Has anyone on here been the victim of a scam when trying to purchase a machine? Curious how you made out and what actions you took. I was unfortunately the victim of a scam at the end of last year. Found an ad for a skid steer in one of, if not the largest machinery magazines in the US/worldwide. Contacted the seller, discussed shipping, etc., did as much homework as I could think of to verify the location and dealer, and unfortunately was taken for just shy of $25k. Looking for any help/input.
I haven't been took, but I recommend that anyone even considering buyin a machine, that ain't local, post a thread, on a forum, like this, and ask to have a dis-interested party (forum member volunteer) verify machine location, and general condition. I did this several years ago, looked at a tree chipper fer a feller, from down south, who was suspicious... Machine was only 15 mins away from me, and I was able to verify for him...
Theres a thread over on TBN about PayPal scams also.. Seems a fella "bought" a piece of equip. & got scammed using PP.. & by the responses, its NOT uncommon.. Sorry for your loss..
Sorry to read about your loss. Could you post a few more details ? $25K is a huge amount of money to transfer to anybody.
If I cant see the equipment in person or the person im buying from face to face, no money is going anywhere, and you may say you cant always see the person or equipment as its too much trouble then when you lose both you cant complain....there are a ton of these scams on craigslist and probably any equipment sales place, they want you to wire the money and now PP is used for the scam and your money is gone in a flash..
sorry for your loss. see those all the time on craigslist. if you have a wife it makes it harder to get over.
Preach it Brother ! I'm the same way .... Generally buy equipment from people I know ... Know the history on the people and the equipment ... Might have to pay them what it's worth but no scams or bad deals ... It's worth it in the long run
So this person used the identity of an equipment dealer that used to exist, that no longer exists, with their address, owners name, etc. out of Missoula, Montana. Spoke to him on the phone a few times, agreed on a price and delivery, he sent me a BS invoice. Turns out, he never owned any of the equipment he was selling, stole all the info from Purple Wave Auctions and used it as his own. I was one of 8 victims in this particular scam. I am working with the FBI and a special wire fraud task force as I paid via wire transfer. I never would have done this deal had I not found the ad in Machinery Trader magazine. I thought they were reputable.
as the old famous WC Fields use to say" A sucker born every minute and 2 to take em"....................
This sucks bigtime but Machinery Trader is only selling add space, I don't think they can check up on their customers to be sure the add is legit. There is another way to get burned on equipment purchases and that is UCC liens filed against the machine from it's previous life. It is well worth having your bank check for this to be sure it's clean.
I too had a similar experience. It took more than eight months to complete the legal procedures.
I buy a lot of equipment off the internet all over the US. But the cash is handled in person after I have made my inspection If they don’t agree to my terms no deal
05f150fx4 ; Any update on your scam ??? Or are you permanently screwed out of all that money ? Sterling ; Any details about your unfortunate deal that may help others reading this thread ?
It is a bad a state of affairs! These people have nothing to do but try their program over and over refining it. What I am seeing is they want to buy my product with a certified check. Ask me to pay their hauler. Trying to impress me by sending a certified check overnight and asking me to send a check to their freight company. The numbers on the bottom of the check normally have incorrect amount of numbers and order of check, routing and account numbers. Call the bank to verify if it is good. That is 99% sure with verbal verification. I am in USA. If they have broken English or speak the Queens English those are both bad signs to me. They do not actually speak it is all on line. Give no more information than necessary. When they figure out they cannot get your account numbers and such everything you shared is used to search for a way to extort money. Now I tell them to just sent the check to their hauler and their hauler can pay me cash before we load the trailer. They go away.
Theres 1 fella on another site who "plays" w/ them.. He goes along w/ the scam & when they write to ask him if he received the check, he says YES but I'm keeping it AND the equipment.. YOU got scammed.. lol.. & JUST TRY to get it back.. Don't mean to make light of your situation 05f..
Have had three such events try to transpire. Was selling a unit for a old man down the road, got TWO calls on it both with the same style, one from Philly the other from ?SC? but really not certain if either were IN the US. Told them cash and carry one decided to send a third party check which I contacted the moron and got a return address to send it to Caveat with FBI following it, the other would not stop talking sending shipping money in his check, finally told him GTH, find another patsy where he said would come find me. HA!! My response, bring it on big boy, but bring an army we bury scumbags out here in the Hog Lot and they be HUNGRY!! Third was a buy similar to yours, told the ass to get it to a dealer lot where I could fly in and inspect it, he balked, said would be out of town even as no date set, called him a scammer and he hung up.
I just posted a machine on Craigslist. I got 3 text messages all with exactly the same text from 3 different numbers. I just block them all and move on. No sense arguing or even talking to them. Just like telemarketers, their job is to be hung up on, not enough hours in the day to waste an extra word with them. If the sheriff is not interested in tracking them down neither should we be.
