Almost got Scammed BEWARE!!
 

Maybe this is old or maybe not...... I am selling two 496HO's on OFO. I was contacted about a week ago by a guy that sounded very proper and like he knew what he was talking about. Long story short we agreed upon a price and he stated that he was in Florida and that his brother would come pick up the motors. I told him that was fine and that I was in MD. At the end of the conversation he asked me if we could use pay pal so that his brother did not have to travel with 16K in cash. He said he wanted to put the money in my account in full that way the deal was done ASAP. I told him that I would get back with him.

I then called pay pal and this is what they said...... There is a large group in Florida and across in sevral other states that are running a scam. They place the money in your account, pick up the motors and all seems good to go. After 3-5 days they then file a complaint with pay pal saying that they never got the product. Pay Pal then calls the seller and request that the tracking number is given to them. Since there is no tracking number Pay Pal requires that you refund the money to the sender ( a temp. BS Acct. ) or they then will take you to court. Pay Pal said that there services are used for shipping and long distance transaction along with assuring both people make out and not a make shift bank.

So.... I called the gentleman back and simply told him that he could pay me through pay pal and I would ship the motors or just have his brother bring a bank check. Needless to say I never heard back from him. Just wanted to give people a heads up. The deal sounded very legit and the guy knew his stuff but was a scam artist all along.

Thanks for posting that, you have to be so careful any time you sell something. Do you still have the engines? I may know someone who is interested.

That's a new twist. I wonder if pay-pal could prevail in court though. Anyway, it's best that you did your homework.

Scam
 

I got a very similar call on a set of Alcoa wheels I have for sale. I knew something was not right and declined. I told him that "cash is king and first come first served" and he said he would call back. Needless to say I never heard back. What ever happened to "buyer be ware"? Now that I know for sure that this was a scam I will do my part to spread the word. If everyone else who reads this tells a person or two maybe this group will be a least slowed by having to come up with a new angle.

this is the way of the current market... scams have been around for as long as I can remember, but today it seems like every 3 of 4 inquiries is that of a scam!! as you said Heavanie, CASH IS KING!!

Cash for sure but be careful about a few phony benjis mixed in. Also don't over rely on the counterfeit detection pens. Newsprint tests good. Not many people know that. Every bill must be inspected and use the counterfeit pen as a back-up.

Bad cashiers checks being passed around too. I've used wire transfers but keep a seperate acct open for all transactions from ebay and other deals. I take out the transfered money as soon as it clears and I don't keep any balance in my paypal acct either which is linked to the same acct. Document the sale, copies of photo ID from anyone picking up the items and on larger deals have them go to a notary near you to witness the deal like you would a title transfer etc. Any legitemate buyer shoulldn't object to a short delay to make it a solid deal for all involved.

thanks for posting

i got took for about 24k a few years ago guy in oregon bought 8k worth of satelite tv parts off of me that i was selling for a guy from IN 3 months after the whole deal was over with and i had already paid the guy in IN his share the guy in oregon filed a chargeback thru paypal well the online tracking was gone by then and i couldnt prove he recieved the parts they took 8k from my paypal account so i fugure i am out 24k total ( all of the parts 8k, the 8k paypal took back and the 8k i paid the guy i sold the stuff for ) it took me a couple of years to recoop from that one

looking back on things now ( yep hindsight 20/20 ) the guy in Oregon set me up from the beginning to rip me off if i ever get to Oregon i may end up in jail