Interstate sales scam - for what purpose??

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by jet1

thanks! The previous owner, like myself, is a pilot so he already replaced that item. I even have ALL the shop service records. Pilots are good people to buy from as we tend to be over attentive! We are going on our first "shakedown cruise" this weekend so I will probably have lots of questions soon.

If you are a pilot on this forum, you're in good company - there are many (including my husband LB_3). I think it's because the Interstate is a bit reminiscent of a small aircraft, to a greater degree than the other recreational alternatives on the market, at least.

[Boxster1971]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

If you are a pilot on this forum, you're in good company - there are many (including my husband LB_3). I think it's because the Interstate is a bit reminiscent of a small aircraft, to a greater degree than the other recreational alternatives on the market, at least.

InterBlog you are right on! I was an aviator in the Navy for 24 years. My last flight was a light sport plane in Orlando about two months ago. My Interstate driver's seat is starting to look like a cockpit with all the extras I've added (photo attached). My Aerospace Engineering background has also contributed to all the upgrades I've made to my silver ground effects flying machine. 😎



- - Mike
2013 Lounge EXT on 2012 Sprinter

[Mcrid]

What ever happened to the "Sterile Cockpit"?

[InterBlog]

Old thread, but my comment involves the topic of scamming, so I'm depositing it here.

If you happened to read the forum around lunchtime CDT today, you would have seen this curious roll-out of multiple sales listings from all different users, all first-timers, all similarly formatted, all simultaneously posted, all claiming different geographic locations and different rigs.

Anybody buy the notion that this is legit?

Right now I'm doubting it.

Boneheads!! If they are going to swarm Airforums with scam listings, you'd think they would know enough to leave a few minutes between each thread submission, so that they would NOT pile up one after another on the ticker! Oh, that doesn't look suspicious at all, duh!

I'd call them out, but if the Mods are doing their jobs, they are going to disappear anyway. Tag a Mod. Whack a scammer.

OR, someone explain please, if you suspect I might be misinterpreting this evidence.

[DKB_SATX]

The time an ad is submitted is not necessarily the time an ad is published. It might make you feel better for people approving classified ads to wait for some random period of time between evaluating and approving or deleting the next submission in the queue but that isn't really a consideration.

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by DKB_SATX

The time an ad is submitted is not necessarily the time an ad is published. It might make you feel better for people approving classified ads to wait for some random period of time between evaluating and approving or deleting the next submission in the queue but that isn't really a consideration.

So you think that they actually ARE legit, and that the similarities and patterns are just coincidence? All but one are formatted much the same. One is longer. None of the sellers have previous forum interactions.

I might learn something new today.

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

So you think that they actually ARE legit, and that the similarities and patterns are just coincidence? All but one are formatted much the same. One is longer. None of the sellers have previous forum interactions.

I might learn something new today.

I personally reviewed and approved each one. They were submitted at different times, from unique apparently unrelated IP addresses that roughly correspond to their purported locations.

You may note that there are LOTS of sellers who don't have much history. They sign up in order to sell their Airstream. Had they participated more, they might enjoy Airstreaming more and keep their Airstreams.

[Ray Eklund]

I have personally sold our 23 foot and 25 foot Airstreams. Both shown at our home to prospective buyers.

You also, as a buyer OR seller, be careful. Buyers can also be scamming. A Cashier's Check is not worth the paper it is printed upon if presented as payment at your home or in a parking lot.

Also... never leave your trailer plate on the trailer after the purchase. We give the buyer the paper plate from our purchase from the Airstream Dealer.

I meet the buyer at their or our bank and watch the teller issue the Cashier's Check. Then I Sign the check over to them for a Cashier's check in my name.

Times have not changed. There just are more seller and buyers willing to take your property or money. If the seller wants CASH... be careful. It could be stolen. If buying... Clear Title with no lien(s). Otherwise... walk.

If you are uncertain, have the buyer/seller meet you at the local Police Station. If you need some clarity, go inside the station and have an officer 'assist you'.

Thank you this Thread. Someone may be able to use the information, some day.

