SCAMMER BUYING AND SELLING CARS IN THE US!!!

We may have this criminal!! Please, please, please read this in its entirety!!

Ok guys and gals.., i believe i am in the same boat as many or all of you but with an interesting twist!  I need some assistance here!  My situation is different however.  I am selling my passat on autotrader.com and below is the strand of emails between us from newest to oldest.  Notice in the first, he states that he is "out to sea or offshore?"  however, when i searched his ip address, at least the first email, at the very bottom here, came from illinois??  He is using the name sgt. Bob orton but his job title is identical to all your guys (again see emails below).  He only wants my paypal email to wire the $16,200.00 price of my car, into my account?  This is a site unseen deal, although i do have 27 pics on the site.  It is still active sale now, so you can log on to autotrader.com and search the 85260 zip code for a 2008 vw passat.  I have it listed on the site for $16,499.00 and the vehicle is black in exterior color.  

I am a bit confused and perturbed here because this potential scammer seems to be working in complete opposite of every sad situation here as he is wanting to buy my car and not trying to sell one of his and if i give him my paypal email and he wires funds, i can pull them out immediately to ensure he doesn’t get the money back and fraud me...., right!? I apologize for my paypal ignorance. I am not too privy on the logistics of large transactions?  The only thing i can think of for a scam would be when he sends whoever to pick up the car, as he states in his last email, and the guys come and stick me up and make me go to my bank to empty my accounts?  I don’t know but any and all help will be much much appreciated!! And ***if this guy is a fraud and the same guy, by no uncertain terms, i have the resources to find him in less than 24 hours!  I will only divulge that this ability to find and track is job related. :-)  so i would be finding the same idiot who seemed to scam several of you and i will prosecute him in each and every state that he defrauded each of you and bring him to justice!!  You may each begin your separate civil and monetary suits at this point and perhaps file a quazi-class action lawsuit pertaining to civilian to civilian (or non-entity) circumstances and incidents.
*****please email me at eclipsefitness1@yahoo.com if you have any information for me, updates on your situations, dates, product and value to which you have been scammed and defamed!****
notice the simple lack of spell check that every single one of any and all seemingly “fishy” emails, is written.  It takes.., what, 1 minute to correct the email to proper grammar and punctuation.  Does this fact give this guy away in your opinions?  Thanks and the email strand is directly below........


                                        SCAMMER/BUYER’S LAST CORRESPONDENCE
Thanks for the quick response,am buying this Car for my dad as a surprise gift because his birthday on the way, may i know the last price you are asking?. due to my occupation as a marine engineer at this moment i am  presently working offshore,sometimes access to regular email are very poor in  offshore due to inefficiency of the immarsat service.Fortunately the internet access working averagely today and i was able to come across  the advert of Car . I really want the Car to be a surprise to my dad by not disclosing the Car until the delivery is made to him,so am sure he will be more than happy with the Car.I insisted on PayPal because i don't have  access to my bank account online as i don't have internet banking,but i can pay from my PayPal account,as i have my bank a/c attached to it,i will need you to give me your PayPal email address so i can make the payment as soon as possible for the Car and pls if you don't have PayPal account yet,it is very easy to set up, go on http://www.paypal.com and get it set up,after you have set it up i will only need the e-mail address you use for registration with PayPal so as to put the money through..Notice you don't need to bother your self about the shipment,i have an pick-up agent that will come for pick-up,they will also determine and secure the shipment,Hope to read from you soon.
Do Have a nice day,
My Best Regard.
Sgt. Bob Orton.
US Marine Corps 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force


                                                                     MY RESPONSE
On Thu, May 19, 2011 at 6:11 PM, I wrote:
BOB THE ANSWERS TO ALL YOUR QUESTIONS ARE THE ONES YOU ARE LOOKING
FOR.  PLEASE CALL ME AT ###-###-####.  YOU CAN ALSO FIND 28 PICS AND
DETAILED INFORMATION ON AUTOTRADER.COM, WHERE I POSTED THE CAR AS
WELL!  I AM CURRENTLY WORKING WITH 2 OTHER PEOPLE AND THE ADD HAS ONLY
BEEN LIVE THERE LESS THAN A DAY.  SO PLEASE CALL ME AT ###-###-#### TO
DISCUSS YOUR QUESTIONS.  THANK YOU


                                        SCAMMER/BUYER'S ORIGINAL INQUIRY
On 5/18/11, CarsOnlineFree.com Visitor <support@carsonlinefree.com> wrote:
CarsOnlineFree.com
Message sent by Bob (bobortoncity02@gmail.com) from CarsOnlineFree.com:
Inquiry For: Listing ID: 217000
2008 Volkswagen Passat CCLUX $16,499
****MY NOTE: This E-mail was originated from IP Address: 204.45.135.154 (view location)
Message/Comments:
Hello,
I came across your ad and I'll like to know the following questions
regarding the ad.

