Edgeman
Chico,#2General Comment
Sun, June 20, 2010
I am sorry to say that you fell for a very common scam. eBay Motors does not have a program that covers purchases made through Craigslist. In fact, there is no company that covers vehicles sold on Craigslist. The scammer used eBay's logo to create official looking emails and/or webpages in order to lull potential victims into a false sense of security.
You didn't provide the details of your exchange so allow me to fill in the blanks. You were browsing for vehicles on Craigslist and found a car for a price well below market value. This deal was just too good to be true so you contacted the seller and "she" described the vehicle as being in excellent condition, never been in an accident, etc. The seller also mentioned something about being out of the area due to work, school, military deployment or something along those lines. "She" just wanted to sell the vehicle cheaply and be done with it. As luck would have it, shipping the vehicle would be free to you because the previous buyer backed out of the deal or her husband works for the shipping company.
The scammer also mentioned that eBay Motors would hold the money while you inspect the vehicle. If you decide to return the car, you get your money back. You agree to this transaction and you are instructed to wire money via Moneygram or Western Union to an eBay agent who does not exist.
Due to the nature of Moneygram and Western Union, the scammer was able to pick up the money and disappear.
Sound about right?
You might as well contact the Financial Crimes Unit over at the Secret Service. You won't get your money back but they will want to see your emails and any web pages you may have been asked to visit.
Best of luck to you.
flushnasty48
USA#3Consumer Suggestion
Sun, June 20, 2010
Sorry, but its not looking good for you :(. Ebay and Craigslist are NOT in business with each other in anyway. Its sounds like the scamer used fake eBay pages to trick you.
If you go on Craigslist, you will see that there is a warning on top that says wire transfers are 100% fraudulent and warns to only deal with people locally and face to face.
I know its a very frustrating thing. I just got scammed (although for significantly less money and in an unrelated way) and it was infuriating. I also am a college student with a young family and I know its hurts :(
Report this to the proper authorities! I doubt you will see the money again, but you should do everything in your power to make sure this a*s hole rots in a jail cell.