Does this sound like fraud or spam in response to my Classifieds Ad?

[jguzzi]

All,

I am the seller of the 1990 California III/sidecar rig listed in the classifieds.  I have a couple of offers but this below came today.  It sounds like fraud to me since the person has never seen it, does not reference the pics on the site, and asks for my phone when it is plainly listed in the classifieds.  I am reluctant to even respond.  However, the person does give his name and a gmail address.  What do you think:
-------------------------
Thanks for your reply,Concerning my inquiry,Am quite comfortable with the condition of the item since i won't be making any repairs on it. I'm making an offer of $5,750 and I will add $50 to it for keeping it for me, Please provide your full Name, Address your Phone number for payment.I am paying by Check. It will take few days for payment to get to you. As per pick-up, I will make arrange for the pick-up after payment has been received by you.I hope it is in good condition,kindly get back to me with your name,phone # and mailing address where payment will be sent.I will let you know how i intend to pick it up.I would have loved to come check it out but i am presently away on a business trip,so you can send me pics of the item so that i can know it is in good condition. I would appreciate it if you take the posting off the site today and consider it sold to me.As for the pick-up,it would be handled after you receive your payment. Thanks. God Bless You.

[JJ]

All,

I am the seller of the 1990 California III/sidecar rig listed in the classifieds.  I have a couple of offers but this below came today.  It sounds like fraud to me since the person has never seen it, does not reference the pics on the site, and asks for my phone when it is plainly listed in the classifieds.  I am reluctant to even respond.  However, the person does give his name and a gmail address.  What do you think:
-------------------------
Thanks for your reply,Concerning my inquiry,Am quite comfortable with the condition of the item since i won't be making any repairs on it. I'm making an offer of $5,750 and I will add $50 to it for keeping it for me, Please provide your full Name, Address your Phone number for payment.I am paying by Check. It will take few days for payment to get to you. As per pick-up, I will make arrange for the pick-up after payment has been received by you.I hope it is in good condition,kindly get back to me with your name,phone # and mailing address where payment will be sent.I will let you know how i intend to pick it up.I would have loved to come check it out but i am presently away on a business trip,so you can send me pics of the item so that i can know it is in good condition. I would appreciate it if you take the posting off the site today and consider it sold to me.As for the pick-up,it would be handled after you receive your payment. Thanks. God Bless You.

I would be highly suspect....

[Bud]

     I had a similar reply to an add and didn't reply. Would you buy a bike sight unseen unless you knew the seller or had a friend or shop check it out. I'm old school and not up on technology but I think its a scam.

[troyhamilton]

I sell stuff on craigslist and what they will do is send you a bogus check for more cash that its supposed too be. then you cash it and they want you to send them the differnice. its hot so your responsible. they dont want your "item" justto hood wink you!

[rss29]

100% scam. The biggest tell is when they refer to "the item" or something generic like that. If you sell vehicles online you almost always get one or two of these responses. Not sure what their goal is, but I always ignore and move on.

[fotoguzzi]

probably the first step in stealing your identity..

[RinkRat II]

  SCAM !

 Any Questions, See Above

Paul B

[Triple Jim]

A friend just emailed be about a guy he  knows who's selling a Norge.  A "buyer" came and looked at it, put it on the center stand, started the engine and put it in gear.  Of course a racket ensued, and the "buyer" then claimed it had serious problems, that it would take hard to get parts for overseas, and those parts would have customs charges,etc..  The "buyer" was really nice though, and offered to still buy it, but for $1,000.  The seller then rode it around, and of course found nothing abnormal, so he started asking for advice.

I passed the word along that the seller was getting scammed.

[normzone]

Here's how I check out such a string of text -

Find a reasonably distinct block of language and google it.

In this case, you'll be amused at the results you get when you search for the phrase " pick-up,it would be handled after you ". Scammers are copy/pasters at heart.

[troyhamilton]

they use english as a second languge lol

[v7john]

Don't do it! A friend thought he had sold his bike and was waiting for the cheque. It never arrived but, having given out his address, the bike was stolen while he was out. Unusually, the bike was recovered.

[twodogs]

SCAM!!!

[guzzinka]

Total scam

[jguzzi]

Thanks guys....100% agreement its a scam....I will not be responding.

[bacongrease]

Thanks guys....100% agreement its a scam....I will not be responding.

Come on...do us all a favor....string him along.   Waste his time.   

[Ncdan]

Ask for a phone number as would need to talk about the possible sale. If he won't talk to you by phone it's definitely a scam. Also if you tell him you are somehow in the Law Enforcement family he will not return your request for a phone conversation.

[Darren Williams]

Send him the name and address of your local district attorney. That should be fun!   

