[Hit_Apex]

Originally Posted by G35POPPEDMYCHERRY

smells like good PR stunt to me. lets see if more details emerge.

Ya - I wanna see a mugshot of shaggy puff jacket.

[CoralRed]

As someone who is about to sell two BMWs… how the heck do we sell cars to avoid getting scammed like this? I thought cashiers checks were supposed to be fraud proof….

[tturedraider]

Originally Posted by CoralRed

As someone who is about to sell two BMWs… how the heck do we sell cars to avoid getting scammed like this? I thought cashiers checks were supposed to be fraud proof….

These days counterfeit cashier’s checks are not uncommon, so they are definitely not fraud proof. The first key is to know your buyer as well as you can. Google, Facebook, LinkedIn are your friends. As others have mentioned, if staying with a bank that has branches in your area isn’t an option then wire transfer is your best bet. If you’re comfortable with being able to identify counterfeit currency then cash could be an option.

[Car-Addicted]

Every once in a while the good guys win.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_srNAwpjCbc

[BeEmVe]

Originally Posted by CoralRed

As someone who is about to sell two BMWs… how the heck do we sell cars to avoid getting scammed like this? I thought cashiers checks were supposed to be fraud proof….

Cashier's check says the funds were withdrawn from the account and thus were available. The issue is the checks are being counterfeited. At this point all bets are off.

If I were to sell a vehicle that required a large financial transaction I would agree to meet the buyer at their bank. The bank can then have a cashier's check issued in my presence.

[Car-Addicted]

Originally Posted by BeEmVe

If I were to sell a vehicle that required a large financial transaction I would agree to meet the buyer at their bank. The bank can then have a cashier's check issued in my presence.

That will work if you are in a situation where the bank is local but lots of cars are sold and shipped these days. Wire transfers are easy and not expensive. I would insist on a wire transfer and confirm that the funds have cleared.

Glad they got the car back. I hope they catch up with the guy that stole it. Guys in Jersey know how to deal with these issues.

[G30M]

Originally Posted by tturedraider

This is crazy and what happened at the bank makes ZERO SENSE!!! I worked in bank operations for many years. A bank should be able to verify a valid routing number in about two seconds. As well they should never have said the cashier’s check was genuine without verifying the routing number and calling the issuing bank to verify the check. This part of the story makes no sense. If the bank screwed up this badly they should be sued to make him whole.

I now think it is indeed PR stunt

Kies story makes no sense. Not one sense

[B58-M340iX]

Originally Posted by Car-Addicted

Every once in a while the good guys win.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_srNAwpjCbc

That's amazing!! I'm so happy for Bryan! He seems like a genuine guy - not too many of those people around anymore. I'm glad good karma came his way. Overwhelmed with joy and happiness for him.

[christianb5s4]

If KIES was making this up, there's only downside for them. I don't see any logical reason they'd lie.

As secure as anything you think is, there is always a way thieves can find a way to work around the rules. Despite one following all the right protocols.

[murderspice]

In the heydays of ebay back in the early 2000s, this kind of fraud was rampant; but instead, it was through money orders/western union. They would buy the product and send a real money gram check to you, requesting proof of shipment. The goal was for you to send the item while the bank still had a hold on the funds, then cancel the funds after the item was in the mail. Crims have appeared to graduate from money orders to cashiers checks.

Side note; the possibility this was done ‘for clicks’ makes me sick.

[BlackM750i]

Sucks to be in that position but I mean it's 2024 and everyone really should know better by now when it comes to checks and money orders and selling/buying...don't trust anyone. As a buyer, I make it easy for sellers, cash. Most banks don't hold a lot of cash on hand but you can call ahead 24-48 hours and they will have it ready for you. If the buyer can get a cashier's check, they can get the cash.

I fly out of state to buy all of my cars via private party and there is no issue at the airport with carrying a lot of cash. I always keep the receipt with it just in case there was ever an issue, but there has never been over the many, many cars I have purchased.

If there is a safety issue, meet at the bank or at a local police station to do the transaction.

[ZL9M2]

CASH or WIRE.

