• Scam Alert. Members are reminded to NOT send money to buy anything. Don't buy things remote and have it shipped - go get it yourself, pay in person, and take your equipment with you. Scammers have burned people on this forum. Urgency, secrecy, excuses, selling for friend, newish members, FUD, are RED FLAGS. A video conference call is not adequate assurance. Face to face interactions are required. Please report suspicions to the forum admins. Stay Safe - anyone can get scammed.

Scam Awareness

BaitMaster

BaitMaster

Ultra Member
Just a reminder to be vigilant on scams…. For the first time EVER after doing many many online e transfer type deals, I was scammed for 119$.

The person posted an old steady rest on Facebook marketplace that I thought I could retrofit onto my lathe….. agreed on 80$ plus 39 for shipping…..

They sent me NUMEROUS pictures of them taking very specific pictures of the rest with a tape measure held up against it following my instructions exactly.

And the last text I got from them is they would ship Thursday afternoon…. No contact from them after numerous attempts made by me.

Reported to my bank and the RCMP…..

On the forum this is much less likely to happen I would imagine, but still. Be aware fellas.
 
Wow, you are brave, you sent money to someone on FB? And you used etransfer? I am unsure whatever PayPal would offer some protection in this case, but etransfer is basically cash.

On the forum with establish members it feels safe for smaller transactions.
 
It’s never bit me before. I and my wife do deals all the time, and it’s never happened.

There is a degree of comfort with the private forum.
 
I had a guy try and scam me on FB a few months back..

canadianhobbymetalworkers.com

Smooth operator

I posted a wanted .... motor ad on marketplace. Guy contacts me and states he has one matching what I'm looking for, I ask for a picture, he sends one, I ask for an image of the faceplate, he sends another image of a faceplate, but they don't match. He states ignore the first image that's...
canadianhobbymetalworkers.com canadianhobbymetalworkers.com
 
It would be near impossible to set up bank account without using your real name so it seems strange to me someone, with their identity revealed, would scam someone for $100. Its only been a couple of days, I'd be more thinking something happened to him. You don't want to out the guy if he has say had a heart attack, but if he really has scammed you post his face book link here

Did you get a phone number? I usually like to talk people before sending money to get sense of them and its somewhat challenging to get a "burner" phone in Canada. I always get a phone number before giving out my address, figuring most unsavoury types would want to stay anonymous.

Sorry the transaction hasn't gone well.
 
BaitMaster said:
Just a reminder to be vigilant on scams…. For the first time EVER after doing many many online e transfer type deals, I was scammed for 119$.

The person posted an old steady rest on Facebook marketplace that I thought I could retrofit onto my lathe….. agreed on 80$ plus 39 for shipping…..

They sent me NUMEROUS pictures of them taking very specific pictures of the rest with a tape measure held up against it following my instructions exactly.

And the last text I got from them is they would ship Thursday afternoon…. No contact from them after numerous attempts made by me.

Reported to my bank and the RCMP…..

On the forum this is much less likely to happen I would imagine, but still. Be aware fellas.
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Any possibility that it's not a scam but a lazy ass seller that has poor business practices?
I once bought an item off kijiji and sent the guy money for item and shipping and the didn't get my item or replies for quite some time. I was pretty sure I was taken. I had also googled the fellas name and it turned up in a couple of less than desirable conflicts with the law. I sent a couple of slightly "intimidating" emails to him and he eventually got back to me with a lame ass excuse why he hadn't shipped my item yet. I did eventually get the item.
I hope your transaction might be the same.
 
Tom Kitta said:
Wow, you are brave, you sent money to someone on FB? And you used etransfer? I am unsure whatever PayPal would offer some protection in this case, but etransfer is basically cash.

On the forum with establish members it feels safe for smaller transactions.
Click to expand...

Last time I checked PP does offer protection or at least dispute resolution if you do a commercial transaction, (with fees vs free friends and family). Its a two way street, buyer can claim you sent something defective, an empty box etc. Take lots of photos lol
 
The scam is that they take over someone's account. Heck they may have their name, do business in their name AND they may also have pictures of his DL etc. Essentially you think you are dealing with that person. If they managed to hack his FB account, you may see old FB account - say from 2010. All looks legit.
 
DPittman said:
Any possibility that it's not a scam but a lazy ass seller that has poor business practices?
I once bought an item off kijiji and sent the guy money for item and shipping and the didn't get my item or replies for quite some time. I was pretty sure I was taken. I had also googled the fellas name and it turned up in a couple of less than desirable conflicts with the law. I sent a couple of slightly "intimidating" emails to him and he eventually got back to me with a lame ass excuse why he hadn't shipped my item yet. I did eventually get the item.
I hope your transaction might be the same.
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Well, they were super fast on the reply up until I sent the money. Day after, replied once.

Radio silence since then and it’s been 3 days.

I did send some texts that were like if you just reply I’ll give you more time, but then nothing. So that’s where we are at.
 
BaitMaster said:
I was scammed for 119$.
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I confess I have occasionally sent money on those rare occasions when I felt it was warranted but never more than I figured I could walk away from and call it a lesson learned.

But usually I won't hand over any cash till I get there and see the goods first hand. I have sometimes sent cash as a downpaynent to hold something for me.

When something is far away and it needs to be shipped, I am extra cautious. I check their reputation and how many years they have been a member. So far, I've been very lucky.

