Area Man Sniffs Out Fake Car Dealership. High-fives self.

"OneFastPuertoRican" (OneFastPuertoRican)
03/28/2014 at 09:10 • Filed to: stealership, dealership, albanians

Let's face it: the Internet is a great tool for buying and comparing car prices and deals. The wealth of information at one's fingertips is astonishing. However, there are also a lot of crooks, bastards, swindlers, con artists, shysters, and sons of bitches out there. This is the story of how I found one such fraud.

It all started about a year ago when the Mrs and I talked about what the next car/SUV/horseless carriage purchase would be. The unofficial policy in our house is a new/used car purchase alternates between us every 4-5 years, so only one car payment hits our bank account. My head started spinning with ideas with really nothing coming to the forefront. That was until 3 months ago when I saw one of my co-workers pull up next to me in his VW Touareg (which will hearby known as simply 'Tou'). Good lines, AWD, German practicality, air-cooled glove box! As I began my search, I narrowed down the hunt for a TDI once I found the improved gas mileage and muy fuerte torque-ness.

Now here's where the fun begins. CarMax, AutoTempest, Cars.com were all players in the game. I even had a few Jalops working at car dealers offering to help! Yay, Internet! Unfortunately nothing was in my $30-35K wheelhouse with all the options I was looking for. That all changed a few days ago when I stumbled across this little !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! on AutoTrader:

Holy crap! Was I seeing this right? 2012 with 19K miles and clear CarFax within my budget??? Where's the damn phone?!

I settled down as not to appear too desperate, so instead, I emailed the person selling the Tou. Just the usual generic questions in a short email to avoid any embarrassment.

Like a lonely girl on a Saturday night, I waited and waited by my Inbox for that reply. Two days later, a message appeared in my Junk email folder with the subj line of 2012 Touareg $32,500. WOOT! As I read thru the email, the 'dealer' provided me with the VIN I asked for and informed me that it was still available. He also sent me a link to his website which had a TON of pics for me to look at. Silver metallic paint in perfect condition; two-tone gray and saddle colored seats, panoramic sunroof, tow-hitch. WINNER! But the love affair soon diminished when I felt something was not right.

I asked for a CarFax report from my pals on Oppo (thanks !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ), and was even more puzzled when it came back as last serviced 2 months ago in Ohio. Uh, wut?

As I started to look thru dealer website a little closer, I noticed that there was no pic of the Tou's actual mileage. Odd, but perhaps it was just an oversight. I also noticed that the rear license plate had another dealer's name on it. Once again, perhaps it was just flipped recently. I was even more perplexed when the pics of the Tou's GPS had the SUV squarely near downtown Dallas, TX! But by far the biggest issue was the dealer's contact info pointed to an address in Mobile, Alabama with absolutely no car lot anywhere to be seen on Google Maps. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Wanting to get to the bottom of this problem, I decided to call the guy and see what was going on. Sure enough, the 'dealer' answered with Euro accent. (Are there even Euros in the Deep South???) He said that he just purchased the car 2-3 days ago and it was, in fact, on the lot. I confronted him with questions about the validity of the pics and the condition of the car. He claimed that the pics on his website were his own. I pushed further about the location of the car/dealership in Mobile. My exact quote was:

"So, is the address on your website correct? Because all I see on Google Maps street view is an industrial area near a private airfield? I don't see your dealership anywhere."

*CLICK*

That sunofabitch hung up on me! I immediately called back: 3 rings then busy signal. I called back again: 1 ring then busy signal. WTF just happened?!?!

Realizing I probably stumbled into a fraud situation, I called the dealer who's pics were featured in the fakey ad. I asked Igor (yes his real name), if he has that particular Tou on his lot. Once I gave him the web address, it took him 2 seconds to realize "Yes, those are our pictures. We sold that SUV a year ago. This guy is a fake! He wants $32 grand? We sold it for over $40! No wonder it's a good deal!"

As I'm talking to him more, he tells me that he's gonna call the guy selling the fake Tou. I wish I had a recording device not on my phone because Igor goes into an all-out Euro-justice threatening tirade on the fake dealer. For some reason, I started visualizing any phone conversation scene from Taken between those bad Albanian dudes. It was hilarious!

