One of the worst weeks of my life! (long) NO DISNEY, NO CAR, I WAS SCAMMED!

[Longsx3]

OP I only read the first page so if you followed up I did not see it. I responded to ad on craigslist for a Minivan last week and it was the same scam. Fortunately I knew it was too good to be true plus we are Military...they pay for vehicle storage if you are deployed.
It was just a few days ago that I got the response from the scammer so if you can get law enforcement interested maybe they can use my correspondence to bait him.

Feel free to PM me.

 

[disneydreamersx4]

I'm so sorry that happened to you. I haven't read through all the replies but I hope you can get your money back. Thank you for warning others. Hold onto hope that one day you will get to Disney

 

[muffyn]

I have had one of the worst weeks in my life, it feels like the earth has opened up and swallowed me whole. I just need to vent to someone, because DH feels the need to swallow what has happened and go on like all is well, not letting any of our friends and family know. I need to tell someone before I explode, and I have come to think off all of you on here as my friends, so here goes.
So I went online, nothing on E-bay, so I tried Craig's List. That is my fatal mistake. We contacted the guy, via e-mail, and he contacted us back and told us that He was in the Navy, :

oh I am so sorry to hear all that...
my daughter has had problems from craigs list buying & selling being contacted by someone saying they are in the armed services yada yada yada.
too many similar emails at one time from different people that hit red flags,,, then off to do an internet search & we found many warnings on this.

now similar story. my daughter runs a horse boarding /training facility. client wanted a friesian desperately. found one being advertised in california. GREAT price <$5000+> ( uh, should have been flag #1). person would only answer emails ( should have been flag #2)...... now we have bought horses on internet before no problem.
LONGGGGGGG story short....... horse finally arrives...... umm its a spray painted brown 'grade' horse. find out MANY people scammed by this woman. at least our client got a horse! many didn't.
at least after several years there is a govt.investigation on her.

 

[bucket o' butter]

I am not sure if you are familiar with Dave Ramsey or not, but he might have advice for you. He is a financial planner. He has a nightly TV show on one of the news channels. You can e-mail questions in or call in. If anyone could give you good advice on what your options are, he could. I took his class a year ago and I remember him talking about scams like this. Just don't remember the specifics. Here is the link to his website:

http://www.daveramsey.com/

I am so sorry this happened to you. Keep your chin up. Things will get better!

 

[maggieusa]

I am sorry this happened toyou but you should watch clark howard and learn from this mistake if it sounds to good to be true it is. I am sorry to say You will probably never get your money back this are scammers form overseas. Who do this to alot of people you shoulc have went to a used car lot. kYou should have asked us in the dis board first we would have told you it was a scam.

 

[Teacher03]

I am sorry this happened toyou but you should watch clark howard and learn from this mistake if it sounds to good to be true it is. I am sorry to say You will probably never get your money back this are scammers form overseas. Who do this to alot of people you shoulc have went to a used car lot. kYou should have asked us in the dis board first we would have told you it was a scam.

How is this helpful to the OP? Geez, I'm sure she realizes this all now, it doesn't need to be pointed out.

OP, sending lots of your way.

 

[tlh0726]

OP,
my brother learned the hard way also. He was scammed out of about $3K on 2 jet skis out of Georgia a few years ago.
He wouldn't listen to anyone before he made the "purchase" and didn't take my advice on how to report it afterward.

I wish you the best of luck.
Please keep reporting it to whatever agency it takes to do so.

 

[Swimalie]

OT- I saw you post this on another thread lately and it just makes me laugh because I read it as the opposite of what you mean.

LOL! I re-read what I wrote and I can see that it can be read 2 ways.

Let me clarify. My husband helps with the law enforcement side of money laundering.

 

[momsavealot]

OP - I"m saying a prayer for your family. I do believe "what goes around, comes around" and your thief will get his/hers. We too were scammed, but by construction workers that were recommended thru a website (long story), and lost thousands. Years later, we have learned to move on. At least, we have our health and that is what's most important. Money and things can be replaced, family can't. Give your kids a big hug today!! and do please update us if there is any progress on your case!

 

[Sleepy]

Fortunately I knew it was too good to be true plus we are Military...they pay for vehicle storage if you are deployed.
.

Too bad not everyone has knowledge of how things work in the military. With the war ongoing, I guess this lowlife is using public awareness and sympathy toward military to promote the scam.

 

[Stitch76]

we are Military...they pay for vehicle storage if you are deployed.

I have a cousin that is serving in Iraq right now, I didn't know the military paid for your storage, all I knew is that she said she had to put her car in storage while she was gone. I just assumed she was paying it, since she never made clear who was paying.

 

[maedelken]

I'm so sorry. My eyes teared up just reading this. Times are so tough lately. They will get what they deserve.

 

[ibela]

Ugh, what a horrible and sticky mess. My heart goes out to you and your family and I hope you get some sort of resolution in your favor. You never know.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

OP I only read the first page so if you followed up I did not see it. I responded to ad on craigslist for a Minivan last week and it was the same scam. Fortunately I knew it was too good to be true plus we are Military...they pay for vehicle storage if you are deployed.
It was just a few days ago that I got the response from the scammer so if you can get law enforcement interested maybe they can use my correspondence to bait him.

