Rolls-Royce Silver

At first, Paul Linton was delighted with the email he got in response to his ad on craigslist for a car he wanted to sell.
Delighted – and amazed. Because the would-be buyer said he would send a cheque for $35,000 in Canadian funds to Linton’s home in Cobourg, Ont.
Not a bad deal, since Linton was only asking $30,000, or best offer, for his 1971 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow 4-door sedan.
However, Linton’s hard won business sense told him that “Nobody would send $35,000 to a total stranger for a car he’d never had appraised, or even seen. It just didn’t add up. “For all he knew,” says Linton, “there was no car and I could have been scamming him.”
A few days later the cheque arrived by Purolator, from Ontario, Calif, along with a covering letter.
Linton read the letter carefully, signed by one “Cole Bent,” and noticed that nowhere did it mention a car, referring only to “the item” offered for sale. The letter also explained that the extra $5,000 was so Linton could immediately wire that amount to Mr. Cole’s “shipper.”
And that’s when Linton really knew his sale had gone up in smoke.
“My name’s Tucker, not Sucker,” he says (although the success of schemes such as this prove there’s still one born every minute).
The RBC cheque, seemingly from the University of Calgary, had an indecipherable signature. Linton emailed his buyer, saying no funds would be sent anywhere until he had established the authenticity of the cheque.
He never heard from Mr. Cole again.
When a copy of the cheque was faxed to the university, Linton was told it was “Just about the same as theirs, but not quite.”
Unfortunately, Linton’s story is far from unique.
While Internet-based classified ad sites have made it easier to sell items such as vintage cars, often the “buyer” is only interested in scamming you.
How can legitimate sellers protect themselves? Simply by being ultra-cautious. When a deal seems too good to be true, it usually is.
Often, the English used by the “buyer” is poor, indicating this is perhaps one of the many online frauds perpetrated by offshore scammers – typically from Nigeria. And a cheque written for an amount greater than the asking price should always ring alarm bells.

Linton’s 1971 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow,
as it appeared on craigslist.

But legitimate purchasers also can be victims of fraud. Don’t ever send a deposit to someone you’ve never met and without seeing the item first. (An exception to this rule is when buying a car on eBay, where victims of fraud can be compensated.)
Here’s how craigslist advises those using its service to sidestep would-be scammers:
* Deal locally with folks you can meet in person. Follow this one simple rule and you will avoid 99% of the scam attempts on craigslist.
* Never wire funds via Western Union, Moneygram or any other wire service. Anyone who asks you to do so is a scammer.
* Fake cashier cheques and money order are common, and banks will cash them and hold you responsible when the fake is discovered weeks later.
* Craigslist is not involved in any transaction, and does not handle payments, guarantee transactions, provide escrow services, or offer “buyer protection” or “seller certification.”
* Never give out financial information (bank account number, social security number, eBay/PayPal info, etc.).
* Avoid deals involving shipping or escrow services and know that only a scammer will “guarantee” your transaction.
Anyway, Paul Linton’s right-hand drive 1971 Roller is still for sale, $30,000 or best offer. No scammers need reply.