Seem like the newest scam

[idaho_varminter]

I had a similar experience when I first joined here. I was frustrated by the lack of supply everywhere for a scope I wanted, and posted a WTB ad. I had a very similar response within minutes. It looked fishy, and for once, I actually went back to the pinned posts about scammers, and sure enough, the parasite contacting me had just been added. Michael does a great job of tracking these people down and blocking them, but the sneaky a$*&oles just find a way to hide their IP address, and open an account with a new user name. There is no way Michael can find all of them, but alerting him to a new one goes a long way to protecting everyone here.

On the positive side, there are a lot of great people here that are really helpful and supportive to newbs like me. Instead of posting a WTB ad, I just search the classifieds for the item I need. I haven’t bought a lot of items, but it’s easy to check the sellers and see that they are respected and trusted people here. The people I have done business with here have been so helpful and good about communicating that I can highly recommend this as a place to buy. Just do your research on the seller. The scammers aren’t trying to buy things, usually. They’re trying to get you to buy something they don’t have, and disappear with your money. 

 

[Fenian]

Scum! Absolute filth these scam artists are! Maybe we could have it that you can only log in and look with a validated account, and one where their cell phone gets a text on opening the account that they need to validate. That together with a few other security things may help. Either way the cockroaches will always find a way in but it may help deter ....

thanks for posting! The only thing that concerns me too is I’ve bought from people on here and they insist on F&F when I’ve no idea who they are, and get offended when I suggest paying securely, I even offer to pay the fee and they are like ‘what you don’t trust me’ and if you do pay me that way I’ll just cancel it and go with another buyer. Like that puts us in an awkward spot too

 

[SilentSquirrel]

Scum! Absolute filth these scam artists are! Maybe we could have it that you can only log in and look with a validated account, and one where their cell phone gets a text on opening the account that they need to validate. That together with a few other security things may help. Either way the cockroaches will always find a way in but it may help deter ....

thanks for posting! The only thing that concerns me too is I’ve bought from people on here and they insist on F&F when I’ve no idea who they are, and get offended when I suggest paying securely, I even offer to pay the fee and they are like ‘what you don’t trust me’ and if you do pay me that way I’ll just cancel it and go with another buyer. Like that puts us in an awkward spot too

IMO the correct answer to "what you don't trust me"; 

especially if the person is refusing to accept a fees paid secure payment, is undeniably, YES

That particular posture of insisting on an insecure payment method is one of the primary warning signs of a dishonest transaction

Trust is earned, and gained through actions & deeds

It is not an entitlement that is handed out as part of membership in any forum.

In this era of scams it is every member's responsibility to reassure & protect others.

If it smells fishy it is fishy

Just my 2 scents

Ed

 

[Spartan]

I imagine a lot of these scammers are actually overseas. What they're doing is basically fraud and wire fraud at the federal level, both of which could carry quite stiff penalties if caught if they are within the US.

 

[intenseaty22]

Yes sir! Same here. I knew this one was trying to scam from the get go, but I strung him along. If you read carefully you can see the language barrier there, giving credibility to the overseas notion. After a quick Google search I found those pictures belonging toba member of the Talon Tunes forum.