Muhammad Al-Ahmadi Okaz/Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — A number of citizens complained that they have been deceived into paying large amounts of money to fake auto dealers in Greece. The victims have been lured by online auto advertisements about fancy and luxury cars for attractive prices. The Saudi Embassy in Athens warned last week all Saudi citizens against responding to phone calls or emails from Greece regarding such bogus deals. Ahmad Al-Harbi, citizen, said he visited an online auto site to buy a used car. He found a Jeep 2009 for around SR90,000, which is sold for SR170,000 in the Kingdom. When he called the person who posted the advertisement, he found that the person was in Greece. The person convinced Al-Harbi to buy the car and provided him with his bank account details to transfer the money to him. However, Al-Harbi got suspicious and requested proof. The person sent him a fake address and phone number of a marine shipping company. When Al-Harbi called the company's number to inquire about the car, a woman confirmed that the car had been sitting in the docks and would be shipped to the Kingdom once the money had been paid. At this point, Al-Harbi decided to pay down payment of $10,000. The seller then offered Al-Harbi another two fancy cars. Al-Harbi paid the full amount for the first car and down payments for the other two vehicles. The seller then stopped responding to emails and calls from Al-Harbi, who got suspicious again. Al-Harbi set up a new email and posed as an Emirati man who wanted to buy fancy cars and sent an email to the same seller. To Al-Harbi's shock, the seller responded to the emails and started negotiating about the price of the car. “At this moment, I felt furious and wanted to travel to Greece and meet this fake seller. But then I decided to call the Saudi Embassy there and I went to the Interpol's office in Riyadh and filed a complaint. I submitted all documents that proved I had been deceived.” Another citizen, Hassan Al-Masoud, had a similar experience. He paid a large amount of money for a car and the seller told him the ship would arrive to Dammam in three weeks and he could then get the car. He waited for three weeks then went to the seaport only to discover that the car had not been shipped. He immediately called the seller who said the ship had caught fire and the car was burned. The seller asked Al-Masoud to transfer $2,000 as insurance so that he could recover the full amount he paid for the car. Without hesitation, Al-Masoud transferred the money, only to find later that he had been conned. He traveled to Athens searching for the con man and filed a police report. However, the police could not find any company registered in the name Al-Masoud provided. At this point, he decided to give up and let the Saudi Embassy proceed with the case.
