Watch out - Romahome scammer on ebay

[rubberrat]

I sure everyone on this forum is worldly wise, but watch out for this Ebay stunt....2008 Outlook for £7k Yeah right.. (link below)

Scam Romahome

..Those who think this is too good to true will be plied with emails about the owner being out of the country, just send a large deposit and the camper will be delivered to you.

Of course, you will see neither camper nor your cash ever again - it will will be turned into a Mercedes in Nigeria before you can blink.
Just a 'heads Up' for your friends.,..

[Graham]

Looks like it's been removed.

[rubberrat]

That was quick! Only looked at that ten minutes ago.
We suffer from this nonsense in the VW Camper world. It seems they have a 1 in 1000 success rate. And that is enough!

[paul]

Not just motorhomes

This scam is by no means limited to motorhomes, nor to eBay.

I have seen exactly the same applied to expensive cameras and guitars. on Craigslist, Gumtree etc. It almost certainly extends to almost any item of value. The scammer just takes the description and pictures from a previous sale, reduces the price to something tempting, then proceeds as described.

The answer is the old adage: if it looks too good to be true then it almost certainly is.

[rubberrat]

I suppose we should be slightly flattered that Romahomes are considered popular enough to attract the attention of these scammers.

[Ian.C.S]

I suppose we should be slightly flattered that Romahomes are considered popular enough to attract the attention of these scammers.

Thankyou Rubberrat for spotting this scam and for posting a warning so quickly. Much appreciated.
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They say no eyes are sharper than a junkyard rat

[GeeCee]

The Paypal scam-A WARNING

On the day this scam was posted I nearly fell for the same scam. I was selling an NG kit car in Autotrader using Paypal. I sent the correspondence I suspected was a scam to Paypal and their advice was basically "to ask for a small deposit and then to have the rest paid cash when giving the goods, in this case a car. So if it goes wrong you ONLY lose the deposit". Oh yes, I'm likely to risk losing ONLY the deposit!!
Autotrader were more helpful. They said "tell this scammer, which he is, the vehicle is already sold. The only way to trade cars etc. is to accept cash or a bank transfer-absolutely nothing else is safe."
Apparently the way this scam works is that the "buyer" asks for your account number and then puts the money in your account. You are informed by Paypal the money is in your account and so supply the goods, in this case a car. The second the car is in the hands of the "buyer" the "buyer" registers a complaint with Paypal who then invariably immediately return the money to the "buyer" whilst they investigate the complaint, which in reality and according to their terms, leaves you to arbitrate with the "buyer". The "buyer" then has the money and your car and disappears without trace. Apparently many, many people have been caught this way. For my part I will never ever use Paypal now, although I lost no money. Graham (and Carole)

[rubberrat]

Excellent review of this scam. so many people are unaware of the workings of some of these, particularly this one - one may think 'What could go wrong' - I have the money in my Paypal account?
This chargeback that PP run is an abomination and fuels theft.

Stick to keeping paypal for small ebay purchases, for everything else - cash is king - and get that paid in with the buyer at your branch with you standing alongside.

[Brougham]

cash is king - and get that paid in with the buyer at your branch with you standing alongside.

Good advice, remember that Bankers Drafts are not guarantee of payment. Forgeries have been known.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/advice/2...ulent-payments

I suppose you could get too paranoid about this - cash can be forged too.

Wait for confirmation from the bank that you can draw on the funds I guess.

Regards,
Neil.

[GeoNomad]

Wait for confirmation from the bank that you can draw on the funds I guess.

NOT!!!!

The bank may well let you draw on the funds a few days after you deposit the draft.

30 days later they may come after you for the funds back.

Beware...

BTW, I saw a too good to be true ad on one of the French sites for MH that I liked. Googling for comparison, I found the exact same ad for the same MH in 5 different places, including South America! Confirmed scam.

Peter