# Watch out for scam



## jiwawa (Jun 22, 2007)

I get occasional emails from National Fraud Intelligence Bureau as I once reported a scam.

The latest might be of interest to folks on here. It says:

"Online shopping websites are being utilised by fraudsters to advertise vehicles for sale which do not exist. After agreeing to purchase the vehicle via email with the fraudsters, buyers then receive emails purporting to be from Amazon Payments and/or Amazon Flexible Payment Service stating that their money will be held in an ‘escrow account’ (a bank account held by a third party, used as a temporary holding account during a transaction between two parties- for a 7 day ‘cooling off’ period). Once happy with the purchase the email indicates the money will be released to the seller, therefore offering ‘buyer protection’. In reality these emails are fraudulent and do not come from Amazon. The bank accounts are controlled by fraudsters. 

Protect yourself
Remember that Amazon does not provide an escrow account to purchase items.
Meet the seller ‘face to face’ and view the vehicle before parting with any money.
Be vigilant of emails that purport to be from genuine companies and check the ‘domain’ name of the email address for any inconsistencies.
Check feedback online by searching the associated phone numbers or email addresses of the seller.
If the vehicle is below market value consider whether this is an opportunity too good to be true!
If you, or anyone you know, have been affected by this fraud or any other scam, report it to Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040 or visiting www.actionfraud.police.uk."

Hope nobody need sit but better to be warned.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Nice heads up Jean, Liz is scouring the web as much as me and we both find a good few vans every day which are obvious scams, here's one we spotted yesterday, check out the watermarks on the pictures and the reg numbers, this is more obvious than normal though.

https://www.gumtree.com/p/caravans/2001-swift-kontiki-z-motorhome/1163971128


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## chasper (Apr 20, 2008)

Those pictures are taken at Mullacott Motorhomes at Mullacott Industrial Estate just outside Ilfracombe. I live about 3 miles from there.:smile2:


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

chasper said:


> Those pictures are taken at Mullacott Motorhomes at Mullacott Industrial Estate just outside Ilfracombe. I live about 3 miles from there.:smile2:


Ah but not all of them though.


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## emmbeedee (Oct 31, 2008)

It does explain that the photos are not of the actual van, if you read further down Kev.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

emmbeedee said:


> It does explain that the photos are not of the actual van, if you read further down Kev.


Yup, saw that, but still conclude it's a scam though, could be wrong but why risk it, Gumtree is possibly the worst site for scammers although they do appear to be trying to stamp it out, it's easier to report them now than it used to be, Ebay and Auto trader need to catch up.


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