Selling my Supra -- Possible Scam?

[Bad Karma]

So the last time I sold a car privately was my SRT-4 20 years ago. Currently, I have my Supra 2.0 for sale on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist. About a week ago, I was contacted by a gentleman who said he was very interested and asked me to call him. I did, and he didn't even know which Supra I was calling about, but when I told him which one and where, he was willing to drive the 3.5 hours ASAP and wire me the money/give me a certified check for the full amount of what I'm asking. He says he wants to send the car to Ecuador. Whole thing sounds fishy; so I say I'm not interested.

A few days later, his son contacts me on FB, assuming I wouldn't make the connection when they're both from the same area and Ecuadorian. He says, no, there's a misunderstanding, it's not a scam. Again, I say I'm not interested because my gut tells me it's whack. However, he's very insistent and says he'll come Thursday and meet at the bank with a cashier's check or do a wire transfer, etc. He asked me about the procedure for selling a car in my state, and figures we can just bang out a bill of sale, etc., while he's here. I'm hesitant to let them know where I live, and I'm working all day Thursday anyways; but at this point I'm wondering if somebody with more experience in private sales tells me if I'm doing the wrong thing or if I'm a dope. I have tons of interest on it, but nothing serious, and at this point I'm considering parting out and just trading it in.

Thanks for all the feedback in advance.

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[razorlab]

100% scam. Block them.

 

[Bad Karma]

100% scam. Block them.

Thanks for the quick reply, but what's their angle here, especially if they wire me the money?

 

[razorlab]

Thanks for the quick reply, but what's their angle here, especially if they wire me the money?

To steal your car. I counted like six red flags already in your description of them.

 

[Traxion]

Thanks for the quick reply, but what's their angle here, especially if they wire me the money?

The funds can still be reversed in wire fraud.

 

[Bad Karma]

The funds can still be reversed in wire fraud.

Thank you. This was the info I was looking for. I'm ignorant when it comes to wire transfers, and everything I saw online said they were safe. Appreciate it.

 

[tracer bullet]

Your bank will often assume transactions are legit, accept them, then find out later it was a scam and reverse it all.

I've had something like this work when we both had the same bank. Then it was clear they had the money and it was actually moved over to me. And another time where I was paid in cash, we met at the bank and the bank ensured the bills were real (but that was long ago and with an older, cheaper car).

I would think that there are ways for them to go to your bank with you with some sort of "check" that the bank can verify is good at that time but you'd have to ask them or someone here that actually did that as their job. But I'd agree these guys are NOT the guys to do that with.

 

[LexGiorgio]

The funds can still be reversed in wire fraud.

Is that something new? or applicable to the US?

I'm only asking, because I worked at TD Bank (Canada), and we don't reverse wire transfers.
Unless it's an error on TD's part, we have an account to refund the client. (basically TD absorbs the cost)
If it's the client's error, then that's on them.

That's why when someone is sending out a wire transfer, they're reminded several times to verify the receiver's info and that it's final once it's sent.


To the OP, I had something similar happen years ago, but for a Camry.
Buyer lived far, wanted the car right away to send to South Africa.

If you're both using the same bank, at least in Canada, they can confirm whether or not the buyer has the funds. So you don't have to worry about fake deposits.
Got that confirmation, got the money, transferred the car in person and that was that.

That's how I sell my cars/bikes, by going to the same bank.
And it might be hard to believe, but you have more and more people that are actually buying vehicles to ship outside of North America.

You should always listen to your gut feeling though, I won't go against that!

 

[XtremeMaC]

Wife had similar experience on FB market. Just like that they're like ok we're sending the money what's your PayPal. Wife inadvertently shared it. Then, they're like we sent you $100 did you receive it. Oh your account is business or some crap. Legit looking paypal letterhead email from paypai or some similar looking shit. Asking her to send back.
Our regular minds cannot grasp the level of shadiness and levels one can stoop to understand the pos creativity they spent so much time on perfecting.
So, stealing car, stealing your money, etc. it's definitely the motive. They're also rather pushy ...
Block and report for what it's worth...

