How can I recognize a scam?
How to recognize a vehicle scam attempt online:
- Shipping a vehicle to you is suggested by seller
- eBay Motors or another intermediary is specified by seller
- Payment by Western Union or a money wire is requested
- Price is unusually low (fraction of blue book value)
If you see these tell-tale signs, avoid corresponding with the seller.
Offers to ship a vehicle are virtually 100% fraudulent.
eBay has no involvment in craigslist for sale ads, and any eBay or similar emails or web pages you receive are fake.
Never use Western Union or wire transfer to pay for goods – only a scammer will ask for this, and any funds sent will be lost
Do not buy vehicles site-unseen, regardless of low price. The vehicle does not exist, and any money you send will be lost.
Stories about divorcees or departing servicemen needing to sell quickly at a low price are generally fraudulent
If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
I believe helen.stone@msn is a scammer as well.
Long story short, “they” told me that the horse trailer, which is on Equinenow.com (2000 C&C 7′LQ2Horse), is 2,800. They said google checkout would hold the money until after the trailer was shipped and i inspected it. I had 5 days to respond. Then google checkout would pay her and wed both be protected. But she said with her work she couldnt call or text bc phones were prohibited! I emailed them back and said i didnt trust the situation and if it were honest they would try to convince me otherwise bc i had cash in hand ready to buy. I never heard anything back.
Katie
Thanks for posting, Katie. Yep, 100% fraud. Google Checkout does not offer the protective service the criminal has formulated. Please tell you friends and family how this scam works. Education is the best way to prevent this crime.
– Chief
I have just replied to this ad after she basically said the same things others were told, and I requested to bring my nephew who is a police officer in Jefferson county to check ID. I am sure I am not gonna here back especially since I live outside of Louisville and dont need it shipped. Had a scam like this before offered 2 years ago. Their good at what they do. Reba
You have good intuition, Reba. Yes, these criminals are professional and trick dozens of innocent people every day.
She was adverting on horse clicks and said the trailer was in san francisco yesterday. Who do I call to report this too?
Mary, please see the FAQ’s in the right navigation column on the front page of the blog.
I also replied to this ad…I have seen lots of others like this, on tack trader as well as horseclicks. It is getting to the point that you can’t trust any ad you see. I was buying a trailer a few months back, and of about 10 contacts I initiated, 2 of them turned out to be real people who contacted me back. Why aren’t these people being investigated and prosecuted? It can’t be that difficult to catch them…they are easy to spot!
Why aren’t they caught? It’s complicated. Please examine the faq’s in the right navigation pane of the website.
Saw this ad on Horseclicks and investigated after receiving instructions on payment and delivery by email. Spoke with woman in WV who fell for it. This stunk from the get but I still had to investigate terms. These people have established their own Googlecheckout for payment and the woman in WV was instructed to use Western Union to transfer funds to the Googlecheckout fund they have established. Unfortunately, she did as they instructed and lost $2800.00. Just goes to show you, if a deal looks too good to be true, it is!
Yes just saw this trailer last night because I am in the market for a “good” deal. It did seem to good to be true. Now when I try to find the trailer back on the original website it is gone, but when I typed in helen.stone all these comments popped up. So glad I saw this first. Thanks!
Hey everyone, I’ve been spending a lot of time searching for the perfect vehicle. Through my search I have came across a couple scammers already. Good news is, criminals are STUPID and LAZY. I’ve found a couple easy ways to spot a scammer right away. All you need to do is copy the the name in the email and search for it on the web, if no hits come up copy and paste the email address, they usually are too lazy to use a new one, they will reuse the same one over and over. Last but not least, copy a couple lines from the email they send you paste it in google and search, if nothing comes up, copy a couple other lines and paste and search again. I’ve found they use the same email address an emails over and over again. Odds are if they are trying to scam you they have tried to scam others before you and hopefully they have posted it somewhere on the internet, if so you’ll see it right away. I do really hope this helps and stops them from scamming you in the future.
Jeff, these criminals are economically efficient. For every smart guy like yourself, another dozen potential victims will fall for the stories. Scammers simply minimize their labor by not changing the stories and email addresses very frequently.
This trailer is listed on Horseclicks now. Woman claims to work on a cruise ship & can’t use the phone. I also found the trailer listed in several states. She is using the email address martha.boucher@msn.com & also her@msn.com . I’m glad “red flags” went up when we were denied looking at the trailer in person.
