Email fraud for advertised auto for sale

[pinaudgolf]

I advertised an automobile for sale on the internet in October 2005.
Since that date, I have received three emails stating they want the auto.
First, inquire about condition and want pictures.
Second, Where is the car located and their agent will be contacting me to arrange for pick up and delivery overseas.
Third, Explain method of payment will be Bank Draft or Money Order. The amount will be inflated by several thousand dollars. Instructions are to deposit or cash the check and send proceeds to them ASAP.
I actually received the Bank Check the first time.
I had my Credit Union look it over and discovered it was counterfeit.
I then contacted the local office of the FBI and forwarded copies of all emails and the check to them.
The next two inquiries I responded to by notifying the sender I was sending their information and address to the authorities.
Also, most recently, (April 2006) I have received another fraudulent inquiry regarding a small watercraft that is advertised in my local Lake Association News. (This News letter is accessable on the internet)
The approach is identical.
Watch out for numerous mistakes in grammer and spelling and punctuation.
You are fortunate if you have a financial institution that recognizes a fraudulent document.
Otherwise, you could get burned.
The FBI explained to me that ther was very little they could do to prevent this activity. The majority of these transactions are coming from Europe or some other foreign country
I believe that any item advertised in the internet is susceptible.

You are very smart to have asked your Credit Union to look into it.

Welcome to the board,and thank you for sharing your story.

[topcop]

Unfortunately, many are not as careful as you were. Congrat's on catching it !! This and many other sites can give you more info if you are so inclined. You are right about the FBI and other LE agencies. They appreciate the info for intel reasons, but they are limited on what they can / will do. Unless the case is quite large, their resources are pretty streched and really can't focus on the smaller cases. Good deal calling them, though....tc