Airstream Owners/Sellers - BEWARE

[cortés]

Airstream Owners/Sellers - Warning

With the horrible economy lingering on Airstreamers need to be vigilant
and exercise caution and due diligence since now more than ever
there is an aggressive onslaught of scammers & thieves online trying
to pry your hard-earned money away from you.

All you have to do is be smarter than they are...all that requires is common
sense.

I received a call this afternoon from a VP in a Canadian Unit of the WBCCI.
We've recently become friendly over phone calls regarding vintage trailers
and tow vehicles.

He recently received an inquiry from a buyer on his unit. The buyer agreed to
forward a $1000 deposit via postal. A couple of days later 5 postal money orders
showed up via AirMail totaling $3600 with instructions that the overage should
be paid to his transport driver upon pickup. He took the money orders to his bank
and deposited them. The next day the "buyer" urgently informed this gentleman
[seller] that his driver was ready to pick up and he needed an address right away.
He also needed to wire $2600 to the transport company's account right away to
cover the fees.

Luckily this seller was sharp and didnt follow through, but other folks get
taken by this scam everyday.

What are the red flags in this situation?

■ Never let anyone rush you through a transaction. A legit buyer will understand your caution
and be patient. Impatience is a warning signal.

■ If a buyer wants to send you more than required to "cover shipping" for them....hang up.

■ Transcations are simple. When a transaction becomes complex...walk away. Different addresses,
locations, phones, complicated procedures or circumstances are the trademarks of a scam.

■ Never, ever, ever turn over any vehicle or title until you have good money in hand. Cash is supreme.
If a check is sent, require that the funds clear your account before anything leaves. This typically takes 10 days.
No exceptions.

■ Bank Cashiers Check should be treated the same as above. Once upon a time a cashiers check
from a bank was golden. Those days are over. Crooks print them up 24/7 on computers now and
until it clears your bank it's worthless.

■ Trust your gut. Commonly known as instinct. God gave it to you for this very reason. That little
voice always tells you the right thing. Trust it.

Some of these scammers are sharp, but if you use good common sense and follow some basic
groundrules you have nothing to fear or worry about. Whatever you do dont let this kind of thing
scare you away from being online...you have just as much right as anyone to do as you please.
Just be careful.

For more indepth information please read our Safety/Fraud Prevention page:

Vintage Airstream Forums | The Airstream Information Resource - Safety/Fraud Prevention

Robert77 - is this guy legit?

Fake Bank Cashier's Checks can look quite real to the untrained or unaccustomed eye.
Dont ever assume that its real until your bank clears it.
The image below is an example of a very well done FAKE Cashier's Check:

[AirstreamGal08]

also, i found a "deal" on craigslist just as I was ready to make my purchase....only it said it was local, but was posted on more than 20 other "local" craigslist listings...from all over the country! also was stated that it was located "at a shipping company...waiting to be sent out since this owner was away on business". and of course ....after requesting appt to view the "local" airstream for sale and noticing different info compared to the clearly non-discriptive photo...never answered any questions about specifics on the unit, and finally, the pressure push to send 1500 to an address for the shipping company to "send this wonderful deal of an airstream to me"....I flagged every copy of the ad in all the locations I looked up, turned them in to craigslist....too bad people cant just be satisfied with making an HONEST living, huh?