Edit @Tom Kitta raises a good point about Facebook. I've had my account swiped a few times. They copy my photos and create a new user who pretended to be me. Then they tried to scam my friends. One of them noticed and messaged me. The dead give away is the date the account was created. Also, note that they have to modify the photos in some small way to get past Facebook's laughable security. It isn't hard to do.

My wife and I have noticed a steady stream of the same objects for sale under different user names. All prices are too good to be true and are not true. The minute you ask for an address so you can come and look they go silent.

My advice is to start by checking how long they have had their account. Then exchange a few notes and ask for an address.
 
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Susquatch said:
I confess I have occasionally sent money on those rare occasions when I felt it was warranted but never more than I figured I could walk away from and call it a lesson learned.

But usually I won't hand over any cash till I get there and see the goods first hand. I have sometimes sent cash as a downpaynent to hold something for me.

When something is far away and it needs to be shipped, I am extra cautious. I check their reputation and how many years they have been a member. So far, I've been very lucky.

Edit @Tom Kitta raises a good point about Facebook. I've had my account swiped a few times. They copy my photos and create a new user who pretended to be me. Then they tried to scam my friends. One of them noticed and messaged me. The dead give away is the date the account was created. Also, note that they have to modify the photos in some small way to get past Facebook's laughable security. It isn't hard to do.

My wife and I have noticed a steady stream of the same objects for sale under different user names. All prices are too good to be true and are not true. The minute you ask for an address so you can come and look they go silent.

My advice is to start by checking how long they have had their account. Then exchange a few notes and ask for an address.
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Good idea.

119$ isn’t going to put us on the breadline, and I do treat those situations with caution.

I am fairly liberal with CGN (the forum) if they have a good trader score, and on this forum, the buying/selling I’ve done I haven’t given it a second thought, just shipped the item/sent the money and trusted.

My liberality perhaps shouldn’t have extended to FB marketplace….. but alas.

Lessons learned. Thought I would at least bring it up for people that it does happen.
 
2 minutes after I post something expensive on Craigslist , my phone goes crazy with **** . The messages just repeat my message with a question mark after them . Delete delete delete . I don't use numbers when posting my info , rathe mix it up with #s and letters .
 
mmcmdl said:
2 minutes after I post something expensive on Craigslist , my phone goes crazy with **** . The messages just repeat my message with a question mark after them . Delete delete delete . I don't use numbers when posting my info , rathe mix it up with #s and letters .
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I do the same exact thing.
 
Fleapay irritates me but it is safe for both parties . I'll post stuff there and add the 15% sellers fees to the price . If they make lower offers , I tell them NO and why . I let them know the items are for sale on other sites and they get the message and end up with the items cheaper . Just have to be careful on Freeplay of what you say on messages or you could be banned . I value my account but I'm not out to lose sales because of their high fees .
 
mmcmdl said:
Fleapay irritates me but it is safe for both parties . I'll post stuff there and add the 15% sellers fees to the price . If they make lower offers , I tell them NO and why . I let them know the items are for sale on other sites and they get the message and end up with the items cheaper . Just have to be careful on Freeplay of what you say on messages or you could be banned . I value my account but I'm not out to lose sales because of their high fees .
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Many years ago I gave a guy $500 as a deposit for some car parts that were in Toronto. I met the guy in person in a town up island and I did have some concerns, but I gave him the money anyway. When it all went sideways I figured it served me right and was a cheap lesson. I also thought maybe he needed the money to eat. Several years later the guy contacted me, said he had fallen on difficult times that were now resolved and gave me back my $500 plus an extra $100 for interest.

Chris
 
So there are honest crooks out there :) That's good to know , but usually things don't turn out like this . Was this on Feepay or another site ? When I sell , wherever I sell , the item has to be paid for . I intern print the shipping label with the tracking info within an hour . Been doing it this way for 25 years . Would I send $$$$ 20K to someone I don't know ? NFW . It's a tough business buying and selling / trading things . When you're on a smallerish site and you know the members , never any issues . I'll ship to our members before they pay just because I know them and they know me . Many times I'll ship for free if they become a donating member .
 
The last bank account I set up, personal and commerical, they sat and carefully scrutinized photo ID.
Susquatch said:
Edit @Tom Kitta raises a good point about Facebook. I've had my account swiped a few times. They copy my photos and create a new user who pretended to be me. Then they tried to scam my friends. One of them noticed and messaged me. The dead give away is the date the account was created. Also, note that they have to modify the photos in some small way to get past Facebook's laughable security. It isn't hard to do.
Click to expand...

I can see that, but how do they swipe your bank account for the e transfer? And if they are so good, they pick an $80 faceplate vs saying putting up a new iphone at a good price and get 100's of takers?

The last bank account I set up, personal and commercial, they sat and carefully scrutinized photo ID. That was traditional brick and mortar oligopoly, maybe the virtual banks are more lax, but imo it doesn't add up as a scam, i.e. all done as an intentional con.

Hope i'm right for the OP's sake
 
Mcgyver said:
I can see that, but how do they swipe your bank account for the e transfer?
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I don't think they do. I think they just use their own email account. And that is someplace in a 3rd world country. Or maybe it's here with all the scrutiny you suggest but still a crooks account. Next time, I'll try to give them some money and see what happens.
 
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