Anybody else had interest from Denmark re: selling the Cerb?

[HB]

i went to uk with the cash in my hand and the next day i was driving a cerbera to sweden. not all overseas are crazy or maybe??!!

[shakey5]

Just had this reply from our friend Darius, which explains the scam quite well: -

I want to inform you that i am satisfied with the pictures and the shipping agent has been contacted by me to get in touch with you as regards the inspection and viewing of the car, the deposit has been mailed to your residence and you should get the payment before the end of the week .
I have authorised that a client over there in the U.K who owes me money from business purchases with my showroom to have the payment sent to your residence immediately.The only constraint is that sum owed me is more than price of your car. Please,could you deduct the deposit 50%for the car (£4,650.00) from sum ?and send the difference to my shipping agent in the U.K who will do the inspection,viewing,pick-up ,final exchange of documents on my behalf .
The total amount on the payment would be £8,000.00 ,i would like you to send me a confirmation mail upon receipt of payment so that i can call you up and we can both fix a date the inspection to take place .

Cheers'

Darius............

N.B. I have stated the name,address and email address and mobile number of the agent in the United Kingdom,feel free to get in touch with him anytime.
NAME OF AGENT:-MR ROBERT MACAULAY.
ADDRESS:-60 WHITEHALL PARK ROAD,W4 3NB,LONDON,UNITED KINGDOM .
EMAIL ADDRESS:[e-mail]
MOBILE NUMBER:- [phone].

Needless to say the residence he is sending the deposit to isn't our home address! I wonder if this is enough information to get the Fraud Office involved?

[Brasnews]

Glad I Googled the phone number of the local shipper a Mr Robert Macaulay... it led me to this blog...

It now seems this chap has new alias, John Goldeberg [mailto:[e-mail]].

I recieved the intial email requesting further pictures and then the following...

"Hello Spencer,
The pictures you sent me are okay and i have done an H.P.I check on the car,i am willing to pay £28,800.00 and i hope this is acceptable to you.I have contacted an auto shipper in the United Kingdom who will handle the inspection,pick-up and shipping of the car to me,his name is Mr Robert Macaulay and his mobile no:[phone] .
The payment will be made to you with a certified cheque drawn from a United Kingdom Bank,you should deposit the cheque on a fast payment/clearance scheme so the funds can be available to you in 24hrs max(any extra cost for this to be done will be borne solely by myself) .
If this arrangement suits you get back to me promptly.

Best Regards'

John................."

Strangely familiar!

[scuzzer]

Hi Guys, new member here and only found your site by googling the name of a shipper that someone in Switzerland was proposing they use to collect my Porsche!

You guessed it - Robert Macauley is his name! Has anyone out there actually done a genuine deal with these guys??

I've also had one from France where a guy called Terry wants it for his wife - is this another one that anyone's heard of???

Cheers

[where_is_will]

Thanks Guys - had one from this muppet today trying to buy my Lexus. Was waiting for the scam to kick in, looks like I was one email away from it. Do they never learn?

Cheers,

Will

[thewan]

I had the same message about sellin my 911 from John Goldberg, although n the original message he only asked for pictures of the interior and engine - no address details or anything:


The pictures you sent me are okay,i am willing to pay £23,800.00 and i hope this is acceptable to you.I have contacted an auto shipper in the United Kingdom who will handle the inspection,pick-up and shipping of the car to me,his name is Mr Robert Macaulay and his mobile no:[phone] .
The payment will be made to you with a certified cheque drawn from a United Kingdom Bank,you should deposit the cheque on a fast payment/clearance scheme so the funds can be available to you in 24hrs max(any extra cost for this to be done will be borne solely by myself) .
If this arrangement suits you get back to me promptly.

Best Regards'

John.................

If you do a trace on the IP address you get, surpirse surprise - Africa, Mauritius to be precise!

OrgName: African Network Information Center
OrgID: AFRINIC
Address: 03B3 - 3rd Floor - Ebene Cyber Tower
Address: Cyber City
Address: Ebene
Address: Mauritius
City: Ebene
StateProv:
PostalCode: 0001
Country: MU

Now i am guessing there is no point reporting this to anyone as they wont be able to do anything

[yarn1971]

Thanks for this forum!!!