[Air-Cooled]

This is a classic scam. The buyer sends you a cashier's check. Your bank deposits it, it appears legit to the bank, he picks up the bike, then a week later the bank tells you the check is a forgery.

[johnr]

Probably a scam but it's just possible that it is not.
I would under no circumstances give him your address. (theft risk)
I would insist that the payment take a different form preferably direct bank transfer for the exact amount. Make sure the bank has confirmed receipt of the money before going further. Cheques are just a (easily broken) promise to pay, not actual payment. I wouldn't accept one from an unknown private individual when selling a bike.
If in the unlikely (as this is probably a scam) event that it comes to the point of a showing, make sure you don't do so at your house, but in some public place, and don't let him ride it on his own.

Nah, screw all that. Ignore him.

[twowings]

I listed a laptop on ebay back a few years ago...the message you received is nearly an exactly duplicate of the one I received...please don't give out any personal information...

[Fuzzy]

Scam-a-lama-ding-dong. Abso f***king lutely. No doubt. Just delete it.

[troyhamilton]

i had a message about my "item" just a bit ago so i told them to bring cash and they sounded like a scammer. no more messages! lol

[Orange Guzzi]

I have sold three Moto Guzzi's sight unseen.  Buyers came from many miles away to pick up.  One flew in and rode home.

They mailed check, I cashed them and waited for them to show up.  On person took 4 months to come an pick up the bike.  Said he had to wait until winter was over so he could turn the boiler off at the University while he was gone.  You never know. 

[Triple Jim]

I have a motorcycle listed on Craigslist.  Twice now, someone has acted like an interested buyer, and after a few emails, asked me to get a VIN check using his link.  The first guy was trying to get a commission for a referral to a real VIN check site.  The second guy's link was to a fake site that was obviously harvesting credit card numbers.  In both cases, once I got the link, I quit responding, and neither "buyer" tried to contact me again.

[redrider90]

SCAM I wouldn't even post my real phone. I would buy a burner phone when selling on CL.

[Triple Jim]

SCAM I wouldn't even post my real phone. I would buy a burner phone when selling on CL.

You can opt to not post a phone number at all.  After making contact by email, you can decide later to give a phone number if you want to, or you can ask for the buyer's phone number and block your outgoing number when you call him.  Here in NC, Centurylink lets you block caller ID for a single call with *67.

[sturgeon]

"God Bless You" is all too frequently how online scammers end their messages. It's as if they think that sounding pious somehow makes them appear to be legit. If I had even a small fraction of the "funds I've inherited, God Bless You", I'd buy one of Richard Branson's private islands. I've got the advert for it here somewhere 

[Lannis]

Since we're talking about our experiences selling bikes here, let me share mine and then ask a question.

ALMOST all the bikes I've bought, I've bought from someone in "the club" (BSA, Norton, or Guzzi) or from someone I already knew.

ALL of the bikes I've sold (I've owned 33 and have 8, so I've sold a few), I sold to someone "in the club" or to someone I already knew, so there was no question about bad checks or scams or "agent will pick it up" or whatever.

Unless something greatly changes, I wouldn't consider selling a bike that I have now except to a fellow Guzzi rider or one of my Britbike buddies, or at least to a friend of a friend.   To ME (and that's just me) having a constant stream of calls from tire-kickers, or people wanting to case my place, or people offering to "help" sell the bike, just isn't worth whatever small-to-nonexistent premium I might get by trolling a "larger" market.

So the question is ... why go to the hassle of Craigslist for a motorcycle?   I've sold furniture and shippable car parts and all like that through CL or eBay, but I feel like I've got my own, secure market for motorcycles .... ?   

Lannis

[Triple Jim]

So the question is ... why go to the hassle of Craigslist for a motorcycle?

I'm trying to sell a motorcycle that really belongs to a friend who sold it to me for $1 to get down to one vehicle, in order to get government assistance after going through cancer treatment.  The proceeds will go to my friend of course.  It's a 2007 Hyosung GV650 Avitar.  Although I could be wrong, I have a hard time imagining anyone here would be interested.  There doesn't seem to be any interest from the Hyosung owner's board either.

[Lannis]

I'm trying to sell a motorcycle that really belongs to a friend who sold it to me for $1 to get down to one vehicle, in order to get government assistance after going through cancer treatment.  The proceeds will go to my friend of course.  It's a 2007 Hyosung GV650 Avitar.  Although I could be wrong, I have a hard time imagining anyone here would be interested.  There doesn't seem to be any interest from the Hyosung owner's board either.

I can't imagine anyone anywhere would be interested, but you never know.

Given that example, I guess I really meant motorcycles like we might ride.   Moto Guzzis and Triumphs and Harleys and Bandits and old collector items and such ....

Lannis