Have purchased several machines out of state. Coordinated with seller to have a local cat dealer come and inspect the item and instruct the mechanic to only give me the report. After any price negotiation I’ve always used a third party escrow agent of my choosing where the money is not released until it is on the shippers lowboy. Sometimes the seller will pay for half the escrow fee and sometimes I have to eat it but Ive always slept well after wiring the money.
http://www.ner.net/solutions/ironcheck/ - This is where you can verify ownership & clean UCC1 (which is liens or loans against the serial number). I know we've talked about this before...Mods, can we pin this thread to the top of the page? A. This is an industry full of crooks and liars. That's not limited to sales reps. : ) B. Because of equipment not having titles, it makes it very hard to track & verify equipment ownership. C. Verifying a clean ownership can also be difficult. Just because the original lien was paid off doesn't mean the equipment is clear. Many B,C,D credit places use blanket liens...and banks use equipment as collateral for other loans as well. Some of the things that I've encountered, or my former boss (now retired) have encountered are (BUT not limited to)... - Stolen Cashiers Check...where they were real...but someone stole a bunch of them from a bank. Came with a 'letter' from the banker as well. - People using my invoice & wiring instructions to make their own checks...if you send or take wires you need a 'Drop Account' just for that with $10 in it. - A D8 that a drug addicted nephew sold one of my old bosses buddies. Had same last name as the owner...found out when the truck got sent to get it. - Tractors that my old boss bought after extensive checks with PD because the deal seemed too good-then the guy stole them after the fact off job sites. - Tractors that didn't exist. - Foreign buyers who tried the shipment payment - wire scam. - Countless others...and the list will grow as these people have free time & balls as big as church bells. Who can blame them because I'm not aware of any arrests or follow through that law enforcement ever completed on any of my situations. The stolen after the fact tractors was a 3 page story & I'm not sure what ever happened to the D8 guy...if I remember correctly, the buyer was screwed. Machinery Trader & others don't have time or the ability to verify anything...especially with their free ads. Same is true of auctions inspecting equipment for quality & problems. They will typically ensure there is a clear UCC1 or ownership.
I have learned some lessons through all of this, albeit at a very expensive price tag. It appears I am out the money. The FBI and a wire fraud task force is supposedly working the case. No idea when or if I will ever see my money again. I wired it to their account and it was withdrawn shortly thereafter. It was a ring of people involved, some in the US, some not in the US. I keep my fingers crossed that I get some type of restitution but who knows. I am just over 8 months in with no real promising news yet. I did find out they were running multiple other scams on top of the equipment scams. I did learn that Machinery Trader only verifies a phone number in order to "vet" a seller. This person assumed the identity of someone who used to be a legit seller so he cleared with Machinery Trader. I contacted them and they basically said "have your lawyer contact our lawyer" so I am working that route as well and have no issue slamming them as they could care less and to this day have never posted about this scam, so who knows how many other scams have been run through their magazine/web site that they have no interest in notifying their customers about. Had this ad been on craigslist, I never would have done the deal, I thought Machinery Trader was legit, lesson learned. I tried to do my homework, I called CAT with the serial number to get as much info as I could from them and to ask if it was stolen. Since the machine was not stolen (guy never had actual possession of the machine, just the photos he stole from Purple Wave Auction) it never came back as stolen or any red flags.
all education is expensive, sorry for the outcome...
Hello my name is Louie i have been reading all the post about scams. I am glad i ran across your website now i have concerns about a company i found on Facebook selling Heavy Equipment. The company is listed as DMC Pro Machinery Baton Rouge LA. . i looked them up on the better business bureau and noting came up. i also looked on a scam alert website and it did say much only that they have a low rating but did not tell me if they were legit or not. If anyone has any dealings with this company or heared anything about them please let me know.
Yep. Filed a complaint with Federal Trade Commission, Scammed by DMC Pro Heavy Machinery. Filed complaint with State Attorney General. And filing lawsuits against the LLC.
What was the outcome.??
Still fighting. But little chance of getting any money back.
Monsterwagon, did a google image search from the website of DMC Pro Machinery Baton Rouge LA This is their site, Google image search found this https://heavyequipmentservicescompany.com/about-us/
They're also in Lawrence KS, Lowell AR as Canby Equipment, Crane in North Las Vegas, Pueblo Motors in Colorado ect Google Lens - Search What You See Discover how Lens in the Google app can help you explore the world around you. Use your phone's camera to search what you see in an entirely new way. lens.google.com Seems they're a busy bunch making your online purchasing experience a seamless con from your pocket to theirs. Think I'd pass on this opportunity if I was you, find something closer to home maybe ? Joe H
My wife and I were stupid and scammed when we tried to purchase a slightly used John Deere tractor the end of August 2024. The local police were trying to help us until they traced it back to Bangladesh a few weeks ago. They've resurfaced a third time using a third location in the country. https://hhjordanheavyequipment.com/ https://heavyequipmentservicescompany.com/ And our scam was by: https://heavyequipmenttractors.com/
All you had to do is google for a few minutes and you'd see they're fake. No LLC, no building on Google Maps, no social media presence, no web domain registration. All big ol red flags. I'm sorry man, but these a$$hats are out there because working guys like us are usually in a rush to get stuff done, and are careless enough to pay em. I have no idea wth you'd have to do now to get your money back.
