Help With Scammer! Anyone Had This Done To Them???? Help A Hillbilly Out!

I Have A Guy That Bought A 72 Ranchero. 1200bucks. He Was From The Bahamas Maaan. Didn't Ask About The Car Just Sent A Cashiers Check. Cool. My Bank Won't Cash International Checks. They Wait For Them To Clear. So I Deposit Them. After About Two Weeks If They Don't Show In My Account I Call The Bank. It Didn't Clear They Told Me. Ok. Scam. No Big Deal. 3 Months Later I Get A Call From The Fbi. I Check Out The Guy He Is The Real Deal. He Says Bahama Guy Told Him About Check And He Has A Brother In The Fbi And That Is Why He Was Calling. So I Explained Everything To Him. Of Course I Didn't Send A Car Because The Money Didn't Clear. Ok. Now 3 Months Later I Get A Call On Turkeyday And Bahama Guy Leaves A Message And Says Check Cleared And He Is Sending Fbi After Me.

First Off. If I Was Going To Risk Ripping Anyone Off, It Would Be For Like Half A Million. But I Wouldn't Cheat A Guy Out Of A Nickel. My Bank Has Repeated Several Times That It Did Not Clear, However They Did Not Ever Send Me A Check Back. So I Don't Know What To Do. I Am Going To Call The Fbi Again, However I Think This Is All Part Of The Scam, They Send A Bad Check, They Wait, They Call Fbi, They Make A Guy Freak Out And They Get A Free Car. So Bahama Dude Is Demanding A Car Instantly Or I Go To Jail. I Got Into This For The Love Of Cars And To Help Save Them. This ****s. Any Advice Will Be Appreciated!

 

Sounds like a scam to me. How do you know the FBI guy is real? Better talk to someone important at your bank about this. Get some sort of proof that the check was bad.


Good luck. That ****s.

 

they had a thing on the news the other night about something like this....and said to call the fbi ...seems people were posing as the fbi .....maybe something about internet fraud division or something....(i was half asleep when it was on.....) brandon

 

Just SIT TIGHT !!! Wait until you actually hear from the FBI, Explain the situation to them if you hear from them, they are not wanting to cause any grief to american citizens, But if you actually hear from someone purporting to be the fbi make them verify their identify.

 

seems there are several FBI things going on right now , including this scam , another is a email saying somone at you IP has been to 30 illegal websites and your are ordered to answer a block of questions in a attachment- DON'T open the attachment- a Virus downloads ,got hit by it a few days ago and my comp is STILL messin up w/o even opening the attachment.

 

http://www.ifccfbi.gov/index.asp

go to this site and tell them about it

 

Thanks For The Fast Replies. I Logged Into The Fbi's Website And Called Their Arkansas Headquarters Where This Guy Claimed He Was From, Which I Thought Was Odd, Because I'm In Missouri, But Anyway They Said He Was Legit. He Told Me Personally That He Wasn't To Worried About It And He Only Called Because The Bahama's Guys Brother Works For The Fbi. He Even Wanted Me To Help Him Find A Rod. But I Worry If The Bahama Guy Keeps Calling Him He'll Be Su****ious Of Me!

The Ranchero Belonged To The Gary Johnson Guy I Quit Dealing With. So Getting The Car Is Out Of The Question.

Here Is What Flagged Me From The Beginning. The Bahama Guy Mailed Out The Check By Fedex. Cool. He Called To Make Sure It Came. Cool. The Very Next Day He Had Car Haulers Calling To Pick It Up That Day! So I Thought, After I'd Told Him It Would Be At Least Two Weeks Before He Could Pick Up The Car, That Him Wanting To Do So So Fast Was Sign The Check Was Bad. So When It Didn't Clear I Wasn't Suprised. We Have A Savings Account Just For The Business And Cashiers And Money Orders. So It Has Less Than Hundred Bucks At Any Time In It. So I Would Know Real Fast At The Atm If It Had Cleared. And It Did Not. And My Atm Reciepts Prove That I Didn't Pull Out The Cash. And The Bank Statements Don't Show The Deposit. But No One Has The Check. Not Me, Not The Bank. Not Anyone But Good Ol Bahama Guy, Who Says He Shows It Cleared And Was Cashed. Who The Hell Knows, I Just Know I'm Going To Lose Alot Of Sleep Over This.

