mtbtim
Elite Member
Howdy 4runner Gang,
Just wanted to let anyone know who is searching for a 1st Generation 4runner on Craigslist, there's a person(s) phishing for suckers posting a low mileage 1985 4runner for a too good to be true price. The truck they're using for photos is stock, dark grey, and looks to be in very good shape. They use the call back number (810) 534-7182 and use different names. I've scanned Craigslist across the U.S. using AutoTempest and I've seen the same truck posted all over. I've been flagging it for removal every time I see it.
The way the scam works is they put up the ad and get your email address when you contact them about the vehicle. They'll get back to you a few days to a week later and tell you they'd like to sell you the vehicle. They say the sale will be handled by a bogus Ebay financial service and they'll ask you to send money via Money Gram to some fake Ebay representative somewhere on the East Coast. They'll say the freight is free and the truck is ready to ship as soon as you make payment. They also say that you have 5 days after receiving the vehicle to send it back, at no cost to you, if you're not happy with it. They even provide you with a fake toll free number (866) 421-9800 to call to confirm everything but the call obviously goes right to the people trying to scam you. The fake Ebay invoice looks very professional and I gather it's fooled many people. The story they used on me was the person's name was "Debora" and she's selling the truck because it belonged to her husband that died 1 month ago due to a heart attack and the truck reminds her of her husband so she wants to just get rid of it. They had me fooled for a while until a couple red flags went up, like asking for payment via Money Gram, which I learned Ebay doesn't use and saying they couldn't take a phone call from me because she was hearing impaired. I felt stupid they got as fas as they did with me but I've never been the potential victim of a scam like this before and I'm obviously going to be more wary now searching for vehicles on Craigslist.
Anyway, I thought I'd post it here since there's probably many others just like me on this forum looking for a 1st Generation 4runner and I'd hate to see someone get taken by these a#*holes. People who try to scam people out of their hard earned money are some of the lowest scum on the earth.
Sincerely,
Tim
Just wanted to let anyone know who is searching for a 1st Generation 4runner on Craigslist, there's a person(s) phishing for suckers posting a low mileage 1985 4runner for a too good to be true price. The truck they're using for photos is stock, dark grey, and looks to be in very good shape. They use the call back number (810) 534-7182 and use different names. I've scanned Craigslist across the U.S. using AutoTempest and I've seen the same truck posted all over. I've been flagging it for removal every time I see it.
The way the scam works is they put up the ad and get your email address when you contact them about the vehicle. They'll get back to you a few days to a week later and tell you they'd like to sell you the vehicle. They say the sale will be handled by a bogus Ebay financial service and they'll ask you to send money via Money Gram to some fake Ebay representative somewhere on the East Coast. They'll say the freight is free and the truck is ready to ship as soon as you make payment. They also say that you have 5 days after receiving the vehicle to send it back, at no cost to you, if you're not happy with it. They even provide you with a fake toll free number (866) 421-9800 to call to confirm everything but the call obviously goes right to the people trying to scam you. The fake Ebay invoice looks very professional and I gather it's fooled many people. The story they used on me was the person's name was "Debora" and she's selling the truck because it belonged to her husband that died 1 month ago due to a heart attack and the truck reminds her of her husband so she wants to just get rid of it. They had me fooled for a while until a couple red flags went up, like asking for payment via Money Gram, which I learned Ebay doesn't use and saying they couldn't take a phone call from me because she was hearing impaired. I felt stupid they got as fas as they did with me but I've never been the potential victim of a scam like this before and I'm obviously going to be more wary now searching for vehicles on Craigslist.
Anyway, I thought I'd post it here since there's probably many others just like me on this forum looking for a 1st Generation 4runner and I'd hate to see someone get taken by these a#*holes. People who try to scam people out of their hard earned money are some of the lowest scum on the earth.
Sincerely,
Tim
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