What to do

[Team4LongGun]

Definitely seems like a scam. Lately scammers have been asking for cell phone numbers.

 

[butcherboy]

Money order, cashier’s check, cash in person. If dealing in cash then it’s a first come first serve deal.

 

[UncleBone]

I recently sold a smoker on a 22 foot trailer, and the guy wanted to know If I could take a check for it because he was sending his employee who was driving from south dakota on a friday after work to buy it. I felt a little sketched out about it, but after some conversation with the guy, and a little internet sleuthing, I figured he was about as legit as he could get. I told him to cut the check and come on out. While he was getting new tires on the trailer, we went to the bank, he cashed the check and gave me cash. Things can seem weird when youre talking about thousands of dollars for a purchase with someone you don't know, but isn't that how things worked before the internet? I knew of several peoples family members that went to jail for writing bad checks even.

 

[5MilesBack]

Every single time I post something on Craigslist or Armslist I get this same kind of awkward text. Someone that "absolutely wants it" and will send a check, but their friend or brother in law or someone will show up later to get it. Every single time. So I ignore all non FTF cash offers. Just makes life easier.

 

[journeyman713]

Similar situation, I sold a boat online to a guy from Calgary Canada (2,000 miles away).
I was as reluctant as you, and figured it was a scam, but went through the motions.

Here's how it went -
Asked him to immediately put $500 down on PayPal, to secure the deal. He did.
He promised to pay in full in a week, cash, when he shows up to get it. He did.

When he arrived I let him know, he's got new wheel bearings for the trip, on me. The wheels were good, but considering his long trip trough the mountains, I went out and got a new set, I'd put on, if he wanted to pay for them. He did, and insisted on paying for the bearings too.

He was about a nice of guy you'd ever meet. But I talked to him on the phone first, and already had an idea.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

Thanks guys, I have done a little research, as much as my limited tech knowledge would allow. I found out a few thing, this is a very common scam, they rely on gullible people to either release item for sale before check clears, which I would never do, or they send more than advertised price, then when you ask why, they tell you it was a mistake and ask you to send them a check for the difference, or send the over payment to an account of their transport company, and they want you to do it ASAP, even before the check clears then they have made some money. Once you send they money they back out of the deal, but they still have the money you sent to fake transport Co. My big concern is, what would or could go wrong if I were to send them my name and address without any other information, I mean, They have my phone number, so I'm thinking, a computer savvy person could, with a little research, get my name and address.

 

[UncleBone]

They could get your name and address with your phone number. Sometimes just with a google search, sometimes you have to pay for that info. Just depends. I don't know what more they could do with just that info, other than mess with you in various ways. If you are really worried about it, may be best not to mess with it. Have you tried googling the guys phone number? Maybe ask for his name as well and google him. I have avoided a few scams, just by looking up the #.

 

[PlumberED]

I would use journeyman713’s approach to your situation but I would request $1,000 deposit with the balance in cash. And I wouldn’t get involved with paying a transporter.​

 

[SuperDUECE22]

Its %100 a scam in my opinion, have had the same exact situation multiple times on things posted for sale on craigslist.

 

[Dos Perros]

Seems like a disproportional amount of effort for some sort of spam scam. It could be a different kind of scam, but dude your name address phone number is all out there anyway.

 

[Steve300xcw]

Get him on the phone and feel things out. If it seems ok, get a deposit to hold the thing until the check gets there and clears.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

not to hijack the thread, i have 2 gsp's best dogs ever.View attachment 559930

Yes they are. How did you get them to sit still for pictures? I miss mine every day.

 

[Acharenio]

just tell them to seat, they are very smart and obbedient, going back to the scam, do not take cashiers checks they up to 2 weeks to clear or wait until they clear. you can read online about cashiers checks fraud.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

just tell them to seat, they are very smart and obbedient, going back to the scam, do not take cashiers checks they up to 2 weeks to clear or wait until they clear. you can read online about cashiers checks fraud.

I have had seven GSP's. Obedient was not the issue, they were just so high strung they couldn't sit still long enough to get pictures. I did manage to get some photos , but not when they were in hunt mode.

 

[Acharenio]

oh man in hunt mode is like i'm not there they are in their own world.

 

[Crazyalskn]

It is possibly a set up for a check scam. He would send the check for more than the asking price. Maybe tell you it was for the transportation cost and ask you to pay it to a 3rd party. After you deposit the check and give the “extra” to the 3rd party the check you received will not clear.

This or he will have someone pick it up a day or so later then it doesn’t clear.

This is exactly how it works. They send a check for extra then get you to cash it n pay extra to transport n then check bounces and you are stuck with the overdraft.

Definitely scam!!

 

[Weldor]

Western union, cash in hand!

 

[Marbles]

Lot of people who use "definite" and "100%" for something that only might be. Perhaps more people have cristal balls that work than I thought.

Name and address is relatively harmless.

Most checks clear instantly now as an electronic image counts, so they don't have to be physically sent across the country. Regardless, don't turn over possession until it clears, if it is written for too much, shred it.

Not wanting to give someone basic information when making a large transaction is pretty scamy too. By the way some are quick to leave no room for doubt, if you were in hos position they would be telling you the person with the sell add was definitely running a scam, 100%.

Funny too, multiple stories from people who were not scammed in such a situation, 0 stories from anyone with good evidence someone attempted to scam them.

That said, Texans are untrustworthy, they all have a chip on their shoulder from living in only the second largest state. That alone proves it is a scam. First rule in life, don't trust Texans.

 

[MattB]

Most checks clear instantly now as an electronic image counts, so they don't have to be physically sent across the country. Regardless, don't turn over possession until it clears, if it is written for too much, shred it.

That isn’t correct and that belief is what scammers who use check schemes rely on. Banks will often give its clients provisional credit for all or a portion of a deposited check before it has actually cleared. That is why the scams where the fraudster asks the victim to send back a portion of the check proceeds to the scammer work. The victim sends available provisional funds to the scammer and then the entire amount of the check is pulled back by the bank once the check is returned by the maker bank, leaving the victim out those funds.

To the OP, ask for a cashier’s check or wire transfer for payment (*and wait for the cashier's check to clear before handing the keys to a transporter).

I do wonder what some of you guys who think this is 100% a scam think a legitimate transaction with someone from out of state would look like? Mt guess is a lot like this one is playing out.

 

[Brusso89]

Sounds like a tried and true scam. The multiple questions is probably just because it's worth a good chunk of change so they put in a little extra effort