Scammer collecting real serials?

[cjj]

So you sent him the serial number and haven't heard from him since? Shocker.

Send him another note saying you lied and it wasn't really the real serial number...

[ken_j]

If I were to set up a meet with this guy it sure wouldn't be at my residence.

[86kubicki]

What I don't understand is that if he was local, wouldn't he be able to see the serial number in person when/if a meeting is arranged?
Is it possible he's trolling for the serial number so he can then file a stolen report with the police? You probably have all the sale documentation Jason, but this could possibly work if you didn't have any proof of ownership. Probably more likely is that the guy is just extremely cautious. Oh well, his loss.

[egosheep]

Sounds like he's just a jerk, not a scammer. As others have said, it would be really easy to make up a fake serial number, one that wasn't registered on this site... thus making it hard to prove that it wasn't legit. Also, going to the trouble of faking a serial number and stamping a chrome jackplate seems like a lot of work... maybe on a one-off faker, but on a large scale, "I need 100 real serials this week" kind of operation? Just doesn't seem realistic.

[ken_j]

... Also, going to the trouble of faking a serial number and stamping a chrome jackplate seems like a lot of work... maybe on a one-off faker, but on a large scale, "I need 100 real serials this week" kind of operation? Just doesn't seem realistic.

Something else to watch for on a faker. I doubt that one could match the script that RIC uses. Their numbers don't look close to any punch sets I have used or purchased over the last 25 years for use in my work.

[jdogric12]

I was feeling squirrely and decided to follow up with my new friend. Again, italics=me, bold=him.

Hey there Mr. Big!* Did you get my last email? I haven't heard from you since I sent you the serial number. Did you get in touch with Rickenbacker and verify that it's not a fake?

*reference to his one-word email address and domain on the "net"

Yes I received the email and serial and ran it on Rickenbacker’s website and it is an authentic serial number.
Unfortunately I found a brand new un-played 360/12 for $1495.00 and free shipping from MF.

Really? They quoted me $1899. Who did you talk to for that price? I might pick up one myself if they're that cheap.

Five hours later and no reply.

[johnallg]

Surprised? Uh, no.

[jdogric12]

The funny thing is: I've played around with the serial number decoder, and based on the RRF sampling of 2010 serial numbers, the last three "unique" digits seem to be in some sort of pattern, even though numbers seem to be repeated for different weeks in the same year. So I ran what I am fairly confident are some fake serial numbers and it still applied the same dating method. So I could have given him an intelligently designed fake serial number and he would have still gotten his "authentication." So at best, Mr. Big is just plain ignorant! I actually hope he's reading these threads! Would be great to know the whole story.

[bails]

The RIC serial decoder is not connected to any production database nor historical record, but rather simply applies logic rules based on the number format.

If you type in a serial starting with FD followed by four numbers (for example), it will state that the guitar was manufactured in April 1966.
The four numbers can be anything from 0000 to 9999 and the result will be the same, despite nearly all of these numbers being fake.
Actually, only about 500 (those that lie approximately between 1000 and 1500) out of the 10,000 possibilities are genuine April '66 serial numbers.

[rick_ovic]

I was feeling squirrely and decided to follow up with my new friend. Again, italics=me, bold=him.

Hey there Mr. Big!* Did you get my last email? I haven't heard from you since I sent you the serial number. Did you get in touch with Rickenbacker and verify that it's not a fake?

*reference to his one-word email address and domain on the "net"

Yes I received the email and serial and ran it on Rickenbacker’s website and it is an authentic serial number.
Unfortunately I found a brand new un-played 360/12 for $1495.00 and free shipping from MF.

Really? They quoted me $1899. Who did you talk to for that price? I might pick up one myself if they're that cheap.

Five hours later and no reply.

Jdog, thanks for allowing me to add the term "squirrely" to my vocabulary. I haven't come across that word before, however I intend to use it at the earliest opportunity, now that I understand it's meaning!

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.p ... =squirrely

[jdogric12]

Awesome! You're very welcome Darren. I was only aware of meanings 2 and 3 (similar).

[shamustwin]

I like that - "mildly insane"... whew, glad it's a mild case of insanity!

[johnallg]

I like that - "mildly insane"... whew, glad it's a mild case of insanity!

Sounds like most of us.

[8mileshigher]

That Urban dictionary meaning #5 threw a colorful phrase out there: douche bag esque !!!

[jdogric12]

How funny, I had a blog post a few months back about douchebagism!