I am so glad for this site! I have been in contact, by e-mail, with this same Martha Boucher…same story. I have talked to my banker and was going to transfer the money to her when I saw this site. I e-mailed her back today and told her I will come get the trailer rather than have it delivered, and pay her after I see it and the title. If I get the same response as the rest of you, I will inform my nephew who is a police officer in the same city(Denver).
My wife replied to an ad by marth.boucher@msn.com regarding a horse trailer. I have looked on the internet and this is a total scam, so beware.
Hello again,
First of all I have to tell you that I can’t use the phone due the casino policy. Here on the cruise ship, the dealers have prohibited to use the phone. The trailer is already at the shipping company in San Diego, CA ready for the shipping.The shipping process will take between 4 -7 days, depending on your location. I have a contract with Google Checkout so this deal must go through them.
As I said in the first email I work as a casino dealer on a cruise ship and I can’t meet you or bring you the trailer, so that’s why I am using a shipping company.
Since this is an online transaction I wanted the both of us to be safe so for this deal I am using Google Checkout , and that means that you have 5 days from the time you receive the trailer to inspect it and decide if you want to keep it or not.
Here is how it works:
1.First of all I will need the following details from you:
– Full Name
– Full Shipping Address
2. After I will receive the details from you, I will forward them to Google Checkout.
3. After they will process your info, they will send us both invoices.Your will make the payment to Google Checkout and the funds will be 100% insured by Google Checkout.
4. Google Checkout will contact me and I will ship the trailer to you. After you receive the trailer you will have 5 days to test, verify and do whatever you need to the trailer.If you will buy it, then I will receive the payment from Google Checkout. Please take into consideration that I will get paid only after you receive the trailer and make sure everything is as agreed.
5. If you will decide that you will not buy it, Google Checkout will refund you and I will have the shipping company come pick up my trailer.
If you wish to make the transaction, please send me the necessary info so that we can proceed.
Thank you
Thanks for posting, Eric. Readers, please take note of the poor grammar and unconventional word selection. These are telltale signs of criminal intent.
– Chief
I just looked at a horse trailer offered by Martha Bouchard of Denver, Colorado. Same thing..very low price. Too good to be true. Said her ex husband died two years ago and she is a casino dealer on a cruise ship and needed to sell it. I wrote her back and told her I was on to her and her crap. She also offered the shipping and delievery thru Google check out!!!
I just reported this to horseclicks.com to try to get the ad removed, and send “Martha Boucher” a nasty little email. How do people like this live with themselves??
Angie, have a look around the site. These guys are professional criminals having their base operations in another country. See http://scammerdatabase.wordpress.com/faqs/how-do-we-apprehend-these-criminals/ and the link http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/01/ff_hackerville_romania/all/1 .
Thanks for dropping by.
– Chief
i couldn’t find the ad on horseclicks this morning..someone removed it.
That’s great! We appreciate providers who recognize these scams and take the ads down. Remember to report scams to those who enable the criminals (classified sites, hosting providers, registrars, etc.).
– Chief
The Trailer is BACK ON Horseclicks.com today!!! I sent them an email advising the ad was a scam.
Jeannie,
I saw one at http://www.horseclicks.com/trailers/x5w8vv/ which advises one to view http://sundowner-trailer.125mb.com/ . I submitted an abuse report to http://125mb.com/ via their live chat.
Which trailer ad are you observing?
– Chief
Ok that’s not the same ad. BUT I did see that ad and figured it was a scam too!! Here’s the one I’ve been seeing. I sent “Martha” one hell of an email back once I figured out what was going on!!
http://www.horseclicks.com/trailers/99vr3p/
Jeannie, thanks. I clicked the “Report This Ad” button. Maybe it’ll disappear again. You can see that these professional scammers are persistent. We must be likewise.
– Chief
Yes they are. They are also all over the horse sites especially where you want to sell tack. They will send you an email offering more than what you asked for and it goes downhill from there. I’d sure love to knock on their “business” door and open fire. They sure hurt alot of people.
Got the same letter as posted above this AM. Same old story, “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is a scam.”
All must do their “due diligence” on any purchase. Makes one paranoid to do business on-line.
Dallas
So I saw the trailer for sale and thought WOW!!! But I started checking it out and found this site with all this information on it. I reported the add today as a scam lets see if they remove it again. And how long it takes for her to put it up again.
I’ve reported the same trailer at least 3 times this week. It was on there again last night.
Hey everyone,
Thanks for posting all these about the Martha Boucher trailer scam! I got the very same letters from her–everything identical. EVIL EVIL EVIL!!!!! I notified horseclicks too!!
