Seller's Beware of Scammers!

I know this has been discussed previously, but I wanted to bring this topic up again so it remains fresh in seller's minds.

I recently listed my sailplane for sale on Wings and Wheels. One "buyer" contacted me via the W&W response tool and offered to buy my sailplane "sight unseen", "no inspection", and to be "picked up by a shipper". At first I scoffed at this approach to buying a sailplane, since over the years I have purchased two sailplanes, and I wouldn't think about buying one without much closer pre-purchase scrutiny. Nonetheless, I negotiated with this person who was "buying the sailplane" for her husband. I queried "her" regarding her address, her husband's name, the shipper's name, etc. And with each question I asked, the responses were slow in coming, or never provided. The queerest effort this person made was actually to send me a check via FedEx, and the check was made out for $5,200.45 more than the selling price. The kicker was that this "buyer" wanted me to deposit the check, and then provide the "shipper" with $5000. And the $5,200.45 was to be a USPS money order (not , not a personal check, nor a bank check, or certified check. I purposely lead this scammer along as long as I dare, but the "this is a rip off" signs were there from day 1. Just for your perusal, the buyer said "she" lived in the Chicago area, and provided a name of a person living in "Bellwood, IL". The "check" I received was printed on a personal computer, and was riddled with typos. The buyer's messages frequently used phrases that didn't seem "American". The check was sent via FedEx from a Wanaque, NJ address, which incidentally was the address for a courthouse annex. The check was supposed prepared by a BB&T bank in Kernersville, NV, and it displayed the name of "Corilam Fabricating Co, Inc�, in Kernersville, NC. This scammer was all over the place regarding where "she" lived and did business, and banked (Illinois, New Jersey, North Carolina ....). As a warning, depositing a fake check in the amount of thousands of dollars or (tens of thousands!) may result in felony charges, and may get the federal government involved in the case as well. In many states, the line between misdemeanor and felony check fraud is drawn around $500.00. Had I attempted to deposit this fake check, I would have been in serious trouble, and the scammer would walk away with no concerns. Needless to say, once I exposed this individual as a fake and scammer, the buyer tried to lay a guilt trip on me for thinking "she" was such a person, but after I indicted I was providing all the correspondence to "the authorities", the scammer ran away. You've heard it before ... if it sounds too good to be true, or smells like a rat, it's probably a rat looking to chew on some of your hard earned money. Don't be a victim.

Good update and reminder.

As to Wanaque, NJ, that is literally just down the road from me (furthest part of that town is within 6 miles from me...). Would have been fun to tell the buyer that a "friend of yours" would hand delver your check to speed things up!
LOL.......

On Saturday, October 26, 2019 at 7:17:21 PM UTC-5, wrote:
I know this has been discussed previously, but I wanted to bring this topic up again so it remains fresh in seller's minds.

I recently listed my sailplane for sale on Wings and Wheels. One "buyer" contacted me via the W&W response tool and offered to buy my sailplane "sight unseen", "no inspection", and to be "picked up by a shipper". At first I scoffed at this approach to buying a sailplane, since over the years I have purchased two sailplanes, and I wouldn't think about buying one without much closer pre-purchase scrutiny. Nonetheless, I negotiated with this person who was "buying the sailplane" for her husband. I queried "her" regarding her address, her husband's name, the shipper's name, etc. And with each question I asked, the responses were slow in coming, or never provided. The queerest effort this person made was actually to send me a check via FedEx, and the check was made out for $5,200.45 more than the selling price. The kicker was that this "buyer" wanted me to deposit the check, and then provide the "shipper" with $5000. And the $5,200.45 was to be a USPS money order (not , not a personal check, nor a bank check, or certified check. I purposely lead this scammer along as long as I dare, but the "this is a rip off" signs were there from day 1. Just for your perusal, the buyer said "she" lived in the Chicago area, and provided a name of a person living in "Bellwood, IL". The "check" I received was printed on a personal computer, and was riddled with typos. The buyer's messages frequently used phrases that didn't seem "American". The check was sent via FedEx from a Wanaque, NJ address, which incidentally was the address for a courthouse annex. The check was supposed prepared by a BB&T bank in Kernersville, NV, and it displayed the name of "Corilam Fabricating Co, Inc�, in Kernersville, NC. This scammer was all over the place regarding where "she" lived and did business, and banked (Illinois, New Jersey, North Carolina ....). As a warning, depositing a fake check in the amount of thousands of dollars or (tens of thousands!) may result in felony charges, and may get the federal government involved in the case as well. In many states, the line between misdemeanor and felony check fraud is drawn around $500.00. Had I attempted to deposit this fake check, I would have been in serious trouble, and the scammer would walk away with no concerns. Needless to say, once I exposed this individual as a fake and scammer, the buyer tried to lay a guilt trip on me for thinking "she" was such a person, but after I indicted I was providing all the correspondence to "the authorities", the scammer ran away. You've heard it before ... if it sounds too good to be true, or smells like a rat, it's probably a rat looking to chew on some of your hard earned money. Don't be a victim.