The deal sounded dodgy from the start, so I thought I would do a bit of digging on Google, and guess what I found this site.

The guy is now calling himself John Goldberg - details below:-

John Goldberg .
Avenue Louis Casai 57-59
Geneva, 1216
Switzerland .

This is what he is saying to me:-

Hello,
I just saw your advert on www.topmarques.co.uk and i am interested in purchasing the LAND ROVER valued at £20,500.00,please get back to me with some pictures of the engine and interior .

He then goes on to say:-

The pictures you sent me are okay,i am willing to pay £20,300.00 and i hope this is acceptable to you.I have contacted an auto shipper in the United Kingdom who will handle the inspection,pick-up and shipping of the car to me,his name is Mr Robert Macaulay and his mobile no:[phone] .
The payment will be made to you with a certified cheque drawn from a United Kingdom Bank,you should deposit the cheque on a fast payment/clearance scheme so the funds can be available to you in 24hrs max(any extra cost for this to be done will be borne solely by myself) .
If this arrangement suits you get back to me promptly.

I have reported this to the Police/Fraud Dept etc...

PLEASE BE CAREFUL EVERYONE - AND THANS AGAIN FOR A GREAT FORUM!!!

[Jake-o]

Hi guys,
It's been said before but thank you for this forum! I had contact from John Goldberg when selling my car (early July 08) - familiar story:

"Hello,
I just saw your advert on www.topmarques.co.uk and i am interested in purchasing the MAZDA valued at £13,800.00 ,please get back to me with some pictures of the engine and interior .

Regards'


John Goldberg .
Avenue Louis Casai 57-59
Geneva, 1216
Switzerland . "

I was immediately suspicious when the address was from Swizerland (not to mention the poor grammar)! I have since received the e-mail below mid-July (08) from a Douglas Larimo ([e-mail]), so this might also be a name to look out for:
"Can you please confirm the sale of your car if the car is still available for sale and the asking price as per advert .Kindly state the asking price when responding
Thanks"

Really frustrating that these guys are out there!
Thanks!

[pat doyle]

I very nearly fell for this scam. I am now a bit scared because I gave him my mobile and home number. Did a bit of research and came up with your website and e-mail address. Was selling my audi a4 cabriolet to fund an operation so was a bi desperate for the sale. Thank God I found this forum. I knew about other scams but this man is a bit cleverer than most. Why can't he be named and shamed on Autotrader? I have now ecided to keep my car and get a loan.

[dawn&dave]

Thanks for this forum!!!

The deal sounded a bit dodgy from the start, as it was sent at 2am. We contacted the number for Robert Macualy, and he sounded a rather shocked to hear from me. So he must be able to be traced from this phone number. So I thought I would do a bit of digging on Google, and guess what I found this site.

As in the previous message the guy I have been dealing with is also John Goldberg - details below:-

John Goldberg .
Avenue Louis Casai 57-59
Geneva, 1216
Switzerland .

This is what he is saying to me:-

Hello,
I just saw your advert on www.topmarques.co.uk and i am interested in purchasing the AUDI valued at £17,250.00,please get back to me with some pictures of the engine and interior .

Hello Dawn,
The pictures you sent me are okay,i am willing to pay £17,100.00 and i hope this is acceptable to you.I have contacted an auto shipper in the United Kingdom who will handle the inspection,pick-up and shipping of the car to me,his name is Mr Robert Macaulay and his mobile no:[phone] .
The payment will be made to you with a certified cheque drawn from a United Kingdom Bank,you should deposit the cheque on a fast payment/clearance scheme so the funds can be available to you in 24hrs max(any extra cost for this to be done will be borne solely by myself) .
If this arrangement suits you get back to me promptly.

Best Regards'


John.................

Hello Dave,
I will make further arrangement with the shipping agent and make plans for a viewing date,a 10% deposit will be sent to you to hold the car for me till the shipper comes around for the inspection and viewing .
When i have word from him that the car is in good condition the balance for the funds will be given to you in cash(GBP) and the pick-up and final exchange of documents can take place,please email me if this arrangement is okay so i can know what to do .

