Escrow-trust.com is this scam?

[cheetahoo]

Hi everyone

Im new here and recently want to buy a car, found a deal seem too good too be true, the seller suggest using http://www.escrow-trust.com service. I have call them and they say yes, they do have this customer and the item in their warehouse ready to ship, pay the amount to uk before i know this site. I know i have been scam but i dont understand why the company keep sending me an email state that my payment have been receive and the item ready to ship today. Call them again they confirm is true. But everytime i call, i got reply by a same guy

Should i report to police or wait until see the tracking number as they said will provide me one soon.
The email of the seller is n.cyndy191@gmail.com

Thanks guy and have a good day

[lightfair]

Hello,

thanks for sharing your story. Indeed it is a scam; the domain was registered just in January.

The reason for the "email mixup" may be that the people sending the emails don't speak English very well and simply used the wrong template (a large part of the "fake escrow" sites are operated from Romania).

I don't know if a Police report will help much here since you haven't lost any money (at least I hope so!). Killing that particular site should be comparatively easy; the web hoster is VERY cooperative and has an excellent track record in fighting those sites. So if you didn't send any money to the scammer I'd rather kill the site before they find more victims.

[cheetahoo]

thank you for your quick reply

unfortunately i have sent them the money, $5200 Aud via bank wire transfer to UK and i think this money will be gone forever
i have went to their office this morning and there was no such thing escrow-trust there. should see your post ealier
File a report to police now. hopefully they can track down the number they use to call me here

by the way here the information i have

From: andrew & cindy norman <n.cyndy191@gmail.com>;
To: <ntn_khunglong@yahoo.com>;
Subject: Re: Reply to your "2004 HONDA JAZZ GD VTI" Ad on Gumtree
Sent: Tue, Feb 21, 2012 11:25:44 PM

G`day,

Please excuse me for the delay, but I have a crazy schedule at the hospital, I'm a surgeon and this is the soonest I could get to a computer.
Offering for sale is a 2004 HONDA JAZZ GD VTI-S, with no finance on it.
Excellent condition, no scratches, no accident damage, always garage kept when not in use.
It's very easy to drive for learners. It has 132000 kms, mostly highway! Log book and full service history available.
NON SMOKER, very good on fuel, reliable and comfortable car, is like a new car for second hand price.
With its smooth handling and fuel efficiency this vehicle has been a pleasure to own and drive. I have never had an issue with this vehicle since purchasing it.

Here are a couple of features to begin with:

Manufactured: Jan 2004
Colour: Black
Kilometres: 132000
Transmission: Automatic
Body: Hatchback
Engine: 1.5
Has Road Worthy Certificate
Reg Plate: YKX458, expires 20/07/2012
VIN Number: JHMGD38704S202944
Engine Number: L15A13002953

Please click on the link below for a couple of pictures with the car so you can get a better view. As you can see the car is very clean and the interior is flawless.

http://www.bluemelon.com/jimmyearl35/20 ... azz#page-0

The final price is $5700. I'm only selling it because I've moved overseas in the UK a month ago after a 8 year stay and I didn't manage to sell it before my departure.
I wish to conclude the transaction through Escrow Trust Australia for both of us to be protected.
They act as a neutral third party, they will take care of the shipping and everything. If you are interested please let me know and I will explain the entire process. The car is garaged in a self storage unit managed by Escrow Trust. They can also have it delivered up to your place for no additional charges, if needed.
The delivery will take from 1 to 3 days, depending on your location.
I am offering 5 days time to have it inspected and to check on the papers.
Also, may I ask where are you located ?
If you have any questions regarding this sale, please feel free to ask.

Kind regards,
Andrew&Cindy Norman

Escrow Trust Transaction #65273423 started!
Current status: Payment pending TrustMark Logo

Dear Tuan Nghia Nguyen,
After verifying the trustworthiness of the seller and the availability of the merchandise for immediate shipping, we have approved your transaction and offered you, as the buyer, full purchase protection for the amount you agreed on with the seller. Complete your Escrow Trust transaction in 5 easy steps:
1. Buyer and seller agree on the transaction terms and a selling price;
2. Seller contacts Escrow Trust with the transaction details;
3. Escrow Trust accepts the transaction and offers purchase protection to the buyer (if the transaction is declined, no further action is required from either the buyer or the seller);
4. The buyer sends the payment to Escrow Trust. After the payment cleared, the seller must ship the merchandise. Buyer will send the payment details directly to Escrow Trust's transactions department by fax at 02 8088 6784 or by email at transactions@escrow-trust.com. Once payment is confirmed, the seller has three business days to send the buyer and Escrow Trust the tracking number of the shipment. If no tracking number is provided, a full refund is immediately sent to the buyer;
5. Buyer receives the merchandise and has five days to inspect it. If it is complete and as described, the buyer should accept the merchandise. If he refuses the merchandise, the buyer must ship the merchandise back to the seller within three business days. After the inspection period is over, the buyer must contact Escrow Trust with the result of the inspection. If the buyer refuses the merchandise, the refund will be sent to the buyer after the tracking number for the returned shipment is verified.

