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Fraud Center

Aviation classifieds attract a specific kind of scam: the too-good deal, the deposit-before-inspection, the wire transfer to someone "overseas on deployment." Here's what we do about it — and what you should never do.

Never wire money to a stranger

No legitimate seller, broker, or escrow officer will ever ask you to wire money, buy gift cards, pay in crypto, or send cash apps (Zelle/Venmo/CashApp) to hold an aircraft. On ClearProp, deposits belong in escrow — never to an individual.

Deposits go through escrow — with receipts

If someone pressures you to 'hold it with a deposit' before you've seen the aircraft or the logs, that's the oldest aviation-classifieds scam there is. ClearProp's Deal Room keeps every deposit step on the ledger where both parties can see it.

Unlogged time is unverifiable time

Logbooks are the aircraft's biography. Missing volumes, gaps between annuals, or an engine hour count that doesn't match the tach are all reasons to walk — or to price in a major. Our pre-buy checklist makes these checks standard, not optional.

We cross-check the FAA registry

When a listing includes an N-number, ClearProp verifies it against the FAA registry — registration status, registrant location, model/year — and shows mismatches right on the listing. If the registry says a different model than the listing claims, you'll see it.

Pre-buy inspection, standardized

A pre-buy from an IA you pick (not the seller's shop) with a written, itemized report is your strongest protection. Use our directory and the 20-point checklist to structure it — and stay for the ferry-home plan.

What we verify — and how

  • Verified seller badge — phone verified + a second identity factor. Earned, never bought.
  • Escrow-backed badge — the seller has closed deals where funds actually moved through escrow.
  • Registry verification — N-number, registrant, model/year checked against the live FAA registry on every listing that declares one.
  • Clone detection — every photo is perceptually hashed; identical photos across different sellers' active listings raise a moderation flag visible to our review team.
  • Scam-pattern screening — listings and messages are screened for wire-transfer, overpayment-check, and away-seller patterns; suspected messages carry a warning banner.
  • Accident history — NTSB accident records surface on listings where the aircraft appears.

Honest limits: we are not a law-enforcement agency and do not maintain a stolen-aircraft database (no public one exists for GA). If you believe an aircraft is stolen, report it to your local police and the FBI's IC3 — and report the listing here so we can act fast.

See something? Report it.

Use Report listing on any listing, or Report user in any message thread. Reports go to a human moderation queue — not an algorithm. If money has already moved and you suspect fraud, contact your bank or wire provider immediately, then file with IC3.

ClearProp never moves money itself — escrow is the only safe place for a deposit. Browse listings