Real Live Scam: goodm ind002@gmail.com
Feb 18, 2020 19:59:12 GMT 1
JonW, markhoopy, and 2 more like this
Post by hudtm60 on Feb 18, 2020 19:59:12 GMT 1
I joined a club over here (easy….) that produces rallys and things. (phew). I thought it would be cool to display the LC’s for the uneducated in the power and the glory of such machines. The organization (Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club) produces a magazine every couple of months which is mildly interesting.
I usually never look at the non-pictured classifieds but imagine my surprise when I read 1981 Yamaha RD350LC in perfect condition….etc etc engine has very low miles etc $6400. Mike Lan 208-515-2726 goodmind002@gmail.com. I have recently been email wrestling with a chap in New York who has a vgc blue and white with only 7k km and he wants $9k- so this seemed more doable.
I thought what the hell and called the number. Area code was Boise,ID….a mere 2,000 from me…but there’s many ways of getting bikes. First red flag was the odd ring tone….which clicked onto a even odder ring tone followed by a voice that was unmistakably Asian speaking in not just broken but literally destroyed English. “Herro?” Seemed like a nice chap- but I had to speak ever so slowly to get my questions across. Apparently it was blue and white once owned by his father who had it for 20 years. Could not get much more out of him other than he promised to send me pictures.
These arrived a couple of days later at which point I had already come to the wise conclusion that it was all a ruse and Asian Mike just wanted me to wire him a bunch of cash of which I would never see again never mind the bike.
I had done a bit of Googling. Started off with the e-mail address which brought up an article of the appropriately named ripoffscams.com website which read…
"I was shopping for a vintage British motor cycle and ran across a ad in a online Britsh cycle magazine. Seller was located in Portland, OR a city of which I am familiar. We corresponded, he graduated from the same college as my son, he was not sure he still wanted to sell, he had great photos and said his father bought it new and his sons weren’t into old bikes. The asking price was on the low side if the condition matched the photos. I was going to fly up from CA to check it out , then it turned out he moved to Columbus Ohio to be near his wife’s family 2 months ago. To far I thought to go. After several days of emails and two phone calls I went for it and wired him $7500 for the bike and shipping he could arrange with a friend of his son. Two weeks later hdd was responding but having excuses why it had not ship. I started doing searches that I should have done before and found false addresses, no hits on his name on tracking sites, out of service burner phones. I was taken like a lamb to slaughter."
There’s no real way to discover the authenticity of this complaint but let’s just call this Red Flag #2.
Then let’s look at the pictures.
They are a little bit suspect and not only because they landed in my mailbox at 430am, but I’ve been to Boise a ton of times, I still I don’t know it THAT well but I can tell you that it’s not known for it’s cobble stones or European looking farm buildings. I discovered that you can actually Google a picture by clicking on “Image” in the top right hand corner of the Google Search engine splash page and then drop your picture into the space bar to see if Asian Mike’s LC appears anywhere else on the world wide web and lo and behold there it is for sale on CarandClassic.co.uk and it happens to be in Germany and, yes, still currently for sale. The question is: Will the real RD350LC stand up? Which is the authentic ad? The German one or Asian Mike’s? I reckon, and this video appears to substantiate it, that the German ad is real and Asian Mike simply hijacked it the pics.
Knowing all this I got into a bit of e-mail to and fro with Mike. I said it was too much money for the high mileage (29k). He suggested he would accept a lower offer. I asked if he would be around this weekend so I could come and view it. His response was that he would be “available for pick up”- kinda meaning to me….yes if you wire me the dosh I’ll make sure someone is there to put it on your shipper’s truck. Not likely I thought. I then responded with a “Great new’s I have a friend who lives nearby who will be able to meet you and look at the bike before we decide what to offer”
Haven’t heard from him since.
I usually never look at the non-pictured classifieds but imagine my surprise when I read 1981 Yamaha RD350LC in perfect condition….etc etc engine has very low miles etc $6400. Mike Lan 208-515-2726 goodmind002@gmail.com. I have recently been email wrestling with a chap in New York who has a vgc blue and white with only 7k km and he wants $9k- so this seemed more doable.
I thought what the hell and called the number. Area code was Boise,ID….a mere 2,000 from me…but there’s many ways of getting bikes. First red flag was the odd ring tone….which clicked onto a even odder ring tone followed by a voice that was unmistakably Asian speaking in not just broken but literally destroyed English. “Herro?” Seemed like a nice chap- but I had to speak ever so slowly to get my questions across. Apparently it was blue and white once owned by his father who had it for 20 years. Could not get much more out of him other than he promised to send me pictures.
These arrived a couple of days later at which point I had already come to the wise conclusion that it was all a ruse and Asian Mike just wanted me to wire him a bunch of cash of which I would never see again never mind the bike.
I had done a bit of Googling. Started off with the e-mail address which brought up an article of the appropriately named ripoffscams.com website which read…
"I was shopping for a vintage British motor cycle and ran across a ad in a online Britsh cycle magazine. Seller was located in Portland, OR a city of which I am familiar. We corresponded, he graduated from the same college as my son, he was not sure he still wanted to sell, he had great photos and said his father bought it new and his sons weren’t into old bikes. The asking price was on the low side if the condition matched the photos. I was going to fly up from CA to check it out , then it turned out he moved to Columbus Ohio to be near his wife’s family 2 months ago. To far I thought to go. After several days of emails and two phone calls I went for it and wired him $7500 for the bike and shipping he could arrange with a friend of his son. Two weeks later hdd was responding but having excuses why it had not ship. I started doing searches that I should have done before and found false addresses, no hits on his name on tracking sites, out of service burner phones. I was taken like a lamb to slaughter."
There’s no real way to discover the authenticity of this complaint but let’s just call this Red Flag #2.
Then let’s look at the pictures.
They are a little bit suspect and not only because they landed in my mailbox at 430am, but I’ve been to Boise a ton of times, I still I don’t know it THAT well but I can tell you that it’s not known for it’s cobble stones or European looking farm buildings. I discovered that you can actually Google a picture by clicking on “Image” in the top right hand corner of the Google Search engine splash page and then drop your picture into the space bar to see if Asian Mike’s LC appears anywhere else on the world wide web and lo and behold there it is for sale on CarandClassic.co.uk and it happens to be in Germany and, yes, still currently for sale. The question is: Will the real RD350LC stand up? Which is the authentic ad? The German one or Asian Mike’s? I reckon, and this video appears to substantiate it, that the German ad is real and Asian Mike simply hijacked it the pics.
Knowing all this I got into a bit of e-mail to and fro with Mike. I said it was too much money for the high mileage (29k). He suggested he would accept a lower offer. I asked if he would be around this weekend so I could come and view it. His response was that he would be “available for pick up”- kinda meaning to me….yes if you wire me the dosh I’ll make sure someone is there to put it on your shipper’s truck. Not likely I thought. I then responded with a “Great new’s I have a friend who lives nearby who will be able to meet you and look at the bike before we decide what to offer”
Haven’t heard from him since.
