As my search for a Strat continues, I have come across one on Ebay, anyway wanted to find out whether the following was true. I asked the seller for the full serial number as he only has the first 4-5 numbers, his reply:

"you do not need the whole serial number to check authenticity. The
first two letters and number are all you need to
determine what it is. . A scam on ebay in the past has been for fraudsters to 'report a stolen guitar' quoting the description and serial number of a guitar they have seen on ebay. Hence the reluctance to publish the whole
number."

So is this true? Or is he pulling the wool over my eyes?

I'd go with your gut feeling. Why not post the whole serial # ???, unless there is something to hide.

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2012 American Vintage Telecaster 1958
09 Fender american deluxe strat.
97 Gibson les paul special P90's double-cut
65 Princeton reverb re-issue
2010 Guild Gad-F40e