Possible scam ALERT

I've been trying to negotiate with this guy for over a week on this truck. Every time we'd had something set to meet up he would either cancel last minute and then try to change the location to in a very CD location in San antonio. He's just generally not very upfront with information either I asked him for the VIN number he tried to send me something that wasn't a VIN number twice. To which I then physically had to tell him where to get the VIN number on the vehicle and then he begrudgingly sent it over. I ran a Carfax if the CARFAX is true it is a clean truck. He said three people now Bach at buying the truck according to him. I just blatantly outright made him an offer yesterday on the truck without seeing it even though I wanted to see it before I made an offer. Told him I was going to give him a bank check he immediately said no told me that he's not going to sell the truck unless it's cash only. I told him look if you want the truck you're going to get a certified check that way it's up front and above board and that the bank needed just the basic information so they know who to make the cashier's check out to. He refused to provide any kind of information nothing sensitive he then wanted me to get the check cashed the check bring him the money. I tried to explain to him that's not how Banks work he then told me he was going to meet me at my bank he would then tell the teller the information they needed and then cash the check there. To which I told him that's not how Banks work if you don't have an account there you can't cash the check. So then he was like well I'll meet you at your bank and then we're going to go to this same CD location he kept bringing up in San Antonio which is known as a high crime High drug area. If you see this truck if you're going to look at this truck just know that this dude is seriously scammy as f***.

 

Makes me wonder if he even has the truck. Get you to some out of the way location and have people waiting....... If it looks too good to be true it probably is. May even want to check if its stolen. If it is, well you can get a little satisfaction

 

Thats exactly where my head went. Jokes on him tho, I roll heavy when im going some where im not comfortable. I'm no bad ass but I have enough training to be effective in an SD senario.

Rule one of survival, never put your self in a scenario you could have avoided in the first place.

 

You should ask him if he’s got the title on the vehicle to transfer it so you can check if he’s the true owner. He already sounds sketch.

 

I did, never got an answer now that you bring it up. Forgot about that

 

My advice is to walk away ........

 

Thats what I did. I still have "the vin" and the plate screen shot. Debaiting on letting my Bexar County buddies know about this

 

to the sellers defense, i wouldn’t take a check either....like ever. Cash is king for me. I’ve sold quite a few dirtbikes and vehicles on craigslist (each one for well over $5500 than what your guy is asking). Then again when talking to a potential buyer on the phone i make sure i come across as completely transparent and with zero cagyness. I’ve also never tried to pay for a dirtbike or a vehicle with a check either. I just feel the seller out. I look for any yellow flags when talking to them on the phone. If any sort of monkey business arises, i VERY quickly walk away.

 

A cashiers cheque isnt like pocket book check. It is estentially cash

 

If paying with large sums of cash....meet up at the nearest police station. Inside even better.

 

That would definitely be the safest. I’ve made a cash handoff transaction at a seller’s bank once. All my other large cash transactions have been in broad daylight either at my house or at a seller’s house. I think i’d be a bit hesitant to make a large transaction in a parking lot or an apartment complex though. Like i said, i keep a sharp eye out for any sort of yellow flags from the very first phone call.

 

agreed, but it doesn’t fan out in my hands like a thick stack of green backs

 

I met one of our wonderful Mods here in front of a police station at his request. Ha!

@T-Rex266

 

It does when you cash it

 

what side of the bars did you guys first meet at?

 

Parking lot with guns drawn.. heh

 

Somehow cash seems more valuable than writing a check.

 

Do you always keep a wad of $50s with you? Not a great idea.

 

Demographics play a huge roll. I just reread in VR6T's first post that he's located in a high crime, high drug area. I'm pretty well sheltered from all that monkey business, so i can't really comprehend or relate with someone else who lives in that sort of area. I can only give my first hand experience from low crime low drama rural livin'. A bank check would indeed be much more prudent way to go. Selling my dirtbikes every now and them is waaaaay less risky than an auto. Pretty much the second a guy steps out of his truck, you can eye him up REALL quick and tell if he's and actual dirtbike rider or not...body size, shape, facial expressions, posture, clothes, and first words out of their mouth. That's definitely not the case when buying or selling used cars!...or street bikes.

 

Unfortunately, criminals have come to rely on their victim’s sense of “security” provided by cashier’s checks and official bank checks. Advanced graphics and printing technologies allow scammers to easily create fraudulent and hard-to-detect counterfeit checks in a matter of minutes, adding a sense of legitimacy to their scams. Fake checks can look so real that it’s very hard for consumers, or even bank employees, to detect.

 

You’d think they’d keep up with traveller’s checks for security, but no.

