Is this a scam? SCAM ALERT!!!

miramadar · Jan 28, 2010

Be advised that there is someone on Craigslist.com trying to sell an '06 New Holland TC33 w/ FEL and box blade, 150 hours, for $4850. This is a scam!

I was very interested in buying this tractor and corresponded with the person. The only identifying info I could get was the person's email address, which is kathleenbarnaj@gmail.com. This person will try to direct you to an Ebay "Buy It Now" page. But the link that they send you is BOGUS. It is housed on a server in the Czech Republic. If you go to the REAL Ebay site and do a search for this tractor, you'll see that it doesn't really exist on the site.

I hope no one falls for this.

Axe Man · Jan 28, 2010

These people are all over the internet. Ther's one on kijiji now offering a 44 HP Kubota, HST, FEL and BH for $4800. No phone number just site email. When asked for info on where the tractor is located etc. you get a reply telling all info requests cost $2000 but this will hold the tractor for pick-up. Good Luck

sixguns · Jan 28, 2010

I've run into many of these on craigslist and e-bay. It gets really frustrating, remember if it sounds to good to be true it is, especially on the internet.

wampum · Jan 28, 2010

Ran into one on Pittsburgh Craigslist. A John Deere 4110 with 42 hours for$4200.00. Checked it on the web it was in other cities also. I e-mailed them just for fun, the tractor is suppose to be in Washington State. This included a brand new back scrapper,mower,and trailer. The Pics they sent were on some dealers lot,because other equipment could be seen. I e-mailed back and asked to physically see the tractor,so far no e-mail back. The persons E-mail that was on craigslist was antonajudy@gmail.com just incase you see the same ad.

Ridgewalker · Jan 28, 2010

Those adds are funny, you would think they would learn to quote a more realistic price in an attempt to get suckers to bite.

irvingj · Jan 28, 2010

One of my co-workers was nailed just last week for $4100 for a houseboat.... when she described the deal to me I started to see red flags all over the place, which only got worse when she answered some of my questions- Any phone contact? No, just email. (Hmmmm) What about shipping? Oh, that was included. (OUCH!) Payment? My husband just wired $$ by Western Union (You didn't!) to a company to hold until delivery..... (Uh-oh.)

She found out shortly after that the money was gone, "holding company" was bogus, no further contact with "seller".....

Started out on Craig's list. Sad to see that happen, but it does. (I got hit for $950 --a sewing machine for wife-- 2 years ago; learned then. I hope!)

Reminded of the old adage, "If it sounds too good to be true....." (with apologies to Sixgun, but it bears repeating...)

JoelD · Jan 28, 2010

The kicker is the authorities could absolutely care less

there are so many doing it that the authorities do nothing and the scammers know it

almost easier just scam someone than bother driving into work

Joel

thatguy · Jan 28, 2010

Ridgewalker said:
Those adds are funny, you would think they would learn to quote a more realistic price in an attempt to get suckers to bite.

That is exactly what I was thinking.. undercut a retail price by a few thousand dollars (make it a 'pretty good deal' instead of a steal) and they could eliminate a lot of suspicion

Brian

Scotty370 · Jan 28, 2010

Same issue here on a Polaris ATV. Posted on Buffalo CL. Contacted poster, He said the unit was in Montana, but he'd have it shipped to me on his 'dime'. He gave me the whole 'how we do this story'! " Want to go through a reliable vendor like E-Bay", he says "I've already got it set up with them, I'm just a firefighter here that needs to pay down some bills." Then sez-"I'll ship it to you, and if there's anything wrong, I'll pay for the return shipping, keep it for five days!" We'll, I e-mailed E-Bay and as I thought, total scam!! I give E-Bay credit, though, I got a e-mail personal response within hours! Not a 'canned' e-mail!! Scum out there! ~Scotty

ronmueller · Jan 28, 2010

Ive also found numerous scams on Used Tractors and Farm Equipment. 1000s of Farm Machinery Classifieds! They post a tractor for less than half what it's worth. The scammer says they are selling it through a charity, and that it is currently being held at a shipping center. They say they want 50% up front, after which they will ship the tractor to you at their expense. You then have 5 days to check out the tractor and if you are not satisfied you can ship it back at their expense for a full refund. Yeah, right! They also want you to wire the funds to an overseas account. BUYER BEWARE!

bluechip · Jan 28, 2010

I think they keep the price uner $5K as I have heard that may be a minimum for federal authorities to get involved. You see a LOT of these under 5K.

PILOON · Jan 28, 2010

I tried to entrap a scammer once.
Had it all set up with scammer ready to take Western Union at a specified location.

From local police that refered me to provincial police and onto RCMP that then refered me to phone busters.
One agency actually said to call back Monday!

They just don't care to persue scams, quoting costs involved due to juristrictions and postponments etc.

Very frustrating, to say the least.

