is uship.com a fraudulent escrow service?

[wentworth340]

Does anyone know anything about uship.com?
Is it legit? And if it is, is it safe to use?

[lightfair]

uship.com is legit.

However I have seen several sites claiming to be "uship.com" but actually being operated by scammers.

Example: http://escrow-fraud.com/index.php?page= ... a&id=10633

This one (ushipaus.com) used several design elements from the legit site.

Please tell us a few more details about this deal and we may be able to help you further.

[wentworth340]

I found a Jetta for sale for $2900, which is well below it's blue book value of around $9-10K
After contacting the owner he gave me a spiel about being in the hospital, and leaving the car with a shipping company.
To close out the transaction he is using uship.com, and I got an email invoice from them giving me instructions to send the cash via Western Union to them.
I haven't sent the money, because it sounds to good to be true, and I'm not sure that the uship.com invoice is legit. Here is the email I got from uship.com:

Shipping You are receiving this e-mail because the seller Kevin, has selected uShip.com to handle a secure online transaction with you.


Review and pay for your uShip.com purchase!

uShip.com Case ID - #9M94M121309 craigslist.org Online Vehicle Purchase:

http://pics.ebaystatic.com/aw/pics/aste ... x10.gifAll the transaction, payment and personal information is considered confidential and will not be released under any circumstances.

http://pics.ebaystatic.com/aw/pics/aste ... x10.gifOur main and constant priority is the safety of our customers.


Qty Item Price


1 2004 Vokswagen Jetta GLS Tdi $2,900.00


Shipping & handling (USA) $0.00


Deposit $0,00.00


Total: $2,900.00
Shiping and Tax are included .


Transaction details:


VIN#:3VWSR69M94M121309

Case ID# 9M94M121309
Sale Date: 10/13/2010
Item title: 2004 Vokswagen Jetta GLS Tdi
Item price: $2,900.00
Insurance: Yes
Shipping fees: $0.00
Total: $2,900.00


Buyer:
Name: Jason
Adress:
City:
State: PA
Zip:
Country: United States




http://pics.ebaystatic.com/aw/pics/asteriskG_10x10.gif uShip.com member Kevin James, as the Seller, initiated a new transaction through uShip.com and registered you, Jason Stauffer, as the Buyer.
http://pics.ebaystatic.com/aw/pics/asteriskG_10x10.gif We verified all the details of this transaction and we concluded that they are accurate and the transaction is approved. Please follow our instructions to complete the transaction safely. Your uShip.com Escrow-Service purchase is protected for up to $20,000.00 or the vehicle price, whichever is lower.

Seller:
Name: Kevin James
Adress: St. John's Hospital
City: Springfield
State: Missouri
MO
Country: United States






How to send the money to uShip.com Escrow-Service:


Payment must be submitted via WesternUnion to a designated Regional Manager in charge of this transaction. uShip.com Escrow-Service will secure the payment until the buyer receives, inspects and accepts the vehicle. Or, if it will be the case, uShip.com Escrow-Service will refund the payment to the buyer.

If you are not familiarized with the WesternUnion money transfer services please visit: http://www.westernunion.comIf you want to locate the nearest WesternUnion Office in your area please Find Agent Location.
Make the payment in cash using our uShip.com Escrow-Service agent details (check bellow for the agent details) .
Confirm the payment to uShip.com Escrow-Service using the following options:
Just reply to this email with the following information:
1. 10 digit mtcn number:
2. Exact sender's name on file with WesternUnion:
3. Your street address on file with WesternUnion:
4. City and country where you sent the money from:
5. Amount sent:
Fax us the copy of the receipt at fax # : 1 (206) 339 1878




Where to send the money:



uShip.com Agent Details:
Name: Brank Chris
Adress: 511 Pioneer Dr
City: Indianapolis
State: IN
Zip: 46217
Country: United States


The following WesternUnion form specimen is indicated to use in your transaction. Please click on the image elow to see the form specimen.
Purchaser must use this form to complete transaction.

*The WesternUnion Deposit will be sent using this name and address.

*We strongly recommend that you confirm the payment by sending the both documents (WesternUnion Receipt and Copy of the completed form) by E-MAIL and FAX.

For security reasons please DO NOT release the payment details to the Seller or any other unauthorized person.



Once the payment is done, Email the WesternUnion payment receipt to uShip.com Escrow-Service!





Protection and refund:
We'll Cover Your Full Purchase Price Plus Original Shipping If You Don't Receive Your Vehicle Or If It's Not As Described!
Once the Motor Vehicle is delivered, the Purchaser has a 5 (five) days inspection period. After the inspection period is over, the Purchaser will contact uShip.com Escrow-Service with the results of the inspection. If, for any reason, the Motor Vehicle does not pass the Purchaser's inspection, it will be returned to the Seller, on Seller's expense and the funds will be returned to the Purchaser.

For safety reasons the payment details will be dealt with the utmost security and will not be handed to any third parties. uShip.com Escrow-Service will be in full control of the funds as soon as it reaches the regional account. Once the funds have been sent to our regional account, no one but the Purchaser will have access to it.

uShip.com Escrow-Service will release the funds to the Seller only after the Purchaser receives and agrees with the Motor Vehicle. Should the Purchaser need a refund for this transaction the amount received will be sent back via bank transfer, check or money order. The account is managed and supervised by uShip.com Escrow-Service Department.
Shipping

[lightfair]

I found a Jetta for sale for $2900, which is well below it's blue book value of around $9-10K
After contacting the owner he gave me a spiel about being in the hospital, and leaving the car with a shipping company.
To close out the transaction he is using uship.com, and I got an email invoice from them giving me instructions to send the cash via Western Union to them.

Say no more - this is clearly a scam. However:

I haven't sent the money, because it sounds to good to be true, and I'm not sure that the uship.com invoice is legit. Here is the email I got from uship.com:

I am quite certain that the email did not come from uship.com and that uship.com actually has nothing to do with it. The email probably pretends to be from uship.com but in reality comes from somebody else. We see similar things with emails allegedly coming from ebay on a regular basis.

Please post the complete name and email address used by the "seller" so other people might find it when doing a Google search. You can also post the headers of the mail allegedly coming from uship so we may find out where it actually originated (you may want to remove your own name and email address from it).

[wentworth340]

The "name" and email of the seller is Kevin James kevinj123@comcast.net

The fraudulent email from uship was from escrow-service@confirm-uship.com
The money was suppose to be sent to:
Name: Brank Chris
Adress: 511 Pioneer Dr
City: Indianapolis
State: IN
Zip: 46217
Country: United States

[lightfair]

Thanks for the additional information.

As I already suspected: confirm-uship.com has of course nothing to do at all with uship.com. It's a Google email domain, nothing more.