Ariel Sq4 scam GMT377 P903 DD889

[SEDoan]

A one owner 1938 Sq4 in pieces for sale near me? Sound too good to be true?
Klaus introduced this to me and asked if I knew anything because I'm close.
A guy calling himself Christian Murphy had offered Klaus the bike - Klaus is 9 time zones away so unable to inspect in person. Murphy had given an address and phone number in Tacoma, WA state a couple hours south. I'd never heard of Christian Murphy, so called a couple local Ariel and vintage motorcycle people closer to Tacoma and checked old AMCNA club rosters and found no Christian Murphy. Eventually Mr. Murphy and I spoke briefly on the phone but it was a strange conversation where he offered no details and showed little interest in the bike (and a bad connection). So we texted back and forth. Again almost no detail offered and little apparent interest in the bike until I asked his history with the bike. Suddenly there was abundant detail. His text begins "I purchased the bike new"!!! That would make Mr. Murphy 103 years old if he bought it when he was 16. He then emailed pictures showing a SQ4 in pieces. A quick search pulled up this Bonhams auction:
https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/18221/ ... no-dd-889/
It is also the source of the history he texted me.
Murphy did not respond when I asked for more recent pictures. His final email to me said the bike is actually not close to me, it is in "Takoma, Washington DC". There is, in fact, a Takoma Park, MD that is a suburb of Washington DC. Unfortunately it is roughly 3,000 miles away from me, but he did say he would be happy to take my money and promise to ship.
Be careful out there!

Edit to add specific info that is searchable: Registration: GMT 377, Frame: P 903, Engine: DD 889

[KenS]

Smells a little fishy!