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Used Car Sellers, Watch Out for the
African Buyer Scam!
These new-age scammers. They prey
on unsuspecting folks who are trying to sell used cars (or other
items) through Internet classified ads or an "autotrader.com" web
site.
Even though this scam has been
around for a few years and has been publicized in many news stories,
there are still people who haven't heard about it -- and are at-risk
to be victimized by it.
Here's how the scam works. Note
that the details can be different, but the general scheme is always
the same.
- The used-car seller receives
a long, polite email from a potential buyer who lives/works/travels
in Africa/Europe/Asia and is interested in buying the advertised
car, sight-unseen, at the asking price.
- The email sender says that
he has a client/agent/partner in the U.S. who will handle pickup and
shipping of the vehicle.
- The sender says that he will
send a certified cashiers check or money order for the car and asks
for the seller's name and mailing address.
- The check or money order
arrives but the amount is greater than the cost of the car,
purportedly to cover shipping costs. Seller is asked to send a
cashiers check or money order to the "shipper" for the amount of the
extra money...
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