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by DKB_SATX

I personally reviewed and approved each one. They were submitted at different times, from unique apparently unrelated IP addresses that roughly correspond to their purported locations.

You may note that there are LOTS of sellers who don't have much history. They sign up in order to sell their Airstream. Had they participated more, they might enjoy Airstreaming more and keep their Airstreams.

OK, so it was the review process that gave the postings a bot-like appearance. In almost 5 years on this forum, I have never seen that effect before, but like I said, I might learn something new today.

Scam tactics are constantly evolving. I try to spot the new ones.

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

. . .
. . . but like I said, I might learn something new today.
. . .

Happy to learn that all the large bold red type in Post #24 did not indicate an actual emergency!

Happy Trails,

Peter

[InterBlog]

A possible new form of scam to report here.

Every time I make the Houston, TX to Sydney Nova Scotia road trip, I see *something* that is new and unprecedented. This year, it was fake license plates. They suddenly seem to have become very common. Essentially they are high-quality waterproof photographic reproductions of actual license plates affixed on top of the real plate that the car or truck is wearing.

The question is -- what is the motivation for this? Clearly something criminal, but I am not sure what. In Texas and I assume the rest of America, computers compare plate photos against toll road transponders every time a toll gate is transited. It's not possible to sustain a mismatch between photo-read license plate and transponder in Texas - that will get you pulled over immediately.

So, maybe the criminals stole the transponders and then pasted up a license plate facsimile to go with the stolen transponder? Is that how it works?

But that doesn't make any sense either. As soon as the rightful owner reports his or her transponder missing, it is deactivated.

I'm wondering if it's perhaps the tollway "pay-by-mail" schemes that are motivating this? Some tollways allow this. You go through and they simply send you a bill for it, no transponder required.

In other words, the perps snap a pic of your license plate, paste the reproductions on their own cars, and then the computers send the resulting bills to YOUR house or YOUR credit card, depending on how you have your account set up. Eventually you realize that you are being frauded when you see the charges that clearly were not triggered by your actual license plate. But until that time, the perps enjoy free rides, until it becomes time for them to photograph someone else's license plate and use that, in turn.

Alternatively, the explanation may be even simpler, and may have to do with the fact that many law enforcement agencies now have automatic plate readers mounted in their patrol cars. People don't like these things, but I think they are here to stay (it's well-established that we have no right of privacy in public rights-of-way). Maybe the perps just don't want to be found no matter where they are.

Anyone else have any other potential explanations?

Meanwhile, beware of the possibility of your vehicle being photographed at close range. Someone may be trying to steal your plate, essentially.

[Steamy1]

INTERBLOG:

Thanks for looking out for us!!!

[Lotus54]

On several of the Lotus I owned, there was no place for a US style front plate. I used to just not bother, but sometimes they can get sticky.
So for Elise I owned- it had room for a euro style place, but of course completely different shape. So I scanned my plate, printed a copy, trimmed it and laminated it so it would fit.
It looked quite good and since it was so low anyway- would likely keep me from getting pulled over for no front plate.
I had the original in the boot, so if hassled I could explain. May or may not have helped, but I never had an issue when I had the car.

[Alex AVI]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

Anyone else have any other potential explanations?

INTERBLOG - Simple explanation = FREELOADERS. In the old days, people stole license plates so they can move about without getting stopped for expired or no tags. I had a neighbor once who did not have a physical plate/tag for almost 2 yrs. Irony was it was an expensive Cadillac. Was really tempting to rat on them, especially living in the best master planned community in Vegas. Luckily the DMV eventually caught up to them & I still am not a rat. I bet with facsimile plates you describe, they still be freeloading.

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Alex AVI

INTERBLOG - Simple explanation = FREELOADERS. ....

Logic suggests it has to be freeloading of some kind, yes. But my question is -- why the sudden expansion in the practice? What's the new stimulus?

It is possible that I just did not notice it before, but I don't think so. I was born and raised in Nova Scotia - I grew up ogling license plates because we have such a diversity of them here, owing to the massive tourism industry. It's just reflexive behavior when I'm traveling. I look at plates because it's often better than television for entertainment value.

