Please! Need Help with a scam

Or maybe you are the OP under a different account trying to muddy up the waters on what is interstate commerce fraud.

 

Excellent idea! Now we're thinking creatively. Did you notice my account was created just a few days ago...?

Except that if OP was trying to critque a scam idea, his alt accounts wouldn't be trying to muddy the waters. They'd be trying to provoke some insighful observations. Maybe that's what I'm doing?

(can it be Friday all weekend?)

 

My most successful troll was a $250,000 oscilloscope I bought at a yard sale for $50 bucks. It was good for a few laughs, both for me and for others.

 

This thread is entertaining in a hilariously bad movie kind of way:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZB3GLIRx-c

 

At first I wasn’t going to participate, but what’s the fun in that. All things aside, This a good reminder for everyone who reads that some crook could manufacture a title copy (removing the lien holder) that looks legit enough and sell a vehicle that does not have a clear title. It’s flat out fraud (30 years as a law enforcement officer) but up to the locals whether they pursue the case or not ( may claim civil matter ) and the loss doesn’t meet the threshold for most federal prosecutors to pursue. In my area, losses in white collar crimes typically have to exceed 500k before a prosecutor will work it. Perhaps someone who works with titles on a regular basis can offer what characteristics a valid title should have.

 

Titles have watermarks here and I think my newer titles even have a holographic image. I’m sure with the right equipment a title could still be counterfeit like currency, which has a lot of security features.

 

Not nearly as much fun as the $5 Walmart Pro grille.

 

Has TS tried to contact the seller? He said the phone # provided was a "burner" and is disconnected, but what about the seller's name/address? You have those, is it a unique enough name to Google and locate the person? Email them? Open some sort of dialogue?

If the seller replies with "eh, fuck you buddah!", then at least you know you have the right person and you could forward the information to the police dept which is local to the seller (not YOUR local PD, but HIS local PD).

I realize we still haven't heard how much TS actually paid for this truck (guessing it's so low that if he posts it, everyone will say "you had to know it was shady"), but over $5k(?) is felony territory, depending on whether the police call it fraud or outright theft.

 

Looks like a troll and run.

 

My experience is that repo towing/storage fees are different. Regular, non-contract per day storage prices are all over the map. I’ve seen property owners, mechanics shops and tow companies charge some pretty ridiculous amounts. Different laws in each area but we were required to try and notify the vehicle owner of any pending towing/storage fees within a certain amount of time (registered letter, ad in local paper, etc) in order to get paid or to begin the process of transferring ownership. If the OP’s situation is legit, he might want to notify the legal title owner that they’re getting charged per day (via registered mail etc)

Agreed, the OP is prob screwed. I could be wrong but I’ve never heard of state laws that cap storage fees; only city or county by-law caps (insurance companies have been known to post a lot of official-looking online BS info regarding max towing and storage fees) Also, the OP said the truck was in his garage and indoor storage is always way more than outdoor storage. Climate controlled indoor storage is even more again.
Other than getting a lawyer and suing, storage fees might be the only way to recoup some of his cash after the bank comes and gets their truck back.....

 

Interesting read. Caveat Emptor. I bet I could be fooled by a good photocopy of a title, especially out of state.

Do you folks when you make a cash private party purchase ask the seller for ID to make sure the seller is the same as on the title? I never have, but I do show buyers my ID when I sell private party.

I prolly could have been burned a few times on cash PP purchases. I bought a trailer cash at a storage lot, turned out ok, got a fresh title after purchase, but the seller could have been anybody.

 

Not sure about title tranfer laws in other states, but in NC the title has to be signed by both the owner and buyer while in the presence of a notary. The notary is responsible for checking identification before stamping. It would be very hard to create a legitimate looking photocopy of a NC title.

 

I disagree. I've sold one car and donated another to a charity in the past 8 months in NC. I was told the buyer's name (and address?) needs to be on the title when the seller signs and is notarized. We did not notarize the buyer's info. In the case of the donation, the "buyer" of record wasn't a person, it was the charity, and there was nobody to notarize as a buyer. They just had a roll-off driver pick up the car and the signed/notarized title.

 

Yeah, varies by state. When I was living in Indiana, my son (in Australia) asked me to sell his Jeep. Needless to say, he didn't sign the title

 

I've never donated a car to a charity organization so I dont know how they sign, but in a title transfer between two people the buyer has to print and sign their full name and provide their address. That is so the DMV will know who to register as the owner. Regardless, the title has to be notarized with the seller's signature. That requirement and the type of paper that titles are printed on make it hard to scam someone using a photocopy.

 

Agreed.

 

I have experience with this.

2006, I bought a rare 97 LR Defender online. The truck was real but it came with a fake retitled 1983 LR Defender from Seattle. Truck got shipped to NJ. Being that Defenders were rare, it wasn't hard for Seattle investigator to track down to the seller and, subsequently to me. They’ve got a hold of the shipping record which made it easy for the local law enforcement. When I registered the truck in NJ, it immediately went in the database and within two weeks, cops showed up at my door with a tow truck.

Fortunately, the local investigator had all the backstories from the Seattle cops and with my emails back and forth with the seller, they had me signed an affidavit that I was a victim of online fraud. The seller fleed to Mexico but they were able to track and froze the funds. I've got some of my money back after 4 1/2 years.

Start keeping your paper trail and go to the police and get a report right away. Don't wait.

 

Finally got ahold of investigator who’s been working my case and he is frustrated cause he keeps running into dead ends and no one can seem to find the selller. The local DA won’t sign off on it being a criminal case even though investigators think 2 felonies have been committed so we can’t Subpoena The dmv in home state, the bank or the dealership for the information we need. So he recommended applying for a bonded title. He is going to give me a clean vin inspection that I take to the dmv, supposedly they are going to send it to the sellers last known address and if they don’t get a response within 30 days then I can at least register and drive the damn thing. If the bank doesn’t respond within 30 days of me registering it then I can apply for new title in my name. Let’s hope no one cares about this thing!

 

You said you wanted to get the bank responding... Now you get what you asked for, or you get a clear title.

 

What happened with this? It doesn't make sense. How can the bank hold the title, but at the same time you have a photocopy? They don't send you a title until the vehicle is paid for.