Regards'

John..............

Hello David,
I want to inform you that i am satisfied with the pictures and the shipping agent has been contacted by me to get in touch with you as regards the inspection and viewing of the car, the deposit has been mailed to your residence and you should get the payment before the end of the week .
I have authorised that a client over there in the U.K who owes me money from business purchases with my showroom to have the payment sent to your residence immediately.The only constraint is that sum owed me is more than price of your car. Please,could you deduct the deposit 10%for the car (£1,710.00) from sum ?and send the difference to my shipping agent in the U.K who will do the inspection,viewing,pick-up ,final exchange of documents on my behalf .
The total amount on the payment would be £5,600.00 ,i would like you to send me a confirmation mail upon receipt of payment so that i can call you up and we can both fix a date the inspection to take place .

Cheers'

John............

N.B. I have stated the name,address and email address and mobile number of the agent in the United Kingdom,feel free to get in touch with him anytime.
NAME OF AGENT:-MR ROBERT MACAULAY.
ADDRESS:-60 WHITEHALL PARK ROAD,W4 3NB,LONDON,UNITED KINGDOM .
EMAIL ADDRESS:[e-mail]
MOBILE NUMBER:- [phone].

Really frustrating that these guys are out there, we got the searching information on the final email and managed to get hooked onto forum!
Thanks!

[shaun egan]

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/651899.htm

Dear Shaun,

I'm interested in buying your TVR
I have two questions for you :
a) I want to make a first deposit or a cash payment in Euro
b) I want to pick up the Car and drive myself to belgium ( I live in Belgium )
I coming over regulary to the UK ( London )
I could come over at the end of the month or the first week of september, is this OK to you ?

Kind regards

Frank De Winter
Tramstraat 32
2260 Westerlo ( Belgium )
Tel [phone]


My Phone No: 0032 476 97 48 30


Just had this one from someone saying they want to buy my TVR, not sure if it is scam, has anyone else herd from this guy????

[Dutch_Cerbera]

shaun egan said:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/651899.htm

Dear Shaun,

I'm interested in buying your TVR
I have two questions for you :
a) I want to make a first deposit or a cash payment in Euro
b) I want to pick up the Car and drive myself to belgium ( I live in Belgium )
I coming over regulary to the UK ( London )
I could come over at the end of the month or the first week of september, is this OK to you ?

Kind regards

Frank De Winter
Tramstraat 32
2260 Westerlo ( Belgium )
Tel [phone]


My Phone No: 0032 476 97 48 30


Just had this one from someone saying they want to buy my TVR, not sure if it is scam, has anyone else herd from this guy????

to be honest it could be real...

have no idea about that guy, but that adress is an adress in Westerlo,
checked the phone book but i did not find a De Winter with that address... does not mean that much. That phone number that he gave you is a mobile (Mobistar is the Telco.)

That name is a Belgium name for sure.

so, i would say that it is not fake....
but strange that he wants to pick up the car and no check or what so ever...

[mannkork]

I have to say as a seller of a car, do not let the buyer of the car go with the car without having the cash in your hand!!.

If the buyer wants to give you a check or wants to make a transferation or something else do not sell the car. You must be shure that you have the money and as a serios buyer he will understand that.

I´m German and I have bought a few years ago a Cerbera in UK. I did not like to travele with so much cash. I went to my bank and ask them for a souliton. They gave me a (German) guaranteed check and with this check I went to the bank in UK and they gave me the cash to pay the car.

Cheers

Johannes

[Cerbdog]

I've just been emailed by a chap a in Holland about my cerb for sale, same MO, would like pics, a couple of banal questions... feck off you thievin gypsy!

[Dutch_Cerbera]

Cerbdog said:

I've just been emailed by a chap a in Holland about my cerb for sale, same MO, would like pics, a couple of banal questions... feck off you thievin gypsy!

was actually thinking about driving there to see what kind of place that guy is living and so on...
but now i have the impression that that would be a waste of time...

too bad, these people give the really interested non-UKers a bad name.

perhaps we all have to call him and ask if he wants to buy our cars as well...

