An Internet Scam

I'm a typical guy--I can't resist an incredible deal. So, when I was surfing car ads on AutoTrader.com, I saw a 1999 Honda Accord with 80,000 miles for $2,800, I shot the seller an e-mail to set up a time to view the car. (Note: This is less than half of the Blue Book value for this vehicle.) Considering the age and the price paid, I figured acquiring this car would still allow me to maintain membership in the Junky Car Club.

Probably some little old lady who doesn't know how much the car is worth, I thought.

Sure, the e-mail response was in broken English. Sure, the seller was living in Europe, and the car was here in the U.S. Sure, the images they sent me of the car were 72 pixels high (exactly an inch). Sure, the seller kept putting off my requests to look at the car. But what a deal!

The plan, the seller explained, was this: I would pay a $1,500 deposit and the car would be delivered to my door. I would have 5 days to try out the car. If I liked it, I would pay the balance of the cost of the car. If not, I would get my $1,500 back. [Wouldn't it be cool if you could actually buy a car this way.]

I immediately recognized that this was a scam, but decided to go along for the ride and see if I could play with the tricksters a little bit myself. Perhaps, by wasting their time, I could prevent them from snookering someone else. So, I asked for some more photos and the VIN number, so that I could run a CarFax check while they prepared my "invoice."

The "invoice" came in the form of an e-mail from a Hotmail account instructing me to go to my nearest Western Union and wire $1,500 in cash to a gentleman in London. My payment would be guaranteed by SafePay Solutions.

My response? I expressed "concern" that the e-mail was generated by Hotmail and not SafePay and noted that SafePay does not accept cash payments for online transactions.

"However, I hope this is not a scam," I wrote cheerfully. "I really want this car!"

Unfortunately, they've not been in contact with me about delivering the car ... Oh, well.