How I almost got scammed out of 8k...

A couple weeks ago, I purchased the car that I have been wanting for about 20 years. It is probably the only car that both teenage girls and old men drive around and both feel cool. :) None other than a Jeep Wrangler. I literally wrote a song about wanting one in my high school rock band - no joke. Over the years I have just continued to put it off, mostly because jeeps are about the most unreliable cars on the road (according to consumer reports) and I tended to buy cars on the opposite end of the spectrum. But, I saved up cash, bought an old used one, and have plenty budgeted for repairs, so now is the time!

How I almost got scammed... Wranglers are very sought after and I had been searching Craigslist, ebay, and all the other classifieds for many weeks and every one that fit my specs always seemed to have some big issue. And then I found one that looked like a pretty good deal. Not at all too-good-to-be-true, but just looked like a good fit for what I wanted. I began emailing with the seller, and no red flags came up in our conversation. I ran the carfax and everything checked out. Then she said she wanted to use Amazon Payments to complete the transaction to keep us both safe. I had never heard of Amazon payments, but Amazon has so many services that no one can keep up with them all, so I just figured they had a Paypal knock-off of sorts. My first red flag was when I googled "Amazon Payments" and only saw "Amazon Pay". After scrolling through the results, I found an article on a buddy's site titled: Don't Fall for This Amazon Payments Car Scam And immediately I knew. After investigating more it turns out the scammers create a fake look-a-like site to make you think you are entering bank account info on Amazon's site, but you are actually just giving them your bank account info. After weeks of searching and thinking I had found the perfect one, I was mildly heartbroken... And honesty very surprised that they had gotten me so close to being a victim. Most scammers are really bad at what they do and I can normally spot them from a mile away, and this was quite eye-opening. I have always recommended to ONLY use cash when buying/selling on Craigslist and now more than ever I will be following that advice! The story ends well Just about a week after this near miss, I did find one that checked out with everything I wanted. I talked to the seller on the phone and chatted about all the known issues (it is a 15 year old car after all). We determined a safe neutral place to meet (an active gas station). I even used Google maps to check it out to make sure it wasn't in a shady part of town. We met I test-drove Gave it a thorough inspection (if you aren't able I recommend taking it to a mechanic before buying) Wrote up the bill of sale Signed over the title And paid cash And I have had the top and doors off ever since. :) I don't think I have ever had a car that I have enjoyed as much as this one.

Moral of the story: Be careful as you use Craigslist. I have met tons of great people on Craigslist and I refuse to dismiss it just because there are a few bad apples out there. And I have made thousands selling items on Craigslist (which I will share more details about next week) and it really is a great way to turn items around your house into cash. All in all, if you only use cash and meet in a public location, you eliminate 99.9% of the risk. Hope you are having a great summer! Bob P.S. - Here are a few of our articles getting a lot of attention these days: 30 Money-saving DORM ROOM decor ideas How to get textbooks for FREE 25 DIY Garage storage ideas 31 Legit home-based business ideas Getting too much email? Just click here to get fewer emails or to unsubscribe from our emails.

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