Did you forward all this to the local police, FBI, or US Postal Inspectors? This is serious mail fraud, and everyone involved needs to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, including the mule that was cashing the checks they wanted you to issue. You would be doing the mule a HUGE favor, as she is probably heavily involved in similar other scams, which will inevitably result in her personal bankruptcy.

On Sunday, October 27, 2019 at 8:27:49 AM UTC-4, Mike Schumann wrote:
On Saturday, October 26, 2019 at 7:17:21 PM UTC-5, wrote:
I know this has been discussed previously, but I wanted to bring this topic up again so it remains fresh in seller's minds.

I recently listed my sailplane for sale on Wings and Wheels. One "buyer" contacted me via the W&W response tool and offered to buy my sailplane "sight unseen", "no inspection", and to be "picked up by a shipper". At first I scoffed at this approach to buying a sailplane, since over the years I have purchased two sailplanes, and I wouldn't think about buying one without much closer pre-purchase scrutiny. Nonetheless, I negotiated with this person who was "buying the sailplane" for her husband. I queried "her" regarding her address, her husband's name, the shipper's name, etc. And with each question I asked, the responses were slow in coming, or never provided. The queerest effort this person made was actually to send me a check via FedEx, and the check was made out for $5,200.45 more than the selling price. The kicker was that this "buyer" wanted me to deposit the check, and then provide the "shipper" with $5000. And the $5,200.45 was to be a USPS money order (not , not a personal check, nor a bank check, or certified check. I purposely lead this scammer along as long as I dare, but the "this is a rip off" signs were there from day 1. Just for your perusal, the buyer said "she" lived in the Chicago area, and provided a name of a person living in "Bellwood, IL". The "check" I received was printed on a personal computer, and was riddled with typos. The buyer's messages frequently used phrases that didn't seem "American". The check was sent via FedEx from a Wanaque, NJ address, which incidentally was the address for a courthouse annex. The check was supposed prepared by a BB&T bank in Kernersville, NV, and it displayed the name of "Corilam Fabricating Co, Inc�, in Kernersville, NC. This scammer was all over the place regarding where "she" lived and did business, and banked (Illinois, New Jersey, North Carolina ....). As a warning, depositing a fake check in the amount of thousands of dollars or (tens of thousands!) may result in felony charges, and may get the federal government involved in the case as well. In many states, the line between misdemeanor and felony check fraud is drawn around $500.00. Had I attempted to deposit this fake check, I would have been in serious trouble, and the scammer would walk away with no concerns. Needless to say, once I exposed this individual as a fake and scammer, the buyer tried to lay a guilt trip on me for thinking "she" was such a person, but after I indicted I was providing all the correspondence to "the authorities", the scammer ran away. You've heard it before ... if it sounds too good to be true, or smells like a rat, it's probably a rat looking to chew on some of your hard earned money. Don't be a victim.

Did you forward all this to the local police, FBI, or US Postal Inspectors? This is serious mail fraud, and everyone involved needs to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, including the mule that was cashing the checks they wanted you to issue. You would be doing the mule a HUGE favor, as she is probably heavily involved in similar other scams, which will inevitably result in her personal bankruptcy.

