I became aware of a fellow pinsider who got scammed on MMRE. Smooth talking scammer, knew his stuff. Guy wired $.
Some tips:
Background check buyers and reverse search phone numbers.
Check routing numbers for bank location, etc.
Get references from known reputable pinsiders.
Avoid Facebook. This one originated there.
Perhaps use fellow pinsiders to verify that a game exists, and inspect.
Check photos against pinside listings.
FaceTime and check and inspect the game.
Read this thread from top to bottom as well as VIDs thread on how to not get scammed.
I feel really badly for the buyer.
If it’s too good to be true, it’s fake.

On another note, I avoided a moving company shipping scam from a Batman Forever listed for free out Billings. You know, it’s on a truck and I’ll put you in touch with the moving company. I called the real moving company, and the guy said “I don’t know nothin about no pinball, but I’ve had 4 calls about it.” The scammer used an area code and number similar to the real moving co, sent a bad looking invoice, and offered to ship the game to me for $245 With 60% down. I finally said I’ll have sti pick it up from your warehouse, and got ghosted of course.
Folks, be smart, be safe, and good luck to you all.

Your can learn a lot about a person from talking to them.

Once your bank verifies it’s there, you’re in good shape.
I have seen the inverse, where someone wires money to a legit account in California but the catch is the account was set up via bad credentials and identity theft. Either way do your due diligence on the seller.
I use true people search dot com to reverse look up and match phone numbers, verify addresses, and the person I’m dealing with. It’s been pretty reliable. Trust your gut; it’s a great fraud barometer.

Additionally, check the contact us page. Anyone not using an address is messed up.

CEB9DF01-544C-4DA0-99E9-B8CA00B20C29 (resized).png