July 1: I received a dealer lead from Autotrader online. A person inquired about my vehicle and asked for a picture and the mode of payment. I responded asking to clarify the information they required.
July 3: The buyer asked for the mode of payment.
July 4: I responded, cash or cashier's check.
July 6: The buyer asked to have the price of the vehicle clarified so he could begin getting payment.
July 7: I told him $11,300.00 firm.
July 8: The buyer agreed to the price and informed me that he would be sending an $18,000 cashier's check. The remaining money should be sent back to him to handle shipping costs.
July 13: The buyer asked why I had not responded.
July 14: I sent the buyer my address information and stated that no money would be given until funds had cleared the bank.
July 17: The buyer sent bill of sale information and said the check should be received around the 22nd of July.
July 23: The buyer sent restrictions on what the agent needed to pick up the vehicle, where to send money to the agent, and the information they needed back to show that there had been a transaction. We received a cashier's check for $18,000 via FedEx. Michele took it to the bank and was told funds were available.
July 26: The buyer asked what was going on since we had received funds. I wired $6700 to MD to the agent around 9 am PST. I sent an e-mail confirming this to the buyer and the agent. The buyer sent confirmation that they had received the information. The buyer sent an e-mail confirming receipt of funds.
July 27: Early in the morning, Michele was reading online about fraud. We realized that what had happened to us was fake. In panic, we took the funds out of our bank and put them in another so the bank wouldn't take the $6700 back. I got an e-mail from the buyer saying that the client was really sick and had decided not to buy the vehicle, and that we needed to return the rest of the funds ASAP. I called Citibank and explained what was going on.
After I gave my initial information, I spoke to Heather at 760-747-0801. She in turn called a Citibank fraud investigator to let him know what was going on and to call me. He called me and told me we needed to return the $11,300 right away and then to pay the $6700 all at once, or, since the bank realizes we are victims, to set up a payment plan.
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