How do you tell if it's a scam or not?

[NewToy]

When he comes to pick up the trailer, and he is happy with looking over his new potential purchase and wants to do the deal, take him down to your bank and deposit the check. This will of course mean he needs to arrive during business hours. That is a lot of money, why not let the bank validate it. Once the bank accepts it as valid and deposits it in your account, hand over/sign over the trailer paperwork then go hook him up and send him on his way. That is a lot of money and a valuable trailer. An honest buyer Should have no problem with doing this. This is a business deal, Be firm. If he shows up too late to make the bank, tell him to come back during business hours. If they start making excuses about not being able, look for another buyer. If it is a good or reasonable deal, more will come.

The check still has to clear like any other check, 3-? days. Them fancy printers nowadays.

 

[MadReferee]

When I had my convenience store/gas station I was also a Western Union agent. I dealt with thousands of dollars cash each and every day. Western Union only accepts cash for thier transactions. It was common place for me to go to the bank several times each week with anywhere from $5000 to $20,000 in cold hard cash. After the first time, my bank would just hand me a blank form and I entered the amount and signed it. They filled out the rest of the form with my information (as a courtesy no doubt).

I deposited well over a million dollars cash and probably closer to 2 million dollars while I owned that store and never once heard from the IRS or any governmental agency regarding my large cash deposits.

 

[MarkV]

So how does one make a large purchase if they do not want to carry cash?

MarkV

 

[Oleozz]

Well I guess I got lucky when I sold my tractor on ebay. The buyer had a perfect ebay record (maybe that doesn't mean much anymore), he went to his local credit union, got the certified check and sent me all the info. I called the bank manager and then the lady who took care of the transaction. He brought the check along when he drove in from Indiana to pick up the tractor and I cashed it the next day. We live in an area where deals are still sealed with a handshake and I guess if I would have thought over all the scenarios of what could happen I would still have my JD. Thankfully things worked out ok both for the buyer and myself.

 

[mjarrels]

I would be more worried about being stopped by the police if carrying a large amount of cash... heard that you are automatically labeled a drug dealer and must prove otherwise at a great expense and will be luck to get your money and vehicle back.

mark

 

[k6dyc]

I would be more worried about being stopped by the police if carrying a large amount of cash... heard that you are automatically labeled a drug dealer and must prove otherwise at a great expense and will be luck to get your money and vehicle back.

I don't think I'd worry about that issue unless I really was a drug dealer. In the case at hand (and even my truck sale above) I suspect it would have been easy to explain that a vehicle sale had just been or was about to be made, and to prove the same, long before being hauled to jail. At least I'd like to think that law enforcement would have no problems with it, especially since there would be no other evidence that I was a drug dealer and I don't look like one (whatever that means ).

 

[Bird]

I would be more worried about being stopped by the police if carrying a large amount of cash... heard that you are automatically labeled a drug dealer and must prove otherwise at a great expense and will be luck to get your money and vehicle back.

mark

As the last poster mentioned, it should be no problem as long as you don't have a prior arrest record for drug violations, have a reasonable explanation for having the money, etc. And of course, you'd have to do something to cause the police to stop and search you and/or your vehicle or they'd never know you were carrying the money.

Naturally, that's assuming the officers are honest, as the vast majority are, but it is true that about 17 years ago there was a crooked sheriff and his deputies in Louisiana who eventually made the national news because of their shenanigans, especially late at night.

 

[tallyho8]

Naturally, that's assuming the officers are honest, as the vast majority are, but it is true that about 17 years ago there was a crooked sheriff and his deputies in Louisiana who eventually made the national news because of their shenanigans, especially late at night.

WHAT? Crooked officials in Louisiana?

 

[Larry239]

Stumpfield,
You have received some good advice in past posts. I own a used car lot in Florida. We do not need titles for trailers in this state. Once you have released that trailer to him it can be brought here or a number of other states and resold. I have seen hundreds of cashier checks in my time. I cannot nor can a teller tell if they are real or not at first glance. I have not been burned because I verify each one with the branch that issued it. I find the branch bank through the internet or 411. Once I had a couple leave my dealership to get a "bite to eat" while I was verifing the check. They never came back. The check was phoney. I have NEVER had a bank call me first. I I tried to make a police report but since I was not harmed they were not interested. More important things to do I guess. The bank had little interest also. Run do not walk from this deal. Your instincts are dead on. We have a saying in the business "It takes three days for a check to clear and 2 weeks for it to bounce". The identification numbers will be remove from that trailer and it shipped to another state long before that check comes back. Good Luck

 

[EddieWalker]

About 15 years ago, give or take, I was working for Airborne Express in Oakland California. One morning a package came down the converyor belt with an address that nobody could read. It just kept going to the end, and then other packages squished it off the converyor belt. When it hit the groud, it opened up, and out fell $25,000 in cash.

There were several guys who saw it open up and every single one of them thought it was a sting operation to catch a thief there. We all gathered around it and just looked at it. Nobody would touch it for fear of fingerprints.

A supervisor saw it, got another supervisor, and then all of them showed up to collect it. We later learned it was drug money when the FBI picked it up, put on a uniform and delivered it.

Lots of cash can be very scary when you don't expect it or know where it came from!!!!

Eddie