Warning - new biking scam..

[Wiz]

The scam of selling a bike that doesn't exist has taken a new and sinister twist. Below are two websites; the first is of a genuine UK dealer called Colin Collins, the second is a scam.

http://www.colincollins.co.uk/bikes/index.html

http://www.motor-maniax.com/bikes/index.html

Despite purporting to be based in Cornwall, "Motor Maniax" advertise all their bikes in US dollars and at ludicrously low prices. According to Penzance Police there is no such address as the one listed on their site and the post code refers to a public weigh-bridge. It is becoming increasingly clear that Motor Maniax have ripped off Colin Collins website in order to try and con people into thinking that they are dealing with a genuine company. The final knife twist is that these fraudsters are now starting to post on forums like ours saying things like. "I got my bike really cheap from here... blah blah.".

Please be careful out there, these scams are getting more sophisticated every day and I would hate for anyone to get caught.

 

[Supabird1100]

Cheer's Wiz.....stick to the old saying, "Does it sound too good to be true ?? Then it probably IS too good to be true" !!!!!!

 

[bigjon]

hmmmm.......

SCARY. VERY SCARY.

 

[Supabird1100]

It's the same as these guys you see on Ebay. Advertise a nearly new bike with really low price.......the advert is written in broken English...... tell you to send half the cost of it via Western Union Money Transfer to their account in mainland Europe......then they will ship the bike. Balance payable on delivery.

But people still fall for it !!!!!!!! :bang: :bang:

 

[Samster]

I blasted them on an email and this is what I got in return............hold on to your hats for paragraph three - it's a classic!

Hello there Mr./Mrs SamCordery,

Thank you for contacting our sales departmentand your interest in our products!
We know you have some questions for us and because of this we have developed this automated response.
We will try to respond to the most frequently asked questions in this e-mail so please read it carefully!

All the prices on our website are in United States Dollars. If your country currency is other then US Dollars, you can calculate the price of the product in your own currency by visiting http://www.xe.com.
For US residents and countries with US standards the products will be shipped directly from our suppliers in US.
For EU residents and countries with European standards the products will be shipped directly from our warehouse.
Motor Maniax will prepay sales taxes, shipping and handling charges in the amount of $640.00 US Dollars and will add them to your invoice.
The shipping procedure will begin next day after payment has cleared and you will be provided with the tracking details within 3 days after payment has cleared. This period allows us to test the vehicles and prepare them for shipping. No vehicle leaves our warehouse untested!
All products are fully insured during shipping.
The shipping process may take up to 2 weeks so please allow us this period for the delivery of goods.

For payment we can ONLY accept bank wire transfers from first time customers. We are sorry, our payment terms are this firm but through the last year we\'ve seen all kind of fraudulent buyers and we are not committed any longer to accept their business. International credit cards are not accepted.

Bank wire transfers are federally insured against fraud since they\'re made through federal institutions.


If you have any other questions we have developed a F.A.Q. page where you can read more information regarding our business.

In short time you will receive and email regarding the availability of your requested model and detailed answers to your questions.

We appreciate your business and look forward to serving you again. Good bye.

Sincerely Yours,

Motor-Maniax LTD
www.Motor-Maniax.com
sales@Motor-Maniax.com

 

[tootyfluti]

Some people are just unbelievably cheeky.

 

[skippy]

Motor Maniax LTD was founded in 1999. There were three employees, a building, and one line of vehicles back then. We have now grown to 30+ employees.



Q: Do you have a contact phone number?
A: Yes, we have but we decided not to list it since we do not have the staff to answer it 24/7. In case you want to speak with one of our representants just give us your number and the right time to call, someone will call you.


Spare me what a bunch of numpties , still the site looks real enough even though all the dialog is decidedly the nose, a different take on the Nigerian 416 scam.

 

[Samster]

B11 fraud it's called I think?

I never knew there were so many American cars in Cornwall...............LOL