After the entertaining phone call exchange, Igor tells me that this sort of thing happens more than you'd think. He noticed that the phone connection was lousy, leaving him to believe that the calls being re-routed to a completely different state. Heck, the fake dealer had the cojones to use some of same location pics from the real dealership in Dallas!

No question that the hoax is fueled (pun intended) by people desperate to get their hands on a good deal, so customers are wiring money for deposits to secure the car without doing any homework or research. Obviously, there is no car, and the business vanishes like a virgin on prom night once they have your money. Yup, this is kinda like the Nigerian Banking hoax, only with cars. (and Albanians, apparently)

I did not have the foresight to take a screen cap of all the pics of the Tou but my buddy Igor called me back 20 minutes later to tell me that the listing was pulled from the site. I'm kind of shocked the entire site hasn't come down and is still up and running!

I want to report the fake dealer but not really sure which authorities to call. Anyone?

BOTTOM LINE: DO YOUR HOMEWORK AND DIG A LITTLE DEEPER INTO BUSINESSES AND PEOPLE YOU DEAL WITH ONLINE.

DISCUSSION (32)

Tom McParland > OneFastPuertoRican
03/28/2014 at 09:35

Well done!

ntl0505 > OneFastPuertoRican
03/28/2014 at 09:42

Thanks for the shout out! Glad to see you were able to foil their scam!

Slow4o > OneFastPuertoRican
03/28/2014 at 09:43

Interesting story and a good PSA. I will probably be car hunting online next year, and I will have to keep these red flags in mind.

OneFastPuertoRican > Tom McParland
03/28/2014 at 10:03

Thanks! They picked the wrong dude to pull one over on.

OneFastPuertoRican > Slow4o
03/28/2014 at 10:08

It really didn't dawn on me at first, but once you pull the clues all together, it didn't make a lick of sense.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > OneFastPuertoRican
03/28/2014 at 10:19

WOW

jariten1781 > OneFastPuertoRican
03/28/2014 at 10:21

I run into these all the time when I'm browsing CL. I never bother doing anything more than flagging the CL listing though. I'm actually kind of surprised they even answered the phone, just figured the scam would be all email.

Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna > OneFastPuertoRican
03/28/2014 at 11:02

I actually remember seeing a super cheap IS-F that they had selling, but my parents never went for it, so I just forgot about it. Guess most things in life are too good to be true ;_;

OneFastPuertoRican > jariten1781
03/28/2014 at 11:07

Maybe this guy wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer when he put his phone number out there.

pfftballer > OneFastPuertoRican
03/28/2014 at 11:13

Kinja'd!!!

Private seller? I thought you said it was a fake dealership.

OneFastPuertoRican > pfftballer
03/28/2014 at 11:32

Looking back, clearly that was red flag #1.

Mercedes Streeter > OneFastPuertoRican
03/28/2014 at 11:32

Wow, I didn't see that coming! I thought "sketchy salesman/finance department/false pricing" but not anything like that!

Kinda sad that they didn't put any real effort into it. They could've easily shopped out the other dealer's license plates and stole pictures from a dealer in a more realistic location.

But I guess when you're offering the deal of the century, a lot of people are going to plop down that money without a single thought.

...I thought that CarFax report was a little...interesting...

OneFastPuertoRican > Mercedes Streeter
03/28/2014 at 11:56

One would assume that potential victims would take the pics and CarFax report at face value. Don't know about you, but before I drop that kind of coin, I want to be sure that everything is legit.

Mercedes Streeter > OneFastPuertoRican
03/28/2014 at 12:12

Indeed, if I'm buying a car in Chicago and see that the photos of the car were taken in Germany, I would definitely be raising that BS flag!

I see some CraigsListers (sic?) in my area doing that. They make these pretty legitimate looking ads but the photos of the car are show the wrong country entirely!

Shoot, before I drop any kind of coin (eBay and Amazon, for instance), I like to thoroughly make sure I'm buying into something either legitimate, or fake (but so cheap that the fact that it's a fake doesn't matter).

