BEWARE INTERNET SCAM

[Chris F.]

I just wanted to inform everybody of a scam on ebay.I just purchased an engine and trans on ebay claiming to have 43k on it.It was the whole module including cradle,harness,struts,pcm,etc.Ad said engine is clean like brand new.I recieved the engine and the first thing I did was pull the dipstick.The eng. was filled with water.I pulled the left bank cam cover to confirm and found corrosion ,not even surface rust,major corrosion.Anyway the eng. was listed as an STS and after getting the numbers off the block and calling the dealer I was told it was in an SLS and the car was totaled and was last registered with over 93k on it.I called the seller and he is avioding me.(coward)I also got a carfax report on it to confirm this.The rest of the SLS is on ebay for parts.The listing said it came out of a car with rear end damage but the pictures show no damage.The seller uses that line on all the engines he sells.I can only assume the car was in a flood.The seller has a web site mrcadilac.com(that is his mispelling).If you are on ebay I would aviod this guys products.I dont want anyone else getting burnt.By the way I'm approximately $2000.00 lighter in the wallet.Please be careful

[Ed Hall]

Here's the car that the engine was pulled from.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=

[Marika]

I just wanted to inform everybody of a scam on ebay.I just purchased an engine and trans on ebay claiming to have 43k on it.It was the whole module including cradle,harness,struts,pcm,etc.Ad said engine is clean like brand new.I recieved the engine and the first thing I did was pull the dipstick.The eng. was filled with water.I pulled the left bank cam cover to confirm and found corrosion ,not even surface rust,major corrosion.Anyway the eng. was listed as an STS and after getting the numbers off the block and calling the dealer I was told it was in an SLS and the car was totaled and was last registered with over 93k on it.I called the seller and he is avioding me.(coward)I also got a carfax report on it to confirm this.The rest of the SLS is on ebay for parts.The listing said it came out of a car with rear end damage but the pictures show no damage.The seller uses that line on all the engines he sells.I can only assume the car was in a flood.The seller has a web site mrcadilac.com(that is his mispelling).If you are on ebay I would aviod this guys products.I dont want anyone else getting burnt.By the way I'm approximately $2000.00 lighter in the wallet.Please be careful

Actually, you can see from one of the ebay pics that the car is an SLS, clear as day. He also doesn't say in the auction that it's an STS, only "Seville". It also doesn't say in the auction anything about mileage. So, with all this said, where did you get all these facts from? If you have e-mails from this person, I would keep them and then sue them assuming you can prove they lied to you about the condition of the engine and the mileage.

My law office is currently suing a guy here in New Jersey who sold a crap camaro to a guy in Texas through ebay, we are representing the guy in Texas.

Caveat Emptor.

[Marika]

Here's the car that the engine was pulled from.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=

Are you sure it wasn't this item you bid on?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...item=7939045181

[Marika]

If this guy is a body shop as he claims, he's probably selling salvage cars which might be illegal in Florida, I know it's illegal in New Jersey and I also believe it's illegal to sell salvage parts in New Jersey as well, although I know there's a grey area in this regard in some states.

You might want to point out this seller to the authorities at ebay and the local police. Both might be very interested in what he's doing.

If the engine is full of water and corrosion, take pictures, and lots of them. Show the local police all the evidence you have. $2,000 is a lot of money to spend for a rotting fish tank.

[Marika]

More information on this guy. He's looking more like a scam everyday.

Domain Name.......... mrcadilac.com

Creation Date........ 2004-12-12

Registration Date.... 2004-12-12

Expiry Date.......... 2005-12-12

Organisation Name.... Denis Kutsayev

Organisation Address. 1359 Tripoli St

Organisation Address.

Organisation Address. North Port

Organisation Address. 34386

Organisation Address. FL

Organisation Address. UNITED STATES

Admin Name........... Denis Kutsayev

Admin Address........ 1359 Tripoli St

Admin Address........

Admin Address........ North Port

Admin Address........ 34386

Admin Address........ FL

Admin Address........ UNITED STATES

Admin Email.......... deniskutsayev@yahoo.com

Admin Phone.......... +1.9414236348

Admin Fax............

Tech Name............ YahooDomains TechContact

Tech Address......... 701 First Ave.

Tech Address.........

