Automotive Scam Alert for TOTV Auto Classifeds

[Jcm80]

If you are looking for a used car in the TOTV automotive classifeds beware of scammers placing ads.

I recently inquired about a 2006 GMC pickup for sale. When I asked about the truck I received this message from a Stacy Stone "Hello.
About my 2006 Toyota Tacoma Silver for sale ,the truck is in great
shape, was always garaged, has 45000 miles, Automatic, 4WD, the title is
clear and clean, was our truck but my husbands passed away a few months
ago. It brings very bad memories to me and I want to get rid of it as
soon as possible. I`m a single mother with 2 children and now I have
some problems with the money and need to move as soon as possible and
that`s why I`m selling it so cheap. I don't have a driver license also.
The price is $2000.

I inquired if it had clear title and could I view it and its location in proximity to TV.

I received a second email explaining that she had title but she had sent the truck to EBay motors and it was in a warehouse in South Carolina. If I sent her the money the title would be in the truck when it shipped to me.

Of course I realized this was a scam and dropped the issue.

However I looked a second truck in TOTV Auto section and when I made a similar inquiry, I received today the identical response from the same person as quoted above.

I don't know how someone from the outside can place an ad here as member. Does the TOTV vet who is placing ads? I have reported this to TOTV. I don't know what can be done about this.

Please be very careful when you look at any ads placed here. Common sense and your gut should rule.

Please let your friends know to be careful. If you have any other questions you can PM me

John

[BobnBev]

First red flag:

I recently inquired about a 2006 GMC pickup for sale. When I asked about the truck I received this message from a Stacy Stone "Hello.
About my 2006 Toyota Tacoma Silver for sale

Glad you're on the ball.

[retiredguy123]

Does this scam really work? What kind of person would actually send the money?

[Chatbrat]

lots of people do it , a senior citizen sent prepaid home depot gift cards to bail out their grand child, a simple phone call would have saved them $8K

[Jcm80]

Thanks. To clarify "Stacy" responded two times. Once for the GMC and today for the Toyota Tacoma. Both with the exact same messge. I responded to her again asking for further info. If I get a similar reply I will post it.

As for who would accept this offer..... I dont know but my fear was an older senior. But then they would'nt be buying a pick up either!
I just dont like people who try to scam and BS good folks.

[JGVillages]

Tell her to ship the car and if the title with it is clear you will send the money.

[Jcm80]

Tell her to ship the car and if the title with it is clear you will send the money.
Great Idea! I did hear back from "Stacy Stone" with the exact same follow up message as the first time. So I took your advice and sent this email this morning. Might as well have some fun with this.
The first part is "Stacies" reply with directions, followed by my reply to her. And FYI I used a BS email address and the phone number I used is for the Sumter County Sheriffs office. I will post more if I get them just for fun. Lets see!

From Scammer Stacy Stone

Hi again,

I decided to explain how the transaction works in a single email, so
read this email fully in order to understand the transaction. I signed a
contract with eBay Motors Company to insure a safe and smooth
transaction. The truck is in eBay Motors custody at their warehouse
ready to be shipped with all the documents in Springfield,Missouri. The
shipping will be free because my husband worked for the US army and I
have this facilities from US government. The payment will be handled by
eBay Motors and they will keep the money on hold until the end of the
testing period. You will receive the truck in 1-3 days depending of your
location and you will have the chance to inspect it for 5 days before
decided to keep it or not. The truck will be delivered directly to your
requested address as soon as eBay Motors will have the payment
confirmation from you. In case you won`t be satisfied, you can cancel
the transaction and ship the truck back on my expense. The title is
clear and along with all the paperwork will arrive in the same day with
the truck. If you want to buy the truck please send me your full name
and shipping address and eBay Motors will send you the invoice by email
as soon as possible.Total price will be 2000.
More photos available with request.

My reply to Scammer: (phone number is Sumter County Sheriffs office)

Hi Stacy,
I am very interested in purchasing the 2006 Toyota Tacoma that we spoke about. I would like to do this right away.

Please ship the vehicle to me right away. Call this number and I will give you the shipping address (352-569-1600). I dont want to list my address here.

