I listed my XJ-S on the JCNA and I've been contacted several times by "Wally Gill" about buying it, no questions asked. After pushing him several times, this was the explanantion I got from him:

"Thank you for your quick response, i am located in WA. i am buying this 85 XJ-S V12 coupe for my Dad as a surprise gift, i am okay with the price due to my occupation as a marine engineer at this moment i am presently working offshore, sometimes access to regular emails and phone calls are very poor in offshore due to inefficiency of inmarsat and internet connections, fortunately the internet access is working averagely when i came across the advert of your 85 XJ-S V12 coupe, i really want it to be a surprise by not disclosing it until the delivery is made to him, am sure he will be more than happy with it, i insisted on PayPal because i don't have access to my bank account online and i don't have internet banking too, but i can pay from my PayPal account, as i have my bank a/c attached to it, i will need you to give me your PayPal email address so i can make the payment as soon as possible, and if you don't have PayPal account yet, it is very easy to set it up at your bank or go onto http://www.paypal.com and get it set up, after you have set it up i will only need the e-mail address you use for registration with PayPal so as to put the money through, you don't need to bother yourself about the shipment, i have a pick-up agent that will come for pick-up, they will also determine and secure the shipment, i will need you to provide me with the following information in order to facilitate the payment.

1.Your Full name.
2.Your PayPal Email Address.
3.Your phone number.

Once again, I will like you to know that you will not be responsible for shipping, I will have my mover come over as soon as you have your money in your account.

Kind Regards."

This comes off as very "Nigerian Prince", right down to the "kind regards" at the end. Just giving you guys a heads-up, watch yourselves! Someone's prowling the JCNA classifieds. I'm actually wondering if this guy doesn't already have enough info to do some damage to me just by having my email address.

Darel

Submitted by SE21-64524 on Tue, 12/11/2012 - 13:23

Hi Robert: no, this is the '94 replacement for my '96. Although it looks similiar, it is quite different from the one that Irene ruined. The cash that my insurance carrier offered was top blue book, but not enough to purchase another "96 that mirrored the one I lost. Recently, Grundy has started to insure cars that are not 26yr. old classics, but I did not know that until a year ago. Now I have Grundy and for total replacement cost, which is part of the insurance design. Your '89 is Beautious!!. Our '86 was an all black v-12. Before we moved to New England, we lived in La Jolla; sure miss socal, but unfortunately, San Diego now looks like LA,. Built a home in 1976, in North County, SD, and the I-15 was two lanes, now, including the 6 "X" lanes, is 18 lanes across! Go to Julian and have some apple pie!! See Ya! Ali

Submitted by SE21-64524 on Tue, 12/11/2012 - 09:38

When Alice lost her 96 xjs due to flooding from hurricane irene, we started to look for a replacement, and found an all black convert in socal, listed for $3180, and that was firm! we tried to contact the owner, but the number was disconnected, so we emailed, and were emailed by "LISA", the "divorced" wife and now owner. we asked for the vin to order a carfax, but no answer to that request. a few days passed, and once again, lisa, emailed, appologizing for a delay, but she was a photographer for national geographic, and had been in Tibet! She would deliver the car to us, 3000 mi away, on her nickel, and if we then found it did not pass inspection, she would pick it up and have it returned on her dime! all we had to do was to western union the $3180 to her, AND she knew the closest western union office from our home! Of course the story is similiar, but wihout paypal. we called/emailed "car.com" to report the scam, and the site was down in a few days. paraphrasing LISA: although I am now the owner, and I live in LA, as a woman, I do not need a car!!
in the beginning of this search, we did not question the price, as the personal description was that of a divorce, and the sale was part of the process. Merry Christmas, Happy Channukah, and Happy New Year to all. Stew and Alice King

Submitted by darelmatthews@… on Mon, 12/10/2012 - 13:40

Huh, that wasn't how I expected this to play out at all. I had assumed they'd just steal my paypal login (which I'm really not even sure I have one anymore) and rip me off. Thanks for the info!

