I am skeptical... American Strats serial numbers don't start with an M... they only start with a number to designate the decade in which they were manufactered... (ex... S for 1970's, E for 1980'3, N for 1990'3 and Z for 2000's) Older strats just had a numerical serial number. Mexican strats start out with an M, followed by the decade... then by the individual year. So... I have never seen a Strat with a K in the serial number... nor have I ever seen one on a Stratocaster Serial number site. Usually the M stands for Mexican... One way to check is to look at the wood that is around the truss-rod. If it is black plastic, it is a Mexican Strat... if it's walnut (light to dark brown wood) it's American. But sounds like a rip off to me. Especially since it's from a Pawn Shop.