Someone's E93 M3 got "stolen"
06-14-2009, 11:43 PM
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http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=272801
Originally Posted by m3isgonehelp' date='Jun 15 2009, 01:57AM
Well after having my car on sale for several months I recently sold my car last week. I had listed my car on ebay,autotrader, cars.com, and craigslist. I had my 08 M3 convertible with 10K Miles, Priced at $63K dropped the price down a couple times to 60K. Finally I began to get alot of calls most buyers that came to look at the car had to get their financing approved. Then I get a call from someone in Philly that seemed intrested. I didnt take the guy seriously but he said he has his financing in order and he is ready to purchase. So says he would purchase the car for 55K. I told him I would sell it for that but I was not going to be responsible for shipping charges. He says he would fly into San Francisco and pick up the car. He then asks me if I could write a Bill of Sale and the Title up as a $0 sale and he would have me sign a PA gift form from his DMV. He says its done like this all the time with private auto sales in PA. I didnt understand what that meant but he explained that would help him save on PA Sales taxes at his DMV. I told him I was unaware of this procedure and I must do some research first. I contacted my tax consultant and ask him can I do this. He says that plenty of private party car sales is done this way because it helps both the buyer and the seller in other words I can deduct the sale on my taxes. So I and buyer agreed to do it this way. So last Friday he flew in to SF to pick up the car. I picked him up and we went straight to my bank Bank of America. He gave me a Chase Auto Loan Check for the total of 55K I had my bank verify funds before I released my car and title. My bank told me the funds are legit. I asked them could this check be bounced they told me no bc its a certified check drawn on Chase bank account which cannot be stopped or canceled. So I gave the buyer a Bill of Sale, Title, for $0. I also signed his PA gift form from his DMV he supplied me with. The sale went nice and smooth. I gave him my car and keys and he left. He called me 4 days later stating that my car was great and has been registered with his DMV and passed emissions. So I just happen to go into my bank this week and find out that my money is gone when I check my balance. The bank told me that the check that I deposited had bounced. I asked they why, they did a trace on the check and found out that a stop payment was issued. Chase stated that the check was declared lost bc he reported that to them. Therefore they stopped his check and they issued him a new one and I would need to get in contact with him. So I called this guy to see what?s going on but no answer. I left several voicemails but no calls have been returned. Now I am under the impression that I been scammed and my car was basically stolen from me cross country. I have contacted my friends lawyer and he says this is a bad situation and doesnt look good for me. He says this will take alot of work to sort out. I just cannot believe that someone can just scam me out of my car and my money. He basically gave me a check in which he reported it to Chase as lost and they sent him a new one. How can someone get away like this ? If anyone can give me some crucial advice much appreciated.
06-14-2009, 11:48 PM
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OMGGGG Im so sorry man, i cant believe someone would do something like that. I hope it all turns out well for you.
EDIT: i just read your topic over, good thing it wasn't you that got scammed
EDIT: i just read your topic over, good thing it wasn't you that got scammed
06-15-2009, 12:18 AM
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My Ride: Alpine White 2006 530Xi (SLD)
I don't know... its not good that this guy got scammed. Its not right that he wrote the bill of sale with $0 - he broke the law, yes... still, somehow I am feeling kinda bad for the guy - he actually did it to help the buyer more than to save the money, it seems. Anyway, beware everybody.
The one thing that is sorta sketchy about that original thread on m3post is that he does not list the name and the info of the buyer - why would you not share that - so that other people know who the scammer is???
The one thing that is sorta sketchy about that original thread on m3post is that he does not list the name and the info of the buyer - why would you not share that - so that other people know who the scammer is???
06-15-2009, 12:36 AM
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I don't know... its not good that this guy got scammed. Its not right that he wrote the bill of sale with $0 - he broke the law, yes... still, somehow I am feeling kinda bad for the guy - he actually did it to help the buyer more than to save the money, it seems. Anyway, beware everybody.
The one thing that is sorta sketchy about that original thread on m3post is that he does not list the name and the info of the buyer - why would you not share that - so that other people know who the scammer is???
The one thing that is sorta sketchy about that original thread on m3post is that he does not list the name and the info of the buyer - why would you not share that - so that other people know who the scammer is???
06-15-2009, 01:51 AM
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My Ride: 2007 530 JET BLACK, PREMIUM AND SPORT PACKAGE, REAR FOLD DOWN SEATS.
that's totally messed up. . . i also find it hard to believe. Since its his first post and never provided any links or any evidence of the situation.
06-15-2009, 02:52 AM
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if it is true. somebody needs to tell him to contact the FBI right now.
those morons need to stop telling him to get attorneys, call the cops. whatever. He needs to contact the FBI if he wants help.
The FBI handles all Scams/Fraud. Especially when it is interstate. Come on peoples!
those morons need to stop telling him to get attorneys, call the cops. whatever. He needs to contact the FBI if he wants help.