It’s so disappointing to find something and find out it’s not real. So sad. But I tell ya, if you all hadn’t posted these things, I would be sending Martha the money today. I really appreciate it.
Hey all, there are also a lot of scams with Freisan horses on horseclicks. I have seen them.
Shawn Dady
Shawn, it takes a team effort! Thanks for notifying the classified ad folks … be sure to let all your friends and family know how these criminals work!
– Chief
New trailer on Horseclicks..almost the same text with a few words that have been changed. I reported this morning. Here’s the link.
http://www.horseclicks.com/2000_featherlite_3horse_slant_lq/advert/116944
And Martha has now changed her name to “Sophie Gagnon”…
My mom just found it and we were interested in it until I saw this thread. Thank you so much. http://www.horseclicks.com/2000_featherlite_3_horse_slant_lq/advert/124718
(This is a lady selling a 2006 jeep grand cherokee for 2,500)
Hi again,
Thank you for getting back to me.I would be more than glad to meet you and show the Jeep but I am an oceanographer and I am currently on sea near Spain, I don’t have much access to communication and I can’t meet with potential buyers to show them the vehicle. That’s why I put my Jeep for sale on internet. I just have access to the internet and check my email very regularly.
I had prearranged the deal with Google Checkout and they will supervise our transaction. The SUV is packed and ready for the shipping at Google Checkout shipping center in Warner Robins, GA. The shipping cost is included in the total price of the vehicle! The delivery will take no more then 4 days top(depending on your exact location). After you receive the vehicle you will have 15 days to inspect it before you sign the papers to purchase it.
So if you want to make this deal I need the following details from you:
Full name, Full shipping address
Phone number, preferably cell number
After I will have all this details I will forward them to Google Checkout and I will proceed the order. They will contact you with all the details that you need to complete this deal. I have used the Google Checkout service in the past and all my transactions ended successfully. If you are not satisfied with your purchase, you can return the SUV within 15 days of receipt on my expense. If you wish to make the transaction, please send me the necessary info so that we can proceed.
Sorry for the long emails I have tried to explain the entire process.
Regards,
Eva Gerbs
Thanks, Krista.
– Chief
I just got the same letter that Eric posted from sophie.gagnon@msn.com It sounded way to phishy to be true so I just googled her amail and found all these other postings. We should all be sure to warn the sites we found her on.
I seen the ad on horseclicks.Couldnt put my finger on the scam but I kept looking until I found this site.
Glad I did.Below are the email’s Sophie and I exchanged.
I have also contacted horse clicks
Date: Sun, 11 Mar 2012 17:55:18 -0500
Subject:
To: sophie.gagnon@msn.com
How much is the trailer selling for?
Sophie Gagnon
2:24 PM
to me
Hello there
The trailer is still for sale and is in excellent condition as you can see from the pictures, looks brand new, like never had a horse in it, no dents, dings, scrapes or scuffs very nice trailer, tires look new, you will love this trailer…
If you are interested in buying it, the price is $3,000 and this is with shipping costs to your location included. I sell the trailer at this price because I cannot enjoy it due to my job(I work as a casino dealer on a cruise ship) and I’m a single woman and I have nobody close who can use it. This trailer was used by my ex husband who died two years ago.
All documents, including owner’s manual, clear title and a bill of sale on your name will be provided along with the trailer.
Also about payment and shipping I will use only Google Checkout so we can both be protected. I am looking forward to hear from you.
Thank you,
Hi Sophie
Please understand why I am confused.You are asking only three thousand dallors for such a great looking trailer?And I live in Wi. so that would be very expensive also?I thought maybe it was a misprint on the web site.Please help me to understand.
Sophie Gagnon
5:09 PM
to me
Hello again,
First of all I have to tell you that I can’t use the phone due the casino policy. Here on the cruise ship, the dealers have prohibited to use the phone. The trailer is already at the shipping company in San Diego, CA ready for the shipping.The shipping process will take between 4 -7 days, depending on your location. I have a contract with Google Checkout so this deal must go through them.
As I said in the first email I work as a casino dealer on a cruise ship and I can’t meet you or bring you the trailer, so that’s why I am using a shipping company.
Since this is an online transaction I wanted the both of us to be safe so for this deal I am using Google Checkout , and that means that you have 5 days from the time you receive the trailer to inspect it and decide if you want to keep it or not.