Tech Address......... Sunnyvale

Tech Address......... 94089

Tech Address......... CA

Tech Address......... UNITED STATES

Tech Email........... domain.tech@YAHOO-INC.COM

Tech Phone........... +1.6198813096

Tech Fax............. +1.6198813010

Name Server.......... yns1.yahoo.com

Name Server.......... yns2.yahoo.com

[adallak]

Chris,

I know it hurts, and the first reaction is leaving a negative feedback. But as soon as you live a negative the seller has nearly nothing to loose! I noticed the seller had had one digit feedback. I personally would avoid buying anything expensive from a seller with one digit feedback.

He probably paid next to nothing for the totaled car and already made pretty good money selling the engine to you. His next step most likely would be getting new ebay ID since he has no great feedback to lose.

Try to contact ebay authorities as Marika advised.

[Poobah]

Another thing you can do if you can demonstrate outright fraud is write to the Attorney General of the State of Florida. Incluce all the facts in the case and copies of all documentation, photos, and print outs of the eBay listing. If this guy has a dealer's license, be sure to include that information.

You should be able to find the Florida Attorney General's contact info on the internet.

I had a problem with missing airbags on a car I bought over eBay from a dealer in Texas. I wrote the Attorney General of Texas and about a month later the dealer called me and arranged to have air bags installed by a local body shop at his expense.

Good luck!

[Topcat9pet]

Chris F.

I have bought two Northstar engines on ebay that had 100k more miles on them than advertised and another that supposedly came out of a '98 DeVille that looks like newly rebuilt and has a plate on the rt.(rear)side cam cover that says; Mfgd for GM 11-02. All the accessories came in boxes. I'm not sure what to do with the engine since it has no production numbers on the block and the seller is no longer listed with ebay, as of about three days after the engine sold.

Anyway, The first engine I bought from an individual and drove up to KY. and picked it up from the sellers Father who feigned(I think) ignorance.of any details about the engine and the seller had moved to Fl. In that case,since I paid by check and picked up the item in person, there was not a lot that I could do about it other file a fraud report and call the FBI in Fla who didn't seem that interested.

I did get the $175 back from ebay from the $1200 that I had paid.

The second eng came from a salvage yard in TX.

If you pay for any item, ebay or not, using PayPal, or other electronic funds transfer methods. the transaction is considered to have taken place where the funds were transfered from. If the payment was via PayPal through your bank, you can file a claim through your small claims court. In AL. that will cover up to $3000. What I did, since it was a business, was file a conplaint with his BBB and advised that I would follow that up with a fraud claim with the Texas Attorney General's office. After giving me the run-around for months, he called me and asked if I would return the engine if he sent me a full refund including shipping both ways. When his check cleared, I returned the engine. I didn't have to file the complaint with the AG.

In these cases they would not send me a production number off the engine so I could run a CarFax on the car that the engine supposedly came out of. Anymore if I ask for a prod. number,which is located on a boss on the lower RT. Front of the block, and get no response I won't bid on it.

Filing thru small calims would probably get you a judgement, which you might never collect. The attorney General's office in Fl. is probably a better bet.

Good lick and thanks for the warning.

Cleatus

[danbuc]

If you used paypal, you can go through them and they might be able to get oyur money back. They will fight for you if you pay for a misrepresented item from a lying SOB seller. If not, I would still contact ebay, they might be able to throw kick him off. You never know. Good Luck.

[Chris F.]

Thanks for all the good advice.Ebay instructed me to contact my local athorities. and file a report. From there they will contact Florida police and the federal internet fraud division.My wife also called this guy yesterday and for some strange reason she hooked up directly to his answering machine and heard all his messages.Most of them are people looking to contact "Alex"about a bad product sold.One guy said quote"Alex boy I'm gonna hunt you down"I thought that was interesting.My wifes aunt works for the attourney general {Blumenthal}in Connecticut {thats where I live}I may see if he can do something.

[Marika]

Thanks for all the good advice.Ebay instructed me to contact my local athorities. and file a report. From there they will contact Florida police and the federal internet fraud division.My wife also called this guy yesterday and for some strange reason she hooked up directly to his answering machine and heard all his messages.Most of them are people looking to contact "Alex"about a bad product sold.One guy said quote"Alex boy I'm gonna hunt you down"I thought that was interesting.My wifes aunt works for the attourney general {Blumenthal}in Connecticut {thats where I live}I may see if he can do something.

Don't call this guy anymore because you're "tipping your hand" and giving him a chance to figure out what your next move is.

Go to the police and file a report as ebay instructed you to do. If the local police are too lazy to get involved, contact your state police instead.

