You need a car but have limited cash. You search the Web to find one that fills your needs. In the course of searching, you stumble on classified ads sites like Craigslist.
You’re attracted to one of the cars advertised there. You like the model. You want it. The picture is beautiful, the description is wonderful, and the price is unbelievably low. Is it a scam? It’s hard to tell.
Still, you’re curious. You contact the seller who e-mails you details about the car and why it’s being sold at a cheap price. The seller will tell you a heartwarming story why the car is being sold and how you’ll be “protected” if you buy it.
The seller says that the car will be shipped wherever you are at no extra cost. That person will explain that he or she uses one of the following - an “eBay payment service”, “eBay protection plan” or prepay service.
He or she might also mention using a “CarMax payment service”, “CarMax buyback program”, “Yahoo payment service” or “Yahoo buyer protection” so your money will be protected until you are satisfied with the car.
You’ll also be given five to 10 days to decide if you like the car and can ship it back if you decide you don’t want it - all at the seller’s expense. It sounds like a good deal but in most cases it isn’t.
This is a complete lie because the seller has no such car. The pictures and the VIN number for the car were taken from the Internet. That means if you get a CarMax report, you’ll find that the vehicle is real and has a clean history.
However, it’s not the seller’s car. It belongs to someone else, somewhere else. A CarMax report doesn’t tell you who owns the car. The “seller” knows that.
Another thing is eBay doesn’t have an escrow payment service or “protection” service for cars not sold on its site. The money you send to that “protected” payment service goes directly to the scammer’s account. So you lose your money and won’t receive the car too.
The sad part is you can’t have the scammer arrested or get your money back because you don’t have his real name or address. That person keeps moving and leaves no trail.
To avoid being scammed, buy cars only from reliable sources. Ask around before you make a decision and see that the paperwork is in order. If not, you’ll become an easy target for scammers.
For quick and affordable auto repairs, visit Auto Repair Lorain where the service is good and the price is even better.
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