Q#1. How long have you owned it?
Q#2. a) Have you owned it from new? b) If not how many previous owner?
Q#3.Why are you selling it?
Q#4. In your opinion, what sort of conditions it?
Q#5. Any available photo?
Q#6. How much are you asking for it?
Q#7. Do you accept a (PayPal)as a mode of payment.

I'll like to have the response to these question in your earliest
convenience...Email me at bobortoncity02@gmail.com.....Hope to hear from you
soon.
Have a nice day.
Sgt. Bob Orton.
US Marine Corps
2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force.
Please Reply to: Bob
Email: bobortoncity02@gmail.com
Phone: n/aa

Are you set-up to receive money through PayPal?  I think the process is different from paying through PayPal.  I think PayPal charges a fee for you to receive money.  I don't know how they handle incoming bounced checks.  

It sounds like the classic Overpayment Scam.  The way that scam works, the buyer sends more than the agreed purchase price.  The overage is to pay to have the item shipped.  The buyer has the seller wire the overage to a shipper the buyer has selected.  The buyer and shipper vanish.  The buyer's payment bounces.  The seller looses the amount sent to the shipper.  

Don't reply to the message.  Sell the car locally.  

When you get the car sold use part of the money to buy a new keyboard.  Your current one is stuck in ALL CAPS.  It makes your message hard to read.

Why are you try to blackmail me?....Have fear of god in mind..

Thanks
Sgt.Bob Orton.

Thanks my man!  I thought it was too good to be true, sight unseen and your scenario was what i was thinking was the only way he could fraud me.  I'm just trying to sell a car yah know?  I guess in these tough times, a lot of people are on the illegal hustle.  Keyboard works GREAT btw! LOL i just CAPPED it all as to grab readers attention and for emphasis.  thanks again my friend....... :-)

Nope! just trying to sell my car honestly my man.  I have sold around 12 cars, all personal, and your situation just seemed a little "off"  and a brand new experience and course of action than I have ever encountered on any sale of my previous vehicles..., thats all.  If you still want the car and are serious, then obviously I have no problems moving forward with you.  By no means am I trying to blackmail you!  However, I know you can respect being cautious, especially in these tougher times.  If you are the REAL DEAL, I will clear your name, no worries and I will leave it at that!!  If you want to proceed honestly, let me know.  However, I should let you know that I have resources and family in pretty high places.  This is not in any way, a threat, only to inform you that IF you are planning on anything unethical and/or illegal, I'm probably NOT the person you want to try to complete a fraudulant deal with.  I doubt I will hear from you again but let me know what you want to do Bob!?
Cheers

Odd "Sgt Bob" says he has unreliable internet but yet found his way to 800 notes to read this!! Just proves more that he may not be legit.

I had almost the exact same email when I was trying to sell a blackberry on Craigslist.  The very similar questions were asked only in regards to the phone.  He kept insisting that he worked out at sea and needed the phone for his son and was desperate for me to send it overseas.  I kept telling him that I wouldn't ship it and that someone would have to meet me in person at a public place.  Below is the original email I received and as you can see, some very similar questions are asked about the phone as was the car.  

"Thanks for your prompt e-mail. it was just exactly what i wanted and i hope the item is in good condition and i will like you to answer the following questions..Do you still have the original receipt?
The original box/container and its accessories,would these be included at this price? (stated the accessories were with the phone in the ad)
Why are you you selling this item? for security purpose...  (my reason was in the ad)
Can you send me some pictures of this item from varying angles?  (there were two pictures in the ad)
I will like to purchase this item for my son in school Abroad and i will be more than happy if you can get this item shipped. I am willing to offer you $120 (I was only asking $100) and also include shipping fee of $60 via USPS Express mail service, i will be paying you via my PayPal account, If my offer is accepted send me your PayPal email address including your phone # so that i can pay in right away... I work on the sea and do not have much time around me... Make sure you get back to me so that i can arrange for the payment... I await your reply...."

And my response to him was:  "I'm sorry I no longer have the receipt for the phone. Yes, the accessories are also included in the price. As far as pictures are concerned, there were two in the original ad and shows that the phone is in excellent condition. As to the reason I'm selling, as I stated in the ad there is nothing wrong with the phone, I simply wanted to upgrade to a different phone.  I will only sell the phone if we can meet in person and handle the transaction in cash. I do not accept checks or money orders. Nor will I ship the phone abroad."    Craigslist is very diligent in warning their users not to ship overseas.

