Escrow service - Scam or normally in Thailand?

[moskito]

hope I am in the correct "corner" of the Forum here.

I am going to buy a motorcycle second hand and need some advice of the fellow members here speaking better English than (as?) me.

I found a motorbike and wrote to the address mentioned in the advertisement with normal questions, like age, how many owner, green book etc...

got only answer asking for my private mail. which i sent hereafter and asking for a NAME and PHONE Number to go on with the deal.

I am living in Phuket and since the bike was located in Chiang Rai and has a TO GOOD TO BE TRUE Price, I was a bit suspicious.

the seller (?) never mentioned where he is from, I was asking, but never get answer, instead following first longer message:

from few days i'm moved to Narathiwat south Thailandand and the bike it is located with me. still have Thailand registration and green book is available ,need only to change the owner name. The bike it is in excellent conditions with no problems on the engine or body scratches,never involved in accidents and also i am the 2nd owner.
Please let me know if you are still interested in buying it.

thanks

hereafter I was asking again for a name and a phone number, sending my wifes phone number in case if the seller is Thai and received following answer

i received a new job here , i can arrange the shipping from here using an escrow service and i will pay all fees for the transport to your address.

thanks and let me know

after I confirmed that I am still intrested and told him to ship it. I thought may be he send a phone number than or an address, since he does not have my address or another shipping address in Phuket. then this mail

The transport for the bike to your address i will arrange using an escrow service and will take maxim 5 working days until the bike will be delivered.After that you will have 10 working days of inspection to your address with all original papers.If you will accept the bike after 10 days escrow service will give me the payment but this only after you will keep the bike.I pay all fees for the transport to your address and to escrow,you must pay only xxx,xxx THB for the bike.
Please let me know if you are still interested to continue the deal.

thanks

I confirmed AGAIN that i am still intrested but that I have no idea how to make a deal thru an Escrow service without having the name or copy of ID card from the guy. I think I will need this for writing the bike over to my name? (into GREEN Book)

My question, Is this a normal way making business in Thailand? I usually buy things I see before and meeting someone in person or at least talk to him on a phone or let someone talk...

PLEASE, do you have any advise for me? i am suspicious about this Escrow thing but keen on the bike too

pls Mod, if place not correct here move the thread

thx in advance to all of you reading this book

[MAZ3]

I had the exact same message format,he just changed the Cities. When I realised it was a SCAM,I messed him around for months and was still getting the same responses. He even asked to be pay by Google pay?,only available in the USA.

PLEASE avoid this scam listen to your instincts.

Plenty of real bikes out there.

Good luck

[moskito]

thx MAZ,

thats the thing often with - too good to be true - offers ...

So this guy offered an Escrow service too? I heard of Escort services but never Escrow

[CharlieH]

MOVED to Motorbike forum

[Crossy]

Escrow is a real enough service, but not in Thailand. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escrow

As noted this is almost certainly a scam.

Was it a Thaivisa Classified advert??

[kurita]

Had same scam with a car. Don't bother it s a. Waste of our precious time

[MAZ3]

Escrow is a real enough service, but not in Thailand. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escrow

As noted this is almost certainly a scam.

Was it a Thaivisa Classified advert??

It was a Honda CB500X from Craigslist(I think),was a while ago.

He said it was already with the escrow/shipping company,and only 4,000k on it. I even offered to drive and pick it up,then more excuses.

Glad I sussed it[emoji17]

Edited April 30, 2015 by MAZ3

[Crossy]

Do note that if you see anything like this in Thaivisa Classifieds please report the ad to Support so it can be removed pronto.

[apetley]

Do note that if you see anything like this in Thaivisa Classifieds please report the ad to Support so it can be removed pronto.

I've reported scam ads in the past. Some have been removed, some remained. Seems pot luck to me.

[ezzra]

I got in to read thinking OP was about Escort service, .... my bad....

