When I sold my RV-10, the buyer was from another state and unknown to me. No way I would accept any kind of a check with fraud so prevalent in today’s world. When I spoke to my bank about this and my concerns of possible fraud, I was told it takes days for a check to get through the process to clear and transfer the funds. The buyer had came with his AP to do the pre-buy and wanted to fly the plane home the next day. He had his bank do an immediate wire transfer to my account that morning and flew his new plane home an hour later. My buddy, looking for an RV-9A, had a plane he was making arrangements to fly out to look at, but the seller wanted a sight unseen deposit to hold it for him so he knew he was a serious buyer. He walked from that deal.
When I sold my C-152, the buyer worked with an established and reputable airplane broker that handled the escrow.
Fraud is too easy to do and difficult to catch if you aren’t up to speed on current techniques. Be careful out there!