Be aware of scams/fraud from people that say they have a client or they represent a potential buyer. They usually have a email from a free email host such as Yahoo or Hotmail or the like. The scammers are usually from Western Europe and Africa but many are right here in the U.S. What to watch out for:
* Do not buy or sell any vehicles outside the U.S. Usually anything to do with shipping across the ocean means a scam.
* Do not accept a cashiers check without contacting the phone number of the issuing bank. Once you contact the bank, make sure to validate its authenticity and have your bank verify it too. It may be a foreign or out-of-state cashiers check that looks extremely real.
* Then you must wait at least 3-4 weeks for the check to clear the bank and then you may release the vehicle. In todays world, anyone can print a cashiers check using a phony bank name, while the banking system has no way of validating the check quickly or efficiently.
* Do Not Refund an Overpayment. If a buyer proposes to buy your vehicle, whether it is a car, motorhome, classic car, motorcycle, or boat, and sends you a check for MORE than the asking price to pay for the shipping of the vehicle. They request that you refund the balance or extra amount. There have been cases whereas the seller sent off their car and lost it and the money for the shipping.
* Do Not Give Out Personal Information. Identity theft is rampant in todays world especially when it comes to credit cards.
Please take every precaution to protect your identity. Never release any of your personal information. Everyone has heard the old saying, "If it seems to good to be true, it probably is!"
These scams occur to people that are not only selling cars, motorhomes, classic cars, motorcycles and boats. The list is much more extensive. If these scammers can make even a few dollars, it's worth it to them. Especially if they come from an impoverished country.
