Is this a Scam? | FerrariChat

Is this a Scam?

Discussion in 'Ferrari Discussion (not model specific)' started by ExcelsiorZ, Apr 9, 2021.

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  1. ExcelsiorZ

    ExcelsiorZ Formula 3
    BANNED

    Nov 7, 2003
    1,267
    Beverly Hills
    I posted a Ferrari for sale. Was contacted by a person who claims they are from Switzerland but now living in France. Says he has a buyer in Qatar and states the Buyer will pay the full asking price (six figures) on the condition the purchase be in cash (Euros or dollars).

    Then he states I have to meet him in Barcelona to discuss and finalize the purchase. When I state I will need a deposit before I buy a plane ticket to Barcelona he says he cannot send a deposit. We go back and forth on this issue and he remains unwilling to send a deposit. Says if the deal does not go through he will reimburse my travel expenses. Of course, that is just the word of a person I have never met and know nothing about.

    I am trying to figure out what their angle is. Surely if you are buying a Ferrari costing hundreds of thousands of dollars you could send a $2k deposit right?

    This is the second time now this has happened on this same listing. What is their goal? Is this a scam?

    Is the idea just to see if someone is fool enough to fly to Barcelona (or wherever) and waste their time and money?

    Can anyone figure this out?
     
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  2. Twosherpaz

    Twosherpaz Formula Junior

    Feb 25, 2014
    889
    Thermal, CA
    Full Name:
    Private
    If it smells like a rat and acts like a rat do you really need to fly to Spain and see the rat?

    Surely you can sell the car elsewhere with less concern. Further, good luck on claiming a hundred thousand cash through customs. You will either be smuggling it in illegally or opening up an investigation where you have zero knowledge of someone for whom you are clearly laundering money.
     
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  3. Prancing 12

    Prancing 12 F1 Rookie
    Silver Subscribed

    May 11, 2004
    2,649
    The long way home
    Like you, I'm having a hard time coming up with their angle. It could be nothing more than there are a lot of bored people in the world and he's amused at the idea of having a stranger fly half way around the world for nothing.

    Never mind the fact that, even if it were a genuine deal, you're flying during a pandemic and dealing with the headaches of travelling home with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash. In this situation, if someone should be getting on a plane, it's the buyer.

    Surely there are more conventional deals to do on the car...
     
  4. Jedi

    Jedi Moderator
    Moderator Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Mar 18, 2008
    31,528
    Seattle Area
    Full Name:
    Dave
    Yes. It's a scam.

    Jedi
     
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  5. 19633500GT

    19633500GT F1 World Champ
    Rossa Subscribed

    Nov 9, 2010
    11,926
    Blueberry
    Full Name:
    Muffin-Tops
    eBay?
     
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  6. Marcel Massini

    Marcel Massini Two Time F1 World Champ
    Honorary

    Mar 2, 2005
    22,739
    Clearly money laundering.
    STAY AWAY.

    Marcel Massini
     
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  7. A348W

    A348W Formula 3

    Jun 28, 2017
    1,741
    North Wiltshire, UK
    Scam for sure.

    Just tell him your financial advisor will be in contact; he might be a day or two as he is finalising a deal with a Nigerian Prince.
     
    paulchua, Nembo1777, LVP488 and 5 others like this.
  8. ExcelsiorZ

    ExcelsiorZ Formula 3
    BANNED

    Nov 7, 2003
    1,267
    Beverly Hills
    Good points. Thank you.
     
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  9. ExcelsiorZ

    ExcelsiorZ Formula 3
    BANNED

    Nov 7, 2003
    1,267
    Beverly Hills
    Hi Marcel
    So you think that's what it is, money laundering?
    Does this stuff really happen with buying Ferraris?
    To be frank, I don't even know what hundreds of thousands of cash would look like! Briefcase? Suitcase? Bags?

    I was wondering if they might think because I am selling a Ferrari they would kidnap me or something.
     
  10. BJK

    BJK F1 Rookie

    Jul 18, 2014
    4,781
    CT
    and I've got a bridge to sell you. :rolleyes: ........ Nobody? :p

    .
     
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  11. buddyg

    buddyg F1 Veteran
    Rossa Subscribed

    Sep 20, 2004
    5,446
    West Michigan
    Full Name:
    Buddy
    Fly to Barcelona so they can beat you up and rob you. Please walk away, this is a bad, bad situation.
     
  12. alex

    alex Formula Junior
    Silver Subscribed

    Dec 19, 2003
    674
    Crystal Lake, Illinois
    Full Name:
    Alex
    Walk away! No, wait, RUN away!
     
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  13. 32 Ford

    32 Ford Karting

    Jan 31, 2021
    172
    vancouver
    Full Name:
    Mike McGowan
    Just fly up to Vancouver Canada I can rip you off the same way. You won't need to travel as far. I think you know the answer to your original question.
     