But don't stop your car over the white line at a red light, that is breaking the law and will cost a fine and demerit points!
(or worse, slide 8 ft into an intersection over the white line on icy road maintained by the city (with no traffic)), cost my good buddy $180. fine!

wampum · Jan 28, 2010

Usually if you ask to go physically to see it,or see if a friend can check it out,you never hear from them again. Like most say if its to good to be true it is. If its local,its always worth a look,if you can not look forget it.

DC3 · Jan 29, 2010

miramadar said:
Be advised that there is someone on Craigslist.com trying to sell an '06 New Holland TC33 w/ FEL and box blade, 150 hours, for $4850. This is a scam!

I was very interested in buying this tractor and corresponded with the person. The only identifying info I could get was the person's email address, which is kathleenbarnaj@gmail.com. This person will try to direct you to an Ebay "Buy It Now" page. But the link that they send you is BOGUS. It is housed on a server in the Czech Republic. If you go to the REAL Ebay site and do a search for this tractor, you'll see that it doesn't really exist on the site.

I hope no one falls for this.

Does this look familiar?

New Holland Farm Tractor

Gary Fowler · Jan 29, 2010

They have the same ebay scam going with an email address of Melissa Barry@gmail who claims that her husband died in Iraq and she is just trying to get some money to go live with her sister. The ad was posted from Crosby Tx so I responded. 2009 Kubota L3400 with bushhog, back blade, FEL, and 16' trailer for $4400. I was going to mess with them a little but she asked for my home address and phone number so I just cut it off.

miramadar · Jan 29, 2010

Quote:
Originally Posted by miramadar
Be advised that there is someone on Craigslist.com trying to sell an '06 New Holland TC33 w/ FEL and box blade, 150 hours, for $4850. This is a scam!

I was very interested in buying this tractor and corresponded with the person. The only identifying info I could get was the person's email address, which is kathleenbarnaj@gmail.com. This person will try to direct you to an Ebay "Buy It Now" page. But the link that they send you is BOGUS. It is housed on a server in the Czech Republic. If you go to the REAL Ebay site and do a search for this tractor, you'll see that it doesn't really exist on the site.

I hope no one falls for this.

Does this look familiar?

New Holland Farm Tractor

Yep, that's the one. Very much too good to be true. The husband of a friend of mine got scammed a couple of years ago trying to buy an Acura TL. Exact same setup...spoofed Ebay page, wired money, bogus holding/delivery company. He lost $20k. Ouch!!!

The kicker is the authorities could absolutely care less

there are so many doing it that the authorities do nothing and the scammers know it

almost easier just scam someone than bother driving into work

Joel

Well, for what it's worth, I did contact the FBI through the IC3 department and reported it. We'll see if anything comes of it. But the scammers truly do have the upper hand here. Law enforcement, constricted by jurisdiction and manpower, just isn't up to the task. Everyone would be best served to view the internet marketplace as they would a market in a third world country...suspect everything, trust no one.

ovrszd · Jan 29, 2010

I've got into an email discussion with two different scammers for entertainment purposes. The two that I talked to were not American. It became obvious in how they worded their sentences once I got them off their canned original speech.

With that said, I understand the difficulty of chasing them down. I think there are rooms full of people loading Internet scams daily. Kinda like those phone solicitation companies. Only these people are illegal. They are so buried that the chances of physically catching them is very small.

RobertN · Jan 29, 2010

I just sold my tractor, and am looking for a larger one. I have been looking at CL within 250 miles from Sacramento. There are a number of these "too good to be true" ad's just in that search area. Seen JD, NH, and Kubota. One, was a nice new looking NH with a rear finish more for like $2400. I'm sure a 5' rear finish mower alone must be at least $1500.

DC3 · Jan 29, 2010

Be advised, there's another one on Craigslist from johndeere @ tractors-farms2007.com. I've checked around and they have posted in numerous locations around the country. Most of the ads have been flagged for removal, but more pop up, like this one.

http://delaware.craigslist.org/grd/1577394047.html

Look at other ads on the web and you'll see the same pic. Another sign they really don't have anything to sell.

oldtractors · Jan 30, 2010

Tried to waste a scammers time last week. The first one quit talking to me after I asked to see the tractor. They told me it was in NYC, which I replied I was within driving distance and am there on business all the time. I still want to see it! She was selling it cheap because it was her ex husband's tractor and she wanted to apparently screw him. However, she was going to ship it to me cheap because she gets a big discount where her husband worked.

The second one sent me the ebay link where I could pay the money. The link was to a Airstream trailer, and the buy-it-now was already bought. I went off on them, telling them if they are going to scam me, at least put some effort into the web page and double check that it was accurate. I told her there was nothing worse than a lazy criminal!

I found if you google the email address that you see on Craigslist, it will show that the same person places ads on CL all over the country. There is usually somebody on some forum somewhere also saying that the person is a crook. Google is awesome.