To enjoy the purchase protection, you must send the payment by the insured payment method below.
Attention: Sending the payment by any other method will void this transaction and your right to refund.

Transaction number Date of verification Amount insured
65273423 February 22, 2012 AU $5,200.00

Item name Quantity Price
2004 HONDA JAZZ GD VTI 1 AU $5,200.00

Seller's details Buyer's details
Andrew Norman Tuan Nghia Nguyen
120 Belsize Lane
Camden Town
London NW3 5BA
United Kingdom 15 Grant Ave
Cabramatta
NSW 2166
Australia
n.cyndy191@gmail.com ntn_khunglong@yahoo.com

Next step to be taken: The buyer must send the payment to the Escrow Trust representative in charge of this transaction. Payment must be sent by Bank Wire Transfer.

Here are the Escrow Trust payment details that you will use for this transaction


Account name: Tomiwa Benson
Account number: 05-75-01-75
SWIFT: MIDLGB22
IBAN: GB90NAIA07024605750175
Bank name and address:
GB90NAIA07024605750175



You must step inside your local bank branch and tell them you want to make an international bank wire transfer to the bank account listed above.

Once the payment was sent, please fax us the confirmation paper from your local bank at 02 8088 6784 or scan it and forward it to transactions@escrow-trust.com. The following details must be legible on the confirmation paper:

1) Account holder details;
2) Receiving account details;
3) Total amount sent.

Then wait for the confirmation that payment was received. International bank wire transfers can take up to 3 business days to process. Once payment is confirmed by Escrow Trust, the seller will be contacted to ship the item. Within 3 business days, you will receive the tracking number for your merchandise.

Important Usage Guidelines:
1. The contact information should only be used for resolving matters related to Escrow Trust. Any other use is strictly prohibited.
2. This transaction is protected by Escrow Trust services such as insurance, feedback and dispute resolution.
3. You may buy and sell with confidence in all transactions with this Escrow Trust member.
4. If you need to dispute this transaction, keep the transaction number at hand when contacting Escrow Trust. Any complaints must be filed within 30 days from the verification date.

The seller was informed about this transaction being started and is awaiting confirmation to ship the item. It is recommended to send the payment as soon as possible, because your purchase protection is valid for 30 days only.

If you encounter any problems with this transaction, please contact us by clicking here. When contacting our support team, use the reply feature so that all previous correspondences are included in your email. Otherwise, we will not be able to process your request. To ask for a refund, simply reply to this notification and enter in the subject line:
Refund request for Escrow Trust Transaction #65273423

Thank you for using Escrow Trust!
http://www.escrow-trust.com

[ginny20]

Hi There,

I've also just been stung by this "andrew and cindy norman" people on http://www.escrow-trust.com. They advertised the car on http://www.gumtree.com.au with the email address n.cyndy191@gmail.com I was sent the exact same email as you were! Word for word, same story and everything. Different car, but same sham details. A surgeon in the UK who had to leave Australia without selling his car, he offers to sell through Escrow saying they have buyer protection, you agree and they send you the email to transfer funds to "Tomiwa Benson".

Unfortunately I also transferred the money, but I was given an email with a tracking number last week. Not that it helps any - it doesn't seem to relate to any courier company what so ever. Seems like they have just made up a very convincing story. What concerns me is that they have VIN numbers and car rego which matches the actual car they are apparently selling. The company does have an ABN - not sure if that can help us any? I think maybe the money is just gone.

I wanted to know - did you go to the police? We tried calling the escrow number today, and it just says "the number you are trying to reach is not available". Hopefully they have been disconnected and shut down. Is there anything we can do? No one responds to my emails to phone calls, so I think the money is gone!

[peg]

added to db => http://escrow-fraud.com/index.php?page= ... a&id=12249

[lightfair]

Logo (and probably texts) were copied from (legit) http://www.paymate.com