[Marika]

And for those of you who are interested in knowing how to do a "whois" lookup for any URL on the Internet:

http://www.networksolutions.com/en_US/whois/index.jhtml

I always do a "whois" on any site I'm interested in shopping with. Saves a lot of time and aggrevation.

[Marika]

In today's Washington Post:

Thieves Find Exactly What They're Looking for on EBay

Auction Site Used to Cash In on Stolen Goods

By Ariana Eunjung Cha

Washington Post Staff Writer

Thursday, January 6, 2005; Page A01

SAN JOSE -- Stealing the merchandise was the easy part. The ring of young men and women had become pros at snatching cashmere sweaters, perfumes and other expensive items from the likes of Abercrombie & Fitch, Victoria's Secret and Pottery Barn.

The problem was how to turn the goods into cash. Hocking the wares on the black market was out. They didn't have the contacts. And any attempt to return the goods for refunds would probably be rebuffed without some proof of purchase.

Soon they hit upon a solution: eBay.

The Silicon Valley-based auction house has become a fabulously successful mechanism for sellers of all kinds: mom-and-pop jam makers, collectors of fine antiques, people who just want to make a few bucks off the stuff collecting dust in their basement. With its global customer base of more than 100 million and software that allows strangers to exchange goods and money without ever meeting, it has maximized profit for its retailers.

It has done the same for thieves.

The shoplifters discovered some stores would allow them to return the goods without receipts for store credit or gift cards. They then sold those vouchers on the giant online marketplace. It was easy, instant and anonymous. The money flowed in -- they got 76 cents per dollar of stolen merchandise, a huge takeaway considering that shoplifters traditionally net 10 percent or less of the retail value of the items. The group made more than $200,000 in 10 months.

Law enforcement officials estimate that thousands of criminals continue to pull similar scams on the Internet, and enforcement is difficult. Breaking up the store-credit-for-cash scheme involved a massive, year-long sting that took authorities across five Northeast states and required them to mine hundreds of computer files, conduct secret surveillance at stores and place an agent undercover to infiltrate the ring.

In late December, Herion Karbunara, 25, pleaded guilty to organizing the scam. He received two years in jail. Two accomplices -- Lindsey Holland, 20, and Helen Macy, 21 -- received probation for returning stolen items to shops to collect the store credit. Anne Leeman, 39, also accused in the scheme, pleaded guilty the previous month. Charges in the case are still pending against Christine DeGrandis, 33.

Arif Alikhan, an assistant U.S. attorney in California, said the Internet has transformed those who in another era might have been petty thieves into major worries for law enforcement.

"There are a growing number of small-time thieves who have used the Internet to go big-time based on the anonymity that they think exists," said Alikhan, who specializes in cyber-crime and intellectual property cases.

The Federal Trade Commission last year received a record number of complaints, some 166,000, related to Internet fraud linked to losses of nearly $200 million. Half of the cases involved online auctions.

Those crimes are no longer limited to someone getting a bum deal on a lamp or Beanie Baby. A group of amateur motorcycle thieves from Austin filched nine bikes and sold them for $15,000 to a man who took them apart and auctioned off the spare parts online. A wife-and-husband team from Atlanta removed the bar codes from low-cost items and put them on expensive rugs that they purchased from Home Depot and Lowe's stores. They then returned the items, accepting gift cards for the real price of the merchandise, often hundreds of dollars more than they paid. They then would sell the gift cards on eBay. Prosecutors say the pair made at least $150,000 from the crime.

EBay spokesman Hani Durzy said that most auctions proceed without problems but that the company estimates a minuscule number -- 0.01 percent -- are fraudulent. There is no way to know exactly how many sales involve stolen goods.

"It would be impossible for us to be able to pinpoint a stolen good before it gets reported to us," Durzy said. "We don't own it. We don't ship it. We never handle it."

But with 30 million auctions happening on any given day, even 0.01 percent means at least 3,000 could involve some sort of crime. Durzy said eBay over the years has increased its security team to 1,000 people -- or 13 percent of its total employees -- to help combat the problem. It introduced a computer analysis system to flag suspicious auctions, and it is actively cooperating with government investigators around the world.

Karbunara, who was living in Woburn, Mass., began shoplifting in January 2002, authorities said. He paid a group of women from $50 to $200 a day to help him. As part of one scam, one woman would shoplift some merchandise and another would purchase identical items. Karbunara would scan the receipt into a computer, print counterfeits and then the women would return to the stores to get credit on their credit cards, prosecutors claimed.

