Subject: [Healeys] Healey car scam in our area

From: Randy Hicks <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 16 Sep 2013 20:44:10 -0400

Forwarded from Jeff Johnk today. Doesn't matter if it's an ad or auction, do
your homework!!!

Randy

MAHC members,
    Please read carefully the following and accompanied link to a Friday
article in the Star. This car scam and in all it's many version's is the new
face of cyber collectable car crime. It is not just your personal identity
any more that is at risk but also that of your collectable car. Have you
publicly shared photo's and info on your car?

Has there been maybe an article written on your car where a great deal of
car info was provided? Do you have photo's online with out watermarks for
anyone to see? Have you sent photo's, history, VIN # , etc about the car to
others or even uninvestigated"potential" buyers? Read the following:

    Last week MAHC members were contacted by an overseas Healey enthusiast
that was looking to purchase a BJ7 advertise by a supposed dealer in our
area. I was ask to inspect the Healey by the potential buyer and was provide
the local address, contact , and website of the dealer. First pulling up the
site was impressive; it was slick, well designed and punched all the right
buttons as "free to inspect" , "5 day money back guarantee" , etc. Still
there were small little warning bells going off in my head (as well as in
the potential buyer's head) but as always I have learned you need to run
every detail to ground. Real concerns started when I tried to arrange an
inspection of the car and also find out something about a dealership I have
never heard of before.

At the same time info we had been provided on the car was checking out and
thus making the buyer anxious to buy the car and get the deal done.
( Of course this anxiousness was also intensified by the continued prodding
by the dealer that "several" buyers were after the Healey. BTW, our digging
revealed the Healey had in fact been restored by Cape International in
England and Steve the shop owner indicated it was a good solid car before it
was shipped to the states, at which time he had lost track of the car.) Well
now we know the car is real...what of the dealer? Appointments for me to
inspect the car were postpone or cancelled by the dealer and once he had my
phone ID # would not answer or return my calls. By this time something
really smelled. The finality came when Greg Willodson drove to search the
supposed address of this dealer and could find nothing. Than Suzanne
Willodson found the below article in the Star. Our overseas buyer was
disappointed the car of his dreams was not really for sale (at least by this
dealer)but immensely relieved and thankfully to MAHC for help in avoiding a
fraud. Many other buyers I am sure were not so lucky.

    There are many lessons to be learn or relearned from from this
experience and I could start a list. However for me the most important one
is that someone unwittingly provided all the info a thief needed to set a
scam. Read, dig, investigate (both car & seller), listen to the little
warning bells, never let anyone rush you, and now be careful who we share
our car info with. It is our responsibility to be vigilant...
the authorities have all but admitted failure it stopping this type of
crime. Of course all this is my opinion... read and use at your own
discretion.

Jeff Johnk

    P.S. As of this morning (9/16/13) it appears this dealer's website is
down.... where will he set up next?

http://m.startribune.com/business/?id=223706061&c=y
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