I did check out the website. I talked to one of the people that supposedly work there. I called the location where the machinery was supposed to be. I spoke with a woman at a grocery store next-door. She said there used to be a gas station there, but now the property is filled with farm machinery. I showed the site to a few engineers I know, and none of us could find any problems with it. But you’re correct I should’ve never Wired Money. I had no idea that there was no way to stop what happened after that. I admit I was an idiot.
All I can say is my wife and I come by our money the hard way, we work for it. If we got scammed and we used the proper and trusted protocol’s and our money got took and no compensation, that would be bad. I can’t only hunt 3 months out of the year. No one, wants to give me a good reason to go hunting out of season. I wouldn’t care how far and how low and what I’d have to do, to make it right. There has to be a way to reach them. No matter what it takes, I’d have to be made whole. If you checked out the location and there was actual equipment there, where did it go. Did you ever consider looking on satellite and checking the area and dates the photos were taken?
My wife and I both work hard for our money as well. We both grew up working hard on dairy farms. Yes I looked at a satellite photo and saw the gas station. I screwed up and I’ll never get the money back. I’m just trying to warn other people so it doesn’t happen to them.
These days scumbags put more effort into stealing from people, where if they put half as much effort into actually working, they would probably make more money. Unfortunately, these POS’s ge have support from their home country or are considered not worth the effort, to try and stop them. Then, there are a whole bunch of people that broke the law coming here and don’t mind breaking some more laws. Not political, just being realistic.
I am sorry you and your wife was a victim of the scam. The best advice I can give on the subject is never buy a piece of equipment without putting your hands on it and once a wire is sent it's done - no getting the money back. These crooks prey on the human nature of getting a "lightly used, well maintained machine at a great price" and unfortunately it works. Everyone wants the deal.
Once a wire is sent it's gone. If that wire was sent overseas then the money is gone, gone. The only recourse is Interpol.
When scammed/Skimmed here, the money went to Pakistan as best they could discover. Pakistani's living here as Dual Status Citizen were involved and have been deported. That from my nephew at ATF whose associates in the FBI were able to locate the case load. We were one of the least harmed where some lost entire bank accounts and savings moneys.
those pics reMind me of a real auCtion lot in se pa, with their flaG photoshopped in. hell the REal auctioneer is bad enough, What with his buyers fees, internet buyer fee, and tax added to the top of the fees for all his labors!
Buyers fees and taxes are listed in the auction docs, it's not something that sneaks up on someone, this just straight theft. 2 entirely different things.
But charging tax on top of a fee, is taxing labor, and that's technically illegal, in some states...
Let’s face it though. Most of the times this happens, it’s because someone is trying to buy something, at a price below value or an outright bargain. I remember in HS some of my friends were stealing snowmobiles in one state, selling them in another for cash and while in that state completing the deal, steal one in that state and returning home, to sell that one. They all got caught and had sleds all over in storage units. Had no problems finding someone with a lump of cash, willing to buy something, they knew to be, too good of a deal.
Oh labor is taxed here in AL.
Has anyone heard of All Road Machines from 1276-1298 Shepherd Rd N, Havre, MT 59501, USA? Sounds too good to be true. Satellite pic is from 2006. Just a junk field with trucks and vehicles. Website was registered in September or October of 24. I might call a real-estate agent about the address or maybe the authorities to see. It's a small town. Spoke to a person "from the company". They've called back. Sent e-signature contract. But they asked for wired money. So, no can do until I find out.
Scam for sure. Click on their page, click on skid steers, click on the bobcat & right click "search by image' gets you here https://www.google.com/search?sca_e...AFHZVeKFQQpOwNegQIQRAA&biw=1920&bih=955&dpr=1 That same bobcat is everywhere and according to Iron Planet sold in Pittsburgh
Any of those sites you can do the right click image search and find the machine elsewhere. Facebook ads too, image search will show up a dozen other ads for the same stuff. Real estate ads for rentals, all about $800 a month are all zillow ads the scammers use, all day every day all over the country. Joe H
I am VERY hesitant to post here, I think we all remember the last spring, but that outfit in Montana is DEFINITELY not on the up and up...
Whatever you do, DON'T CALL THE PHONE NUMBER
Why waste the time on such an obvious scam?
If I'm buying anything I'm laying eyes on it first. The moment money changes hands its coming with me. Deposit to hold it? Nope, I'll pass. Whatever it is you're selling I can find it somewhere else if somebody beats me to it.
A fool and his money are easily parted I have some ocean front property in Arizonaaaaaaaaa…..
