my buddy got scammed what can he do?

[Judo Tom]

ok my buddy sold his car to this guy. guy wrote him a check. the money went into his acct the was withdrawn he called the bank and said that the check was written from a closed acct.

now the car is gone and he is not sure what to do.

we called the cops and they came over and were cool at first but then said hey sorry we have priorities and he is not one of them.

we have a name, address that might not be real
we have a check #

we have his real cell phone # that is still working as of right now

any ideas?

 

[chefbone]

Call the Better Business Bureau!

 

[Judo Tom]

huh? what are they gonna do?

 

[Deterass]

The police should file a report but his best bet will be to try and track the guy down himself and repo the car.

 

[ohashi]

Your "buddy" gave an unknown guy the car before waiting at least a week for the check to actually clear fully?

 

[TheAssholeFomerlyKnownAsDBBT]

ok my buddy sold his car to this guy. guy wrote him a check. the money went into his acct the was withdrawn he called the bank and said that the check was written from a closed acct.

now the car is gone and he is not sure what to do.

we called the cops and they came over and were cool at first but then said hey sorry we have priorities and he is not one of them.

we have a name, address that might not be real
we have a check #

we have his real cell phone # that is still working as of right now

any ideas?

call him and ask if he'll go double or nothing on the car

 

[Judo Tom]

thanks guys please keep em coming.

cops said its not a priority.. not sure what that means but they told my buddy to try to find him yourself..

the only thing we are sure of is his cell phone number all other info can be bogus.

what would we need to get nextel to give us his billing address?

 

[ViperHMS]

You could hire a Private Investigator.

 

[monstermmf]

Why couldn't the police trace his cell phone number?? Somethings left out here it seems like man..

 

[Judo Tom]

well yes this was not his smartest move but hey it happens and he got scammed.. he trusted the guy.. the guy had a good act and story

 

[alien amp pharm]

Always take cash or a legit cashiers check/money order, etc. Geez.

 

[Judo Tom]

i just emailed him and told him to call the cops and ask if they can get his info from nextel and then to just ask them what they think he should do next.

it was a civic and is probably in 1000 pieces by now...

 

[gotmilk]

Call your State Attorney General's Office.

And the cops who blew your friend off are crazy. Theft is theft.

 

[_Yossarian_]

any halfway decent PI can find out who that cell # belongs to.

 

[ziggyziggy]

Why couldn't the police trace his cell phone number?? Somethings left out here it seems like man..

It takse a little more than a whim to trace a cell phone number. To get the personal information, you need a warrant. Now PI's can go about that in other ways.

Zig

 

[gotmilk]

any halfway decent PI can find out who that cell # belongs to.

Intellius.com

 

[seizer]

well yes this was not his smartest move but hey it happens and he got scammed.. he trusted the guy.. the guy had a good act and story

a good scammer doesnt scam unprepared.

honestly though, I dont know what to tell you. Just try to trace him whatever way you can. And, I doubt you'll be getting any address from nextel, that shit's confidential.

 

[Sub-Zero]

find him and stick whatever is left of the car up his anus

 

[AAP]

Grand theft is always a priority.

 

[Lestat]

Call the Better Business Bureau!

that will do no good if its a private sale

 

[Judo Tom]

see this was a car that was not running and he sold it for 700 ..even if he got the cash he wouldve still be getting ripped off at that price.. but anyway...

so its not grand theft .. it is theft and fraud but the cops told him its not a priority and gave him some other number to call not sure what that is about.

i teach at a gym that is owned by a state trooper so im gonna ask him what my roommate should do.

we are pretty sure we know where his family lives or at least his mom so we are thinking about going by there like 10 people and 1 at a time ring the bell and ask for him.. and at the same time call him on his phone and let him know we are outside his families house.. but at the same time that is a bit stupid at this point.. i think he should stick to the legal route for now..

im suprised he didnt change his cell phone number to be honest.. that is the only real way to get in contact with him.. i wonder if its a prepay thing that will run out shortly?

is there anyway to trace a prepay wireless #?

 

[[email protected]]

baught a civic not running?I would try to act cool and call him back saying you have a good buddy who has another he might be interested in thats running but wrecked for real cheap (just to arrange a meeting) cant give you good legaly correct advice from there..Good luck and sry to hear about your situation.

 

[Judo Tom]

thanks guys.. i feel bad for him. it was 650 and he never thought that someone would risk a scam over that much money.

the guy is still using the same cell # but does not live at the address that is on the check.

i think my roomate is gonna hire a PI but i dont really see that helping much.. i mean after he knows where he lives there isnt much more to do then get him arrested.. which still doesnt get him his money... and the car parts are probably sold by now if the guy was smart..

im wondering if it is the kids real name on the check..

oh well if anything happens with this id be suprised