eBay/Craigslist Another EBAY SCAM - - -

[teg]

My guess, once you ask for the serial #... it was either stolen or an imaginary tractor. I would be very concerned about the seller and give the police the number to go check it out.

If there is a phone number - doesn't that make it a federal crime? I have no idea if it is... I always thought that if a scam was posted, everyone that knew it was one should replied with fake information... wouldn't that screw up the scam by flooding their mail box?

I do feel sorry for the people who fall for this... One of the "cheap" tractors came up on Craig's list and was flagged and taken down... a couple had posted "to the man selling the M4700 for $3,000 - contact us!" I sent them an e-mail saying that it was a scam... they replied to me; "We want to buy it!!!" Thinking I had the tractor I should have said, send me a check and the tractor will be in the mail....

 

[Ductape]

My guess, once you ask for the serial #... it was either stolen or an imaginary tractor. I would be very concerned about the seller and give the police the number to go check it out.

If there is a phone number - doesn't that make it a federal crime?

Problem is..... at least around here, the Police would do absolutely nothing.The conversation with them would be something like this:

" You want us to do WHAT exactly? The seller wouldn't answer his phone so YOU think it MIGHT be stolen? Ya..... we'll check into it."

I actually witnessed a snowmobile getting stolen @ 2am one night. I gave the police the license plate number of the truck they hauled it away in. When i followed up on it with the officer that took the info a week or so later ( i knew him), he said......" We made a phone call to the owner of the truck, he is supposed to call us back. We've been really busy."

Watch out for yourselves folks !!

 

[bluechip]

I remeber visitin a car lot in NW Houston area after hours one weekend, now probably 12 to 14 years ago. the driveway gate had been opened, disconnected at the hinges, and several cars had the key boxes that were attached to the windows open, so no one around, keys and cars... called the sheriffs office, basically got a reply along the lines of : if their not your cars, there is not really anything we can do, did you see anyone taking any cars? so I hung up and let it go... I don't think property crimes are high on the list of law enforcement priorities in many areas. Internet crime is rampant and it must pay off because the same scams keep getting worked over and over and over again. My nephew almost "bought" a Nissan ZX from a seller in NY (He is in Texas) who was going to have the car delivered (at his cost) after the money was wired to a "escrow service" in england. a 2500 car and the seller was going to deliver it 1400 miles on his nickel?

 

[ddivinia]

I, too, sold my last tractor for cash ($15,000) but the buyer came to look at it and all the paperwork, etc. Cashier's checks used to be a safe way to go, but not anymore. Too many of them are forgeries.

Cash could be fake also...

D.

 

[RollingsFarms]

Problem is..... at least around here, the Police would do absolutely nothing.The conversation with them would be something like this:

" You want us to do WHAT exactly? The seller wouldn't answer his phone so YOU think it MIGHT be stolen? Ya..... we'll check into it."

I actually witnessed a snowmobile getting stolen @ 2am one night. I gave the police the license plate number of the truck they hauled it away in. When i followed up on it with the officer that took the info a week or so later ( i knew him), he said......" We made a phone call to the owner of the truck, he is supposed to call us back. We've been really busy."

Watch out for yourselves folks !!

I know exactly what you mean. when my ATV was stolen a few weeks ago, I took it upon myself to do my own investigating in the hopes it would help the cops get some sort of jump on the guys that did it. i took MANY photos of the tires tracks left by the vehicle they used, pointing out the one odd ball tires on the vehicle compared to the other 3 that were alike. i even took pics of the shoes prints, and i even determined the direction they traveled when they left with the stolen ATV. guess what? the cops didn't care and said "it was useless information" umm ok, then why is it when someone is murdered or a similar crime, there are cops all over the place to take hundreds of pics and gather evidence such as what i gathered???? yeah a stolen ATV is not in the same realm as a murder, but arent the investigations conducted the same? or so i thought until all this took place. i bet you all the money in the world that had i been the theif and stolen the ATV they would have had the dogs, CSI unit, SWAT team, helicopters, and every sherrif in the county searching for me. i wasn't asking for a miracle to happen but at least put some sort of effort into the investigation of a $6,400 ATV. i know they would have cared more if it were a $6,400 car.