I then received this response:  "Please kindly understand that i would have love to come and view it myself and give you cash in hand but just that i work on the sea and i won't be back in town till Xmas and i need to get this to my son abroad asap cos he's badly in need of this item and i do not have my online banking here with me i would have wired the money straight to your bank account but the only means i have here is to pay you via paypal... so  help me out as though you are helping our country too and send me your paypal email address so that i can arrange for the money to be transferred  to your account.... Your services will not be forgotten and will be surely rewarded..Thanks.."

He claimed he was a special agent in the Navy.  His first email was signed:  
 Dada James
 Special Agent  
 Code 23266
  Navy

I knew it was a scam when he kept wanting me to ship the phone overseas.  I hope this helps anyone.

attached is an email I received replying to my ad to sell my mini van in NB, Canada:
Hello,
Thanks for mailing back,i really
appreciate it, am really interested
in it and i will appreciate it if you
can send me more pictures if you
have, cause due to the nature of my
job,phone calls making and visiting
of website are restricted but i
squeezed out time to check this
advert. I cant be able to come and
view it and pay in cash but i have
contact, a pick up company they will
be coming to pick it after i have
paid for it,i can only pay through
Paypal as i don't have access to my
bank account online as i don't have
internet banking,but i have my
bank acct attached to my PayPal
account and this is why i insisted
on paying you through PayPal,so
kindly get back to me with your full
name and paypal email address so i
can proceed with the payment now,
but if you don't have an account
with them you can set up a paypal
account viawww.paypal.com it very
easy and fast, it wont take you
than 3 minute to do that,I will
proceed with the payment as soon
as you send me your paypal email
address and contact the pick up
agent to arrange a convenient
pickup time with you,once payment
has been transferred and cashed.
I believe i can trust you on this
transaction cause i need a faithful
and loyal person to transact
business with not fraudster.I hope
to read back from you soon. Thanks
Oliver

this is    obviously   a  scam  and  fake !!!!

what's  the point  here. ???

A recent (un-edited), example of these con artists in action is below:

"Good day,
I am a business man in Nigeria, i would like to have the auto has i understand it is for sale(Chevy, Corvette), so then i will be offering you the sum of $18000.00 for the payment,but if my offer is accepted by you,then i think i should i will like to see some more pics of it and i also want to let you know that i intend paying for it with a cashier's check drawn from a US bank due to the fact that wire transfer these days is not safe for payment,so then i will kindly wait you,as you reply soon,so we can get on with the transaction immedaitely.
Thank you very much as i await your reply.
MR PETER LONG. "

    The first tip off is the subject line of the E-mail. In many examples the scammers usually just copy and paste your item description directly into the subject line of the E-mail. Second big tip off is in regards to shipping. The scammers almost always offer to take care of arranging shipping themselves. They may also mention paying with a Cashier's Check in the initial E-mail, though some appear to also be using hijacked PayPal accounts. Suspicious E-mails may also use all capital letters, have bad spelling, request more contact or banking info from you, will not be concerned with the condition or price of the car, and will probably claim to be a re-seller or agent for someone else. If any of these things are in an E-mail you receive you have a scammer on your hands! Additionally, if the buyer is claiming he is at sea at the moment and has limited access to the internet, it is a scam. They will most likely be using a free E-mail service as well. Yahoo, Hotmail and USA.com are common ones but there are many more worldwide. If you do not recognize the domain of the E-mail (the part after the @) just copy and paste it into your browser and go check it out. If it is a free service be very wary.

I believe the request to "delete the ad from the website" is a new development as of the summer of 2004. There are so many scammers trying this now they are afraid that, during the scam process, you will receive similar E-mails from other scammers which will be a tip off that something is fishy. Having you delete the ad is the only way to prevent this for them.

    UPDATE 2010: There seems to be an increase of scammers posing as someone out a sea in a boat. If your potential buyer is claiming this it is definitely a scam.

    I now recommend not running your E-mail address in your ad - just a phone number. Almost all of the scammers rely on E-mail for their initial contact. However, if you've read this far you do have enough info to be able to spot most of the clues in a scammer's E-mail. It is really your choice. A new development appears to be the use of the TTY system (the telephone system for the deaf). If you receive a call regarding your ad from someone using this system there is a good chance they are a scammer typing in their scheme since their English is so bad.

    I have even heard of these scammers, from Africa, attempting to buy snow tires for this scam. Please be aware of this fraud and tell everyone you know about it too. The internet is a wonderful tool for bring people and cars together. Lets not let these criminals ruin it for us! Visit Scam Victims United for even more detailed information on this problem.