I appreciate your kindess and feel bad about your deceased husband. So for your trouble I would like to add $200.00 for the children's Christmas presents. I will also have a nice lunch prepared for you and whoever delivers the truck. I will give you the cash when you deliver the truck and title to me securely.

Please let me know when you will arrive here as I have to have enough sandwiches prepared for the Sheriff's Deputies, the detectives from the District Attorneys offices and the Better Business Bureau folks.
They are so excited about meeting you. I have already given them all of our emails, so you may hear from them sooner.

Cant wait to meet you and see my new truck!!
Thanks
John Smith

[BobnBev]

Great Idea! I did hear back from "Stacy Stone" with the exact same follow up message as the first time. So I took your advice and sent this email this morning. Might as well have some fun with this.
The first part is "Stacies" reply with directions, followed by my reply to her. And FYI I used a BS email address and the phone number I used is for the Sumter County Sheriffs office. I will post more if I get them just for fun. Lets see!

From Scammer Stacy Stone

Hi again,

I decided to explain how the transaction works in a single email, so
read this email fully in order to understand the transaction. I signed a
contract with eBay Motors Company to insure a safe and smooth
transaction. The truck is in eBay Motors custody at their warehouse
ready to be shipped with all the documents in Springfield,Missouri. The
shipping will be free because my husband worked for the US army and I
have this facilities from US government. The payment will be handled by
eBay Motors and they will keep the money on hold until the end of the
testing period. You will receive the truck in 1-3 days depending of your
location and you will have the chance to inspect it for 5 days before
decided to keep it or not. The truck will be delivered directly to your
requested address as soon as eBay Motors will have the payment
confirmation from you. In case you won`t be satisfied, you can cancel
the transaction and ship the truck back on my expense. The title is
clear and along with all the paperwork will arrive in the same day with
the truck. If you want to buy the truck please send me your full name
and shipping address and eBay Motors will send you the invoice by email
as soon as possible.Total price will be 2000.
More photos available with request.


My reply to Scammer: (phone number is Sumter County Sheriffs office)

Hi Stacy,
I am very interested in purchasing the 2006 Toyota Tacoma that we spoke about. I would like to do this right away.

Please ship the vehicle to me right away. Call this number and I will give you the shipping address (352-569-1600). I dont want to list my address here.

I appreciate your kindess and feel bad about your deceased husband. So for your trouble I would like to add $200.00 for the children's Christmas presents. I will also have a nice lunch prepared for you and whoever delivers the truck. I will give you the cash when you deliver the truck and title to me securely.

Please let me know when you will arrive here as I have to have enough sandwiches prepared for the Sheriff's Deputies, the detectives from the District Attorneys offices and the Better Business Bureau folks.
They are so excited about meeting you. I have already given them all of our emails, so you may hear from them sooner.

Cant wait to meet you and see my new truck!!
Thanks
John Smith

:MOJE_whot::MOJE_whot:LMAO:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

[Dan9871]

These is what's currently listed on eBay Motors for 2006 Tacoma's. I don't see anything listed there like the one that "Stacy" is selling...

Toyota Tacoma in Cars & Trucks | eBay (https://www.ebay.com/sch/Cars-Trucks/6001/i.html?_fosrp=1&_dcat=6001&_dmpt=US_Cars_Trucks&makeval=Toyota&modelval=Tacoma&Model%2520Year=2006&_mtrvfc=1&_stpos=32162&_nkw=Toyota%20Tacoma)

[mixsonci]

From reading her email, English is not even her first language, many many grammar issues there.

[Jcm80]

I never thought that it was really at EBay motors at all. Both trucks were removed from TOTV Auto Classifieds very quickly. I guess the point is be careful. I still wonder how an outside entity could post an ad here. I thought you had to be a member to post and have some ID. I emailed the moderator but have not heard back from anyone.

[dewilson58]

What about the "Beautiful Vette" with no pictures??

Hmmmmm

[Jcm80]

I didnt realize the blue text would be so hard to read agains the green background. Here is my reply in normal color
My reply to Scammer: (phone number is Sumter County Sheriffs office)

Hi Stacy,
I am very interested in purchasing the 2006 Toyota Tacoma that we spoke about. I would like to do this right away.

