eBay

hywystr · ‎09-07-2022

A man in Montana has a car for sale. He says I can pay through e-bay using e-bay cards. Is this real?

mtgraves7984 · ‎09-07-2022

Sure sounds like a scam to me. What is the eBay listing number? If you didn't find it here, it's certainly a scam.

albertabrightalberta · ‎09-07-2022

@hywystr wrote:
A man in Montana has a car for sale. He says I can pay through e-bay using e-bay cards. Is this real?

NEVER pay for anything with gift cards.

What site did you find the car? If it's not on ebay, it's a scam.

albertabrightalberta
Volunteer Community Mentor

biggymoe · ‎09-07-2022

SCAM ALERT 101. Have no further communication with that person.

soh.maryl · ‎09-07-2022

Hey, I really believe that you're smarter than this.

You found a car listed on another site, and were told the sale would go through eBay for your protection.

And that you would need to buy eBay gift cards to pay.

Of course, it's a scam, for so many reasons, the first of which is that eBay listings are seen only on, guess where, eBay.

And that you cannot use eBay gift cards to pay for a motor vehicle ANYWHERE.

Over the time I have been here, I have seen literally hundreds of messages exactly like yours, including quite a few where the unfortunate buyer went through with sending the card numbers to the scammers. Make a note of this: THERE IS NO WAY TO GET YOUR MONEY BACK.

Learn to identify scams in every situation.

fab_finds4u · ‎09-07-2022

No, It is not real.

https://pages.ebay.com/motors/buy/purchase-protection/

Please go here and click on "Learn more" in the yellow box, and "View additional warning signs and examples of vehicle scams."

Forward their email to cars@ebay.com and report the fraudulent ad on the site you found it.

titipeo · ‎09-07-2022

Also, don't believe the zappy story where the owner is going to the military and they gave everything to eBay for them to handle, or the spouse/son passed away the car gives them bad memories, blah blah blah. Is all a lie to get you to bite. There is no car, the selling price is way under blue book value. Move along, but, do report the post where you found it, Craigslist, Marketplace, or whichever, to prevent others from falling prey to It.

fab_finds4u · ‎09-07-2022

LOL, don't forget the story "I am selling the car because I won it in a divorce and as a woman I have no use for a car."

Those scammers must have been from Saudi Arabia before 2018 when women weren't allowed to drive.

maxine*j · ‎09-07-2022

@fab_finds4u wrote:
LOL, don't forget the story "I am selling the car because I won it in a divorce and as a woman I have no use for a car."
Those scammers must have been from Saudi Arabia before 2018 when women weren't allowed to drive.

And the one about the car belonging to my recently-deceased father/son/grandfather/husband and just looking at it makes me so sad that I've priced it so low to get rid of it quickly.

There was one recently that was a double-whammy: It was her husband's truck but he recently died and she is in the military and about to be deployed overseas.

-

maxine*j · ‎09-07-2022

@hywystr wrote:
A man in Montana has a car for sale. He says I can pay through e-bay using e-bay cards. Is this real?

Yes, it is real. IT IS A REAL SCAM. And an old one. There is no man named whatever name he is using. There is no car. The sob story to explain its cheap price is a lie. "Invoices" and "receipts" will be sent which are totally fake. Payment is to be made in gift cards because they cannot be traced and your money cannot be recovered. eBay won't be able to help you, because eBay is not involved in this in any way. Law enforcement will not be able to help you because the scammer and all his accounts will vanish in the flash of an electron.

-

simba6 · ‎09-07-2022

He will also tell you there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. SCAMMER, LIAR and THIEF. Just another crook out to steal your money.

eBay never assists in sales or payments of items on other sites. It has to be listed on eBay to be an eBay sale. There is no other way. Auto sales are paid in person after you inspect it. They are non binding and either party can just walk away if they don't like what they see.

eBay will NEVER tell anyone to but gift cards.

titipeo · ‎09-07-2022

@maxine*j @fab_finds4u The stories that scammers come off sometimes makes me wonder they should work as script writers for sitcoms or movies.

I'll get some flack on this, but I feel that the buyers greed comes into play. I've always commented on the numerous red flags:

super low price for the item

zappy story from seller that makes you feel attached/sorry to them

saw it on AAA BBB CCC but eBay handling

free shipping to you (come on, doesn't take too long to realize that no one transport a car for free)

5 days test drive with free return if you don't like the vehicle

payment via gift card (credit card/PayPal/cash is not good?????)

Sad part is that buyer is strap for cash, and certainly needs a vehicle, but still, the greed takes over and that is the price to pay.

7606dennis · ‎09-07-2022

I believe that this is a fairly well known scam.

"It is an intelligent man that is aware of his own ignorance."

maxine*j · ‎09-07-2022

@titipeo wrote:
@maxine*j @fab_finds4u
... I'll get some flack on this, but I feel that the buyers greed comes into play...

Oh, I have said the same and, yes, took the flack. (And doubtless have to will take it again.)

Conmen say that you cannot cheat an honest man. What they mean by that is that every classic scam involves an element of the mark being greedy and/or willing to take something that is not righfully his and/or skirting the law in some way.

In these car scams, one element the grifter is counting on is that the gull is so eager and willing to take advantage of a widow/bereaved mother/person facing medical bankruptcy/veteran/solider/whatever to get something way below its value that common sense flies out the window.

Am I sayhing that this is the case with everyone who falls for this vehicle scam? No. Am I saying that it is the case with many who do? Yes.

-