 

[Traxion]

Thank you. This was the info I was looking for. I'm ignorant when it comes to wire transfers, and everything I saw online said they were safe. Appreciate it.

Generally they are locked in but there are protections in place. The reverse scenario is also something to be aware of. If you wire funds to a scammer, they withdraw the funds, then it's not wire fraud because you authorized the funds to be sent. Even if your bank did pursue wire fraud as the sender, it might not be recoverable if the funds are already withdrawn.

If you ever buy a house and have to wire money to the escrow agency, the realtor and title company should have extremely strict steps and policies in place when doing the wire in order to avoid a middleman trying to sneak their info into the process and get you to wire them instead.

Is that something new? or applicable to the US?

I am speaking from a US POV and don't know if Canada may fall under similar rules or not. Doing a wire reversal isn't easy by any means but it's definitely possible in true fraud. It happens on a somewhat common occurrence in real estate transactions and some people get lucky and can get their funds back.

Example:

 

[LexGiorgio]

Wife had similar experience on FB market. Just like that they're like ok we're sending the money what's your PayPal. Wife inadvertently shared it. Then, they're like we sent you $100 did you receive it. Oh your account is business or some crap. Legit looking paypal letterhead email from paypai or some similar looking shit. Asking her to send back.
Our regular minds cannot grasp the level of shadiness and levels one can stoop to understand the pos creativity they spent so much time on perfecting.
So, stealing car, stealing your money, etc. it's definitely the motive. They're also rather pushy ...
Block and report for what it's worth...

Fake PayPal or fake eTransfer emails.
These people wake up and do this all day long, it's their "job".

You'd be surprised how many actually fall for this shit, it's sad...

 

[LexGiorgio]

Generally they are locked in but there are protections in place. The reverse scenario is also something to be aware of. If you wire funds to a scammer, they withdraw the funds, then it's not wire fraud because you authorized the funds to be sent. Even if your bank did pursue wire fraud as the sender, it might not be recoverable if the funds are already withdrawn.

If you ever buy a house and have to wire money to the escrow agency, the realtor and title company should have extremely strict steps and policies in place when doing the wire in order to avoid a middleman trying to sneak their info into the process and get you to wire them instead.


I am speaking from a US POV and don't know if Canada may fall under similar rules or not. Doing a wire reversal isn't easy by any means but it's definitely possible in true fraud. It happens on a somewhat common occurrence in real estate transactions and some people get lucky and can get their funds back.

Example:

Thanks for sharing the Reddit link!

The OP on Reddit says, they manage to get 5k back, then the rest of it.
That statement alone indicates that the bank absorbed the cost. He probably has investments with them and they did that to retain him.

Behind the scenes, the bank that he's dealing with approved 5k to give back and that same branch would escalate to get the remainder back, because this client has "x" accounts (investments).

Looks like it's the same rules as us.
That's why I never liked wire transfers, one typo and the money's gone... (in most cases)

 

[archsteve]

I've sold a few cars locally (kids growing up and selling their school cars, mine when getting the Supra in December) and every time I get at least a 10/1 ratio of scammers on Facebook Marketplace versus real buyers. Its always full price and weird backstories and never cash and never wanting to meet at a bank. And always very pushy and trying to get you to make a fast decision. I agree with the other comment about how they treat this as their "job" and obviously they occasionally succeed which is sad.

 

[Emspilot]

The mere fact that it’s this much of a debate makes it clear the OP should steer clear of these (potential?) buyers.
Is it really worth the risk? It’s not like this car is undesirable and you have to jump on the first offer that comes along…
OP - block and move on.

 

[Bad Karma]

The mere fact that it’s this much of a debate makes it clear the OP should steer clear of these (potential?) buyers.
Is it really worth the risk? It’s not like this car is undesirable and you have to jump on the first offer that comes along…
OP - block and move on.

Done and done. Now I'm just enjoying the comments.

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