Edited by Dutch_Cerbera on Tuesday 12th August 16:07

[greenm]

Hi guys, dont knock all overseas e-mails as scammers, mine comes through from the caribbean (were I work) I have bought three cars on E-Bay for my sons in the UK an M3 EVO without seeing it and the owner met me from the plane (I had paid for it)and now I am a new Cerbie owner done the same way?? Must say Pistonheads gives you confidence plus if you know cars you can tell the enthusiasm that a real car owner has and I guess that comes through in a proper advert and so far I have been lucky being trustworthy (maybe I am mad but must be to be driving a Cerb!!) So dont mistrust all of us. Just do some checks its so easy online these days. Anyway thanks for all the info on i am getting on here although i am sitting in the sunshine over in the Caribbean I would rather be driving my baby??

[marcus41]

Mr Goldberg/Macauley tried this one on me after I advertised my Merc in Thames Valley Autotrader. I contacted Hampshire Constabulary who emailed me back a day later saying that all it was was someone offering to pay with a cheque and that I should ask my bank about payment methods. I suppose the problem is that the local police know that they are powerless to do anything themselves about these scams and that the police resources aren't organised well enough to catch these guys without going to a lot of trouble which might lead them nowhere anyway. There are thousands of these grubby crminals out there and the police are powerless to catch them. Looking on the bright side, all the Gatso cameras are still raking it in from those of us who don't specialise in day to day criminality and have the disadvantage of a fixed home address, two kids and a mortgage. This all lands back on the doorstep of 10 Downing Street. The politicians know the world is rife with cyber criminals but they do little or nothing about it because they don't know how to.

Meanwhile Mr Goldberg is having a good laugh and probably living the high life. All I can say is - I have been buying and selling my own cars for 40 years and in all that time nobody has ever bought one off me without some face to face haggling.

So - presumably the message is - all you tender young teens/twenty somethings out there who have yet to experience the penury of domesticity - don't assume that the internet is going to bring miracles to your door in the shape of sweaty eager buyers willing to pay your asking price. Evidently it won't and be sure to pass the message on to your kids when they are old enough to understand. What a world this is!

And well done to everyone in this forum who saw Mr Godlberg or whatever his name is for the lowlife scum that he is. The frightening thing is that one of us will probably walk past Mr a Goldberg in the street today and never know it - and neither will the powerless uninterested police. Thank goodness for this forum and the people who spread the word and recognise that when the chips are down we have to protect ourselves because the establishment and government won't do it. Maybe the problems with drugs and knives and the lack of budget to deal with such matters properly are more important.

If anyone has been ripped off by this man please report it in this forum - I for one would like to know if he ever succeeds and what the end game is.

[Phil Blenners]

I've been contacted today by this lowlife showing an interest in my Merc......Almost without thinking I sent him a pleasant reply then my spider senses started tingling......Great forum folks....when I started digging around and realised what he was up to I sent a 2nd not so pleasant E Mail...!!!

[hugepiece]

these can be legit, when I sold be Cerb about a year ago a guy from Germany started emailing me saying he was interested etc etc etc.

After sending numerous emails and photos etc etc, he said he wanted to fly over and come and collect the car paying cash.

I gave him the name of my local train station and said if he was serious I would come and collect him at the agreed time, thinking that nothing would come of it.

then.............................I got a call that he was at the station waiting for me, came saw the car - haggled for a bit, gave me cash and off he drove (asking me to put the addresss of the port at dover in his satnav)

So it just goes to show that thankfully some of these international buyers rally are legit :-)

[sbender]

I had the same e-mails from John Goldberg. He was going to send me a cheque for £ 6000.00, if i could deduct etc. etc. After reading the posts on this blog I disregarded them untill, to my surprise I got a cheque in the post for £6000.00 from a Northern Irish builders providers F.R.Cathart ltd. I checked them out on the net, and they do exist. I also rang the number after hours and got a voice mail box. Will be checking them out tomorrow for real. I'll asked my bank to treat this transaction with suspicion and to report any irregularities to me. I'll keep you guy's posted