So I am selling the chart plotter that came with my boat. I placed an ad here on SBO. A day later I got a text message from a perspective buyer. The texts seemed fine until they talked about the payment. They had a "client" that owed them money and they were going to send me a check. Red flag going up. I went along cause, well who knows right? I got more suspicious when I asked at the end of the conversation who I was dealing with and who the shipper was going to be. They replied "Thanks you, I will inform you when the check funds clear." So red flag again.
I talked to @Jackdaw about it over our usual beer night and he chuckled and said it sounded like a scam. He also told me to contact my bank about what my protection level was. I planned to do that once I got the check. Well today an envelope showed up with a cancellation of the stamp in Honolulu. I Googled the phone number that the texts were coming from and that came up Augusta Georgia. Yeah this is getting about as stinky as it can get.
I then looked up the bank the check was supposedly drawn on and wouldn't ya know it, that check number does not exists. Surprise, surprise. What really said "THIS IS FRAUD" was that the check was for $1998.89 and I was only asking $300 for the chart plotter. They instructed me to scan both sides of the check and the envelope and email it to them. They also said to take the envelope and check to my local post office and file a complaint. Wonder how many federal and state laws have been broken here.
So, as with all ads and internet transactions, be very aware of who you are dealing with and know your protection level in this sort of situation.
I talked to @Jackdaw about it over our usual beer night and he chuckled and said it sounded like a scam. He also told me to contact my bank about what my protection level was. I planned to do that once I got the check. Well today an envelope showed up with a cancellation of the stamp in Honolulu. I Googled the phone number that the texts were coming from and that came up Augusta Georgia. Yeah this is getting about as stinky as it can get.
I then looked up the bank the check was supposedly drawn on and wouldn't ya know it, that check number does not exists. Surprise, surprise. What really said "THIS IS FRAUD" was that the check was for $1998.89 and I was only asking $300 for the chart plotter. They instructed me to scan both sides of the check and the envelope and email it to them. They also said to take the envelope and check to my local post office and file a complaint. Wonder how many federal and state laws have been broken here.
So, as with all ads and internet transactions, be very aware of who you are dealing with and know your protection level in this sort of situation.