First, thank you for this website. It is a great job you're doing here. My only regret is not finding it sooner!
I was recently scammed trying to purchase a vehicle out of state, and lost almost $6,000. In hindsight, this transaction had all the stereotypical red flags that I should've seen. The ad appeared on Autotrader. I have never purchased a car out of state before, so I suggested using Paypal. The seller quickly suggested using the escrow services of American Trader LTD, which his friend recently used. I sent 3 MoneyGram payments to the "escrow agent" totaling $7,285.00 ($7,000 + $285 in fees). The one lucky thing that happened was he did not collect the third payment, and I was able to cancel it. So I got back my $1,400 + $75 fee. I'm still out $5,810.00, though, and it really sucks. I just finished filing a complaint with ic3.gov a minute ago. Below are some of the transaction details fyi:
Vehicle information:
Make: Jeep
Model: Wrangler X
Year: 2003
Price: $7,000.00
VIN #1J4FA39S53P314665
Seller’s information:
Steve Terrell
1823 S Pendergast Ave
Yuma, AZ 85364
stvterrell@gmail.com
Escrow Company information:
American Trader LTD
http://www.automobileprotectors.com/
Seller’s username: stvterrell
Individuals & address listed to receive payment:
1st payment – Paul Degan
2nd & 3rd payment – Jason Ward
921 S Meyer Ave
Tucson, AZ 85701