No doubt. I always get a chuckle when you're trying to buy a truck and the salesman says "That's the last one I got and somebody's coming in the morning to look at it." Always reply "Good deal hope you sell it." Last RAM 3500 we bought was that way. Tried to buy one locally from a RAM, Jeep, non-commercial dealer which was our first mistake. Walked in and told the salesman we wanted a specific truck on the lot and give me a OTD price with all the BS fees and what not added in. He and the sales manager hemhawed around and wasted a good 30 mins of our time then came back with a price that was several thousand dollars higher than what we can buy the same truck for just across the line in GA right off I-20, 1 hour away. As I am haggling with the salesman the boss (wife) called the dealership in GA and got Big Country on the phone - real name, true story. Boss tells Big Country what we want and he gives her a price. Boss ask's what other fees will be added on and Big Country replies "Ma'am if you bring XXX dollars over here you'll drive home with this truck. Price was several thousand less than the yahoo's I was dealing with. Wife comes back in and says "Looks like we are going to GA tomorrow to buy a truck". I thank the salesman for his time and tell him we found a truck in GA cheaper and were going to buy that truck. On the way out the door the salesman said "Let me know soon if you change your mind, I've got a guy coming to look at it this afternoon". I chuckled OK and we left. Next day Boss and I drive to GA, meet Big Country and buy the truck. On the way back home the original salesman sends me a text asking if I was still interested in the truck. I replied that we just bought a truck in GA like I told you I was going to do yesterday. His only reply was OK. lol Hate dealing with "retail" salespeople for vehicles. After buying and selling so many trucks over the years I've heard every BS sales pitch. All I want to know is the out the door price for that specific vehicle I'm looking at. At least with these scam equipment websites you can tell right away it's a scam and move on. Real live humans - not so much, takes a little time to vet them out.
Good morning. Could I ask how you contact the FBI wire fraud task force? We lost $9500 to a fraud where we were buying a John Deere tractor a few hundred miles away and it was to be delivered. We went to our local bank and we paid $25 to have the money wired. They did not warn us that it is very risky to wire money.
In addition to contacting the FBI, I suggest you get a new banker as well. Seriously you need a better banking relationship.
I agree with CM. Any bank that prioritizes charging $25 for a wire transfer as opposed to one that instead asks "Are you really ******* sure you want to do this.?" or maybe even "*** are you smoking.?" is not really an organization to which you should be giving your business, IMHO. YMMV.
Did I hear a request?
My banker is resistant to me wiring $$$. But its a useful way to transfer funds. I think the important thing, is to know who you are wiring money to. Go look at the equipment in person. Or know the sellers. When the deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. You should have no trouble getting ahold of your local FBI office, but they really aren't going to be able to do anything. Your money is gone overseas.
And here they charge sales tax on the wire fee. Overseas wire fee is $75 + tax. Joe H
Its a big forum, here, ask someone in the area in question, to volunteer to verify that the equip is at the address in the ad. Several years ago, I volunteered to do this on another forum, the location was like 6 miles from me, and at my convenience, I dropped by, talked to the seller, then contacted the prospective buyer and told him what I saw. I'm sure that someone here would likewise volunteer to do something similar. One thing we HFers hate is to have someone scammed!
That site is nothing but a scam. I g00gled about 3 pics, all were Iron Planet items.
Click this google link since you're not getting what you're looking for from us: Google Search
Dunno if I trust the link hahaha.
I bought my backhoe from an independent dealer in Indiana. Hired the Deere dealer to do an inspection, and check serial number before I paid for it.
Trump should send a navy seal crew to chase these clowns down, and chop off their hands.
i went through and equiptment scam myself , not sure what or if i can do anything about it, but last week i seen add for 2018 john deere 333g skid steere from dg equiptment out of PA, ended up wireing $38,700 to them , and was supose to be on truck and shipped next day,and called them the day it was supose to be shipped and all of sudden there not acepting calls and cant get ahold of them, then i typed in name in search on internet comes up a scam website
Not sure if this was in jest but a couple of questions. Why in the heck would you buy a skid steer from Pennsylvania if you are in California? Was it that good of a deal? Did it not ring any bells that you had to wire full money up front, without even seeing it. You couldn’t maybe pay a deposit and have it shipped? If I were to buy a anything that was over 1k, I would spend the money to go look at it, myself. But then, I ordered a drive motor from Fridays Parts 2 weeks ago for a little under 1k and was supposed to be delivered today and just got e-mail saying delay and out of stock, and they still got my money. Guess it can happen, one way or another.
No dealer is going to ship a machine that hasn't been paid in full, especially a legitimate dealer.
There is something to be said of buying equipment from Ritchie Bros or other well established auction houses where you at least you know they are reputable enough not to scam folks from the equipment not existing. Sure, all of their equipment is buy-beware but at least you're pretty certain you're going to get what you see in their pics...even if it is junk. I wouldn't trust one-off dealerships or anyone that I personally don't know.
We have had several really good buys at Ritchie's (Nisku & Chilliwack). There are a fair amount of fees but if one sticks with a (upper) price it can definitely work out well. Staff, especially in Edmonton were really helpful. We did have a "loser" last winter when I bought a 2017 F150 eco boost....completly my fault as I didn't inspect in person. In hindsite I could hear the rattling cam phasers on their engine run video!
