Am I being scammed? You be the judge

[Trbo323]

Ok, could use the MCB brain trust on this one.

Wife and I decided to sell my ATV as it hasn't been used in forever, cleaned it up, posted on Craigslist.

Contacted by 3 people in the first 2 days. First one was a full price offer, paying by certified check and needing shipping to California.

He would include the shipping fees in the check to be forwarded on to the shipping company and specifically said for me to wait until the check clears before arranging shipping.

Ok, did a little research on certified check scams just to cover my bases and sent over my name and address for him to send out the check.

Next day (5-20)he sends the tracking number
"Check" departs copell TX and is in the USPS system

5-21 the check gets to the Dallas distribution center

And it's sat there ever since

I use Google voice for everything Craigslist and paintball for that matter, the buyer has been pretty responsive, we have only texted but he gets back to me fairly quickly typically. Today, Google voice said he was texting me from a potential spam number. I looked up how it determines potential spam and it's a lot of AI calculations etc basically.

So, is this a scam? If so, I don't see the end game. If it is a check on the way I'm absolutely going to do my due diligence and check with the issuing bank and what not. Waiting for it to clear for sure.

I thought today maybe he just needed a name attached to an address, but if that's the case why put anything into the USPS system at all and why stay in communication with me?

Thoughts?

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[Chuck E Ducky]

What kind of ATV seem like a lot of work for an ATV?

[Trbo323]

What kind of ATV seem like a lot of work for an ATV?

Kfx400

maybe, the problem is nobody is really making ATVs anymore. At least there's not a lot of options. If my family did want to get into ATVs there's one in specific I had picked out for my wife. Problem is it would be basically impossible to find locally. I might have to look at doing something similar to get it for her

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[Chuck E Ducky]

I was just curious if it was an older 2 stroke those can bring big money. Like the Banshee, 250R, 500R ect.

Seems fishy. But if it’s a certified check give it a few days to actually clear. Some fakes are so good they pass the banks initial inspection but come back as fraudulent days later. Bank check isn’t what it use to be. Make sure you get paid before you ship it that’s for sure.

Is he arranging shipping? I would make him arrange shipping. Fake shipping companies are a thing you got to watch out for. A lot of exotics go missing this way.

[automeister]

The check scams can be very sophisticated these days. From what I understand, even if it seems as if the money "hits" your account it can still be problematic. Be very careful, don't want to see you get screwed.

[Trbo323]

Yes he is arranging shipping.

And yes I am absolutely planning to wait for the check to clear, and then maybe an extra day or two

At this point it hadn't moved for 8 days though.

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[Drcemento]

USPS has been truly awful these last few years. I'm a subcontractor to allot of general contractors and they all still love to pay by check in the standard snail mail. Thats finally starting to change due to the number of checks that have gone missing once they hit the USPS distribution centers. Many of them try to get cashed right around the USPS hubs. It never goes through but with no tracking and then having to send another check it gets ridiculous. In your case I to fail to see the end-game if it is a scam, unless its some sophisticated way to get access to your accounts. I would not discount it being a USPS problem.

[shadow191]

Almost 100% a scam. Likely you'll get a check in higher amount than agreed upon, he'll claim it's an error and you can just send him the difference. You deposit check, it looks good so you send money. Then 3 days later or up to 10 days later depending on if it's a small bank issuing, the check is discovered to be fake and you owe bank. Pretty common. Wife used to lead a fraud team at bank.

These days, very few people send certified checks for anything, especially out of state deals for this type of money. A wire is $35 to send and faster. Why go through hassle of getting a check and then mailing? Also, check is coming from TX but ATV is shipping to CA? Very suspicious. I've bought and sold cars out of state. If I'm doing deal in person, certified check makes sense. But if I'm not present, it's a wire.

He doesn't want the ATV, he wants you to send him money.

FWIW, Google spam filters are pretty good. Almost no personal number is going to get misidentified, usually just business numbers that make a lot of legit outbound calls and of course scammers.

[Trbo323]

Almost 100% a scam. Likely you'll get a check in higher amount than agreed upon, he'll claim it's an error and you can just send him the difference. You deposit check, it looks good so you send money. Then 3 days later or up to 10 days later depending on if it's a small bank issuing, the check is discovered to be fake and you owe bank. Pretty common. Wife used to lead a fraud team at bank.

But how can that work with a certified check? The bank isn't supposed to issue the check unless funds are available and I can call to make sure they are available.

These days, very few people send certified checks for anything, especially out of state deals for this type of money. A wire is $35 to send and faster. Why go through hassle of getting a check and then mailing? Also, check is coming from TX but ATV is shipping to CA? Very suspicious. I've bought and sold cars out of state. If I'm doing deal in person, certified check makes sense. But if I'm not present, it's a wire.

Check is coming from Texas, his phone number is a California area code that's all I'm going off of

He doesn't want the ATV, he wants you to send him money.

FWIW, Google spam filters are pretty good. Almost no personal number is going to get misidentified, usually just business numbers that make a lot of legit outbound calls and of course scammers.

Yeah, the longer this goes the more suspicious I'm growing.

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[Cdn_Cuda]

Going to say scam. My cousin sold a dirt bike to a guy and it was a similar situation. Guy was in the military and away blah, blah , blah, ship to location , blah, blah, blah, scammer got the bike, cousin got no money and learned a valuable lesson.

Unless your quad was sure rare and hard to find, it’s a big expense to ship it. And the guy could likely buy one local.

[DocsMachine]

Guaranteed scam. Absolutely no question. The KFX is a cool bike, but not that special- special enough to pay upwards of $2,000 to have it shipped cross-country.

Wire transfers are cheaper, faster and far more secure- checks are falling out of favor specifically because they're so INsecure. You ARE being scammed. Again, guaranteed.

If the seller is actually in communication, tell him sorry, you had a local buyer show up with cash.

The relist it at your leisure, and tell potential buyers you take cash, Venmo or wire transfers only.

Doc.

[JeepDVLZ45]

Full disclaimer, I have trust issues…

100% scam.

The “certified check” scam is one of the biggest ones out there (just shy of the “the DMV suspending your vehicle for unpaid EZ pass tolls or a Saudi prince who lost his fortune needing help and will pay your back 10 fold).

that check isn’t going to move out of Dallas for a while and he will reach out to pay you a different way…

I’m with DocsMachine pull the add, re-list and take cash upon pick-up only.

be very careful…

[shadow191]

But how can that work with a certified check? The bank isn't supposed to issue the check unless funds are available and I can call to make sure they are available.




Check is coming from Texas, his phone number is a California area code that's all I'm going off of





Yeah, the longer this goes the more suspicious I'm growing.

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Very few people actually call bank to verify. Also, there's chance this check is backed with a fake deposit too. Banks by law have to make funds available within like 24 hours for certified or cashier's checks. It takes longer than that for it to actually clear. That's why they always send too much and then ask for a refund - it's often why they include shipping or moving costs in check. The refund is your money and you're on hook with bank.

[Trbo323]

Alright, probably pulling the plug on shipping guy and selling locally

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[Chappy]

The certified check will clear, you’ll think everything is good and a week later the bank will be contacting you that it was fraudulent even tho it “cleared” and your on the hook. Good plan to walk away, you were 100% being scammed I’m surprised this particular scam isn’t more in the collective memory.