Feel free to PM me.

This may be a good idea, or they can do one of their own to try to catch them.

I would also contact all of the news shows like FOX & CNN and everyone else that you could think of to get this story out so that other people will not do this too.

I would also contact the FBI and stay in touch with them because if there is any chance of you getting your money back, it will be because of them.

I am so very sorry that this happened to you. I wish that there was something that I could do to help you find these guys. I HATE hearing about people taking advantage of people like this and I HATE crooks!! I am thankful though that your husband is being understanding. Hopefully the FBI can do something to get your money back to you. You will be in my thoughts and prayers.

 

[daughtersrus]

My husband looks at Craigslist every day looking for a boat. He came across one a few weeks ago and showed it to me. It sounded way too good to be true. The story was that they lived in the Chicago area and just didn't have time to use it as much as they would like. We looked at the pictures and it sure didn't look like Chicago or any of the surrounding areas that we're familiar with. There will pretty good size hills in the background. Upon a closer look, the registration # on the side of the boat was from PA. We sent an email just for the heck of it asking some questions including if the boat had ever been out of the state of IL. The response that we got was that they live in IL but that they have taken it to WI once on vacation.

Proof enough to us that it was a scam before we even started to talk about the cost.

DH was just telling me a scam that he heard about used cars. Apparently they set up an appointment to see the car. The people come and if they want the car, they are asked for a deposit. The seller says that he forgot to get the title from the safety deposit box and will be back in a few minutes. Needless to say he never comes back and the house where the car was is vacant.

 

[Maddle]

This story is heartbreaking.

With routing and account numbers, there must be some way to find out who received the money - even if the account was emptied out right away. Have you heard back from your bank or the FBI? or, by chance - did the car show up?

Maddle

 

[01spirit750]

Here is another scam to watch for (this was related by a friend).

You are selling a car and you find someone who wants to buy the car. The buyer offers to pay full price but want the DMV documents to show you sold the car for 50% of the real price, so they can save money on the sales tax. They meet you at DMV to do the paper work and have two cashiers checks, one each for the 50% of the sales price.
They give you one cashiers check before and then you go complete the DMV transfer and then after all this is completed they refuse to give you the second check and they take off.

When you contact the police the buyer has a documented DMV sale price and a cashiers check receipt. So in order to file a police report you have to admit you commited fraud to the DMV (by putting a lower sales price).

Chris

 

[Stitch76]

I went to my bank again this morning, still no word from the crooks bank. By the way the crooks bank at Bank of America in Las Vegas, NV., it looks like they have no interest in helping either, thank you very much!
Still no word from the FBI either, I called the main office this morning to see if the Internet Crimes Division has a phone number where they can be reached, since no one has answered my numerous emails, and I was told that they did not have a phone, and that they were overrun with reports of fraud and scams this time of year, and they would get to me when they could.
So it doesn't look good.
Again thanks to all of you who have posted, and sent PMs, with your ,, prayers, and kind words, and a very special thank you to one DISser for your email . You know who you are, nuff said.
And for those who only have harsh words, lets hope your family is never put in a tough situation. Hindsight is 20/20, I know I screwed up, believe me. But, I'm trying to pick up the pieces and move on the best I can.
I will keep you all posted if any more developments arise.

 

[surfergirl602]

I went to my bank again this morning, still no word from the crooks bank. By the way the crooks bank at Bank of America in Las Vegas, NV., it looks like they have no interest in helping either, thank you very much!
Still no word from the FBI either, I called the main office this morning to see if the Internet Crimes Division has a phone number where they can be reached, since no one has answered my numerous emails, and I was told that they did not have a phone, and that they were overrun with reports of fraud and scams this time of year, and they would get to me when they could.
So it doesn't look good.
Again thanks to all of you who have posted, and sent PMs, with your ,, prayers, and kind words, and a very special thank you to one DISser for your email . You know who you are, nuff said.
And for those who only have harsh words, lets hope your family is never put in a tough situation. Hindsight is 20/20, I know I screwed up, believe me. But, I'm trying to pick up the pieces and move on the best I can.
I will keep you all posted if any more developments arise.

Its absolutely absurd that nobody will help you! It infuriates me. I really hope that it turns out in your favor, even if it is down the road after the holiday season. Just don't give up and keep on hounding them. Maybe they'll get so fed up with knowing you by your first name that they'll do something about it to get you to leave them alone. Hugs and prayers.

 

[HeatherFeather]

I feel terrible for you! I hope you have a wonderful Christmas despite all the drama going on. When I was a poor 20-something living in California, I needed some work done on my car and couldn't afford a real garage/mechanic. I found someone in the paper and basically he took my money and was evicted from his home leaving my still broken down car in his yard. I was hysterical and I had no recourse whatsoever. I had paid this person in cash and had no receipts. I knew even if I was able to track him down I would never see a dime of my money again. Horrible feeling. Big hugs to you and keep being the squeaky wheel....