Mr. Edward Mann-Polandballer > OneFastPuertoRican
03/28/2014 at 14:52

Contact the SEC and BBB.

Porsche924GTR > OneFastPuertoRican
03/28/2014 at 17:06

Contact abuse@web.com
I am sure they would like to know they are hosting the fraudulent website.

Name: eurostarmotor.com

Address: 206.188.192.209

========================

Domain Name: eurostarmotor.com

Registry Domain ID: 1850977039_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN

Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.register.com

Registrar URL: http://www.register.com

Updated Date: 2014-03-18T00:00:00-0400

Creation Date: 2014-03-18T13:19:35-0400

Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2015-03-18T00:00:00-0400

Registrar: Register.com

Registrar IANA ID: 9

Registrar Abuse Contact Email: abuse@web.com

Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +1.8773812449

Reseller:

Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited

Porsche924GTR > Porsche924GTR
03/28/2014 at 17:07

If you can get an email from him - post the full Header information - that can sometimes narrow him down to the city.

OneFastPuertoRican > Porsche924GTR
03/28/2014 at 17:35

This is great information. I will call the web hosts and let them know. Thanks!

CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) > OneFastPuertoRican
04/02/2014 at 23:59

Better Business Bureau

LatitudeAdjustment > OneFastPuertoRican
04/03/2014 at 09:48

Same here, saw an internet listing for a great price low milage Isuzu VehiCross in Lakewood NJ, drove to the address, industrial location, no dealer and no Isuzu.

OneFastPuertoRican > CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist)
04/03/2014 at 10:16

I called the Mobile, AL branch Monday and told me "They'll get right on it."

So, we'll see...

OneFastPuertoRican > LatitudeAdjustment
04/03/2014 at 10:18

I think that 'dealership' was bummed you didn't send them money first.

Curt Styler > OneFastPuertoRican
04/03/2014 at 15:00

Haha, WOW. That's fantastic. I don't care if this is a week old. High five for catching that joker.

Joshamania > OneFastPuertoRican
04/05/2014 at 11:02

Great post. This should get some more attention.

OneFastPuertoRican > Joshamania
04/06/2014 at 17:59

Thanks. Still haven't heard back from BBB or catalog.com regarding the fate of this website/fake dealership yet.

liquid_popcorn > OneFastPuertoRican
04/21/2014 at 07:58

How on earth did I miss this story...madness.

OneFastPuertoRican > liquid_popcorn
04/21/2014 at 11:02

I know. Completely crazy, right?!?!

Porsche924GTR > OneFastPuertoRican
04/24/2014 at 18:53

I talked with IT staff @ web.com - they said just email the abuse mailer with details and they should take care of it. I'll see if I can point them to your article here to forward on.

DanSec > OneFastPuertoRican
05/20/2014 at 10:49

They are Romanian, this is a common scam I've battled for years working for ... in info security, they hit all the major car classified sites (more shoppers, more victims), and the phone #s are usually google voice, skype, etc. The feds have been on the case(s) for a few years with many arrests of mules, and scam managers, and are classified as organized crime by law enforcement. Google 'Romanian auto fraud'.

cleoJus > pfftballer
06/09/2014 at 20:06

God bless you man, I thought something wasn't wrong with this website until reading your post. I did the same thing and google mapped the location, well it DOES NOT EXIST... LOL

This guys is a FRAUD. I also called the guy (Internet Sales Rep: David Lanik) and got the answering machine with a British Accent. He is offering a heck of a car for 15K - 20K below market value, so naturally drawing potential BATES in.

BE AWARE PEOPLE, THIS IS NOT A REAL DEALERSHIP !!!

fischer34jan@yahoo.com > OneFastPuertoRican
01/18/2015 at 09:35

http://www.gundersen-autos.com/

This is a fake dealership website and they scam people

Thank you

Abstracted > OneFastPuertoRican
10/26/2018 at 15:31

Another fake one: https://www.victoryautoct.com/newandusedcars.aspx?clearall=1