Honestly, you'd think by now they would figure out that there are certain key phrases and mannerisms that immediately tip people off that they are being scammed by a Nigerian prince. If the guy had just asked me for a picture, or tried to offer me a little less, I'd probably have bitten hook line and sinker.

By the way, my country is prepared to offer you the sum of $15,000 US dollars for your XK120.

Thanks,
Darel

Submitted by darelmatthews@… on Mon, 12/10/2012 - 13:19

Huh, that wasn't how I expected this to play out at all. I had assumed they'd just steal my paypal login (which I'm really not even sure I have one anymore) and rip me off. Thanks for the info!

Honestly, you'd think by now they would figure out that there are certain key phrases and mannerisms that immediately tip people off that they are being scammed by a Nigerian prince. If the guy had just asked me for a picture, or tried to offer me a little less, I'd probably have bitten hook line and sinker.

By the way, my country is prepared to offer you the sum of $15,000 US dollars for your XK120.

Thanks,
Darel

Submitted by darelmatthews@… on Mon, 12/10/2012 - 12:40

Huh, that wasn't how I expected this to play out at all. I had assumed they'd just steal my paypal login (which I'm really not even sure I have one anymore) and rip me off. Thanks for the info!

Honestly, you'd think by now they would figure out that there are certain key phrases and mannerisms that immediately tip people off that they are being scammed by a Nigerian prince. If the guy had just asked me for a picture, or tried to offer me a little less, I'd probably have bitten hook line and sinker.

By the way, my country is prepared to offer you the sum of $15,000 US dollars for your XK120.

Thanks,
Darel

Submitted by darelmatthews@… on Mon, 12/10/2012 - 11:57

Huh, that wasn't how I expected this to play out at all. I had assumed they'd just steal my paypal login (which I'm really not even sure I have one anymore) and rip me off. Thanks for the info!

Honestly, you'd think by now they would figure out that there are certain key phrases and mannerisms that immediately tip people off that they are being scammed by a Nigerian prince. If the guy had just asked me for a picture, or tried to offer me a little less, I'd probably have bitten hook line and sinker.

By the way, my country is prepared to offer you the sum of $15,000 US dollars for your XK120.

Thanks,
Darel

Submitted by bob5837@roadru… on Mon, 12/10/2012 - 11:32

Darel,

I am selling an XK120 louvered hood on eBay for$2,500 (one day left) and received a similar email from someone called Chris West wanting to buy hood using PayPal secure payment which he would pay for immediately and that he would have an agent pick up my item so there would be no shipping charge. Initially I was somewhat sceptical but said "okay" to see what came next (ising PayPal was an approach I hadn't seen before).

The next day I received a second email that the shipping agent wanted $850 to pick up the item and that "Chris" was emailing me from a cruise ship and the shipping agent needed to be prepaid using Western Union and the cruise ship didn't have Western Union so could I pay the $850, "Chris" would send a PayPal payment to cover the $850 shipping cost. Again to see what was next, I said okay.

Later that night I received another email saying the payment to PayPal had been made. "Chris" provided details for the shipping agent needed by Western Union and told me to scan a copy of my Western Union payment to the email shown on the PayPal notice I would be receiving.

I received a fake email from PayPal as follows:

"Dear, Bob Sheridan,

Be informed that the payment received from Chris West will only be credited into your PayPal account as soon as you transfer the funds requested and email us the transfer details or receipt to show proof that the money has been transferred to the shipper via Western union.

Note: This transaction is only available and can only be tracked and traced via email, so do reply back to us if you have any question about the transaction and not via phone call.

We are assuring you a 100% safety as we are doing this to secure both the buyer and the seller. The transaction has been verified and your money is safe with PayPal. We appreciate your understanding.Thanks for using PayPal as your payment method.If you have any question about this transaction you can email us by clicking the reply button."

I was very much aware that this was a scam but followed it through to see how it all worked. In the end I pieced all the emails together and sent to PayPal's security department - email address: spoofatpaypal.com.

Scammers like Chris are rampant and scour ads on eBay, JCNA, Craigs List, Jag-Lovers, etc. Unfortunately they are almost impossible to track down and punish.