The FBI handles all Scams/Fraud. Especially when it is interstate. Come on peoples!
06-15-2009, 03:00 AM
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someone pass this to the poor guy. i dont want to make an account there just for this.
San Francisco Headquarters
450 Golden Gate Avenue
13th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 553-7400 (24hrs.)
Some tips for everyone else
Banking Myth #1 : "A bank draft or cashier's check is as good as cash, right?"
Wow, bad call. Everyone is under the false impression that bank drafts are as good as cash. There are tons of counterfeit cashier's checks floating around that scam people every day. Counterfeit cashier's check fraud is everywhere on every type of financial instrument. This holds true for all money orders, bearer bonds, and other financial instruments. Even the post office has been deluged with counterfeit postal money orders. People don't check for the few post office watermarks which could instantly identify counterfeit money orders forged to look like official post office money orders. The problem is so out of control, that no bank is safe from having their cashier's checks counterfeited. It happens to the smallest regional bank, all the way up to Bank Of America. In fact, look at the FDIC Monthly Special Alerts List. Month after month, it's filled with counterfeit check notices and stolen bank draft checks from banks all over the country. Most scammer's are too lazy to duplicate the perforated edges top and bottom on legitimate cashier's checks. It should take you .025 second to determine fake check if the perforations are missing. Let these words forever ring in the back of your mind in any of your financial dealings going forward:
A Cashier's Check Is A Worthless Piece Of Toilet Paper Until It Clears The Issuing Bank.
Banking Myth #2: "Bank drafts or cashiers checks clear the next day, right?"
Wrong again, another urban legend exposed. Propagating the problem further, many bank tellers, ignorant of their own bank's internal operations, are disseminating bad information to their customers, telling them the bank drafts clear in 24-48 hours. What really happens is that per the 1992 Federal Reserve Board Regulation CC, the bank MUST make the funds available in you account in 48 hours, but the check has not cleared/bounced yet. Get the picture? Two different events, the bank makes funds available, then the check either clears or bounces about a week later, after bouncing around to incorrect Federal Reserve locations, or bank accounts. Virtually no one understands the big picture mechanics behind depositing checks, including tellers. The average bank draft or cashiers check can take 2 weeks to clear, not 2 days. Yet everyone thinks cashiers checks are as good as cash, and they think they clear the next day. Bottom line, the scammers know the banking system well, and capitalize on this arbitrage of time quite well. The banks make the funds available in your bank account within 48 hours of your deposit, days before the cashiers check clears- or bounces. Then they take the money back out of your account, and blacklist you.
San Francisco Headquarters
450 Golden Gate Avenue
13th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 553-7400 (24hrs.)
Some tips for everyone else
Banking Myth #1 : "A bank draft or cashier's check is as good as cash, right?"
Wow, bad call. Everyone is under the false impression that bank drafts are as good as cash. There are tons of counterfeit cashier's checks floating around that scam people every day. Counterfeit cashier's check fraud is everywhere on every type of financial instrument. This holds true for all money orders, bearer bonds, and other financial instruments. Even the post office has been deluged with counterfeit postal money orders. People don't check for the few post office watermarks which could instantly identify counterfeit money orders forged to look like official post office money orders. The problem is so out of control, that no bank is safe from having their cashier's checks counterfeited. It happens to the smallest regional bank, all the way up to Bank Of America. In fact, look at the FDIC Monthly Special Alerts List. Month after month, it's filled with counterfeit check notices and stolen bank draft checks from banks all over the country. Most scammer's are too lazy to duplicate the perforated edges top and bottom on legitimate cashier's checks. It should take you .025 second to determine fake check if the perforations are missing. Let these words forever ring in the back of your mind in any of your financial dealings going forward:
A Cashier's Check Is A Worthless Piece Of Toilet Paper Until It Clears The Issuing Bank.
Banking Myth #2: "Bank drafts or cashiers checks clear the next day, right?"
Wrong again, another urban legend exposed. Propagating the problem further, many bank tellers, ignorant of their own bank's internal operations, are disseminating bad information to their customers, telling them the bank drafts clear in 24-48 hours. What really happens is that per the 1992 Federal Reserve Board Regulation CC, the bank MUST make the funds available in you account in 48 hours, but the check has not cleared/bounced yet. Get the picture? Two different events, the bank makes funds available, then the check either clears or bounces about a week later, after bouncing around to incorrect Federal Reserve locations, or bank accounts. Virtually no one understands the big picture mechanics behind depositing checks, including tellers. The average bank draft or cashiers check can take 2 weeks to clear, not 2 days. Yet everyone thinks cashiers checks are as good as cash, and they think they clear the next day. Bottom line, the scammers know the banking system well, and capitalize on this arbitrage of time quite well. The banks make the funds available in your bank account within 48 hours of your deposit, days before the cashiers check clears- or bounces. Then they take the money back out of your account, and blacklist you.
