Am I getting scammed?

[Tierbirdy]

Trying to sell my bike, this comes along on FB marketplace.

Am I being scammed or just paranoid? I suppose the general rule of thumb is that if you have to ask, you probably are getting scammed.

Most of the scams I've seen seem to be instant "Hello I work oil rig I want to buy for daughter for Christmas full asking price I send friend in van all good"

This guy seems more invested and vaguely like he knows bikes, his FB profile has pics going back a few years of him with smaller CC bikes.

Biggest red flag to me is that one of his first messages says he'd like to come view the bike, then once we've agreed on a price and ask when he wants to come view it, suddenly he's in Northern Ireland and will send someone to collect. I've had a quick look on Biketrader in N. Ireland and there's only like 2 Tracer 900s for sale in the country, and both more than £1k above what Im asking for mine so potentially a legit buyer looking for a bargain?

Alarm bells are ringing to me. Am I being scammed, or is there any way I can make this work if he is legit? Escrow service? Driver bringing cash in hand? Has anyone else done anything like this?

https://i.imgur.com/TbHnqXf.png

Link to full size screenshot if it doesnt display well - https://i.imgur.com/TbHnqXf.png

[grr666]

This is exactly why I part-exed my MT09. Could not be hassled with the scammers, piss takers and tyre kickers.
Could I have got more for it privately? Probably yes, but wanted a quick hassle free transaction.

I don't like the sound of this bloke though, but that's the untrusting raycist in me.
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Ste wrote: Avatars are fine, it's signatures that need turning off.

[mattsprattuk]

If the driver gives you the cash then what's the problem?
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[grr666]

[Tierbirdy]

[Polarbear]

Tell him it's bank transfer before you let the bike go. Nothing else.
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[Tierbirdy]

Can bank transfers be reversed? Can he claim it never arrived and do a chargeback or anything like that?

[Polarbear]

[Ste]

I'm going with them being a genuine buyer as the messages aren't anything like the standard scams and they asked if you'd budge on the price which is something scammers never bother with.

Perhaps the biggest sign to indicate that they're not a scammer is that they haven't offered to pay by cheque where the cheque is for more than the value of the bike.

The fake cheque scam is the usual scam and the courier scam is a close second but none of the ground work has been laid for either of those.

Bank transfers are fine as long as the person sending you the money is the account holder. If the online banking log in details have been stolen from somewhere then any bank transfer will be reversed when the account holder notices it and reports it to the bank.

If you've ever read messages from scammers then you'll have seen that they all use the word 'kindly' which your buyer doesn't therefore this guy is genuine.

[Rob Fzs]

He sounds like a pest

dont bother
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[MarJay]

[Lord Percy]

Sounds scammy.

There are tons of Yamaha Tracer 900s on sale in the UK, many from dealerships who can do all that courier stuff for him too, and for a similar price to what he's offering you.

So you have to ask, why does he need yours specifically?

Also yes, this is a giant red flag:

[Tierbirdy]

So very 50/50 then!

Not replied since his last message, and hes sent me a link to a (apparently well known) N. Ireland bike mover company saying hes gotten a quote from them, seems a little more legit than Vlad's Van disappearing goods service. Was thinking of giving them a ring and seeing if they have had an enquiry matching that, as that seems more effort than most scammers would put in rather than just giving me a random google motorbike movers result and hoping I dont bother checking.

If I were to accept his offer of a deposit via bank transfer, and ask for a photo of his driving licence, and the name matches the bank transfer name, would that be a pretty good safety net and prove he's genuine?

I cant imagine a scammer sending a bank transfer deposit, as theres nothing stopping me from keeping his cash and blocking him.

[MarJay]

[Tierbirdy]

He's not mentioned the rigs, that was just me saying thats how all the typical obvious scam messages Ive had selling cars/bikes in the past have been like.

My mate sold his old Tiger 800 in a similar way, sold on eBay classifieds, buyer didn't come to see it in person, paid by bank transfer, courier collected it in a van. He reckons its legit. But that's easy to say when its not your bike/money at risk! And that was in the same country at least, not going overseas

[Skudd]

He may be using your bike sale to move arms for the Real IRA. Now that there may be a settlement with boarders in sight.
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[doggone]

Probably Ok from tone of messages, not sure I'd let them take it but if the money is paid into your account online he is taking bigger chance than you. I imagine NI has a permanent shortage of used bikes compared to most of mainland so not surprising he is looking to buy from the rest of UK.

[Tierbirdy]

I've done some facebook stalking, found his LinkedIn profile, photos match his FB profile, jobs match, he's apparently a project manager at a Belfast tech company. Photo on FB from a few years ago matches up, instagram too is selfies with a few bikes going back years,so Im starting to think he's at least a real person not a fake account, and that seems like a lot more effort than most FB marketplace scammers would put in.

I'm still very unsure about this, but I am also somewhat desperate for the money and had zero other interest in the bike, so desperation is tugging on me. Im leaning towards taking the risk if he can show photo ID and it matches up with bank details etc.

Just wait for my next post to be "help my bike has been stolen in a scam" Any idea if bike insurance covers this kind of thing? Is being scammed out of your bike the same as it being stolen? Or will they laugh at me until I hang up?

[grr666]

I'd be inclined to keep quiet about the circumstances and just say it's vanished overnight. I doubt it will keep the same
identity once stolen, assuming it's not just broken up for parts. get ready to delete all your posts here though or maybe get
a mod to nuke this thread.
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Currently enjoying products from Ford, Mazda and Yamaha
Ste wrote: Avatars are fine, it's signatures that need turning off.

[Easy-X]

If you get a bank transfer and the name matches I'd say go for it. I've sold an item to someone in N.I. before over Facebook so it's at least possible it could be genuine

Have you had any interest in the bike other than this one?
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[Tierbirdy]

[Ste]

What happened next?

[A100man]

Late on show her. That looks so legit I'd not even have thought about it.. perhaps I'm more naive than you lot.
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[Tierbirdy]

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