Well I got scammed on gunbroker. Guy had a nice rifle listed it was expensive. I first emailed and asked for more pictures which he sent. I bid on and bought it. At that point you can get the persons phone number. I called him and said I was not comfortable paying the full amount up front. He said ok he would mail it to my dealer and take 1/2 upfront and then the other 1/2 once the dealer got it He asked me to send him the money with Zell. I did. He then stated that the gun was seized by the atf and could not send it till I sent full payment. Long story short someone hacked the gunbroker site changed some basic information on an account. Such as the phone number. Then he avoided the address change issue by me using Zell. If I had used a certified mail mo and the post office it would have been investigated by the postal service. Also gunbroker would have flagged an address change. So it would have raised red flags. Gunbroker was no help. I lost my money because I used zell.
Yea stupid on my part , been looking for john deere 333g fow awhike now with good price that i could afford and seen one that had under 1000 hrs on it for $36000 then another $2,700 for shipping . And i cant find john deere with that low of hrs for under $60,000 . But i had to learn the hard way if that good of deal probaly would have already been taken
And the close to 50% lower price didn't ring any alarm bells.? If it sounds too good to be ture, it probably is.........a scam.
If you had received the $60,000 machine that you paid $35,000 for, you would have discovered it needed $25,000 worth of work . . .
With the popularity of online auctions, and the smallness of the world due to the internet, I will not waste one second of my time anymore on auction purchases. You have almost zero chance anymore of getting a good enough buy to have room for minor repairs, much less substantial ones. The last purchase I made on an auction required me to spend almost $30k in repairs to a scraper. Yes, sure, I have a new one now, but I lost 2 weeks that fall getting it acceptable to go to the field. Anyone anymore that gets scammed out of money purchasing a machine they didn't physically inspect and pay for in person deserves it IMO.
Sorry, while I understand that comment, that you deserve what you get, or get what you deserve but I think since Able ended up with Eve, men have always looked for a better deal, or maybe the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Lol I agree, since the advent of the internet, no longer do I need to subscribe to multiple platforms for gun values and keep them in my head, I can just look it up on my phone or computer. There was a time, I was a walking encyclopedia for gun values and even had serial numbers by block for certain items I was interested in. That still doesn’t stop me from still looking for deals. I will say they are harder and fewer than before but it still doesn’t stop me from looking and hoping. While I can cast stones and ask some hard questions, I still grasp the concept and belief that there are deals out there. So some adds and stuff trip my question meter, there are some that I probably never see. The obvious stuff, is well, quite obvious but if it’s just a really good deal and it’s something I want or need, I will look at it, or at least inquire. I almost tried to buy a backhoe that was listed in the town next door for 35k that should have been 50k. I spent 3 hours driving around the town trying to get a look at it. Then the guy called me back and explained, he had cancer and was in a hospital in Idaho and he lived in the town next to me. If I paid for half the backhoe, it would give him enough money to go out there and get a Hotshot to haul it back, as it was at his daughter’s place. If I paid laughed at him, wished him well and chalked it up to a lesson learned. There are a lot of ****** people out there, that are perfectly comfortable putting more work into scamming people, than actually working. Moral of the story. Never quit looking for great deal, just investigate as best as you can and hold your cards close to your vest. Ha, I should write country songs. lol
I had a similar experience. The backhoe was in another state. Seller wanted me to wire money and he has his own shipper. When I told him that I needed to see it first and I would drive out, bring a truck and pay him on the spot. There were no more replies. I would rather waste a little time and money driving to check first instead of loosing big time $$
That would have been Adam that had Eve . . . Abel was her son . . .
I had a similar experience with a buddy of mine who found an atv online that was a 15 hour drive away but was a great deal. He called me up and said I’m going to send them the money and they will ship it here. I said wait a minute sounds like a scam. He got a bit defensive and repeated it’s a really good deal. I don’t want to miss it. I said ok easy test for a scam is to message him and say you have someone who lives nearby and they will come look at it. He sent the message and right away the seller said oh the machine won’t be here we are moving to another province and it is in transit. At this point I said its Definitely a scam ,he says but it’s a really good deal. I said ok then message them back and say you happen to have someone at the new location to look at it. He did that and they quit responding. I said well now do you see it’s a scam!
I just don't understand how people can fall for this scam. Maybe I'm just too tight when it comes to money.
Boy ain't that the truth--and in more ways than one too.
Well sometimes it works out for the buyer and seller. I had my wheel loader for sale on Craigslist. A guy contacted me from Alaska out of state which made me nervous. I went over all the details with him about the machine on the phone, and sent him plenty of images and video. He wanted it and was going to send me a check! He sent the check, and I deposited it. He wanted me to bring it down to the freight company. I got the machine cleaned up and secured the attachments in the bucket so they would not fall out and took it down to the freight company and I sent him the shipping bill of lading. I think he liked all the images, emails, and text up dates I sent him. Since he received it, he has sent images of him plowing and moving construction material with the pallet forks. I got a good price, and he got the machine he was looking for. Image is the machine at the docks.