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  14. ExcelsiorZ

    ExcelsiorZ Formula 3
    BANNED

    Nov 7, 2003
    1,267
    Beverly Hills
    That's the part that is so rather confusing: What is their angle? Seems like a lot to go through to rob me? Seems really horrible if that's their game, trick people into flying half way around the world for nothing. Or is it money laundering?
     
  15. JohnMH

    JohnMH Formula 3

    Jan 28, 2004
    1,625
    Dubai / Bologna
    No Qatari I know goes to the trouble of hiring a consultant to find the right car, but then deals in cash for such transactions to avoid the banking system. Also, it is not typical in the region to just pay full asking price for a used car.

    I have heard of people wiring excess funds to your account, or paying, then cancelling the deal and seeking a refund wired from your account, to create a plausible reason for the transactions.
     
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  16. Marcel Massini

    Marcel Massini Two Time F1 World Champ
    Honorary

    Mar 2, 2005
    22,739
    Nobody is interested in kidnapping you. What for?

    Don't be naive.
    Yes, such stuff does happen with "buying Ferraris".
    As for how a pile of cash looks like, I suggest you just google it.

    Marcel Massini
     
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  17. clonmeliw

    clonmeliw Karting

    Aug 27, 2016
    183
    Tulsa, OK
    Full Name:
    Jeff Fischer
    I'll defer pointing out the unorthodoxy of the deal - Spain raises a red flag for me. Several years ago we were on vacation and stopped at a traffic light in Valencia and I thought nothing about the motorbike next to me at the red light...until the tire on our rental car went flat two blocks later. As I was changing it someone "offered to help" as his buddies snuck in the other side and made off with our belongings. The hotel manager escorted us to the local police station where we learned we were the fourth tourists victimized that day. As they were looking for the toilet key which they had lost (true!) the police sergeant reminisced about how there had been much less street crime under Franco.
     
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  18. mcimino

    mcimino Formula 3

    Oct 5, 2007
    2,262
    Long Island, NY
    Tell him to meet you at the Beverly Hills hotel with the bag of money and you'll show him the car. If the deal goes through you'll reimburse his travel expenses. :D
     
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  19. asgor

    asgor Formula Junior

    Sep 8, 2016
    705
    Virginia, USA
    As it's often said, if your Scam-o-Meter starts ticking that it most likely IS a scam. We are all endowed with a sixth sense we should pay more attention to - which we often overlook because we choose to hope for the best.

    PASS.
     
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  20. ExcelsiorZ

    ExcelsiorZ Formula 3
    BANNED

    Nov 7, 2003
    1,267
    Beverly Hills
    That's pretty scary and shocking. Some years ago I had my rental car broken into in the middle of Milan's prime tourist area. Car was parked right out in front of the hotel during a rainy night. The next morning the Hotel Manager stated this sort of thing happens now with the influx of people from the Middle East and Africa. Unfortunately, I was lazy and, because of the rain that evening, had only taken the suitcases into the hotel while leaving all the purchases hidden in the rear hatch. All gone. At the police station the officer who took our report echoed what the Hotel Manager stated about the likely perpetrators. I'll refrain from expressing any further views on the subject of immigration......
     
  21. alex

    alex Formula Junior
    Silver Subscribed

    Dec 19, 2003
    674
    Crystal Lake, Illinois
    Full Name:
    Alex
    While crime against individuals is relatively low in Italy, property crime has always been high. Most businesses have shutters or bars on the windows, and you must be buzzed into banks and jewelry stores. Immigration may have exacerbated this, but it has always been an issue. People will scale bulidings to break into apartments. It's a fact of life; you need to be vigilant.
     
  22. Extreme1

    Extreme1 Formula 3

    Jun 27, 2017
    1,212
    Santa Clarita, CA
    It’s definitely a scam, but have some fun with it. I’d screw with the guy just for trying to steal from me.


    Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app
     
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  23. papou

    papou Formula 3
    Silver Subscribed

    May 18, 2012
    1,567
    plantation Fla
    Full Name:
    daniel ross
    PTU failure, Gearbox sensor failure, Headliners dropping, Sticky problems everywhere, Ferrari tax on parts,
    Every Ferrari sale is a scam.
     
  24. Nembo1777

    Nembo1777 F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Nov 4, 2006
    10,147
    opposite lock
    Full Name:
    Marc Sonnery
    Firstly as an American or US resident you are not allowed to fly to the EU now due to Covid just like we in Europe are not allowed to fly to the USA now so that is enough of a red flag.
    Anybody asking you to fly over now takes you for an uninformed idiot.

    Have fun with this tell him your agent in London can host him then have the meeting filmed with hidden cameras:D I can help with some London contacts used to catching vermin:D
     
  25. gilly6993

    gilly6993 Formula 3

    Aug 20, 2009
    2,475
    Longmeadow, MA
    Full Name:
    Eric
    So what are you supposed to do with the cash? Put it through the X-ray machine, overhead bin, customs, and deposit it in you’re local bank

    That won’t generate any red flags or paperwork. “Well the buyer lives in Qatar but but I only dealt with a Swiss National that lives in France and we met in Spain”

    I would definitely try to waste their time


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
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