Kevin Inman
Complaint 174292 Details

I saw a post on craigslist for a Cadillac selling for: $3,990. I emailed the seller inquiring into the car and he replied:

>Hi,

The vehicle is well maintained, never been damaged and it has 76,300 miles, a clear title, 3.6L V6 engine and is loaded with options. You will inspect it before the payment will be made, I moved to Williston, ND with my job and I have the vehicle here with me. The shipping and insurance are included in the price because I won a promotion at uShip(1 free shipping). You will also receive all the papers(title, bill of sale etc) in order to finalize the purchase with the vehicle. Email me back if you are interested and have further questions..

Thank you,<


I then told him that I was interested but I would need to see the vehicle before full payment was made, he said:

>I would like to handle the sale using eBay for our own protection as they act as a neutral third part. eBay will keep the money until you inspect the vehicle.

This is how the eBay works:

1. I will contact eBay and give all the info about this deal.
2. They will email us the forms by email - about the buyer's protection policy, delivery, and payment.
3. You will send a 50% deposit to eBay and they will notify me to ship the vehicle to your location.The shipping will take 5 days.
4. After you will inspect the vehicle and decide to keep it, eBay will forward me the funds and the deal is done.

You have 5 days to test it from the day you receive it. If by any chance you won't be satisfied with it you will be fully refunded and I will have the shipping company come to pick it up. If you wish to purchase it please provide me your full name, address so I can initiate the deal through eBay.
Good faith has always been my top priority and my most valued business approach.

Looking forward to hear from you!<


I told him that I would consult with my spouse and requested a VIN number to confirm this vehicle.

He sent me a VIN number and stated:

> I have forwarded transaction details to eBay financial department and they should contact us shortly with all further instructions. Ebay will contact us with transaction details, invoice, payment instructions ,buyer's protection policy.
Please let me know when you receive the notification from them so I can move forward at my side.<

I then received two e-mails that looked as though they were generated from ebay motors will instructions on how to go forward with the money transfer. The suspicious thing that stood out to me was that they wanted me to use Western Union, and I know Western Union to be used by Scams.

I then called eBay and confirmed that these emails were not generated from eBay.

I caught this scam before I lost any money, just a warning to everyone else!