[BB1955]

Often times they will name a ligitamate escrow service . But then send you a link they have created with a bogus site. Another scam is for sellers . They will send you a cqshiers check to cover shipping and ask you to forward the shipping funds to the shipper. U deposit the check banks says its cleared , you send the money , then 15 dyas later bank tells you cashiers check stolen or forged , your out the money you sent ...

[neeray]

This "sale" has scam written all over it. I am in the resale business in Canada and I get hokey offers similar to this frequently. Steer clear !

Besides, why would you buy a bike on somebody's word who won't even put a voice to the deal ?

BUYER BEWARE.

[moskito]

Escrow is a real enough service, but not in Thailand. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escrow

As noted this is almost certainly a scam.

Was it a Thaivisa Classified advert??

Not in ThaiVisa, I found it in craigslist Thailand

THANKS guys for the answers, I think I will follow my inner voice which is CRYING ....SCAM.... unfortunately I am still thinking about how to take the scammer out of business....because I am pretty sure, sooner or later some dummy will fall for his trick... Only problem here atm, I dont see HOW it works... I mean if he send the bike to me without I have paid anything before, how he can cheat me? ok, if the bike comes without Book and Copy of ID card plus papers needed for sign over....

i dont get it BUT i will listen anyways - THANKS

Edited May 1, 2015 by moskito

[neeray]

Escrow is a real enough service, but not in Thailand. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escrow

As noted this is almost certainly a scam.

Was it a Thaivisa Classified advert??

Not in ThaiVisa, I found it in craigslist Thailand

THANKS guys for the answers, I think I will follow my inner voice which is CRYING ....SCAM.... unfortunately I am still thinking about how to take the scammer out of business....because I am pretty sure, sooner or later some dummy will fall for his trick... Only problem here atm, I dont see HOW it works... I mean if he send the bike to me without I have paid anything before, how he can cheat me? ok, if the bike comes without Book and Copy of ID card plus papers needed for sign over....

i dont get it BUT i will listen anyways - THANKS

This person (or organization) is probably in the identity theft business. They (or it) will attempt to gain personal information from you to recreate your identity. Craigslist and Kijiji are tools for this type of scam. Chances are, it originates from an African country, probably Nigeria.

You have made a wise decision. Steer clear.

[Alfred Gruetzner]

As this is a very strange behaviour of that person who wants to sell you something, I would strongly suggest: HANDS OFFFFFF!!!!!

Edited May 1, 2015 by Alfred Gruetzner

[BlackJack]

only the big banks have access to ESCROW

for us plebs or wanna be house and condo owners we cant use it

it would be a fantastic opportunity for Thailand

imagine that instead of giving money to the developer to build the condo that the money was held in Escrow until the job was completed, then the developer would get his cash

sadly this doesnt happen but it would clean up the industry of it were available

[burgerking]

"DON"T GO NEAR IT" You have been warned.

[muffy653]

I have had the exact same response to this advertiser (he has a Thai name)

Tried to get him to leave the bike in Chiangrai as I will be there at the beginning of May

He offered to send the bike via Escrow service – he will pay all expenses etc – but once I had agreed a price with him he asked for 50% of the fee up front

I never took him up on his offer as it obviously a scam

The same bike is for sale in Bangkok too, it is advertised on Bahtsold and Craiglist

The guy Peter in Bangkok has loads of bikes for sale, but says he is not a dealer

I first spotted the scam when they both sent photos of the bike to my private e-mail and I noticed the same number plate on the bike, that is when the alarm bells first started ringing, so I played along for a while to see what they were up to

[thailandforumaddict]

Anyway, buying second hand it means that you are looking for a scam, right ?

[Monkeyrobot]

Danger danger.

[moskito]

Anyway, buying second hand it means that you are looking for a scam, right ?

by far one of the most retarded posts I ever read ...

if YOU never bought anything second hand, congrats, if you will buy an old 68 ALFA Romeo for example, you have no other chance

NEW MAIL just came : LOL...since when there are flights from Narathiwat to Phuket??? this guy is really killing me ...

writes under the name Sirichai Nakul.... may be i am going on playing a bit more with him

Please note that after you receive the bike and decide to buy it after 10 days inspection period , we will establish a day when we go to owner transfer and i will take a flight in the morning, we go to sign the papers and in the evening i will fly back in Narathiwat because we will solve the papers in few hours.

