# A3 scam on Pistonheads



## ratty (May 18, 2004)

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/203934.htm

*Here's the scammers reply to my enquiry:*


I understand you want to inspect the car .i do the
same when i buy a car.unfortunatelly i am in US right
now and i can,t set up a viewing.i will come back in
Uk and meet you to show you the car if we agree on the
the terms.
Here are my terms:
I can not come back in UK for each buyer who say he is
going to buy the car.thats why i decided to close the
deal through www.escrow-europa.com which is the safest
way to buy and sell online.it is the only escrow
company recommended by ebay.

If you don,t know how escrow europa works i will
explain it for you:
1.buyer and seller agree to the terms of the
transaction
2.buyer makes payment to escrow europa
3.seller ships item to buyer
4.buyer aproves item (15 days inspection period)
5.seller is paid

As soon as i receive the confirmation from escrow that
the funds have been deposited to their account, i will
immediately fly to UK .
Then i can meet you to show you the car or i can ship
the car to your adress.
The car will be delivered to your address in no more
than 10 working days.You will be given a 15 days
inspection period from the day you receive the car at
home.
If you decide to hold the car, then you will have to
authorize escrow to release the funds to me, and the
transaction will be completed. If you will not be
satisfied with the car, you will be able to send the
car back through the same shipping company, and ask
escrow to return the funds to you.IN case of return
you don't have to pay anything.
Though i am sure you will love the car and will not
want to return it, it is good to know that you do have
this second option available.
So if you are really interested please register with
www.escrow-europa.com and send me the email adress
which you have used to register.then i will start the
escrow transaction.the escrow fees and the shipping
cost are supported by me.

Thanks
Roberto


Thank you Roberto for your offer.....

I have reported it to Pistonheads.

:roll:


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## Godzilla (Feb 20, 2007)

I have no idea what this escrow is please explain how it is a scam. There must be others wondering the same.

Thanks


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## ratty (May 18, 2004)

Godzilla said:


> I have no idea what this escrow is please explain how it is a scam. There must be others wondering the same.
> 
> Thanks


Do you really want me to explain what 'escrow' is?

Oh, OK.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escrow

Often used for scamming.

:wink:


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## Widget (May 7, 2002)

Godzilla said:


> I have no idea what this escrow is please explain how it is a scam. There must be others wondering the same.
> 
> Thanks


You don't need to know what escrow is. Just take a look at the price of the car!!

A friend of mine got tempted by a Â£10k Boxster S on a 53 plate. The seller was out of the country (strangely :roll: ) also.


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## clived (May 6, 2002)

There is nothing fundamentally "dodgy" about the concept of holding anything (funds, items, IP) in escrow. There are of course some very dodgy so-called escrow organisations, this one being a case in point


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## ratty (May 18, 2004)

clived said:


> There is nothing fundamentally "dodgy" about the concept of holding anything (funds, items, IP) in escrow. There are of course some very dodgy so-called escrow organisations, this one being a case in point


Agreed but how do you sort the good from the bad. There are also other ways scammers have been able to 'extract' funds form so called reputable escrow services.


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## KentishTT (Jun 28, 2007)

Being a PH regular, I've reported these to the PH mods.

Thanks for flagging them.


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## Widget (May 7, 2002)

ratty said:


> clived said:
> 
> 
> > There is nothing fundamentally "dodgy" about the concept of holding anything (funds, items, IP) in escrow. There are of course some very dodgy so-called escrow organisations, this one being a case in point
> ...


escrow.com is a sound payment facility, and as Clive says, there's nothing dodgy about the concept.

All other escrow companies, in my opinion, should be ignored.


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## ratty (May 18, 2004)

KentishTT said:


> Being a PH regular, I've reported these to the PH mods.
> 
> Thanks for flagging them.


I reported it to Pistonheads as soon as I saw it.

It's now been removed from the Classified section.


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## Major Audi Parts Guru (May 7, 2002)

I've just done a quick check on the Audi UK system and the car appears to be owned by a Mrs P Barns :roll:


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## ratty (May 18, 2004)

Major Audi Parts Guru said:


> I've just done a quick check on the Audi UK system and the car appears to be owned by a Mrs P Barns :roll:


I wonder if Mrs P Barnes knows that Roberto, currently located in the USA, is trying to sell her car! :roll:


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## Molehall (Jan 8, 2003)

Whilst Roberto claims to be from United States, he may well come from another country.

If there are any forum members with a sense of humour and time on their hands (all you 5 star guys!), there are several ways of irritating the sh*t out of Roberto and his friends.

Try

http://www.419eater.com/html/baiting.htm

if you have a penchant for making Nigerian criminals leap up and own with rage. Lots of good tips and can be adapted to deal with the Robertos of this world.


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