 

ya they know about it , there was an alert on MSN home page about this claiming it is the worst virus to date OOOOOH NOOOO! MR BILL (my best mister bill impression) beginning to lok like a Geek Squad call comin up , the virus disables your anti virus permanetly

 

It is a scam! Don't fall for it and beware of scams like that on e-bay. Likewise, never give out any info if you use paypal or e-bay. You will get bogus e-mails stating that your account is expiring and they need your p***word and all.

 

I got the complaint form filed on my end on the fbi website that fordfreak was cool to provide me. And I talk to this Dudley guy from the Bahamas. And he never says anything, but you recieved the check by fedex where is my money. Not until today has he addressed that it cleared. 1200 is alot of money in my family, and I would know if it cleared. IT did not. This stress ****s. Rods are a fun hobby to me, not a business. NEarly everyone that buys a car off of us becomes friends because we talk ******** on rods for hours on the phone. And here is a bahama dude trying to ruin my legitamate American business.

 

I am sure the whole deal is a scam, where did you get the number on the arkansas divison, these guys have a local who will try to intimidate you into doing something real quick. I will only sell a car after a bank transfer as it has to go through the fed reserve from them to your bank. If the money was never deposited to your account from the bank then you should have no liability. I would go to an fbi office if it were me with all the transaction ifo emails etc and lay it out to them ...........We had a check some time ago deposited into account and it showed as good for about 5 weeks and then bad as we suspected. he tried everything to get the car but we used a diff address on the transaction he, had guys from around here go there looking for it. after it finally showed as a fake they all disapeared...........

 

The whole thing sounds like a scam ,****s that they have to put that stress on you and your family. I don't think I'd get to worked up over it, especially if your bank has do***entation the check did not clear.

For future reference the only way to handle long distance deals is to have the buyer wire transfer money to your banks wire account ( Not your acct # )Your bank should have it's own acct for wire transfers. Then the funds are instantly there and your bank transfer's them to your account. Usually when you tell your buyer this is the way the money will be handled you will nver hear from them again if it is a scam. Gary

 

Here I am awake still thinking about all of this. What if it deposited and some teller cashed it?? Is that possible?? I sign all check to deposit them. Bahamas guy is saying he has proof that the check was cashed?? No proof of deposit. But my bank won't cash a cashiers check. It has to be deposited so they can see if it will clear. SO he claims that he called fbi and that since I cashed the check then i am going to the pen?? I couldn't cash it. THey wouldn't let me! And in all of this, say I had cashed it. and he didn't get a car. Would the fbi still get involved, i would think that would be a civil matter?? and again, why did arkansas fbi contact me. I and my business are both in Missouri.


I got the fbi arkansas contact info off of the fbi.gov website. I just went to field offices in arkansas, called that one, and asked for that guy.
Thanks for all the replies. THey are real helpful in easing my stress. Thank you.

 

Tell him do what he has to do and give him the name and phone number of the FBI field agent you talked to.
Don't lose sleep over a ******** artist trying to scam you.

 

Id just talk to your bank, get proof it wasn't cashed, and tell him if he wants to take it any further than he can "see you in court".

I don't think they're going to bust into your house, throw cuffs on you, and hall you off over such a small amount of cash. Remember the way our legal system works "innocent until proven guilty" the purpose of courts are to resolve cases like yours, and this is small claims court ********.

 

If I had the misfortune to be in your shoes I would ask for a copy of both sides of the canceled check from the guy that has proof that the check was cashed. A copy of the check would be the only proof that I accepted. Armed with that (if there in fact is one) you can ask the manager at your bank to explain why your account was not properly credited.
No check copy = SCAM!

