Somebody just tried to scam me on some parts I an selling. I have posted here, on the SDC forum site, and on the Stude Truck Talk site that I have reproduction M5/M15/1940 Commander/President bumper guards for sale at $200 per pair. I had a couple of emails and a phone call from a guy in England wanting to buy three sets. Strangely, he had said that he didn't want me to ship them, that he would send his own shipper to pick them up. I also thought it strange that he didn't mention what kinds of cars or trucks he was going to use them on.
So, today I notified him by email that the parts were ready for shipment upon receipt of his payment via PayPal for $600. He responded that he wanted to send me a "paycheck" for $3500. Wrote he, "Do not mind the high balance as I have got other items coming alongside the guards." I wrote him back that it was PayPal or nothing. He used the name Chris Long, chrislonguk [at] worldemail_dot_com, and he had a Jamaican accent.
I conclude that the scammers are now scanning the newsgroups and forums to find suckers. The other kink to some of these scams is that you may get a check and deposit it. Your bank has to make the funds available to you in a few days, but the check hasn't really cleared. Typically, the scammer will call you soon after you deposit his check, apologize for the inconvenience, and ask you to write them a check for the "extra" money. Somehow, the scammers have figured out a way to make it take up to a month for their check to finally be declared worthless - including cashier's checks - and your bank comes back to you and deducts the "deposit". If in doubt, ask your bank how to be sure that a check has truly "cleared". I read in the local paper that the same type of scam process is even being used on deposits for vacation rental homes and hotel rooms on Martha's Vineyard. I'm sure the guy was NEVER going to send anyone to pick up any parts. Be careful out there!
Anyway, I do have some gorgeous 197916 and 197917 bumper guards in polished
304 stainless steel if you want them. See