Scammer Capture!

Do you know how to spot an online scammer?

I think I do! Check out my method and tell me if you agree, or if I missed something:

Background: So, my dad is selling his omg-awesome rare Porsche, and I’m helping him even though I’m mad that he won’t give it to me, heh. I put an ad online for it and ZOT! I think we’ve got a scammer! We got one response that was very short and simply said “I want to buy that without delay email me”, and when we didn’t, this follow-up came today:

YEAR: 1991
MAKE NAME: PORSCHE
MODEL NAME: 944S2
VIEW AD: http://adcache.collectorcartraderonline.com/10/8/5/87200885.htm
PRICE: \$6500
MESSAGE: Hello,
i am Howell Ken,I am interested in your ad,but i would like to know the last asking price apart from the amount placed on the ad,
plus whats the present working condition and the pictures if available because i am highly interested in buying without delay,ok? I will really appreciate you get back to me with the last asking price,working condition and the pictures if available because i am highly interested in buying without delay,okay?In addition to this my mode of payment is via a Cheque drawn order.Kindly get back to me if you are okay by this with your full name,Your postal address including your cell phone number for payment to be made without any form of delay. you can get back to me on my private email address……
howelken@aol.com
hoping to hear from you in the as soon as possible.
Regards.
Howell Ken
SENDER’S NAME: Howell ken
TELEPHONE: Buyer did not Provide

Why this trips my Scammer Alarm:

1) he doesn’t give his phone number; he wants everything done by mail & email. Not normal behavior w/ a big transaction. He might just be rich and stupid, of course. But if that’s true, why is his English so bad? (And why is his grammar so bad but all the words are spelled perfectly? That says “poor knowledge of English, but using a dictionary” to me.)
2) He’s very interested in the address. A common-enough car-scam is to find a car you want, get the address where it’s located, and try to steal it, or give the info to people who will steal it and give him a cut. I wouldn’t be worried about anything that elaborate normally, except that this *is* a rare car. Hell, I’d steal it if I knew how. ;)
3) He wants to pay by check — might be legit of course, but checks are the safest way for theives to pretend to pay. Never take a check, cashiers’ check included, unless you wait 10 days for it to clear before forking over your stuff. If a check is bad, the bank usually screws YOU, and the scammer is never to be seen again.
4) He sounds foreign — besides the atrocious English, there’s “Cheque”. The majority of Internet scams are perpetrated in foreign countries, and it’s very, very rare for someone in another country to want to buy your car, sight-unseen, without even talking to you first.
5) He wants us to think of his aol address as “private”. AOL recently turned into a free service, but some people don’t know that, so theives are getting aol addresses pretty regularly…his subtle stressing that it’s not a throwaway address makes me think it is.
6) He misspelled his own name. His email address is “howel”ken but his profile and signature are both “Howell”. Even very stupid people and non-native speakers usually get their own names right…unless, of course, this is a made-up name. Also, his use of last-name-first, even in signing his message, is another indicator that he’s probably foreign — and if he’s just foreign, and not a scammer, then why is he trying so hard to come off as an American? If he’s foreign, think his name is really “Ken Howell”?
7) He doesn’t even mention shipping. This is a CAR. Even if he’s not overseas, you’d think that that’d be a big concern. Our ad says that people can have any kind of shipping arrangement they choose, but they have to pay for it. It’s odd that he doesn’t seem to be thinking that far, isn’t it?
8) And of course, he wants everything done “without delay”. A normal, eager buyer might beg you to not sell the car to anyone else, but why would they care if it took a little bit for you to sell it to them? He doesn’t mention needing it for anybody’s birthday or anything…but of course, pressing to have everything done quickly is, like, Scammer 101.

My advice: GET more information from people who tip your Scammer Alarm BEFORE you give any. In this case, I’d get this guy on the phone and ask questions about why he wants the car, how he’ll get it, etc. See if you can trip him up on details: Make him confirm his name (“What’s your middle initial, Ken?”) and where he’s from and ask why he wants the car. Watch for inconsistencies. If he’s foreign, does he admit it? Does he try to claim that he’s from, say England or Canada when his accent sounds distinctly Elsewherelike? If this is a scam, you’ll probably either not get him on the phone at all (i.e. he’ll back off as soon as you insist on his phone number), or find yourself talking to someone who makes details up as they go along, who doesn’t know anything about classic cars nor have the faintest idea how he’ll get this one once he “buys” it.

It’s a harsh landscape out there in the Webs, people. Be safe!

-PD