Please let me know.

Thanks.

[connda]

If it looks like a duck, it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's a duck.

Run the other way!

[connda]

Anyway, buying second hand it means that you are looking for a scam, right ?

Yeah! But the price is too good to pass up!. What did PT Barnum say?

[neeray]

If you have time to waste, go ahead, keep playing with him.

If you have money to waste, send it to him.

But if you want to do something constructive for society, report this scam to whatever media it is advertised in (it won't help much because this guy is a professional scammer and he will have a new game going tomorrow but at least it will give you peace of mind).

[moskito]

If you have time to waste, go ahead, keep playing with him.

If you have money to waste, send it to him.

But if you want to do something constructive for society, report this scam to whatever media it is advertised in (it won't help much because this guy is a professional scammer and he will have a new game going tomorrow but at least it will give you peace of mind).

yeah, i have enough time playing games and nope, i will not send anything to him, not even my address......may be i give him the address of Chalong Police station and if he really sends the bike, i check it out there

I forwarded the issue to craigslist and ask them to delete the advertisement yesterday but i am not sure they will do it

[neeray]

If you have time to waste, go ahead, keep playing with him.

If you have money to waste, send it to him.

But if you want to do something constructive for society, report this scam to whatever media it is advertised in (it won't help much because this guy is a professional scammer and he will have a new game going tomorrow but at least it will give you peace of mind).

yeah, i have enough time playing games and nope, i will not send anything to him, not even my address......may be i give him the address of Chalong Police station and if he really sends the bike, i check it out there

I forwarded the issue to craigslist and ask them to delete the advertisement yesterday but i am not sure they will do it

Craigslist will just ignore your notification. They do not read or respond to incoming mail.

The police address works well. I have done it myself and stated what the address is.

[moskito]

As noted this is almost certainly a scam.

Was it a Thaivisa Classified advert??

Good thing you are a moderator as that facilitates the disambiguation of your rhetorical question.

...dont you think its time changing to Sangsom?

Edited May 1, 2015 by seedy
Quote hidden post

[WonnabeBiker]

The seller isn't a biker. What does that tell you? There is no bike and the "seller" has no idea about things like gears, handling or the Green Book.

The escrow is a scam. There is no such company...

And the b.s. (bullshit) of having 10 days to return the bike? A genuine seller wants to sell the bike, not work on weird guarantees to let someone ride it for a week, thenreturn it.

***

Often, these con men pretend to be in some other country.

I was keen on a Honda Fury in Malaysia - that was a similar scam (years ago). But these scams pop up even whenfolks sell a notebook or something!

[moskito]

hahaha FINALLY .... here we go.... another mail with FACTS

After transaction was started with escrow service you should pay in advance to them account 50% payment from the total price. Then the bike will be shipped and delivered to your address in maximum 5 days and after you will have 10 working days of inspection to your home address. In all this 10 days of inspection your payment deposited to escrow will be keep to them. After inspection,if you will confirm to escrow that you keep the bike you will need to complete the second 50% payment to escrow so they can pay me. In case that you will refuse the bike after inspection you will confirm to escrow and they will fully refund you the deposit in the same day and an agent from them will come to your address to pick up the bike. All costs for shipping and escrow fees will be covered by me,you will pay only 110,000 THB.

Please let me know if you understand how they works and if you agree to start the transaction.

thanks

I mean if people really fall for a Scam like this, they deserve it.

The thing is I really would like they catch this guy, may be I should ask him for his account number or this one of the Escrow service....at least he needs a name to open an account?

[neeray]

Give up on this. You will never catch him unless you want to travel to Africa. Look for a man with a gold tooth or two. He'll be hanging out at an internet café. But nowhere in the world will the police give a darn. They are more interested in revenue producing activities, robbers and muggers.

Internet crime is rampant but all but ignored.