M

Marvin

Active Member
Last
Last fall I had my RV8 A on the market but since have desided not to sell for awhile or untill the market gets better. Maybe, maybe not at all.

I received an email from a Matt wanting to buy my RV. Name a price and he has the cash. Here is the strange part he want to ship it to Sweden.

I heard some place that there is a scam where they come in with a phoney cashier check on a Friday and you are left with a worthless check and the airplane is gone.

This just doesn't sound good. Anyway the RV isn't for sale any longer

Anyone else heard of this?

Dick AKA marvin
 
I used to get these "offers" all the time when I had a small collector car business. One scam goes like this. First they offer to pay your price, (which is suspect to begin with.) Then they will send you a cashier's check for more than the amount of the purchase. They want the "change" via Western Union or some other non-reversable form of payment. They have no interest in your airplane, car, or whatever. Just want to collect the difference in the two amounts.

And yes, there are some very phony cashier's checks out there. We can thank good computer technology for that. If in doubt a wire transfer is a better idea.

John Clark
RV8 N18U Flying
KSBA
 
I posted my car for sale on a website a couple years ago, and got the same line, we'll give you several thousand more than the asking price, and wanted the difference after I cashed the check. I questioned his motive for this and he replied by saying something alone the lines of "I have friends who can take care of you if you try anything funny, just cash it and give me the remainder." Yeah, I declined and just kept the car. Barnstormers warns against this, but people must be falling for it if they keep trying.
 
Cashier's check scam....

You will be offered a cashier's check, usually even for more than the selling price, and you are usually instructed to just send the "buyer" the overage along with whatever you're selling. Of course the cashier's check will bounce long after your merchandise and the overage paid are long gone. The clues are vague emails, poor grammar, buyer's lack of knowledge of big ticket item about to be purchased, etc. I think the US Secret Service site has a section on this and other well known scams.
 
The funny side.........

Back in 1982 I had a beautiful red Pantera for sale in Autoweek magazine and I received a hand written letter on a piece of notepad paper. I thought it strange that he wanted to add my car to his "collection" and would appreciate a picture but didn't use stationery. So I mailed him a pretty 8 X 10 and didn't think about the address being in Starke, Florida, home of the big prison!......... :cool: but wait, the thick plottens :D

A week later the picture is back with a stamp from the correctional facility denying the request, so I called down there and asked for the Warden. The guy had an Italian sounding name and I thought that he may get out soon and has a stash someplace (Yes, I was a lot younger and naive). The warden said, "Rossi ain't goin' no place no time soon, son and if you insist in sending him the pictures, I can arrange it!"

I found the envelope the other day and it makes me laugh every time I read it! :D

Life can be funny....
 
<<I heard some place that there is a scam where they come in with a phoney cashier check on a Friday and you are left with a worthless check and the airplane is gone.>>

In daily life I buy and sell a lot used commercial trucks, which means plenty of out-of-state buyers. Most dealers like me belong to one or more used vehicle trade associations, and yes, the associations have reported cases of fake cashiers checks. I guess a talented crook can Photoshop anything these days. It's an ordinary bad check risk, not the "make change" scam. If a customer is likely to show up at the store after the banks are closed, we pick up the phone and do common sense background checks in advance. Being a commercial enterprise, we're also willing to take some risk that you shouldn't as a private seller.

Don't be put off because a buyer seems wierd early in the deal. Trust me, they come in every flavor. Just tell the guy what terms you'll accept and be firm. Want low risk? Insist on a transaction during normal business hours, with money via wire transfer. Show the airplane in the morning. If he wants it, he calls his banker. When your banker confirms the transfer, you release the airplane.
 
A scam

A friend of mine had a Grumman for sale a year ago. He received an email from a buyer overseas and wanted to pay with a cashiers check.

He wanted to know how many "Miles" the plane had on it.

It appeared the scammer was using a "form letter" email and was filling in the blanks. Must have gotten it for scamming people selling their cars.

Paul
 
In defense of our fellow aviators overseas

Just thought I'd chime in with a story about an overseas airplane sale that was in fact totally legitimate. :) A couple years ago, I put my RV-9A up for sale and ended up selling it to a guy in South Africa who'd contacted me about it. He hired a broker in California to come out to Kansas to pick it up, and once it reached the west coast they took the wings off and put it on a boat to Johannesburg (I think it was). Last I heard the guy is flying the heck out of it down there.

Of course, I made sure not to turn over the keys until I had physically taken the cashier's check to the bank, had it verified as good by the bank manager, and gotten it deposited in my account - but I've done that with every airplane I've sold, even if it's not going halfway around the world. ;)

mcb
 
"Matt" in Sweden

Last month "Matt" posted in the classifieds that he was looking for a 6 or 4 while he was building his plane (an 8, I think). I responded by private message that I might be interested in selling. He told me he was in Sweden. I said I wasn't willing to dismantle it for shipping, but I gave him a price and feature list, if he was still interested. He never responded back. So maybe it was legit. If so, he ought to speak up.
 
My sister in law has been a victim of this scam. She was trying to sell a saddle and got the email saying they would pay more than the asking price with a cashiers check. Well long story short they sent her over the course of a couple of weeks 2 or 3 cashiers checks and the emails were getting more and more threatening about sending the "difference" and also forwarding some of it to the individuals "friends." It was strange but I think the FBI was involved at some point. They couldn't do much though; I think last I heard they were trying to bait them in to get enough information to move forward with identifying them.
 
World is full of trickery.....

I hate it, but the world is full of rotten people.

Not long ago, someone deposited $10 cash into my checking account. Fortunately, I keep an eye on the account via the internet and picked it up the next day.

Bank security told me they had never had such a thing happen but for sure something fishy was going on. The deposit was not a bookkeeping mistake, someone had my account number. In all likelihood it was a dry run to see if the account was active. It was closed immediately to preclude the inevitable hit that was coming.

What a hassle setting up a new account and providing for the old transactions still coming in.

People are no **** good. I feel very good about keeping their $10.

dd
 
David-aviator said:
I hate it, but the world is full of rotten people.

The deposit was not a bookkeeping mistake, someone had my account number. In all likelihood it was a dry run to see if the account was active. It was closed immediately to preclude the inevitable hit that was coming.

What a hassle setting up a new account and providing for the old transactions still coming in.

People are no **** good. I feel very good about keeping their $10.

dd
Click to expand...

Anyone you've ever written a check to has your account number.
 
Marvin said:
Here is the strange part he want to ship it to Sweden.
Click to expand...

Hmm, I dont think thats so strange. The used market of rv:s in europe is poor and the Swedish currency (SEK) vs USD exchange rate is curently very good (in our point of wiew.)

Never heard of "scam". Cant really understand the point with it. But if it really is a "bad" man who tryes to swindle its REALLY sad. Thought all rv:ers are nice and kind people. :)

Well, finally, I dont know or have heard of this Matt!

Good luck and Merry Crhistmas!!! :)
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.