ONLeaders ONLeaders.com, William J. Habermann Cessna 182 Airplane Scam Los Angeles, California

I found a very well priced plane listed on a reputable website. Scam would also work with cars, boat, etc. anything of significant value. The listing was very accurate in that is the registered owner was correct, the details of the plane were correct, and an initial check with FAA (federal aviation admin) all checked out. In reality, there is a plane and owner that is correct, and this is why the initial check of info seems to proved that it was legit. However, the true owner never intended to sell and was not the one that was actually being contacted. In reality the scam artist was simply using
accurate info, and posing as the seller.

I agreed to use an online "escrow company" that was suggested by the seller. It looked legit, but was not. Best way to avoid this would have been to suggest an escrow that I was familiar with or at worst, randomly choose one.

I wired funds to the escrow account for holding until the plane was shipped to me. The plane was never shipped and never arrived and the funds were removed from the account within hours of being received. FYI, most banks will allow you to "recall" a wire during the first 24 - 48 hours. If you suspect that this may have happened to you, I urge you to recall your wire immediately if possible and report it the police in order to catch there people.

Looking back, be extra leery of "great buys", choose your own escrow if it is your money on the line, check in with the bank and make sure that the funds are being held in an escrow trust account BEFORE sending money, ask how long the
account or company has been doing business. Verify the escrow company is legitimate. Use a cashiers check instead.