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Be careful of scammer replying to WTB

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sthcoaster

sthcoaster

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Joined 2016
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#1
I recently posted a WTB here and soon after received a message from a DIYA member saying they had exactly what I was looking for and that I should email them at an aol address they gave in their message.

I checked the user account to find it was less than 1 day old and when googled the email address is reported elsewhere as a known scammer.

I reported the message for moderation and looks like the moderators have kicked the account as it does not come up now when searching member accounts.

Be careful and do a quick little due diligence if being approached in this forum.

Regards

Clayton
 
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#3
I received what seems to be a scam also concerning a wtb in the swap meet. I checked the forum and saw that the member had posted in the forum so I thought I it was legitimate. They gave me a phone number and said it was another members adding that I should text them. In my hurry, I reached out to try and discuss. I surmised that it was a scam with stock photos of the item requesting to pickup in Louisiana or could mail… beware
 
#4
Literally was about to fall prey to the same scam. I posted a WTB ad and someone responded I get in touch with Clayton with XYZ phone number provided. I started messaging and got a reply back. I asked for pictures, and the person texted me pictures. Then I was getting ready to PayPal - but he said he only accepted Zelle. I said no problem - can he point me to online forums where he had sufficient feedback - and he failed to do so. Something seemed fishy, so I thought I should keep looking. Turns out the pictures he provided me were sourced from some German diyfourms (so they won't show up at the very top of my typical Google search). They are getting better at this - but one just needs to stay vigilant - and also just stick to PayPal. The 3.0% fee is nominal compared to the peace of mind.
 
#5
I thought it was Crawford from Lousiana😁 He somehow managed to dig up a picture of a single Sonus Faber speaker I was looking for . I was a little suspicious because the member who wrote to me to text Crawford registered a day before. Crawford said he only accepts Venmo and bank transfer and if I send him half the money he will send the speaker and I will pay the rest after I receive it. At that point I knew that this Sonus Faber resides in Nigeria. I was just going to post the warning. Surprised that they target such a niche market
 
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#7
Had the same thing happen to me last week. Got a reply to my WTB a day after posting. Price was realistic but on the low side. Tried to get me to pay Paypal F&F. When I declined (post Brexit, F&F EU to UK is about as expensive as regular PP, but without the protection), tried to get me to use a paypal.me - link which is again F&F in disguise. Turned out the payment address comes up in google search, has been used for scamming. Contacted mods but they declined to do anything.

Things that made me suspicious:
  • Seller pretended to be based in UK and name in address sounded "native" but language was not quite native and at times sounded like machine translation (edit: just found his profile says UK but he told me he was based in Scotland)
  • Seller had been member for about 10 weeks and had a total of five posts. These seemed to be an attempt at building a legend. It was clear from the posts that he had some passing knowledge but no real graps. Similar language hickups as in the meassaging.
  • Explanations seller offered about how he had used the article and why he was selling didn't make sense.
  • Seller agreed on regular Paypal after I had declined the two other options but started backtracking.

In the end, I insisted he send me a photo of the article together with a slip of paper with my name written on it. Never heard from him again.
 
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#12
Happens in Germany too lately. Too bad, we had a nice club of people that could be trusted through our common hobby.

Now I also like Paypal Friends but people that joined only a few days earlier need to earn at least some credit and some positive recommendations.
 
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#14
Why odd? I don't recall buying anything from Canadian moderators but I do recall having nothing but problems buying/selling from/to Commonwealth folks and especially Canadians therefore I recommend avoiding dealing with constant whining, complaints and extortion attempts iof those folks usually expressing penniless beggars attitudes. What's wrong with that in a thread about pitfalls of dealing online ?
 
#19
Over the years I have bought stuff from many people on this forum and never had a problem, so i guess a large majority of people are honest.
But still being careful is advisable.
Regarding the "illusion of democracy", yes - it may not be perfect, but still much much better than some mafia dictatorship.
When mankind developes enough to overcome greed, then we win. If we don't poison ourselves with pollution by then.
Anyway thanks for making this forum possible - it's really the best. 🙂
 
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