[MoeTE87]

Looks like the F80 was found and Brian posted a short clip on youtube about it while the F80 was getting loaded up on a flatbed.

[MoeTE87]

I believe it was a youtube clip. Let me see if I can find it. He posted it last night.

Found it!

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_srNAwpjCbc

[aliiin]

Glad the car was found. Kies makes awesome YouTube content for us BMW enthusiasts and seems like a genuine, good dude.

The YouTube shorts of him finding car shows his reaction as emotional and genuine, kind of hard to believe this was a PR stunt.

[geko29]

Originally Posted by Car-Addicted

That will work if you are in a situation where the bank is local but lots of cars are sold and shipped these days. Wire transfers are easy and not expensive. I would insist on a wire transfer and confirm that the funds have cleared.

True, for a distant transaction a wire is absolutely the best option.

But this was a local, in-person transaction. A check from some tiny, distant bank should be its own red flag.

For in-person transactions via cashier's check, IMO the best course of action is to go to the issuing bank, "cash" the check, and get a new check drawn on the bank issued to you. Pay the $5 or whatever fee for the check. Your transaction with the seller ends at the teller window, and you now only have one with the bank, which offers far better protections.

[KevinC]

Originally Posted by g21

I now think it is indeed PR stunt

Kies story makes no sense. Not one sense

Nothing about it makes no sense to me, and Bryan is a stand-up guy and I HIGHLY doubt he'd pull something like this.

Explain how it makes "not one sense" to you?

[nosbocaj]

Originally Posted by CoralRed

As someone who is about to sell two BMWs… how the heck do we sell cars to avoid getting scammed like this? I thought cashiers checks were supposed to be fraud proof….

The guy who bought my M2 did and account to account transfer through Fidelity. We both called a rep and authorized the transfer. It worked great. I had the money right away and immediately transferred it to my main bank. We had a bill of sale, took pictures of each others licenses. Probably went way past what was needed, but I knew I wasn't getting scammed.

Previous cars I've sold have either been cash or a bank check.

[tturedraider]

Originally Posted by nosbocaj

The guy who bought my M2 did and account to account transfer through Fidelity. We both called a rep and authorized the transfer. It worked great. I had the money right away and immediately transferred it to my main bank. We had a bill of sale, took pictures of each others licenses. Probably went way past what was needed, but I knew I wasn't getting scammed.

Previous cars I've sold have either been cash or a bank check.

That’s a cool idea. I imagine Fidelity has more flexibility to do something like that, because they are not a federally regulated bank. I won’t say with 100% certainty, but with 99.99998% certainty a bank could not make such a transfer between two “unconnected” accounts where there was no common ownership. I’m just mentioning this so folks don’t get an expectation their bank might to do an intra-bank, inter-account transfer.

[nosbocaj]

Originally Posted by tturedraider

That’s a cool idea. I imagine Fidelity has more flexibility to do something like that, because they are not a federally regulated bank. I won’t say with 100% certainty, but with 99.99998% certainty a bank could not make such a transfer between two “unconnected” accounts where there was no common ownership. I’m just mentioning this so folks don’t get an expectation their bank might to do an intra-bank, inter-account transfer.

Yeah I don't think it's a common thing. We had to both speak with the rep and do identity verifications. She was able to do a one time transfer so our accounts wouldn't be linked. Overall, it took about 15 minutes to setup. You're right though, probably unlikely unless you both have the same bank. Even then it takes a customer service rep.

[chris719]

Originally Posted by KevinC

Nothing about it makes no sense to me, and Bryan is a stand-up guy and I HIGHLY doubt he'd pull something like this.

Explain how it makes "not one sense" to you?

If you see the quality of his other posts, it makes sense to me .

[Car-Addicted]

Wow some of you need to get a hobby. As the owner of a internet mail order company, fraud is everywhere and it gets more creative all the time. I get 2 to 5 fraud attempts a month that get through our automated securities. I catch almost all of those but I get stung once a year or so. I'm sure Bryan learned a lot of lessons during this and I think we all learned a thing or two. Now can we give the guy the benefit of the doubt?

Last hint: BeenVerified is a great way to check up on any buyer or seller. We use it all the time. It's worth the money.