 

[Bird]

Robert, I know nothing about your police department in South Carolina, but I might venture a guess. It's been many years since I was a detective sergeant in a Burglary & Theft Unit, but back then I had 6 detectives working for me, and I assigned an average of THREE NEW CASES PER DAY to each of them. And they had to write some kind of report for each of them, even if it was only to say no further information was available. So you can guess how much time they had to actually investigate each case. I suppose it was the most frustrating time of my career; I hated that job simply because we didn't have the resources to do it. Even 39 years ago, a burglary or theft of less than about $30k wasn't going to get a great deal of attention.

Of course you have to remember that it's your elected officials who set the priorities, budget, and tax rate. Most police officers would love to do a real investigation and catch the thief who stole your ATV, but how high a tax rate are you and the rest of the community willing to pay for that? To you, that theft was the biggest crime in the area, but to the rest of the population . . . well, it's both unfortunate and frustrating.

 

[RollingsFarms]

Robert, I know nothing about your police department in South Carolina, but I might venture a guess. It's been many years since I was a detective sergeant in a Burglary & Theft Unit, but back then I had 6 detectives working for me, and I assigned an average of THREE NEW CASES PER DAY to each of them. And they had to write some kind of report for each of them, even if it was only to say no further information was available. So you can guess how much time they had to actually investigate each case. I suppose it was the most frustrating time of my career; I hated that job simply because we didn't have the resources to do it. Even 39 years ago, a burglary or theft of less than about $30k wasn't going to get a great deal of attention.

Of course you have to remember that it's your elected officials who set the priorities, budget, and tax rate. Most police officers would love to do a real investigation and catch the thief who stole your ATV, but how high a tax rate are you and the rest of the community willing to pay for that? To you, that theft was the biggest crime in the area, but to the rest of the population . . . well, it's both unfortunate and frustrating.

Bird,

I agree. it seems around my area that ATV thefts come in cycles. when mine was stolen, it doesn't appear to be in direct connection with any other ATV thefts because none have been reported that I know of or have seen in the police blotter. a few years ago ATV's were being stolen at a rate of about 1-2 PER DAY for about a month. the police had their hands full you could say, and it took them about 3 months to solve the case....with the help of a citizen to located and contacted the police about where the stolen ATV's were located. i just figured with all the information i gave them it would have been more helpful then they made it seem. usually when an ATV is stolen you don't realize it til the next day or hours after it happened. mine had only been stolen within the past 45-hour so i figured that would give me a head start and fighting chance. i also wasn't impressed with the officer who took my statement as he misspelled my name on his report(he had my license in his hand with all my information) and also misquoted the value of the ATV by $500. that is like butting heads with the insurance company. that in itself is what is so frustrating, they want you to keep making the payments until they get it resolved.

 

[RobJ]

Seems to me it's easier to scam someone with a check or bank transfer. If I'm buying, I want to see the tractor, then give up the cash. My tractor was on Ebay, I did go by and see it first. After it didn't sale on Ebay we agreed on a price and I went and picked it up. After it was loaded on the trailer, we counted out the cash.

Now if I'm selling, I want to see the guy and the cash at the same time. If we are not that far apart, no don't send me any ernest money, just come and get it! Also if I'm selling and someone gets all technical, I might want to run to. My terms are clear, bring your cash and trailer, and you can have the tractor.

Earlier this year I bought my daughter a car. It was across town and we were pretty sure we were going to take it unless it was a wreck (Craigslist). It looked good, worked on the price and I said I'll take it. Said I would write him a check. He said, hmmm, my bank is open and across the street. I said lets go. Bank confirmed the check and transaction, and we drove home with the car. Now we were a couple honest people, my wife and daughter were right there. Maybe that made him feel better. A few days later I had to go back to get his signature for the title (new paperwork in Texas)...it was not a problem.

 

[Bird]

i also wasn't impressed with the officer who took my statement as he misspelled my name on his report(he had my license in his hand with all my information) and also misquoted the value of the ATV

Aah, yes. That sort of thing happens. When I was in recruit school, they tried to teach that even the smallest errors on a report may become very important if you ever have to testify in court, and whether you get to court or not, that reflects badly on, not only that officer, but the whole department. And a lack of interest attitude on the part of any officer is inexcusable, in my opinion. Any officer should realize that the crime being reported is likely the most important crime in the world to the person reporting it. So, I wouldn't say the officer should "pretend" he/she thinks it's important, but he/she should take an actual interest at the very least.

 

[ScottK]

On Ebay you are crazy if you pay with cash for anything. Use only Paypal with your credit card. That is your only real proteciton. For a private sale, cash of course is the norm - but not on Ebay.