Victim Location 47374
Type of a scam Online Purchase
I was online looking at cars on Cars.com. I stumbled upon a listing for a 2013 Audi RS5 for $20550. The listing had 2 photos so I emailed the seller in search of more information. I called the number and couldn’t be reached. However, a few days later, the seller (Mary R. Porter) emailed me back. I asked her about the vehicle. She sent me photos with the license plate covered. Her story was that her father had passed away and that she is active duty military that needed to sell the vehicle fast because she was leaving for training in 2 weeks. She said the car made her sad because it belonged to her father, so she hired Rochester Cargo Center to be the sales point of contact for the vehicle. I gave her my address and phone number so that she could have the company she was working with email me an invoice for the car. I told her to call me so that we could discuss more about the vehicle but she kept it strictly email. My father was actually the one who was going to buy the vehicle, so him and my mother contacted the bank to get the funds together. Mary told me that that when the money was ready, to have the bank follow the instructions on the invoice that was emailed to me. She also sent me a carfax of the vehicle and I found it strange that the car is listed in San Antonio, Texas. Everytime I called the number to Rocherster Cargo Center, they told me to call back on Monday when the money was ready to be transfered. My mother went in to the bank to have them research the company prior to wiring the money, and that is when the VP of Chase called the number and they were unable to verify certain information which caused the VP to spot red flags. Upon further research, it has been discovered that this storie has been used many times. The death differs from brother to father, but the military and leaving for training and must sell in 2 weeks is always the same. I did not have any money wired, but this scam has happened to many people before according to the google reviews of Rochester Cargo Center.
Victim Location 38141
Type of a scam Online Purchase
Someone on Craigslist claiming to be selling the ideal passenger van. A deal that’s too good to be true. on 36,000 miles- 2014 Chev 15 passenger van. Claims husband died, and she had to move to MN with her daughter and parents to get over her loss. Also claims that van is at Rochester Cargo Center. I called to inquire, lady was rude after I asked why would I send 6K for a vehicle I never seen. "Crazy" – She was a foreigner. She hung up on me because I asked way to many questions. I was a totally confusion experience. I sensed that something wasn’t right. This a scam. Never send money without having the product in hand. The also wanted me to send money after they would send an invoice.
Victim Location 13354
Type of a scam Fake Invoice/Supplier Bill
Death of husband 1 month ago, bad memories, sold house moved to family in MN with her daughter. Truck was listed in NY with a phone number of 929-235-9618-(NYC #), called the ad and sent an email. got no response. saw the semi-truck again sent another email then compared the emails sent. The first email to craigs listing when I checked my sent file had expired. That is where I got the phone number. Definitely a strong foreign accent by a lady at Rochester Cargo Center. Continuously vague on location of truck. Said the car was crated-(hmm I was interested in a semi truck how is it going to be crated. The vehicle was listed in NY but yet they supposedly transported it to MN? If you zoom in on the license plates as well as you can they do look like NY plates.
Victim Location 72901
Type of a scam Other
They are selling a vehicle on cars.com posing as a woman in the military. When you contact her she refers you to this cargo company
Victim Location 11746
Type of a scam Online Purchase
I went on craigslist to try and purchase a vehicle. I saw an ad for a 2012 bmw 535i and texted the phone number and got a response that said I am at work now.If interested, please reply with your email address and i will send you some more photos and details about it. I responded with my email address and they sent me this message: Hi, Thanks for your interest in my car. It’s a 2012 Bmw 535i and it’s in great condition! Has 41,000 miles, automatic transmission, the body is rust free.The car belonged to my father who recently passed away. Brings me memories and it’s been in the garage for the past month,so I only want $5500 for it. Right now I’ve return to my base in Rochester MN, because in two weeks we leave for duty. Due to the training I can’t leave the base to meet you and close the deal so I’ve decided to use a local shipping company and left the car in their possession. Best part about this is that you’ll get 5 days for inspection for free with no further obligation or fees to decide. This is not a blind transaction, you can physically see it before I will receive any money. If you’re interested in purchasing it, send me your full name, shipping address and phone # so I can have them to send you an invoice, meaning more details about how they work. Also you are not obligated to buy it, no pressure!Thank you! I questioned them and they responded with this: Thanks for your reply. Like I said in my first e-mail, I am about to leave for military duty. The car is here in Rochester, MN with me, with all the documents at the shipping company (Rochester Cargo Center) ready for to be delivered. I plan on using their escrow and transport services. They guarantee 100% protection and insurance for both of us. Using this company, you will have it for 5 days to try it out. If for any reason, you decide against it, you can send it back at my expense and be 100% refunded in less than 24 hours. I will not get paid until you inspect it for 5 days and make a decision. For more details about how Rochester Cargo Center works, please reply with your full name, shipping address, and a phone number. I am sure you are going to love it since my father did a great job in taking care of it and I really want someone that’s going to take care of it.
With your info, they will send you an email right away and you can also reach out to the company! I googled the company and was alerted that the website may be fraudulent by my phone security system. I also searched them in the ScamPulse.com directory and they were not found. That’s when I realized it is a scam. I am now afraid that this person has my name, phone number, and email address.