Here is how it works:
1.First of all I will need the following details from you:
– Full Name
– Full Shipping Address
2. After I will receive the details from you, I will forward them to Google Checkout.
3. After they will process your info, they will send us both invoices.Your will make the payment to Google Checkout and the funds will be 100% insured by Google Checkout.
4. Google Checkout will contact me and I will ship the trailer to you. After you receive the trailer you will have 5 days to test, verify and do whatever you need to the trailer.If you will buy it, then I will receive the payment from Google Checkout. Please take into consideration that I will get paid only after you receive the trailer and make sure everything is as agreed.
5. If you will decide that you will not buy it, Google Checkout will refund you and I will have the shipping company come pick up my trailer.
If you wish to make the transaction, please send me the necessary info so that we can proceed.
Thank you
Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2012 22:45:39 -0700
From:
Subject: horse trailer
To: sophie.gagnon@msn.com
if this is a legit ad, we are interested in the trailer.
I AM IN Greeley. the price of $3,000 is making me skeptical.
From: Sophie Gagnon
To:
Sent: Friday, March 23, 2012 2:16 PM
Subject: RE: horse trailer 2000 Featherlite 3 Horse Slant LQ
Hello there
The trailer is still for sale and is in excellent condition as you can see from the pictures, looks brand new, like never had a horse in it, no dents, dings, scrapes or scuffs very nice trailer, tires look new, you will love this trailer…
If you are interested in buying it, the price is $3,000 and this is with shipping costs to your location included. I sell the trailer at this price because I cannot enjoy it due to my job(I work as a casino dealer on a cruise ship) and I’m a single woman and I have nobody close who can use it. This trailer was used by my ex husband who died two years ago.
All documents, including owner’s manual, clear title and a bill of sale on your name will be provided along with the trailer.
Also about payment and shipping I will use only Google Checkout so we can both be protected. I am looking forward to hear from you.
Thank you,
Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2012 14:31:07 -0700
From:
Subject: Re: horse trailer 2000 Featherlite 3 Horse Slant LQ
To: sophie.gagnon@msn.com
Where is the trailer located exactly, an address? I want to go look at it in person.
I prefer to pay cash upfront after seeing the trailer.
This price seems awfully low for a 2000 trailer. others I have seen are older and going for 8-9 thousand or more.
I will not pay unless I see documents of ownership first, trailer VIN number so i CAN CALL DMV to verify trailers existence. Would prefer to have you call me. I will not do any transaction without existing documents
Thanks, will I hear from you soon?
Hello again,
First of all I have to tell you that I can’t use the phone due the casino policy. Here on the cruise ship, the dealers have prohibited to use the phone. The trailer is already at the shipping company in San Diego, CA ready for the shipping.The shipping process will take between 4 -7 days, depending on your location. I have a contract with Google Checkout so this deal must go through them.
As I said in the first email I work as a casino dealer on a cruise ship and I can’t meet you or bring you the trailer, so that’s why I am using a shipping company.
Since this is an online transaction I wanted the both of us to be safe so for this deal I am using Google Checkout , and that means that you have 5 days from the time you receive the trailer to inspect it and decide if you want to keep it or not.
Here is how it works:
1.First of all I will need the following details from you:
– Full Name
– Full Shipping Address
2. After I will receive the details from you, I will forward them to Google Checkout.
3. After they will process your info, they will send us both invoices.Your will make the payment to Google Checkout and the funds will be 100% insured by Google Checkout.
4. Google Checkout will contact me and I will ship the trailer to you. After you receive the trailer you will have 5 days to test, verify and do whatever you need to the trailer.If you will buy it, then I will receive the payment from Google Checkout. Please take into consideration that I will get paid only after you receive the trailer and make sure everything is as agreed.
5. If you will decide that you will not buy it, Google Checkout will refund you and I will have the shipping company come pick up my trailer.
If you wish to make the transaction, please send me the necessary info so that we can proceed.
PS: I don’t know the VIN.
Thank you
Hi all I believe this woman now is called ozela susan and shes trying to sell an emaculate 2005 sundowner 3 horse slant with living quarters for $2800.00 as i have the same things coming out as i live in Canada and am looking for a lower priced trailer and shipping this huge thing from florida to alberta? shipping included?Are you kidding? I recieved the same emails after inquireing but she now uses amazon vehicle protection another scam payment as that dosnt exist!it sucks when you kinda get your hopes up but fortuneatly feeling it a little to good to be true made us look closer since a lot of pics of the same trailer kept comming up in diff states ! what irritating people as it also harms those people truely trying to sell their trailers legitly!!