted this on the BARN - but I know of folks he's played the same/similar game with on this site:

Hey guys - be very careful if somebody calls you related to a 'Want Add' and has some sort of magical story about cleaning out his Dads/Moms estate or storage locker or something similar - and believes he has the very part you're looking for. He's not asking huge money - just something to make a few bucks, take if off his hands and keep him from just scrapping it and a bunch of other stuff.

There is a dude out in Nevada that is a very talented scam artist, can talk the talk, can weave a story and suck you in better than any movie ever known to man. He's the best (worst) I've seen at his game . . . everything just flows together like a well written novel - except it is all BS!

Same guy contacted a good friend of mine on the HAMB - similar story, cleaning out his Wife's Dad's place - had a rare headlight my buddy was looking for - thank God he didn't fall for the story.

Telling Signs:

a) Has a cell phone that is old and doesn't take pictures - so he can't send you any (and he's way out in the sticks - at Dad's place - bad reception). The phone number is from AZ - Phoenix area. (He has a story for that too!). The number he used for me was (602) 361-5364 . . . it at one point belonged to a guy named David or Geoff Gonzalez (but who knows now!).
b) Doesn't use the internet or have eMail.
c) Lives in some far away rural place - that you won't be able to find his address on (nor his name and family).
d) Is supposedly out in some other rural location cleaning up the family heirlooms (just there for the weekend - just flew in because escrow closed and he has to get Dad's stuff the heck out of there. Already took a bunch to the junk dealer - furniture went to the dump).
e) Dad bought a bunch of NOS stuff and he has to either take it to the dump (as he has to clean things out) or sell it for relatively cheap prices. Isn't looking to make a lot of money - just hoping somebody can use this stuff.
f) He has little time - is catching a plane back home that day and the only way to get money to him would be via a Western Union type deal

He has everything down to the detail, knows the shipping companies, has a story for where he'll deliver the parts for shipping, etc.. A very talented con artist to say the least.

And - he swears like a 'Mule Skinner' and has a mysterious wife (which he's always getting on/off the phone to talk too) . . . who is deaf!

You got it - an amazing story man and he can talk about vintage car parts, 32 - 36 stuff . . . he knows how to bait the hook for a nice tasty fish (that would be you!). He can talk all the lingo necessary to make you believe he is one of us - and doing you a favor . . . we all know where he needs to end up!

Beware Gang . . . he's a very crafty bastard.

B&S

 

Thanks for the heads-up. Hope it saves some folks from some real pain. I hate thieves!

 

This is a job to these creeps. Some people are very good at their jobs, extraordinary even. Sucks for the rest of us when their job happens to be to take our $$. Theivin' bastids...
Thanks for the tip-off.

 

Sounds pretty similar to the guy who contacted me way back when I was looking for a pair of Edelbrock Y block valve covers.

I told him to get lost.
I’m always amazed at the stuff people fall for.
How many red flags do they need waving at them

 

No photo, Western Union? No thanks......

 

If he doesn't use the internet, how would he know a person was looking for the part he has?

 

That's a good heads up. Thanks for sharing.

This is long, but I feel its worth the read to all of us as both buyers and sellers of parts here on the HAMB.

Don't think I'm trying to "one-up" you here, just adding this so others will also be aware. That dude that tried to scam you is not "Sophisticated" comparatively to other scammers that are out there trolling the want ads. That's pretty low tech phishing. Its basically, the: "Hey, I have the part, but I cannot provide pictures and any actual knowledge of the part in reply to your questions...send me money" scam attempt.

Ill give you my example that I almost fell for: I placed a Wanted Ad for a set of steel 19334-34 front fenders, and had a four or five different scammers respond to my email address I put in the ad.

One guy, (the most advanced) sent me a reply saying he had the parts, he picked a town about 4-5 hours drive from my location in my profile so I was more likely to follow through on the transaction than if it was on the other side of the country. He sent me pictures and a description of the fenders. He said I could send him either Cash, a Check, Money Order or Pay Pay Gift. So basically, he was hoping that I would send him money, and if it was recoverable (such as Pay Pal) well he wouldn't win, but if I sent it via cash or a check that clears, he probably would win...basically hedging his bets on volume of transactions, not the amount or viability of the transaction. This is the same theory of asking 100 people for one dollar, versus asking 1 person for 100 dollars; you may not get 100 dollars, but you have a greater chance of getting any money with the first sample. He also replied to each of my emails asking additional questions about the fenders, but you could tell that he didn't really know anything about the parts from his replies, even though the original email he sent me had good info about the parts.

The other "Red Flags" that made me question were that he couldn't send me additional pictures (I asked for a picture of the under-side). He also had some grammar errors in his email replies and his replies were written very different than his initial email he sent me saying he had the parts. So you could tell that English wasn't his first language, even though his original email provided a decent description. Once I thought about it, I clicked the properties of the picture files he sent and he didn't bother to re-save the pictures. So right there in the properties of the file was the date the pictures were taken (about 10 years old) and the link of the webpage he pulled them from. He was also asking the wrong price.

Turned out that he that he just googled and picked the 1st pictures that came up on Google Image Search. He had pulled the pictures and description from a Goodguys associated web page from the United Kingdom from their For Sale Ad page, so he was asking UK prices but in American Dollars, and from a price about 10 years old. He had pulled an old For Sale ad, copied and pasted their item description from that web page's For Sale Section, tried to update it is if he was the actual owner, but the verbiage didn't read quite right after he "fixed it". Thus, his initial email with the pictures and description looked legit, but his replies to my request for more pictures and additional info were drastically different. I sent him a link to actual For Sale ad that he pulled the info form and he never replied after that.

So, buyer be aware. Ask for additional pictures and additional information.

Sellers, Provide additional pictures and additional information when asked.

 

Affirmed!
You know why they do this?
Because they can, it's the only skill they have and they don't have real jobs so they have all day/night to dream up new scams.
Just last night on the news there was a segment about data breaches, they had a "reformed" carreer dirtbag turned expert advising on how to protect your personal data.
He emphatically stated "THIS IS NOT JUST A CRIME, IT IS AN INDUSTRY".
That was pretty telling, be careful out there.

 

I used to concern my self with such things but after an Iranian Prince willed me his entire estate life has been too good to complain. Beside the 45 million which I have yet to receive but did send his attorney the funds needed to clear customs so it should be any day now, he did leave me a shipping container full of rare speed equipment. Call me at (602) 361-5364 and I just may have the rare parts you are looking for. Oh, and I am a very sexy woman in my 20's looking for a mature man to spend my money on, to prove your interest send me a Walmart gift card for my birthday next week. I just love generosity, don't you? Kisses!

 

Anybody slinging sh*t , does not impress me enough to waste my time on the net or face to face.

 

I have posted several wanted ad's in the past and got the same kinds of scammers sending me a PM saying they have the exact thing I needed at a bargain price, I wasn't born yesterday and I don't let my enthusiasm
overcome common sense,

99% of the time the scammer joined just a few minutes before you received the message, all the other warnings apply, use email, I don't have a paypal account, send money order or Walmart gift card.

When I use the classifieds here I deal with active members, people I know exist, there may be exceptions but my gut is usually right. HRP