09.07.2026 11:00
Earthquake survivor Hasan Sarp from Hatay, who wanted to sell his car, foiled a scammer's attempt using the 'Sazan sarmalı' method by avoiding price negotiation and trying to get the payment sent to his own account, based on his experience from news reports. The scammer, unable to trap him, cursed the earthquake survivor, saying, 'I wish your house had collapsed on you in the earthquake and you were buried under the rubble.'
Hasan Sarp, who lives in the Antakya district of Hatay, listed his car, which he had been using for 6 years, for sale at 1,170,000 TL. An individual posing as a customer showed interest in the car. Sarp contacted the fraudster posing as a buyer, and after negotiation, they agreed on a sale price of 1,160,000 TL.
REMOVED FROM THE LISTING AND PUT UP FOR SALE BY THE SCAMMER
The fraudulent buyer sent 2,000 TL as a deposit before the sale and asked Sarp to remove the car from the listing. After Sarp removed the listing, he noticed that the scammer had listed his own car on social media for 900,000 TL.
A few days later, a car dealer who saw the scammer's listing wanted to buy the car for 900,000 TL. The scammer tried to deceive by preventing the buyer and seller from discussing the price. However, the experienced car owner Sarp, due to news he had followed, asked the dealer how much he paid for the car, exposing the scammer's scheme.
HEART-WRENCHING CURSE
After Sarp canceled the car sale, the scammer cursed him, saying, 'I wish your house had collapsed on you in the earthquake, and you had been trapped under the rubble.' Sarp, who tried to return the 2,000 TL deposit sent by the scammer, warned citizens not to fall for scammers and suffer losses.
"I WAS SUSPICIOUS FROM THE START"
Hasan Sarp stated that after he removed the listing, the scammer put the car up for sale using the same photos. He said, 'I had listed my car for 1,170,000 TL, and we agreed with the customer on 1,160,000 TL. I was suspicious from the beginning, and he asked for my account number to send a deposit. When I didn't send it immediately, he called me two hours later saying, 'Bro, you were going to send the account number for the deposit.' Thinking he was serious, I sent my IBAN. He sent me the money and said his relatives would come to pick up the car the next day. He sent me 2,000 TL as a deposit and asked me to remove the listing. Since the amount was low, I didn't remove it. After he sent the 2,000 TL, I removed the listing. After I removed it, the scammer listed it himself on social media for 900,000 TL.'
"NO ONE SHOULD BE SCAMMED"
Sarp, who uncovered the scam network by suspecting when the scammer didn't let the dealer discuss the price, said, 'A dealer from Kahramanmaraş saw the car and wanted to buy it. When the dealer said the price wasn't right, the scammer lied, saying he needed to sell urgently due to financial pressure. The scammer said, 'I'm the owner, but my cousin will handle the sale; don't say anything about the price. During the transfer, you send the money to my account, and I'll confirm everything from here.' I had seen such things in the news before. I got suspicious when he said things like 'Don't interfere, don't deal with them, everything goes through me, we'll do secure payment this way.' Not knowing if the people coming to pick up the car were genuine or not, and thinking they might be accomplices, I didn't reveal anything directly. Later, I learned they were victims. They had come all the way from Kahramanmaraş. I explained the situation, offered them coffee, and sent them off. The scammer told the other party, 'We have a 900,000 TL deal between us. Don't worry about the amount; I'll send the rest to the account.' He kept saying, 'Don't get involved in the money, don't deal too much with the other side,' and kept calling the buyers asking, 'What did you do? Did you meet? Is the car as you wanted?' Don't fall for such people; no one should suffer. I asked for his account number to return the deposit, but he said he didn't send it from his account. I'm contacting my bank to arrange a refund. I've started the process to file a complaint. No one should suffer. If I had been scammed, my 6 years of effort would have been wasted, but thankfully we noticed. When we realized we were being scammed, we told him the sale was canceled. He started cursing, saying, 'I wish your house had collapsed on you in the earthquake and you had been trapped under the rubble.' He used obscene language. After that, I couldn't reach him when I called. No one should go through this. He struck us with our most painful point, the earthquake.'