OK, what kind of scam is this?

[SaltyNuts]

I see an add for a $1200 Maxima, like 2011, on Facebook marketplace. Pics look pretty darned good. I felt scam, but since it don't cost me nothing I messaged. The response was email Claire at this email address its her car.

So now I'm like 99% sure its a scam. But again, it don't cost me nothing so I email Claire asking about it. Here is the response I get:

Hi,
Thanks for your interest in my 2011 Nissan Maxima SV .It has 87,500 miles, 3.5 S 6cyl, automatic transmission. We never had any accidents or bumps with it. As you can see from the photos, the car was very well taken care of. I have a clear title for it, legally under my name, with no liens or loans on it and it has just been completely serviced. The engine runs very good and the automatic transmission shifts perfectly. The sale price is $1,200,(including delivery and handling to your address). I'm selling this car because my child of only 26 years died 4 months ago in a bike accident, the car belonged to my son and it brings back bad memories and that's the reason I want to sell it.
Me and my husband and I travel a lot with our business and we want to make this deal through eBay, so if you're interested in purchasing the car just reply to me (full name, full address and phone number)to open a case with eBay. They will contact you to explain the entire procedure.
God bless you

So, 99.999999% sure its a scam. But what is the game here? What is their end goal? Just curious. These scammer put so much effort into this shit, one has to wonder, even if they pull it off once in a blue moon, give how much time they put into it, is it really profitable for them in the economic sense lol?

 

[Motostu]

I think it's as simple as getting your personal information. Not sure if it's enough to open a credit card in your name, but at minimum they can sell the info so you get lots of spam mail, email, and phone calls. I doubt it takes much time, really.

edit: Missed the ebay part before. More than likely you'd be contacted by 'ebay' (the scammer) to pay via some other means than paypal, then they disappear. And still sell your info.

 

[BoomerD]

100% scam.

The sale price is $1,200,(including delivery and handling to your address).

That by itself should scream RUN AWAY! The rest of the add is just as bad...

 

[Pacfanweb]

I see these all the time. Usually I'll see the same pic in multiple cities. There's one of a black Silverado that the scammers recycle every so often.
I've seen welders and motors as well. Usually I report them. Recently they've been using a 572 Big Block Chevy crate engine and listing it for like $300 bucks. I kept reporting it and they gradually went up in price, I guess to make it look more legit, but it was still only like $1200, which is still way too cheap.

But if it's a really, really good deal...it's 100% a scam. Usually the description gives it away.

 

[Paperdoc]

I found the SAME scam. Different car, but priced hard to believe, her mid-20's son died in a biking accident and she can't bear the pain, so must get rid of the car. Selling via eBay, they will ship it to you for free to examine it, and even take it back for free if you don't buy.

I live in Ontario, Canada. The start of my tale was a car for sale in Facebook in a small town 2 hours' drive west from here posted by a guy, but you could not inquire by Facebook message because he was on vacation and unreachable that way - you had to e-mail a lady on g-mail. The Facebook profile of the guy was he was an immigrant from Somalia living in a much larger city further away in another province and with a strangely long detailed "bio" of his schooling there in primary and secondary levels, nothing after that. The lady replied to my query with the story above, said she and her husband were travelling constantly so car was in eBay's hands in a larger city 1000 miles to my east (free 2-way shipping??). So how old is she with husband and dead adult son, and who is the original guy posting - he seems he MIGHT be in his early 20's?? Oh yeah, and the car SHE detailed was a different one with an even lower price one could not believe! Plus, I searched eBay in Canada and USA - no such car!

Just so MANY red Flags!! I quit right there and never heard from "her" again.

 

[SaltyNuts]

I found the SAME scam. Different car, but priced hard to believe, my mid-20's son died in a biking accident and I can't bear the pain, so I must get rid of the car. Selling via eBay, they will ship it to you for free to examine it, and even take it back for free if you don't buy.

I live in Ontario, Canada. The start of my tale was a car for sale in Facebook in a small town 2 hours' drive west from here posted by a guy, but you could not inquire by Facebook message because he was on vacation and unreachable that way - you had to e-mail a lady on g-mail. The profile of the guy was he was an immigrant from Somalia living in a much larger city further away in another province and with a strangely long detailed "bio" of his schooling there in primary and secondary levels, after that. The lady replied to my query with the story above, said she and her husband were travelling constantly so car was in eBay's hands in a larger city 1000 miles to my east (free 2-way shipping??). So how old is she with husband and dead adult son, and who is the original guy posting - he seems he MIGHT be in his early 20's?? Oh yeah, and the car SHE detailed was a different one with an even lower price one could not believe!

Just so MANY red Flags!! I quit right there and never heard from "her" again.

Shit man, so sorry about your son. And thank you so much for posting that despite the pain, must have hurt a ton. I really appreciate it, means a lot to me.

 

[Paperdoc]

Sorry. I wrote that wrong. It was not MY son who died. That was the story laid out by the scammer in the reply to my inquiry about the car for sale. I edited the post to make that clearer.

 

[mindless1]

if you're interested in purchasing the car just reply to me (full name, full address and phone number)to open a case with eBay. They will contact you to explain the entire procedure.

This is the telltale sign. If they want to sell it on ebay, they merely have to list it on ebay.

They probably want your address so they can claim the vehicle is further away than someone would travel to see it in person, since they don't have the vehicle, then the scammer contacts you again pretending to be ebay, or sends you a link to a fake ebay page, or one they just set up so ebay didn't have a chance to remove it yet, to steer you towards some payment method with no protection, like gift cards, or wiring them the money. The catch is you pay before they will (supposedly) ship it.

Twists on the story are different family member died, different cause, maybe covid, or military member overseas, etc.

Put the brakes on phony online car sales

You can buy practically anything online, including used cars. But before you shell out any hard-earned cash, here’s a warning about scammers trying to sell cars they don’t have or own.

consumer.ftc.gov