Scammers beware

[kernow]

After some deliberation and discussion with the mods, I feel obliged to open this up to the general community.

There are several members on here who are potentially looking to scam you good folks out of your hard earned money. Please be vigilant when dealing with people who are asking for PayPal gift or worse still funds via bank transfer. There is no recourse should things go wrong and you WILL lose your money.

If a member (new or longstanding) won't accept PayPal (non gift) then be wary. I have my suspicions about some members having multiple user names. Some may even be 'trading' and leaving feedback for themselves to boost their profile. Then they may later go rogue and request you to 'gift' or bank transfer them the money on the fact that they have a good reputation.

Personally, I won't buy anything unless it's either cash on collection or non gift PayPal.

If anyone wants to add to this please do so. I won't name names unless there is a request from the mods for me to do so.

[Rolexman]

Useless post without details. Like saying "beware of pickpocketing in the subway"... Really?

[Nightwatch]

The only thing I have been reading about is sellers being scammed by buyers and long-lasting members having their PP account frozen for all transactions by noobs. Just from what I´ve read this is just happening more frequently.

Result is being not selling to anyone who hasn´t got a history for post-count and successful transaction track-record. But how will a Noob get that if nobody is selling to him?

Imho if the seller states his desired payment method it´s basically his business, nobody needs to buy.

If I would be selling tomorrow would state something like PP only for VIP-members with at least 200 posts and 1 successful transaction or similar. 

[kernow]

PM'd you both.

[dr_rolex]

Kernow me too .lemmo know

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

[kernow]

Kernow me too .lemmo know

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

PM coming your way

[cc33]

Thanks for bringing this up, it's sure to help. I would like to add, do not accept direct deposits into your bank account unless you wait two days to make sure the cash cannot be taken back. Here's a story from the bitcoin community discussing it, basically it can be taken back within the same day, this affects their community more as they don't have anything to wrap and ship out, but be weary. http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1zruvf/warning_cash_deposits_can_be_reversed_at_bank_of/

[panerai153]

I agree with  Rolexman, just posting something like this is of no help at all.

 

Personally, I am wary of folks who come on the forum and within a period of a few days or weeks post several sales, sometimes with poor photos, descriptions and asking for WU, or bank transfer. These are the folks I worry about. As a general rule, I would rather pay the extra 4% and use conventional PayPal for most of my purchases. The primary reason for this is not necessarily because I don't trust the seller, but I believe that PayPal is monitoring gift transactions, and if one were to make several "gift" transactions in a very short period of time, flags go up, alarms go off and they are really looking at your account. Let's be realistic, when you send money to family or friends (real legitimate family or friends) do you ever send 256.85 ? No, you would send 250.00  or 300.00 dollars. PayPal knows that, they process millions of transactions, they monitor them all, and they can see the statistics with the touch of a key. Secondly, I don't like the idea of not being able to reverse a transaction should it fall apart. If I buy something from anyone, and what I receive is materially different from what is described, I will bend over backwards to try to resolve the problem, but if the seller is non cooperative or disappears, then I would like to have the option of reversing the deal.

 

The internet is a fertile field for scammers and con artists, deals are conducted anonymously, often with a person using a user name. Transactions are completed in seconds half a world away. Computer literate individuals can set up several accounts under different user names, even posting their locations in different parts of the globe, put up items for sale, sell them to one of their other names, post positive feedback, and  use these and other nefarious methods to make it look like they are one of the "good" guys. How do we keep these people at bay? First off use some common sense. is the deal looking too good to be true, because it probably is. Do your due diligence. How long has this seller been around, has he sold things to long time well respected  members, how was the sale to them? What is he posting about outside of the sales forums? Any posts of  true value, or all of his/her posts just little short "fluff" posts to pad his post count? And lastly, what is the method of payment requested? PayPal gift, WU, Bank transfer? If these are the only methods accepted, then I would run away from this transaction. My feelings are, if a member here doesn't want to take my regular PayPal +4% payment which will net him exactly the same amount, then I'm suspicious. A year or two back, I bought a watch off a member here, and he refunded my PayPal payment because  I sent him a regular payment, I PM'ed him and he said he only took PayPal gift, as he was "worried" that someone would start a dispute with him. My answer was "if you send a good watch, and it arrives safely, you shouldn't have to ever worry about a dispute" He answered back that he had sold a watch to a member on another forum and the guy obviously had buyers remorse, wanted to send the watch back, seller refused, and the guy opened a PayPal dispute. I told him that I was sorry about what happened, but that didn't change my payment method. He refused, I told him thanks but no thanks and that was it. Lastly, when you are buying something on this and any forum, remember that there are almost no deals for watches, straps, parts, etc. that you won't see repeated at some time in the future. That "must have" watch will reappear sooner or later. So, if the deal is ringing bells, and is making you feel uncomfortable, It's much better to walk away today and wait for the next one to come along than run the risk of getting in the middle of a bad deal.  

[kernow]

Wow Panerai, some post.

Okay, I'll elaborate. I've been looking for my grail, a black Seamaster professional chronograph, since I have joined the various forums over the last 6 months or so. I have seen maybe three for sale over the last six months but the only one I managed to secure was from a member here. I sent a payment to Brietlingguy via PayPal. He'd requested gift payment and I declined and paid the extra few percent. So I contacted a few other members who I thought had purchased from him. No one had received their watch, so with the help of the moderators here I managed to get a refund via PayPal. Breitlingguy never answered any PM's, emails or phone messages then closed his PayPal account. Other members confirmed the email address containing Mark James (now James could be his middle name, or his surname).