It's all about price and wording in any ad. I sold 5 complete rebuilt Cummins 855's, none were listed more than four day's before gone-and was only for two of them, the other three sold from previous ads, asking if I had anymore. If it's a engine or a piece of equipment that has no paper work to go with it--it's more than likely a come on. Documentation when selling anything makes a huge difference--of is it for real--or not.
I’m looking at a used excavator I’m in Washington state I’m finding prices better out of state found a company in texas called machinery – trade-off in mission TX everything looks legit but still a bit unsure anyone know this company ?
I have grave doubts that this operation is legit. Google maps shows a machinery company there on that site, but it is named USAMEX Machinery. Salesman named on sign are both Hispanic, plus, phone numbers listed on their website do not match the numbers listed on the actual sign at the lot. Furthermore, the lot is a small weedy, overgrown place right in town. NONE of the photos on their website were taken on that specific lot. So, where is all this machinery at, certainly not located at the lot in Mission, as they are leading you to believe. Better have someone you can trust, lay eyes on that operation before you part with any money. Besides, anything that shows up for sale along the Mexican border, is instantly suspicious in my book.
The web site looks nothing like what a greasy knuckled equipment dealer would put together.
Welcome to the Forums! Glad you came here first before sending any money. 100% scam site. This is how they set up fake sites and steal peoples money - Would you buy a snow plow in Alabama? Million dollar scam bilking those seeking heavy equipment Carl Bates with the Better Business Bureau said the scam has probably netted between $2 million and $3 million in the last six weeks. www.al.com From the site - They don't want anyone coming to the site because it's all fake and it would blow the scam. They need to keep you on the phone long enough to get the wire. Cannot stress this enough - Once a wire is sent it's gone, gone, gone. Most of the time the wire is sent overseas and there is NO recourse to get your money back other than Interpol. And good luck with Interpol.
Are there more of these popping up in the last few weeks/months? Seems like a new question on them on here all the time now. The scammers must be catching some fish with this one.
It’s like a never ending supply. It must work some of the time, at least enough to make it profitable to make up a new website and steal some pictures.
Everyone wants a good deal and some are gullible enough to think they just found a great deal. Think about it - A website is pretty cheap to put up if you do it yourself. Field a phone number, off shore bank account then launch the site. Shuck, jive and lie to folks when they call just long enough to get that wire. Once they get the wire it's done. $20K, 30k, 50k - not bad change for a little bit of thievery.
I had a customer of mine who recently lost $35k on a Cat 299 skid steer. It had been listed online by a construction company and he even had his bank check out the company before he wired the money, but he wired the money and it never showed up. It seems that some crook hijacked the legitimate company information and used it to sell under the construction company. I know my customer got in touch with the actual owner of the company and he said there's been more than one person scammed using his company info. I know the customer was going to try to recover some of the money, but I'm doubtful he'll be able to. I guess it remains to be seen...
Turns out I have lived near Havre for 40 years. I had to look up that address because I'm terrible with address but know landmarks. I know that shop, use to waste a lot of time in there back in high school, I grew up with the old mans kids. I never heard of All Road Machines though. Did you talk to Otto he and his old man do work out of that shop, they do good work. His old man is basically retired and cruises around to farm shops and home&garden shows these days. Are they selling something you want?
Definitely scam. Here's a 6N they have listed.
I see your post is from 2010 and was wondering if you ever got any help from the FBI? I think I just joined you in the same boat. My tractor was to be delivered yesterday No Show. I wish I would have read this sooner. Last week I wired $9800 to Used Equipment Transport LLC Street Address 127 E County Rd 80 City, State, Zip Code Ogallala, NE 69153 Telephone Number +1 (855) 601-3973 now when I call this number No answer I have been blocked and the website is no longer active. They already have what appears to be the same tractor listed in various locations with a new address on SD-34 Wentworth, and are using the same add Used Equipment Transport LLC the sales man said his name was Jay Carson 855 601 3973 he answered yesterday when I called with a different phone number and said it would be delivered in about 1.5 hours and the drivers name was Jorge Martinez I asked for the drivers number he put me on hold and hung up. ANYONE THAT HAS TIME GIVE JAY A CALL AND LET HIM KNOW HE IS A DIRT BAG! When you search either address on google maps there is a legitimate equipment business on the road. I am near 70 years and this money was for my retirement I was hoping to use the tractor to pick up a few side jobs in retirement. I also have learned a valuable lesson. Any advice on how and where to report these scammers would be appreciated and I hope this helps at least 1 reader from getting scammed. PS the CEO for Used Equipment Transport LLC that signed the Purchase Agreement is Robert Butler most likely not a real name.
Nobody home at Nicky's Joe H
Not sure why pic hasn’t loaded up? It was a chap that came on here yesterday that was trying to scam a 155 Komatsu. We played along with him until he withdrew his entire posts
another
I think what happened was that the mods/admin terminated his account with extreme prejudice...........
