Do we have scammers here on the board?
11-26-2006, 11:23 PM
#1
Do we have scammers here on the board? I've gotten 2 odd requests today about the sale of my intake and throttle body. I'm not calling anyone out, making any assumptions, or trying to stir up anything. I simply wanted to know if this is something that's going around the board.
The first awkward request I got from a member who wanted me to send to a shop in New Jersey. He provided me with the name of the shop, address, and phone number. I looked on the net to see if the shop had a website and sure enough it did. The address and phone number matched. What threw me off was that he was in the United Arab Emirates. I asked him if he had Paypal, he stated no and that he couldn't setup an account. So I looked into it to see if they offered Paypal in his country/region and they did. So I bring this to his attention and he forwards me an email, but in a private message which was copied and pasted. Not sure if its real or not. Anyhow, he wanted to use Western Union. I've used this on a couple of occassions, but it was a sale within the US. Anyhow, going back and forth pretty much all day, he states that he doesn't want it anymore since he suspected I was uncomfortable about the situation. I sent him another message stating that I took his word on Paypal, but that I wouldn't send anything out until I received and cashed the payment. I never heard from him and he read my message according to the message tracker.
The 2nd situation is very similar. First off, he asked me for a very odd request. He wanted me to paint the intake for him with high temp paint before I sent it out. Not sure what that was about, but I told him no. Anyhow, he too wanted me to complete the transaction with Western Union. He wanted me to send it to New York, but he was in Kuwait. I asked him as well if he could setup a Paypal account and he stated that he wasn't willing to do so, that he had trouble once before setting up an account and doesn't want to mess with it.
Both sounded too fishy to me. They wanted my first, middle, and last name, including my cell phone number, and email address. This was a lot of info. I'm not sure how far they can get with this info, but I wasn't willing to take my chances. Neither one of them had any feedback here on the board. The 1st member has been here since 9/9/05, has 6 posts, and no feedback. The 2nd member has been here since 6/13/02, with 439 posts and 0 feedback. So I'm looking through the members list and find a similar name right underneath it, but with a "h" at the end of the name. I look at the profile and that person was from Kuwait as well, with very similar details. However, this person has been a member since 12/10/01. Do these 2 situations sound like a scam? I want to sell these items because I need the money, but I don't want to get scammed. What do you think?
The first awkward request I got from a member who wanted me to send to a shop in New Jersey. He provided me with the name of the shop, address, and phone number. I looked on the net to see if the shop had a website and sure enough it did. The address and phone number matched. What threw me off was that he was in the United Arab Emirates. I asked him if he had Paypal, he stated no and that he couldn't setup an account. So I looked into it to see if they offered Paypal in his country/region and they did. So I bring this to his attention and he forwards me an email, but in a private message which was copied and pasted. Not sure if its real or not. Anyhow, he wanted to use Western Union. I've used this on a couple of occassions, but it was a sale within the US. Anyhow, going back and forth pretty much all day, he states that he doesn't want it anymore since he suspected I was uncomfortable about the situation. I sent him another message stating that I took his word on Paypal, but that I wouldn't send anything out until I received and cashed the payment. I never heard from him and he read my message according to the message tracker.
The 2nd situation is very similar. First off, he asked me for a very odd request. He wanted me to paint the intake for him with high temp paint before I sent it out. Not sure what that was about, but I told him no. Anyhow, he too wanted me to complete the transaction with Western Union. He wanted me to send it to New York, but he was in Kuwait. I asked him as well if he could setup a Paypal account and he stated that he wasn't willing to do so, that he had trouble once before setting up an account and doesn't want to mess with it.
Both sounded too fishy to me. They wanted my first, middle, and last name, including my cell phone number, and email address. This was a lot of info. I'm not sure how far they can get with this info, but I wasn't willing to take my chances. Neither one of them had any feedback here on the board. The 1st member has been here since 9/9/05, has 6 posts, and no feedback. The 2nd member has been here since 6/13/02, with 439 posts and 0 feedback. So I'm looking through the members list and find a similar name right underneath it, but with a "h" at the end of the name. I look at the profile and that person was from Kuwait as well, with very similar details. However, this person has been a member since 12/10/01. Do these 2 situations sound like a scam? I want to sell these items because I need the money, but I don't want to get scammed. What do you think?
11-26-2006, 11:35 PM
#3
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Definitely sound like a scam because of two points; 1) They asked you to ship to a 3rd party insides the US and, 2) They will only use Western Union for payment. A while back there were scammers using Western Union on Ebay who burned alot of people.
11-26-2006, 11:55 PM
#5
Just curious, but if I was to go ahead with the sale, I informed both sellers that I wouldn't send anything until I received and cashed the payment. I called Western Union to get some info. To send money, you'll either pay with cash, credit card, or debit. You will need the receiver's info. Then to receive, I'll need the senders info, including the transfer confirmation number. So if I went to a local agent, filled out the form, received the check, then cashed it on the spot, how could they scam me? If I have the money in hand, I should be good right?
11-27-2006, 12:00 AM
#6
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then you could scam them, lol, they could be right about the paypal, ive had trouble before and just dont want to hassle with it, like you said dont send anything until you get the check or watever
11-27-2006, 12:03 AM
#7
What kind of problems did you have because I don't see how there could be any problem? I've been a member for like 4 or 5 years with zero problems. I first opened it up to make a purchase and only had my credit card on file. I then added my bank account because I found myself selling regularly on the net.
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11-27-2006, 12:16 AM
#8
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i wouldnt do it if i was u. sounds like bull **** to me. **** like this happens all the time on craigs list. when i was selling my iroc i got ton of fake *** emails requesting info and them wanting to send me cashiers check and have 3rd party pick it up. dont do it. when ur selling private things like this on the net its always best just to deal local
11-27-2006, 01:23 AM
#11
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Yeah get the funds before you ship. I always do that. Even if it's a large amount and the bank says it's gonna take a few days to clear than you wait. Better safe than sorry. I hate sending money orders to people. Just that feeling in your stomach that something could go wrong. So far so good (knocks on wood)
11-27-2006, 02:13 AM
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Originally Posted by Shackleford
Yeah, the President of Nigeria wants to buy my $5 DVDs from me. He swears his check will clear and wants me to ship them out IMMEDIATELY!
LMAO......
