Facebook scammer tries to ‘sell’ stolen bikes back to owners!

A scam has been uncovered on Facebook that involves an alleged motorcycle thief contacting the victims of a bike theft and offering to sell their bikes back to them!

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First reported on the website Biker and Bike, the scam involves a user called John Sheldon contacting the victims of recent thefts in the early hours of the morning. He proclaims that the victim is making the bike too hot to handle and offers the owner the chance to ‘buy’ the bike back. To help persuade the owner to go ahead with the deal, the Facebook user claims that the bike will be stripped for parts if they don’t buy it.

Biker and Bike reports that most of the people they contacted about the scam simply took the messages for what they were, although one theft victim took the person up on the deal to see what happened. In this instance, the trail led to a Halifax building society account, although the name didn’t match that of the Facebook profile. The Police and the Halifax were notified of the criminal activity – although typically, not much was done.

The person who spoke to the scammer claimed that police response to the crime was soft, saying “They [the police] wouldn’t look into it, and it took them 13 hours to send someone. Scamming somebody out of cash or stealing their vehicle is out of line… All of which is illegal and the police should be doing something about it!”