I missed that one Nicky. They don't give up, free money is hard to pass up. Right click & image search usually turns up the original ads. Joe H
There are always scumbags looking to separate a fool, looking for a great unbelievable deal, from his money. I myself tried buying a metal 40’x100’ building off of **** for 80 bucks. Lol Was easy to get my money back but I figured the juice was worth the scratch. lol
I hate all scammers, but the ones I particularly hate are those who engage with older probably non tech-savvy people by phone and convince them to withdraw cash from their bank and hand it over. IMHO they should be hung upside down by the balls.
Wonder why the company I NAMED is all asterisked out? It the new thing everyone is talking about.
They were coming on here setting up shill accounts and advertising by spamming all over the place. So the owner got mad and **** them out.
Does anyone know of. Ross Ukkelberg RossCo Equipment, Inc. (320) 250-2151 PO Box 372 / 304 Industrial Dr Henning, MN 56551 I am looking at a John deere 750k. Supposed to wire 65k Rest on delivery. I responded to a add on fb market place. By an individual. I drove there inspection of the machine. Got a purchase agreement. The seller wants to trade it to RossCo to save the tax on a new machine. So I am dealing with RossCo now instead of the individual. Thanks for any input.
It's only 5-6 hours away, I would show up with the money as it went on a lowboy that I owned or hired. Be better than a $65,000 loss
I agree too much money to risk.
DW says he went and looked at it, got an agreement of some sort but now the seller want's to change the agreement. Joe H
Ain’t no way I’d trust it
Myself, as long as I looked at it and it’s what you want, if they want to change who’s selling it to avoid some tax, I wouldn’t give a crap but there wouldn’t be no wire, unless a title or bill of sale as it’s going up on my truck and lowboy or a hauler hired by me. I understand trying to scam some sales tax crap, or transfer to a business or organization but there would be a clear understanding of what’s going on. There has to be a way to get this deal done if it’s legitimate.
I came across this forum looking into others who had been the victim of a heavy machinery scam and wanted to share my experience to hopefully warn/help others. Lakeside Farm Implement in Montello, WI is no longer in business. There are imposters claiming to be running this business through the website: https://www.lakesidefar.com/ I originally found the listing for the tractor i was looking to purchase at equipmenttrader.com and was contacted 2 days later by a person claiming to be the sales manager at Lakeside Farm Implement. This is how it all started. He reached out for my email and zip code so he could send me additional information. He even provided very official looking documents which I've attached to this thread for reference. If you look up the company through Wisconsin Secretary of State office, it appears to be a legitimate business. However, the imposters are operating under "DDA Equipments LLC", actual LLC name is "DDAEquipments LLC" (only difference is the space is removed). The number on the site has been updated since but scammers phone number is (608) 284-8883 and the phone number of his "driver" is (608) 218-4333. Note: this has been reported to the FBI / IC3 but as of this writing I have not received any response and the website is still active.
Scumbags gonna scum!
Theyre also going by True Grit Machinery & Equipment Marketplace Hub from PA on FB
With the Photoshop looking sign hanging crooked and off center on the building . . .
Looks like a different name on the truck door too.
They’re using the same photo and website verbiage for their scam in several states. The only thing they change is the address & phone number. Everything else is identical. The ‘address’ is always somewhere random but in reality, there’s no actual store. They need to be stopped.
Too stupid to realize are well identified.
If the scam don’t work, they wouldn’t be doing it. Obviously, they don’t really fear much repercussions.
Because they are not in the US. I've said it many times - NEVER wire money. Once a wire is sent it's GONE - GONE, GONE with no way of ever getting it back. These scammers prey on a persons desire to get "a great deal". How many have came on HEF with a machine that's for sale for 1/2 of it's worth thinking they've miraculously found the deal of a lifetime no one else has found. It works and unfortunately will continue to work with no real repercussions since these scammers are located all over the world.
All equipment transactions should be COD.
LOL - true. When I buy equipment they drop it off then the paperwork comes docusign a week or so later.
I’ve never sold anything that wasn’t paid for in full before loading onto a low loader.
Yeah, I surely have never had possession of a machine at least before signing something, DocuSign or otherwise.
Last couple of machines I bought the Cat dealer dropped them off and I signed the paperwork a week or so later. Now I've been a customer for over 20 years so that has something to do with it.
I have bought several things without being there in person. This year a 10 ton ex, and in years past a wheel loader and a backhoe. It has all worked out, perhaps luckily. I usually send a tech out to go over the machine as I did that with the wheel loader. I tried with the Ex this year but could not make it happen. I do research it, both the dealer and the run the PIN on the machine. I try not to buy unseen but sometimes it works out that way. The backhoe I bought from Ziegler CAT, so I had no worries on getting the machine. The wheel loader a lease company, and easy to research. The Ex this year was a small used dealer, that did scare me some. The creativity these criminals have is scary when your trying to buy equipment.
