Vehicle Purchase Scam???
Dear all,
The past month has been kind of a weird one. I've been helping my father in Law in advertising on Mobile.de the sale of 1 of his 2 Ferraris. He has a 458 Speciale, which is basically parked with us at home in Cyprus, and a Pista on order which was supposed to arrive in October, now delayed until December. He needs to sell on of the vehicles as he just doesn't have the space for both.
I have placed an ad for both cars on Mobile.de as he isn't really bothered which one he sells. The funny/weird/scam part comes in here, I get contacted for the Pista two weeks ago by a gentleman who claims he represents a buyer and gives me the buyers details, company name, and makes claims that they are big bussiness men. The company is called www.wainwrightsinclair-investment.com and are based out of Scotland. This is were the first red flag comes up: the guy is claiming his boss/partner wants the car to use for advertising his company, and that this person loves the Spec, and has no issue with regards to the price, which we have placed at 40k over list (doesn't even want to negotiate). I then proceed to explain to him that the car is LHD and not RHD for Scotland, which he also doesn't mind. His only condition is to meet me in Milan as he has business there(Another Red Flag), to agree to terms of the sale, including a sum to be paid separate from the contracted price as to lower the value of the vehicle officially for whatever reason.
I began to check regarding the company online, and the financials were posted and they were laughable, then I google located the address in Scotland which also led me to a shady place of business in a residential neighborhood, and then calling the number there is no ringing nor an automated reply. I called again the next day and it rang as if it was forwarded to another line (obviously this is a scam), but I'm trying to understand it. Then the same person who claimed he worked at the company called me back and said that I the company told him that I called, so I played along and said that I can meet him and his boss in Athens (as I'm going there anyways) or he can come to meet me in Cyprus as I'm not willing to travel simply to discuss the particulars of a sale, which is something I can do over the phone. I also told him that I also require a copy of the potential buyers passport and proof of funds document, to make sure the query is real, before I met them. This is where he began to panic, and he told me, that the car isn't even physically available to see, so why do we need to meet in Cyprus. I told, him that he needs to provide me with proof that his query is real, and then I will show him the contract of sale and if he wants to be certain I gave him the number for the official dealer I purchased the car from. I finally told him I don't know what kind of scam your trying to pull, but I''m not biting and hung up.
So a week after I get an inquiry from another person from mobile.de, this time for the 458 Speciale. The gentleman calls me from a number in Belgium, and also claims he is buying this car for someone else. He then asks some questions about the car and the vehicle particulars, and says that he has a contact at Ferrari and wants to check if the vehicle has been accidented or not. We spoke a few times over the phone and his french was excellent, again, there is no issue with the price, (we have it priced competitively so no issues here, and Belgium is LHD so no issues there). He said he needed a few days and then he would get back to me. Low and behold today he sends me a message saying that his client wants the car and has no issues with anything, except (You guessed it!!) for the fact that he wants to pay a sum of the total outside the official contract and that he wants to meet in Milan, and discuss the particulars of the sale. I'm very curious how this scam works? Is it a kidnapping scam, where they lure individuals they believe have money to a location they control, with the goal of kidnapping them or something? Has anyone come accross this before??
The Belgian company is as follows.... www.immo-meyers.com
Regards
Moser