Buying a Car? Watch Out for Scammers, Like David Terron Franklin

Classified Ad Scams: buying a car

Scams and scammers using these names: David Terron Franklin
"Buyer deposit the money to Global Payments Inc using Money Gram."

Are you looking to buy a car? Did "David Terron Franklin" contact you? Note that he says: "you are required to deduct the cost of your vehicle which is $12200 when payment gets to you and refund balance which is $7600 to my client's shipper".  That's a clue to a scam right there!

Here are the clues that this is a scam?

1. First, you will notice the syntax and grammar.  Often, is it not pathetically bad, it's just plain strange. It looks like it was written by someone who is not a native English-speaker, and writes very rarely in English. This is very typical of scammers, who largely are in Nigeria and have little formal education and probably none in English.
2. Next, he wants to write a check in excess of the required amount. Why? That makes no sense at all. If he hasn't got a bank account, he could always pay in cash or get a money order.
3. Then, he wants the "excess" from the check sent BACK to him or to other individuals, often in many different locations, and always by Western Union or Money Gram! Alarm bells should be going off by now.  Western Union wires and Moneygrams are not only untraceable, they're irretrievable.  Once the recipient picks them up (which can be done at ANY Western Union office in the world), the money is gone, gone, gone!
4. And then there are the little clues; signs like the strange name changes.  Maybe, first he's "David Rapheal", then he's suddenly Shawn Nickolas, supposedly in England, yet the first name has an American spelling and the last name is spelled more like an Eastern European or Germanic origin.
5. The scammers typically ramble on about issues ("you are required to deduct the cost of your vehicle which is $12200 when payment gets to you and refund balance which is $7600 to my client's shipper") that are irrelevant to such a sale or rental; such as, how they are doing this for charity, or recently moved to the UK, or are traveling in Africa right now.  You as a seller / landlord, don't and shouldn't care about these issues: you are trying to find a legitimate buyer or renter for your item at a fair market price.  The scammer knows this and is merely trying to cloud the issue and provide excuses for not complying with the basic requirements of a sale. He's also trying to engender trust; one of the key elements of any con game.
6. Look at the huge number of misspellings, weird use of capital letters, poor punctuation and made-up words.  Again, this is typical of the scammer filth who live and operate in Nigeria.

An actual email that illustrate this type of CraigsList scam:

Any highlighted passages below are to draw your attention to typical scam clues:

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Email - from the scammer:

there is a guy out there acting like he is selling a LEXUS LS 2004 just look on cregias list he says that he is in the army and his group is going on deployment but besides that. her is the email with all the info you need. check it out.Transaction Details:

2004 Lexus LS 430

 

Sale price: US $4,230.00  

Quantity: 1  

Deposit: US $2,600.00 [PENDING]  

Shipping & Handling:  US $0.00   

Insurance: Included.  

Sales tax: US $0.00.  

 Buyer Details

 

  Full Name:

 David Terron Franklin

  

  Address:

 3673 Mckenzie Street

  

  City/State:

 Riverside - CA

  

  Zip:

 92503  

  Country:

 United States

  

  Status:

 Approved

  

 

  

Item #GP44261332

  

 

  

  2004 Lexus LS 430

VIN Number : JTHBN36F340152902

Mileage : 14,480 

  

  

 

           

        

Step 1:

The buyer and seller agree to the terms and details of the transaction.   Step 2:

The buyer sends the deposit to Global Payments Inc. Payment is verified and deposited into a trust account.   Step 3:

The seller ships the merchandise to the buyer, knowing that the buyer's payment is secured.   Step 4:

The buyer accepts the merchandise after having the opportunity to inspect it.   Step 5:

Global Payments Inc pays the seller after all conditions of the transaction are met. 

 

  

Global Payments Inc Purchase Protection Payment Instructions

 

Buyer and Seller Agree to Terms

  * Both parties agree to terms of the transaction, which includes a description of the merchandise, sale price and any shipping information.

Buyer deposit the money to Global Payments Inc using Money Gram.

  * The Buyer submits a payment, selecting Money Gram to our Global Payments Inc. representative from San Diego, CA.

The Seller Ships The Vehicle

  * Upon payment verification, Global Payments Inc. web site is authorized to ship merchandise and submit tracking information. Global Payments Inc. verifies that the Buyer receives the merchandise.

Buyer Accepts the Merchandise

  * The Buyer has the option to accept or reject the merchandise.

Global Payments Inc. Pays the Seller

  * Global Payments Inc. pays the Seller by cashier's check, Money Gram or wire transfer. The transaction is complete. Global Payments Inc. web site, an accredited company, acts as a secure third party to protect the Buyer and Seller. Using Money Gram to pay for your purchase may also expedite your transaction. Payments get there quickly, which means you may get your goods fast. Buyer and Seller will receive email confirmations, when the payment is sent.

Global Payments Inc. SafeHarbor takes several steps to protect both the Buyer and Seller against fraud:

  * All shipments are tracked to ensure the Seller shipped and the Buyer received the merchandise.

  * If the merchandise is fraudulent, it gives the Buyer the chance to return the merchandise before payment is released to the Seller.

How to make the payment:

 

1) Locate the nearest Money Gram Office.

2) Make the payment with cash using our agent details as receiver. 

Global Payments Representative

 

  Full Name:

 Ruben Cervano

  

  Address:

 4326 Witherby St.

  

  City/State:

 San Diego - CA

  

  Zip:

 92103  

  Country:

 United States

  

 

3) E-mail us the following details from the payment receipt:

           - Reference Number - 8 digits number from the receipt

           - Sender Name and Address

           - Receiver Name (Ruben Cervano)

           - Amount $2,600.00

4) Send us the copy of the payment receipt through fax at: +1 (760) 400-4010 ; +1 (760) 692-1413.

 

The service you have to use from Money Gram is a person to person transfer.

Package Information Tracking Number. Pending You will receive the Tracking Number after the payment is confirmed and the parcel will be in transit.

* Once we receive the payment confirmation, we will inform the seller so he can start shipping. We will hold the payment until you will receive and inspect the merchandise. As soon as we will receive your confirmation we will release the payment to your seller.

If you have any questions please contact us and we will try our best to respond promptly.

Why Participate in a Global Payments Inc Managed Transaction (GPMT) Absolutely Free - there is no cost to you.

Unbiased and Neutral - Global Payments Inc is an objective third party. Highly effective in completing a successful transaction.

Simple and Quick - most transactions settle within 5 days with less than 2 hours of total time from you.

 This communication contains proprietary business information and may contain confidential information. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or the employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited.

  

  Sincerely,

  Global Payments Inc Support Financial Department.

Safe Trading Tips - Buy with Confidence. Global Payments Inc will not ask you for sensitive personal information (such as your password, credit card, bank account numbers, Social Security numbers, etc.) in an email.