The dozer we recently bought was on consignment through a Cat dealer that was 6 hrs away. After doing a little homework and deciding to buy it we wired them the money. Things didn't go as expected after that. Made me really nervouse and I doubt I'll be doing that again. We did get the dozer a week later and it was just what they said it'd be but you just never know these days. Once the money's wired it's gone.
Through a Cat dealer should be pretty safe. Used equipment dealers or private individuals, I wouldn't trust. There are some good used equipment dealers though. Still best to inspect in person and make payment.
We found this one on Machinary Trader for sale through a Cat dealer. I called and talked with a salesman for maybe a minute then everything else was through email. It ended up that they were selling it for a customer so I figure that's were the breakdown came in. Trying to get 3 busy people to communicate takes time I guess. After I wired the money they had to do a lien check, odd to do after I paid? Then it was tax documents, then the seller had a family emergency so was out of pocket. I just got nervous because of all the internet scams. Ended up being a good deal though. I just assumed I'd wire the money and send a truck. That wasn't the case, just bad communication I guess.
Things often take longer than expected. Good for the dealer to check for liens though.
I've bought quite a few machines and vehicles form Big name rental companies and Brand name dealers sight unseen with pretty good success. It starts with a sales person that is willing to send me like 50 new images not already posted and video. Next, they need to send me whatever service history they have. Lastly, the price needs to be a competitive price that means, by the time I pay for the machine and shipping to me, the price is still very good. But where buyers go wrong, is they tend to think what they are buying is "work ready". I always buy the machine with the knowledge that I will be adding additional cost once I get it of a couple of thousand dollars to ten thousand dollars to get the machine or vehicle all set for safe and reliable operation. That would be servicing filters and fluids, replacing hoses and other parts, maybe installing a new seat, and adding up-grades and accessories. So, I think it's best to research a name brand item and model, search for a good dealer on machinery trader, truck paper and other sources for a machine listed at a fair price based on an acceptable hours and condition for you, and then be prepared to go through it and service it completely once you get it and put it to work.
Well worded Peter G. Yes,seeing pictures freshly taken do give a sense that things are more genuine rather than pics pulled off the net. I like to get my pick up in the shot sometimes to give credibility to the sale. The D10 isn’t mine though unfortunately
Really-----dealers are not to be trusted either, and it doesn't matter the merchandise. Last Goldwing I bought came from a dealer in mid California, with all kinds of extra photos and that dealers shop inspection. It arrives with paperwork, looked fine, except one little thing I noticed, I could see where something had been stapled to title and the title was a Washington title, which told me immediately the dealer was a total lying sack of ****, for the fact I knew right away what those staple holes represented in the title,-----dealer removed the paper noting it was a repo. It floated through 4 different sets of businesses including the first set a {bank}. So I go to licensing at court house, hand the title to lady and first thing she noticed was the staple holes, and she said what I already knew. So after a week of getting no where I went back to court house and explained that the dealer wasn't going to bother straightening anything out. {Oh really she said}, she was on the phone in about two seconds, {My name is so & so with dept of DOL may I speak with so & so manager}. After a few minutes I could tell by her expression blood was starting to boil.-------- {Sir let me explain something, you don't use that kind of language with me, Cailf, Ore & Wa are sister states involving DOL. You say you {won't}, Sir when I hang up this phone my next call will be to California DOL Sacramento, which will trigger a audit of your dealership--You Got That Sir! I thought you would understand--now you have 72 hours to get that paper back to the customer with all four previous involved signed off releasing interest with a factual odometer reading, that's federal too}. * 72 hours later Fedex was at my door. I really liked how she reached out to him through the phone and physically installed a pair of vise gripes on his sack. * Best policy---always have doubt, the guy who invented the parachute was a optimist not a pessimist.
Some motorcycle dealers/any dealers only care about sales and money. A long time Honda dealer who retired and sold out a few years ago had some good common sense. They tried as hard as possible to talk first time street bike riders out of buying 600cc or even 1000cc crotch rockets. They would suggest they buy an upright 400cc bike or something less powerful and get used to riding on the street before jumping on a bike that could spit them off in an instant if they turned the throttle a little too aggressively. I'd guess they have saved some lives where a lot of other dealers wouldn't think twice about just taking the customers money.
Ran the little Honda 90s as a Kid, Street Trail units, those evolved to a Yamaha two lung 650, then a XS850, shaft drive then on to the Screaming Meme XS1100. Had a couple piece together project bikes the same time frame as the 850/1100, HD units, and AS NOTED Hard Tails, Bought apart, had to put back together and mod as went.
I hope you gave her a tip!
Nope, that's against the law. Her tip was her own doing, a self reward for dropping a brick on a prick.
How is this thread active again? I thought it was invisible. I was thinking about it just yesterday.
I smell lawyers . . . There will never be anybody exploiting other people's ignorance or misfortune when there are lawyers around . . .
You are a “scam recovery” scammer.
Thread closed for mod review.