Bluff Park, Alabama Forum - Jefferson Watch: Fraud car sales

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Jefferson Watch: Fraud car sales
07/26/10 at 11:50am

This Months Jefferson Watch from Mike Hale
Sheriff of Jefferson County

Subject: Fraudulent Internet Car Sales

A recent report taken by our Deputies is an example of “Theft by Deception” and is a story you need to hear. The internet is a great tool to do some things, but buying a car only from an email contact can turn into a real nightmare.
The victim of this scam told us they wanted to buy an older Chevy that was advertised in an Auto Trader magazine. They phoned and emailed the contact and the game started as the offender pretended to be a representative of the company. The assumed rep from the Trader magazine sent pictures of the car and negotiated a really good price with the victim.

The web site he used was”The Recycler.com” and in the next email he requested a down payment of a $3,000 to be sent by Western Union. The offender requested the funds be sent to the accounting department and gave a phony name as the point of contact. After the funds were sent they emailed the victim a fake transaction number and advised they would handle shipping the car in a couple of weeks. What this did was buy the offenders time to cover there trail. Once the victim sent them the money that’s the last contact with any of the players involved. All efforts to contact the fraudsters failed as this is their game and they won.

Understand that funds sent by Western Union can be picked up any where in the world regardless of where you think you sent them. The above criminal case is just a wakeup call to some that think everybody that sends you an email is on the up and up. Use caution and verify before dong business over the net.

“Keeping Neighborhoods and Communities Safe”

Mike Hale
Sheriff of Jefferson County

email: sheriff@jeffcosheriff.org
web-site: www.jeffcosheriff.net

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