 

Steve hit the nail on the head and took the words right outta my mouth,,,,,,Mr. Scammer says he has proof of the check clearing your bank,,,ask him for a photo copy,,,if he can't provide it,,,and I don't think he can,,,,,you have nothing to lose sleep over,,,,,,HRP

 

Could he have a duplicate copy of that check cashed? I would also start a log book to do***ent everything I did & who I talked to regarding this entire mess. Do***enting dates & times & names would be to your advantage.

Good Luck

 

I agree with the above statement. Ask him for a copy of the canned check. If he does not have it, forget about it! If you have already called your local FBI office, and they say you have nothing to worry about, once again, forget about it!

 

I agree this smells like scam from every direction. It's good advice to keep a log of everything you do. You should also ask for complete copies of the check in question. What did your bank do with the paper if it wasn't cashed?

Even if you somehow owe the money,$1200 isn't enough for serious legal troubles. I'd ask your local law enforcement folks to check out the legitimacy of this "FBI" guy. Why's a federal officer got a brother living in the Bahama's anyway? Did they have the same name? I'd also check with your bank. I'm not certain that the FBI is really the federal agency that would deal with this, especially internationally (maybe the SEC?). If that's the case,why would they be involved as the first nvestigator?.

Best chances are,if you totally ignore them,nothing will come of it, and they'd go off to fry some other more gullible fish,but I'm not sure I'd have the patience to do that,myself.

Good luck, keep us posted.

 

Call the FBI office in Kansas City, MO. You can get the number from information. Tell 'em what the deal is.
In the mean time go to the bank in person and stay there while they chase the check down.

A little advice, a guy over the phone can't show you his badge, the FBI won't be comming after you for a bad deal on a car. they don't have the time for that and the guy will have to prove not only to his country but ours that he wrote you a check and it cleared.

Perhaps you should stop selling other peoples cars for a living/love of old cars and get a job. Then knuckle down and save an old car for yourself. Less hastles and more gratification.

 

The next time bahhama guy call's, tell him everything cleared and his car is on the way, and then send him a hot wheels car, you've got no money but he still has a car he can look at and make "vvvroomie" noises with............
good luck!!!!

 

Tie him to the car and drag him.........................................

 

Tell him, no money, no car. Your bank hasn't cleared the money, and that's Gospel! Tell him to ****ing send the FBI. YOUR bank will support your story, and that's the end of it. PS- DON'T be bothered calling the FBI, be put on hold, and waste your time telling the story. It's NOT your cross to bear.

 

I agree with porkn****** on this- Go to your bank and tell them to get off their ***es on this.It is in fact YOUR *** you are trying to cover.

 

The FBI guy said for me to call the bank and see if the check was deposited. I did. THey called back after a couple of hours and said they don't show it anywhere, not cashed, not deposited. So i took that tellers name and gave the fbi guy her name and the bank no and told him all that she told me. He at that point said he appreciated my cooperation and that the bahama guy he thought had given up on it at this point anyway. So I thought all was well. Until the call on my machine yesterday. I'm just going to ignore it and move on. Thanks

 

I've never been put on hold at the KC office, and any scam where you've got good info on someone and they are in a country that we have an agreement with is your cross to bear.

 

and whats the moral of the story? don't deal with anyone overseas. let them get their own hotrods.

 

sorry to add insult to injury.... but that's the oldest one in the book and you fell for it.

In the future, if you want to have safe overseas deals, use paypal and charge the buyer a 3% transaction fee to cover paypal. Withdraw the money immediately to your bank account. Then wait for it to clear. Don't take emails for gosple, log into the site and check information to be sure, that is the only way you will get correct info.

Otherwise, demand US postal Money orders and have them send payment via certified US mail. That way if there is any monkey bussiness it is a federal crime, and will be persued with a lot more interest by our authorities.

Also always be warry of emails from small countries or third world countries..... they are third world for a reason, and most residents there need food a lot more than a hot rod. It's just common sense.