Fast forward six months and similar sales are popping up to Breitlingguy's. I'm suspicious but NEED the black Seamaster Chronograph. So I message the seller who responds. He'll only accept bank transfer, no PayPal. I agree to visit and check the area where he's located. It's near to where Breitlingguy was - a different area code, but as he never answered the phone...... Anyway, I phone he seller whilst travelling and he tells me his name is Mark. Now I'm even more suspicious. When I arrived and look at be watch I ask him if he is Breitlingguy, he say no. I ask if he's Mark James and again, no. I ask him his name and he gives me Mark XXXXXX. I ask for him to prove and show me some ID. He doesn't have anything on him, strange for a car salesman not to have a business card, nor a driving licence, nor his wallet. He can only show me his Facebook account. And, it was Mark XXXXXX not Mark James. So I paid the seller and left. I still wonder though if these two sellers are one and the same. Now, I can't accuse the seller as I have no proof but things didn't seem right.

The seller has been here a few years and has good feedback but .....

[astonjenks]

I think your comment is too general and indeed due diligence should be undertaken, gift or no gift as PP can be used fraudulently. As I have learnt quickly here, buy the seller first then the watch, we recently exposed Messi10 and got him banned, if you know of guys pulling tricks you must also do the same to protect us all.

 

Regards

AJ

[kernow]

Hi AJ,

I've been in contact with the mods about this over the last few days. They have their own suspicions but not currently proof to ban anyone. I totally agree with you regarding buy the seller, hence why I've bought from you a couple of times. As to warning the folks here; that's the point of this thread. Although, I don't have firm proof there are certain alarm bells ringing. I can't and won't at this stage make any direct accusations against the recent seller to me, if I had it would have been done face to face with him a couple of days ago. Now most members read the general section and I would hope this thread. If they are interested enough to check the sales section they'll find that there aren't many black Seamaster chronographs for sale.

[astonjenks]

Good top be vigilant of course, as for the member you mentioned, he certainly looked suspicious.

Regards


AJ

[panerai153]

I'm a little confused here, you bought the watch from Breitlingguy, he didn't send watch to you or other members so you successfully opened a PayPal dispute and got your money back, however the others had not by the time that thread closed. Now you are saying fast forward 6 months and another Black Omega Seamaster Chrono appeared, and you believe that the guy is the same as Breitlingguy, correct? I went back and searched the sales forums, using "Seamaster, Seamaster chronograph, Omega and Omega Seamaster, the last post that matches any of your criteria is the one by Breitlingguy in November of 2013, which I would assume is the one referenced in your original post. So again, I'm saying you are being too vague to be of any use to the members here. When we are dealing with potential scammers, I don't like playing games, because while we are playing games the scammer is selling bogus watches to other members. I also don't like to see anyone implicated because he has a similar name, or he doesn't have any ID. If I were confronted by this situation, I would ask the seller for some references, and hopefully he had a sales history that was such that he could furnish such information. If he couldn't them  I would bid him good day, walk away and keep looking.

Another question, after spending some time looking for the thread in the sales section, and not finding anything that is close to what you are describing, is it possible that the Black Omega Seamaster Chronograph was for sale on another forum? I simply cannot find anything here. Not very many Omegas go through the sales forum, and nothing came up in my searches.  

[kernow]

Is it really that difficult to find the sales thread?

http://www.rwgforum.net/topic/167847-now-sold-omega-7750-seamaster-chrono-with-serial-number/

[panerai153]

As I said in the previous post, I searched the sales forum using every one of the criteria That I said I used. This thread did not come up in any of the searches.

Looking at this guys posts, most are what I would call "fluff" posts, they don't make any constructive contributions to the forum.

AFA his sales thread, when I read bank transfer, that would have done it for me. Fairly new, unknown member, in most cases legit, but why take the chance!

Whether or not this guy is the old scammer Breitlingguy, hard to tell, but historically, scammers if successful will come back and try again, that's why folks have to be very diligent vetting sellers, the old adage, "buy the seller then the watch" is the best advice a member can take. From my perspective this seller sends up several red flags, but the bank transfer only would definitely seal the deal for me, "NO SALE"!!!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[nikki6]

Oddly enough, I bought that sea master too! Also two pocket watches that, of course, never appeared! I have a very poor shot term memory due to medication I take and it didn't dawn on me until I got a PM from another friend/member on here about them. I now keep a note on my laptop and phone of exactly what I've bought, from whom and for how much, also tracking numbers, members area etc. there is way too much of this BS going on, this is not the Geek or RWI ( of which I'm a member of both ) but I've always felt that they have been more sales driven, where here it's all about info and friendship with some sales thrown in! I'm not bashing either forum btw before someone gets antsy, it's just the way I've always viewed it. But lately it's gotten a bit the same, I'm hearing watches I sold to members go for over double what was paid to me, that's not what this forum is about and never has been!!

As TT and many others have always said, buy the seller before the watch!

Sixx

[Mike on a bike]

Hmmm.....

[kernow]

Nikki6, I guess you mean from Breitlingguy not thegrail.

I usually post on the sales thread once I've paid, this lets the community know that it's been sold and paid for.

[nikki6]

Sorry, yes, from Breitlingguy.