 

You don't trust him and maybe he doesn't trust you. Meet at a bank. Both go in side and explain the situation. Where I live a title must be notorized and most banks do this. Hand the bank teller the title and cash. They check the cash to assure it's not counterfeit and notorize the title. All done.

I had a guy fly from Utah to Ohio to buy my car. To make him feel at ease I sent him via text a photo of my concealed carry license.

 

Well he refused to go to the bank with me because he couldn't cash it there and then, ya know cause he doesnt have an account there. He most likely doesnt have a title for it either. My conscious got the better of me and I made a call to one of the Bexar County guys i know and provided him with the trucks infor and what little I had on the seller. Somethings not right there. Its the whole come down to this know gang area on Wurzbach road that pushed me to the get fucked point.

 

Im not, and neither is he, according to item location om offer up. But where he wanted to meet up sure is. Everyone knows you dont go to that area unkess you have to. Shit it was the first thing my brither told me when I moved here in 2020. Gave a list of places to not stop in or go to.

 

Oh man. I have 3 cars on hold. I took half down on venmo and half in cash when he shows up to my house. I hope I don't get murdered.

 

Walk away.

 

@VR6T a cashiers check is in no way the same as cash. The only way a cashier's check would fly for me is if I am at the bank with the buyer when they get it pulled from their account. It's the only way to verify the funds/authenticity. He's in the right not to trust that, but you were right to suggest he meet at your bank for it.

All in all, way too many red flags on this. 100% would not be doing a cash buy without seeing the title while at a police department. If they balk at meeting at a PD, deals off. That's an automatic "I'm a scumbag looking to phuk you over" move and I'm not messing with it.

 

These are common scams; guy agrees to sell a high dollar item in cash - usually at a close to too good to be true price. The potential buyer gets excited about the prospect of owning it and agrees to the price. Seller gives a meeting location. Buyer arrives and gets robbed of the cash, or worse. These people have no conscience and will do whatever to get what they want. If you have reservations or something isn’t right, don’t walk but RUN AWAY!!!!

 

Speaking of scams...I recently had this exchange with a "seller" on FB. I've seen this several times before. Read from the bottom up. I left the scamster's email address intact. BTW, my uncle is NOT an African prince...


To: Denise Curtis <denisecurtis1981@gmail.com>

Sounds great!

Right now I'm waiting for the money...my uncle is an African Prince, and he's promised to send me 10s of thousands of dollars if I would only advance him one thousand. I'll get back to once he wires the money.

Will


On Wed, Jan 31, 2024 at 9:53 AM Denise Curtis <denisecurtis1981@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi again,
Right now I'm stationed at a military base ( Warfield Air National Guard, Maryland). We are in the final stage of our training and because of this, I'm not able to sell the vehicle in the traditional way so eBay Motors will handle this for me. The vehicle is already in storage, inspected and ready for delivery. The total amount that you will pay is $1000 with all the fees included. You will receive the car in 3 days and you will have the chance to inspect it for 5 days, also the possibility to return it at no cost in case you find something you don't like about it. eBay Motors will hold and insure your money throughout the inspection. It will come with all the necessary paperwork (clear title, bill of sale, user's manual etc). You will receive all the original documents. I signed all the paperwork and the clear title is ready to be transferred to you.

For more info on how this works, I can ask eBay Motors to send you an email with more details.
Please reply with your full name, a full delivery address and a ph#. I will forward your info to eBay Motors and they will contact you right away.
Send me the info only if you are really interested so we don't have to waste each other's time.


On Wed, Jan 31, 2024 at 9:47 AM Will <xxxxxxx> wrote:

Hi Denise,

Where/when can I see it?

Will


On Wed, Jan 31, 2024 at 9:45 AM Denise Curtis <denisecurtis1981@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi there,

My name is Denise, let me give you a few details about my 2005 Toyota Camry XLE. It has a clean title, Beige color. Leather interior, fully loaded, dual AC, great tires, 48,219 Miles, 3.0L V6 engine. Alloy rims, premium CD sound system, No Check Engine Light, No Leaks, clean CARFAX.

The price was reduced to $1000. I'm selling it so low due to the fact that my medical team will deploy back overseas on February 11th for an 18 months contract and it's not worth keeping insurance and paying storage fees for it so there's no use in keeping it, therefore I need a fast and reliable buyer. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask.

Sincerely,

Denise Curtis


On Wed, Jan 31, 2024 at 9:41 AM Will <xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I saw your car on Facebook. I'd like to know more about it.


Will

 

Actually, I never carry cash (unless I'm going to pick up a car!). ATM card, Venmo, PayPal. I'm surprised to see people paying with cash at the store, gas pump, whatever. Actually, I'm often a little annoyed since it takes 3 times longer to for the cashier to make change (and that's allowing for the fact that the register has already calculated the change), and even longer if the cashier has to do math.