Hi, Stormin' Norman; He's back!!!! I just received another email from the guy who ripped me off!! i can't believe the gall!! Now, he's going by, Stephen Gray +447024053292 24, York Rd., W1U-6PZ London, UK So, if possible, can you please notify the site administrators to post a warning. I'd do it, but, I don't know how. Thanks, in advance, for your help. Russ Baxter
Done! Thanks for the tip-off. Right at the very bottom of each page, there's a "Contact Us" item, that opens direct to the Webmaster (Stefan), for others who need to report stuff. More and more, as long as we're in this economic mess (Depression, not Recession), we'll see this kind of stuff.
Scam Thanks for your help, Norman. I sent a notice to the administration, so noone else gets burned. Russ
According to what Baxter said in this thread, he was contacted directly via email and not by a known member of the forum. The scammer most probably got baxter's contact info that baxter posted in this thread. Everyone needs to be diligent when dealing with others over the Internet. Make sure you have the other person's full contact info, including phone number. Use Paypal, as you can open a dispute if you did not get your item and dont accept any cheques, even certified ones. Bottom line trust your gut. if the deal is to good to be true, it probably is.
I was thinking that maybe a 'generic' sticky about what authourities are recommending (interpol, fbi, rcmp, european agencies) maybe just links to their 'scam' sites... Just to let wanna-be scammers know that we know where the good-guys are and are ready to contact them. AKA, Don't get mad, get even!
I hate when I have to disagree with someone high on the totem pole like an administrator, but the common misconception is that PayPal will come to your aid if you make a payment through them is wrong. PayPal will only come to your aid if you purchase the item through eBay, and you follow all procedures exactly. PayPal is owned by eBay, and that is the only reason that they make the guarantee about auction sales. They need to in order to keep the customer base purchasing on on-line auctions. They will not even help you with merchants that accept PayPal as a form of payment, since they are not getting a "piece of the action" beyond the discount fee. It is a jungle out there... Lets be careful...
I've been scammed on ebay. I always pay by credit card through paypal, that way I can have the credit card company go after the guy. They have much more clout and will usually automatically refund your money and go after the guy to recover payment.
For some reason, your post didn't come to my mailbox? You and a few others. Like they unsubcribed me or the various threads. I think its a glitch in the site software.
This is the first I hear of this. Take a look at Paypal's dispute policy https://www.paypal.com/au/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=xpt/cps/general/PPDisputeResolution-outside
That link is for Australia... Here is what it says on the US PayPal website.... No where do they guarantee that you will get your money back. They will try to withold funds in the sellers account, but most often the seller clears out the funds on a regular basis, and by the time a dispute is started, there are no funds available. Only on eBay do they guarantee you a full refund including the shipping.
Thanks for clearing that up, I stand corrected. I do still think it would better to use paypal than sending a money order.
