UPDATE: This jeep ad is starting to spread to other Craigslists. Here it is on the LA board. The seller wants the buyer to pay for the jeep using eBay gift cards. Here’s a discussion about that type of scam.
A reader alerted me to a scam ad in Sacramento. The seller, Ms. Lisa Cruz, claims to be selling a nice CJ-5 for only $1600. The reader relayed the following:
I was in contact with the seller yesterday via email to find out what was up with this really nice looking Jeep. She says the low price is correct, I said OK I will buy it. Sent her my name,address, phone, She said eBay will get back to me. Never heard anything back. Then someone calls me this morning on the phone and said lisa gave me my number, He said he has a jeep for sale, a 1969 V-6. Since he has my number he asked to text me photos of jeep. Haven’t got them yet,”
The ad has already been flagged once, but then popped up again shortly thereafter. Here’s the current link: https://sacramento.craigslist.org/atq/d/sacramento-kaiser-jeep-cj-cj5/6920359522.html
AD TEXT: JEEP for passenger safety.Tailgate is clean and solid, and the wrapped chains hold it firmly in place. There is no sign of rust or rot on the gate inside or outside.Engine bay is just beautiful, and is ready to display at your local cruise night or car show with pride!The JEEP starts with one push of the gas pedal and a turn of the key when cold, and without the single pump when warm. It idles cleanly, and is ready to go when you are.It drives wonderfully, and has only the typical light play found in a CJ”
Anyone owning a Jeep that clean is not selling it for $1600!
I SAW THIS AD THE OTHER DAY AND THOUGHT IT WAS A TYPO , PROBABLY $16,000 ?
So what is the actual scam? Are they just trying to get contact information for later solicitations or to combined with other information for ID theft? Or are they up to something that I am missing.
Brad, that’s a good question
A) The language of the ad is odd,
B) The seller has twice told the reader who alerted me that eBay would be contacting him (contacting the reader), which makes no sense,
C) The Jeep is priced way, way below what it should be,
D) The reader was contacted by someone the seller knew offering a different Jeep for sale, something highly irregular
For those reasons, I believe is is a scam based on other scams I have documented.
Update… the seller wants the buyer to pay using eBay gift cards. Such a payment strategy should be a hard NO for a buyer: https://community.ebay.com/t5/eBay-Chat/Be-warned-of-scam-going-on-with-gift-cards/td-p/18502155 … many thanks to the reader who has put up with this nonsense so we can learn more.
I DONT CARE WHAT YOU SAY , ITS STILL A GOOD DEAL – I’LL BE LEAVING FOR SACTO , TO PICK IT UP ..