I've had friends get ripped off before (other scams/theft) and the authorities don't seem interested in helping "the little guys". They have politicians to "protect" and other worthless endeavors. So, no, I will just frame that "check" to remind me to be on my guard about any type of long-distance transaction.

On Sunday, October 27, 2019 at 5:27:49 AM UTC-7, Mike Schumann wrote:
On Saturday, October 26, 2019 at 7:17:21 PM UTC-5, wrote:
I know this has been discussed previously, but I wanted to bring this topic up again so it remains fresh in seller's minds.

I recently listed my sailplane for sale on Wings and Wheels. One "buyer" contacted me via the W&W response tool and offered to buy my sailplane "sight unseen", "no inspection", and to be "picked up by a shipper". At first I scoffed at this approach to buying a sailplane, since over the years I have purchased two sailplanes, and I wouldn't think about buying one without much closer pre-purchase scrutiny. Nonetheless, I negotiated with this person who was "buying the sailplane" for her husband. I queried "her" regarding her address, her husband's name, the shipper's name, etc. And with each question I asked, the responses were slow in coming, or never provided. The queerest effort this person made was actually to send me a check via FedEx, and the check was made out for $5,200.45 more than the selling price. The kicker was that this "buyer" wanted me to deposit the check, and then provide the "shipper" with $5000. And the $5,200.45 was to be a USPS money order (not , not a personal check, nor a bank check, or certified check. I purposely lead this scammer along as long as I dare, but the "this is a rip off" signs were there from day 1. Just for your perusal, the buyer said "she" lived in the Chicago area, and provided a name of a person living in "Bellwood, IL". The "check" I received was printed on a personal computer, and was riddled with typos. The buyer's messages frequently used phrases that didn't seem "American". The check was sent via FedEx from a Wanaque, NJ address, which incidentally was the address for a courthouse annex. The check was supposed prepared by a BB&T bank in Kernersville, NV, and it displayed the name of "Corilam Fabricating Co, Inc�, in Kernersville, NC. This scammer was all over the place regarding where "she" lived and did business, and banked (Illinois, New Jersey, North Carolina ....). As a warning, depositing a fake check in the amount of thousands of dollars or (tens of thousands!) may result in felony charges, and may get the federal government involved in the case as well. In many states, the line between misdemeanor and felony check fraud is drawn around $500.00. Had I attempted to deposit this fake check, I would have been in serious trouble, and the scammer would walk away with no concerns. Needless to say, once I exposed this individual as a fake and scammer, the buyer tried to lay a guilt trip on me for thinking "she" was such a person, but after I indicted I was providing all the correspondence to "the authorities", the scammer ran away. You've heard it before ... if it sounds too good to be true, or smells like a rat, it's probably a rat looking to chew on some of your hard earned money. Don't be a victim.

Did you forward all this to the local police, FBI, or US Postal Inspectors? This is serious mail fraud, and everyone involved needs to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, including the mule that was cashing the checks they wanted you to issue. You would be doing the mule a HUGE favor, as she is probably heavily involved in similar other scams, which will inevitably result in her personal bankruptcy.

The local police, FBI, USPS, etc. are not interested in investigating these scams UNLESS you have actually lost money. The FBI will tell you to report it to their online scam website - been there, done that.

http://www.glidersource.com/scams.shtml

It's always a good idea to reread the glidersource info on scams when you post anything for sale.

Paul A.
ASW-19
Jupiter, FL

My recent listing resulted in this:

I apologize for the delay in getting back to you. I have been out of town with very limited access to the internet. I am ready to proceed further with this purchase and have sent my OFFER/LOI along with this email. Please click on the link below to view my official offer so we can proceed further.

scan001029doc

Please sign in to access the files i have shared with you and get back to me if you are okay and
willing to proceed further. I look forward to a great business relationship..

Regards,
Luca Valenti.

I collect these bogus check for fun as a way to scam the scammer. The scammer pays real money on postage and printing the check and gets nothing in return. I have over 12 check for $100000 in my collection. It's cheap fun. I string them a long as long as I can and then drop the bounced check line when I get tired of them.