BACKPAGE.COM SCAM

[cnnvoss]

I am a mother,wife, seamstress and SMA advocate. I was in the market for a new sewing machine, so I set out to learn all I could about the sewing machine I need. I came across backpage.com in my research, and found many under-priced machines available. I was cautious from the start...( if it looks too good to be true, then it probabilly is!), but I went ahead and sent information questions to a few advertisements. This is what I received later in the day:

Maria Bamford

maria_bamford@live.com

Hello,

The machine is still available for sale.
I'm in Spain and because I couldn't take it with me, I left it in Miami at an escrow company - e WorldMart - so they can manage the sale.
The price includes shipping and insurance and I will give you 10 days of inspection.
If you are still interested and have any questions e-mail me.

Thanks!


Upon asking for more information for the dealer, this is what I received back>

Hello Natasha,
For more info, you can go ahead and visit their website http://www.e-world-mart.us.mn to learn more about how this will work out.
If you decide to but it, you'll have to start the transaction by filling the order form with your contact info and my item number - 9815628.
After that eWorld Mart will contact you with the delivery and payment arrangements.
Please let me know if you have any questions.

Maria


I then replied with the following e-mail:

Maria,
It is sad to think that you focus in on innocent people and scam them to make your money. Get a life and go work for your money. Don't rob others and make life hell for them.
Rest assured you will be exposed for what you are doing.
-Natosha


Out of the advertisements that I was interested in, several of them sent me the same first e-mail. I even got 2 emails from the same lady stating that she left one sewing machine in LA and left another sewing machine in Atlanta. RIDICULOUS! I knew it was a fraud from the beginning, but I wanted to see how far they would go. I tried to get as much info as possible, in order to expose them and stop the madness!


What else can I do with the information that I have? I want to spread it as far as I can, to help stop the situation at hand.

[PhilipL]

Hi,

I too contacted an ad posted on Backpage.com for the sale of a 2011 Wilier road bike. Price was $1900 located in L.A. and I saw a second ad with a slightly different version of the same model listed for sale in Toronto, Canada. I contacted the seller who replied as Jennifer Anderson. Same email address and used virtually the same text with just changing the item to the one I wanted but with the exact same wording as in her reply to the woman buying a sewing machine. So...as you said -Red Flag!! Must be a scam. So what can be done??

Here was the reply I received today (March 19, 2012)
jennifer anderson jennifer.anderson44@hotmail.com

11:14 AM (45 minutes ago)

to me
Hello,

The bike is still available for sale.The frame size is 54cm.The bike was never crashed and has 150 miles.I sell it because i want to purchase a mountain bike and need money.
I'm in Spain and because I couldn't take it with me, I left it in Los Angeles at an escrow company - eWorld Mart - so they can manage the sale.
The price includes shipping and insurance and I will give you 10 days of inspection.
If you are still interested and have any questions e-mail me.

Here is the reply from a request I made when I first saw the bike listed for sale but in Toronto back on Feb 21, 2012

Hello,

The bike is still available for sale.
I'm in Spain and because I couldn't take it with me, I left it in Quebec at an escrow company - eWorld Mart - so they can manage the sale.
The price includes shipping and insurance and I will give you 10 days of inspection.
If you are still interested and have any questions e-mail me.

Thanks!

Hi Jennifer,

Thanks or your quick reply. I am very interested in the bike. I live in Montreal, is the bike here or where exactly in Quebec? Here are some things I would like to know.

Are u the first owner?

Is the size frame u have equivalent to a 54cm size?

Where was it purchased and when?

Has it ever been crashed, dropped or in some way damaged?

Is the equipment on the bike; groupo, wheels original or upgrades? I don't recall the imperiale coming with SRAM.

When you say 10 day inspection do you mean it is returnable if something isn't right about the bike?

If I pick it up, what part of the cost for shipping and insurance can be deducted?

Thanks,

Philip

Hello,
The frame size is equivalent to 54 cm ,was purchased from Toronto in March 2011,the wheels are upgrades and if you go and pick it up the price will remain same.
For more info, you can go ahead and visit their website www.e-worldmart.comli.com to learn more about how this will work out.
If you decide to but it, you'll have to start the transaction by filling the order form with your contact info and my item number - 9815628.
After that eWorld Mart will contact you with the delivery and payment arrangements.
Please let me know if you have any questions.


Hi Jennifer,

I'm very interested in purchasing your bike. The price seems fair, the size is a perfect fit. What I would like to do is visually inspect it and have it looked at by the bike shop I deal with called Cycle Technique. They are Wilier authorized dealers. Would that be ok?


Hi Jennifer,

I have tried to getting the website you gave me to consult the company handling the sale, but the site doesn't come up. Are you sure the website URL you provided is correct? Is there a phone number to contact them. There doesn't seem to be a valid site to consult which is odd. Any help you can offer would be appreciated. If everything checks out fine, I'll be taking the bike.