Please ship the vehicle to me right away. Call this number and I will give you the shipping address (352-569-1600). I dont want to list my address here.

I appreciate your kindess and feel bad about your deceased husband. So for your trouble I would like to add $200.00 for the children's Christmas presents. I will also have a nice lunch prepared for you and whoever delivers the truck. I will give you the cash when you deliver the truck and title to me securely.

Please let me know when you will arrive here as I have to have enough sandwiches prepared for the Sheriff's Deputies, the detectives from the District Attorneys offices and the Better Business Bureau folks.
They are so excited about meeting you. I have already given them all of our emails, so you may hear from them sooner.

Cant wait to meet you and see my new truck!!
Thanks
John Smith

[Jcm80]

you mean the invisible blue? really sweet.

[dog friendly]

I also received the same email after I told her my friend, who is a police officer, would like to see the truck. I told her we could meet at any police department and that is when she sent the email. So funny because our financial adviser just last night invited us to a seminar about scams. He went over the IRS scam, the grandparent scam and several others. I will inform him of the auto scam. I knew from the year , millage and price it was a scam.....couldn't help but play along. I feel so bad for the people who fall for these scams especially the grandparent scam. I did receive good advice about the grandparent scam. Have a secrete word for children and grandchildren, if someone calls you asking for money or anything ask them for the secrete word to identify themselves, if they don't know it, hang up.

[Jcm80]

Thats a good idea. I still dont understand how they get to advertise here.

[Abby10]

Thats a good idea. I still dont understand how they get to advertise here.

I've been wondering the same thing. I've noticed a lot of classified posts on here recently where it is the OP's first post. As you said, I thought you had to be a member and post several times in the regular forum before you were allowed to post in the classifieds. I tried to find on here where I saw that but was unable to locate it.

Maybe the moderators will clarify.....

[Moderator]

I've been wondering the same thing. I've noticed a lot of classified posts on here recently where it is the OP's first post. As you said, I thought you had to be a member and post several times in the regular forum before you were allowed to post in the classifieds. I tried to find on here where I saw that but was unable to locate it.

Maybe the moderators will clarify.....

TOTV Classified ads are for Villages residents only. Any ad that either is posted by a non-resident or is for an item not in TV is removed. It is difficult sometimes with our seasonal population to determine this. Please use local photos with ads as that may make the ad suspect if the photo was not done in TV.

There is no minimum post count to post an ad. Just be a confirmed TOTV member.

When a member posts an ad in Classified, the system creates a duplicate in Items for Sale. That duplicate may show an inaccurate post count, so don’t assume these are all from new members.

The moderators appreciate member’s reporting threads and posts they feel are suspicious as it directs our attention quickly to those. If you post your suspicions within the thread we will only notice it as we go through each thread post by post. That will delay handling it.

Hope this addresses some concerns.

Moderator

[Abby10]

TOTV Classified ads are for Villages residents only. Any ad that either is posted by a non-resident or is for an item not in TV is removed. It is difficult sometimes with our seasonal population to determine this. Please use local photos with ads as that may make the ad suspect if the photo was not done in TV.

There is no minimum post count to post an ad. Just be a confirmed TOTV member.

When a member posts an ad in Classified, the system creates a duplicate in Items for Sale. That duplicate may show an inaccurate post count, so don’t assume these are all from new members.

The moderators appreciate member’s reporting threads and posts they feel are suspicious as it directs our attention quickly to those. If you post your suspicions within the thread we will only notice it as we go through each thread post by post. That will delay handling it.

Hope this addresses some concerns.

Moderator

Thank you. That was very helpful.

[BobnBev]

Do you automatically delete the poster's account if it is proven to be a scam, as this one was?

[Moderator]

Do you automatically delete the poster's account if it is proven to be a scam, as this one was?

Permanent ban.

[BobnBev]

Permanent ban.

As it should be. Thank you for posting.:coolsmiley:

[Abby10]

Permanent ban.

This is good to know. Thank you for what you do to keep this forum running smoothly and to protect the members from these sort of things.

[Jcm80]

Thank you. FYI I did send an email to TOTV and never heard back. No worries