In March 2003, Karbunara moved his operation online. He would return shoplifted items for gift cards and sell them on eBay. Under the name "apolonia1trading," he posted offers for cards worth as much as $1,200.

A suspicious retailer tipped the attorney general's office to the fact that a gift card from her store issued from stolen merchandise was being auctioned on eBay. By tracing Karbunara based on information from eBay's logs, law enforcement officials began secretly following him. They saw that he would wait in the parking lot as the women took brown paper bags into stores and then returned with stolen merchandise. They would then change their clothes and wigs and go to another store, working their way around the mall. On one occasion, law enforcement officials followed him and his accomplices as they hopped from shopping center to shopping center from Boston all the way to southern Maine.

"It took a lot of work by state police and store security to figure out what the entire scheme was," Grossman said.

Karbunara's ads on eBay were simple postings, Grossman said, with the picture of the store logo, the dollar amount of the card and an offer to sell it at a discount. With the sale of gift cards exploding in recent years, there was nothing suspicious except for maybe the number of cards he was selling. He often had dozens of cards for sale at one time, for a total of 600 cards over the time he was running the scheme.

For the most part, the people who purchased the cards paid for them using PayPal, an online payment system that shields credit card numbers and bank account information from sellers. However, buyers did have to supply their names and mailing addresses to receive the cards.

Gift card fraud is one of the fastest-growing problems for merchants, according to Richard C. Hollinger, a professor of criminology at the University of Florida. The National Retail Federation, an industry group based in the District, said one of its member companies recently tracked 42 gift cards it found online and found that 22 had been stolen or purchased with stolen credit cards.

Hollinger said the number of cards that people such as Karbunara post should tip off eBay to the scam quickly.

"The only people that deal in those kinds of quantities are professional criminals," Hollinger said.

In response to concerns by retailers, eBay recently restricted the sale of gift cards to one per seller per week with a maximum value of $500. But there's little eBay can do about another part of its system that Karbunara exploited -- the ratings customers use to evaluate one another. To the average customer, Karbunara appeared to be an honest and reliable eBay seller. As soon as he received payment for the stolen gift cards, he promptly mailed out the credits to unsuspecting customers who until the day his account was deactivated gave him their highest recommendation to other potential buyers.

© 2005 The Washington Post Company

[jschunke]

Every second hand engine for sale has 43k on it.

You'd think these theives would come up with a more

original number. Live and learn - never buy a used

engine unless you know where it came from or else

expect the worst.

[yenko]

That is really bad luck! I hope they catch this guy and you get your money back. I dont like buying expensive stuff off of ebay because there are no garuntees. And because I usually dont have the money for the expensive stuff anyway. Good luck!

[cadillac_caddy_sts]

I agree with you there I hate buying expensive items the most I ever spent was 120 dollars and I was so nervous that it wouldn't come I don't know what it is but I just don't trust people I don't know I hope they catch the son of a B**** and you get your money back.

[yenko]

I am not the kind of person who buys stuff over the internet. I can never trust anyone unless I buy it in person. I am sure that it is safe and all, but there is always that slight chance that something might go wrong. And I dont want to take that chance!!

[FlamingGoatBalls]

I dont use eBay very often but I was thinking about making a fairly expensive purchace more recently. If the seller has a "power seller" icon next to their name and a lot of good feedback do you think it would be safe? Also if the item is new in box and i use paypal?

[adallak]

I don't use eBay very often but I was thinking about making a fairly expensive purchase more recently. If the seller has a "power seller" icon next to their name and a lot of good feedback do you think it would be safe? Also if the item is new in box and i use paypal?

I bought more than 100 items on eBay. My first purchase was a quite expensive new Toshiba notebook, and yes I was a little bit nervous. FEEDBACK is the main instrument to make a reasonable decision. Besides you should decide what degree of risk is acceptable for you. If I buy a piece of used equipment for my laboratory which originally was $3.000 and seller offers it AS IS for $100 I'll go for it despite the seller cannot give any intelligible answer to my technical questions. Buying used cars on ebay is scary from my point of view. Sometimes you cannot say a lot about the car which you test drove, how about one in Arizona when you in say, New York?

[tjtjwdad]

Good point about asking for the number on the engine block. As far as buying a car on the internet, I would be skeptical anout that, unless it was a muscle car, and even then I'm going to want to look at it first. About 100.00 id the most I've ever spent on ebay.

Jim