Can anyone help me trace an Ebay/Craig escrow fraudster?

Question

I sent $3600 via MoneyGram to what purported to be an Ebay Escrow Protection Service to buy a 2001 Audi from a Sgt. Steven Curry who said he was a Marine in Alaska. No car, no answer from his email or the purported Ebay escrow address in CA. Any help appreciated. doug

Answer 1

wow,your the second one i have seen that has got taken by the same scam,this guys making a good l**k on that car,they went under a different name but same type of car involved.all i now to tell you is get in touch with e-bay on it,they may be able to help you,you can pay and do a person search for this person but the name may come back as non existing,that has happened to a few people lately ,their doing anything they can these days to rip people off,good luck with it,if he does actually exist,a person search through yahoo and the pay program will find him.

Answer 2

MoneyGram payments can be picked up anywhere in the world.  No ID required, just the confirmation number.  Chances are your guy is a career criminal working in Nigeria or China.  They know what they're doing.  No way to catch them, because there is no law enforcement for this kind of crime.  Even Romania cleaned up its Internet scammer problem.

Answer 3

You fell for one of the oldest scams around. There is no eBay escrow protection service. You just wanted that INCREDIBLY cheap (and non-existent) car so badly that you didn't take time to think. All you can do is report it to the FBI Internet crime division. They MAY be able to help, but don't count on it. Most likely...your money is gone. Don't waste your time doing a name search...they never give their real name. You can contact the service their e-mail is sent through (MSN, Yahoo, hotmail etc.) and they may be able to assist.