Mark alerted me to a scam by a guy named William Cameron. Mark said William called him up claiming he had an FC-150, just what Mark was looking to buy. All Mark had to do was wire him a down payment. Long story short, it was a scam.

It turns out William Cameron is a regular scam artist. He’s even been in jail for it, though no prison time. So, if he calls you, tell him to where he can go ….

Here’s what Mark wrote me:

“He calls, says he has exactly what you need. Sounds very old, but when googling him you find he is only in his 50’s. Same scam always for the most part and he has gone to jail for it. Tells you he can not take any pics. Tells you everything a buyer would ever want to hear. His price is dirt cheap and he says all he needs is a deposit and says you can send the rest later. All the while he is coughing and sounding very old and he says he is retiring to Arizona. Google his name or number along with the words “Craigslist scam” and you would see he has taken advantage of many people.”

This is a scam. The owner of the jeep, Chris, let folks know via G503 on Facebook and Joe is Mesa shared the info with me.

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb/cto/d/fully-rebuilt-1942-gpw-jeep/6708358106.html

“1942 GPW for sale. Rebuilt from the ground up. Jeep is in great condition, transmission and engine run smooth. Road ready. Garaged after rebuilt. I also have a second jeep that I’m parting out, ie; frame, axle, xmsn, wheels, etc… I don’t want to sell it but I’m moving to New York soon and need the money. $12000 obo. No low ballers please. Call or text if you’re are interested or have aditional questions. I have more photos I can text you as well”

A reader who shall remain anonymous shared the story of how pictures of his jeep mysteriously appeared on Craigslist without his knowledge. It turned out someone had taken the pics off a different craigslist ad and was using them to trick buyers into sending the thief money for a vehicle he didn’t own.

Our faithful reader only discovered the issue thanks to eWillys. He was quite surprised to see an ad for his vehicle! So, he contacted the police, which led to the takedown of twenty people working together to “fake sell” vehicles across the US. He’ll be testifying in court later this year.

Here are a couple links discussing Craigslist scams:

1. https://jalopnik.com/how-a-craigslist-scammer-tried-to-steal-my-moms-car-1789696074
2. https://www.csoonline.com/article/2875832/security/how-to-stick-it-to-craigslist-scammers.html
3. https://www.tred.com/test-drive-blog/how-to-spot-a-craigslist-car-scam-and-what-happens-when-you-dont/
4. https://www.komando.com/tips/349850/craigslist-shopping-and-selling-scams/all

So be careful out there!