Case in point. For years after every family trip, I used to create elaborate commemorative PDF travelogues, in lieu of traditional photo albums or scrapbooking. Here's an excerpt from one of them - note the descriptive commentary.

[InterBlog]

*YET ANOTHER* new type of scam, not directly related to the Interstate context, but hold onto your wallets for this one.

I only go clothing shopping a few times per year, and only out of necessity. I went to a well-known "somewhat better" shoe brand store yesterday, and found what I needed, except they did not have my size in stock. A very similar design WAS available in my size, and that one fit, so I ordered the other design in the same size, and was told it would be delivered to my house on Wednesday.

Of course, I had to pay 4 days in advance of receipt of said shoes, as is required for all such transactions.

This morning I received an email confirming yesterday's shoe order and shipping. Most people wouldn't give that kind of routine email a second glance, but I've been a crime victim so many times that I've long since lost count, so I try to always read the fine print.

Turns out that, after I left the store, someone had gone in and manually changed my order to a very expensive man's shoe - it was about 2x as expensive as the lady shoes I had placed the order for (I confirmed that this had been an intentional after-the-fact change by going back to the store this morning and inspecting their paperwork over their protestations - AND I took a cell phone pic of said paperwork for my BBB complaint).

Worse, the perp apparently managed to bill these fancy man's shoes to a third party. So it became a transaction involving (1) my name and address, (2) some other guy's credit card, and (3) the thief's expensive shoes to be delivered to my house on Wednesday at which point the porch pirate himself (or his agent), knowing the scheduled delivery, would swoop in to complete the targeted steal (you can thank the online GPS tracking of delivery couriers for making the job of porch pirates all the more efficient).

So, some random shopper guy got scammed, I also got scammed because I don't think I'm ever going to get the shoes I paid for in advance, and the store got scammed at least in part because some operative on their inside leveraged them to supply the goods.

Do I hear expletives uttered all the way around?!

This was supposed to be the SIMPLEST POSSIBLE SALES TRANSACTION. Now unless the store steps up and takes responsibility, I've got to go dispute my credit card because my shoes have been Shanghai'd, some other guy who probably had a routine in-store purchase that day now has a big bonus charge on his card, and it's a mess. All because I needed a pair of dress shoes on a Saturday afternoon.

It never ends. Really. Moral of the story: Read your fine print. That way you can stop at least a portion of this type of 21st century theft process in real time. Most people would not have caught on to what was transpiring until no shoes at all got delivered, except they did but were not the ordered shoes and were then snatched on top of that.

[Foiled Again]

If you live in a small town, call the police and have them waiting to meet the porch pirate. And yes, you should force the store to send you what you ordered and paid for.

[InterBlog]

Someone off-forum emailed me this... no point in posting the URL because it'll quickly disappear, so here's a partial image grab below.

Obviously this person is either a scammer or has lost their marbles, with that price.

The interesting thing about this scam is that I was not able to quickly identify where the images were apparently scraped (typically they come from prior legitimate sales listings for the same vehicle). But I did not spend much time looking - it's a white sprinter van, of which there are tens of thousands. That makes the original pics hard to find. If you find yourself with time on your hands and you like a challenge, here is the ephemeral link so that you can do your own searching.

Anyway, just another reminder that scams are out there.

[85MH325]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

Someone off-forum emailed me this... no point in posting the URL because it'll quickly disappear, so here's a partial image grab below.

Obviously this person is either a scammer or has lost their marbles, with that price.

Which immediately brings to mind three old saws:

"Caveat Emptor"

"If it appears too good to be true, it probably is."

And last:

"You can't cheat an honest person."

No one who is honest would believe you could legitimately buy a $70,000+ motorhome for $20,000.

And yet, unbelievably, in 2018 Americans lost over $700,000 to Nigerian 419 scams. Still.

[InterBlog]

We are all doomed. This ad just appeared in my Facebook feed, of all places. Not even Meta can stop the scamming deluge.