A thread you all should read.

busterboy

busterboy

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Tim
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Our community is all based on trust especially on the trading/buying & selling sections.

Over on Photography On The Net (POTN) a UK member has been scammed in a big way by one of these maggots.:suspect:

This scammer may be watching this forum as we speak waiting to do the same here as he has done over there..:thumbsdown:

If you know anything about this person please forward your findings to a moderator then we can rid this barstwad for good..:bat:

Please read and be wary
 
Um...Can you post it up or something? Can't read it off that site unless you're registered, and I'm not :shrug:
 
Could be difficult in that case, The thread is 4 pages long now.

Basically there is a person in the UK joining forums and making a very good job of taking peoples money.. Lots of money but before you say "should have been more careful" This guy is an expert as to the tune I havent seen before with new tricks.:|

If one of the Site Staff could have a look it may concern this forum too.:(
 
Can you give us the gist of it? How is he doing it?
 
Thread Title:

FS(UK)AS BRAND NEW EF 24-70 F2.8 & 70-200 F2.8 IS(MAY EXCHANGE)

His opening post:

only bought few months, both lenses are perfect condition as shows on photo.

beware: they are UK RETAIL VER NOT FROM HONG KONG!

and if you have 24-105 F4, I'm pretty happy exchange of my 24-70(but we must deal with face to face).

both of them comes with HOYA UV FILTER for free and of course comes with the boxes and etc.

No disccount although you wanna buy both of them.

I'm in Edinburgh so welcome to local pick up.

EF 24-70 F2.8: 520 pounds including postage

EF 70-200 F2.8 IS: 720 pounds including postage

I can accept bank transfer.

Followed by 2 pictures of nice lenses, One to swap, One to sell.

Excellent prices and members are keen to get a bargain, Can't go wrong deal face to face..:wave:

Meanwhile they are queing up in turn but further south and not wanting to make the journey north to collect, Thinking must be legit he is wanting a face to face trade here, He sends a PM to all interested parties saying the 1st bidder has backed out, Its yours if you want it, Send money via bank transfer.

At this stage everyone is thinking they are the only winning member each sending money for a lens but can't be bothered making the long journey north to collect it.

Remember he said I want a face to face deal. Can't be a scam.

Unfortunately it is a scam and its the second time he has made this move on the same forum with a different username after he got banned from the first episode.:bang:
 
Clever, and nasty. Just goes to show, dunnit?

I think one answer could be the use of an escrow service.
 
Had a read through definitely a scammer of the highest order.

Will keep an eye out, if anybody sees any threads they are suspicious of in the classifieds hit the Report to Mod button and let us know just in case we havent spotted it !
 
cheeky f*cker...!
find him, tear off his limbs and beat him with the bloody stumps...!
 
Which is why i think it's a good idea to have a certain post count before you can advertise any goods on here.... unless that's changed :shrug:
 
minimeeze said:
Which is why i think it's a good idea to have a certain post count before you can advertise any goods on here.... unless that's changed :shrug:
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That could encourage spamming the forums with rubbish just so they can make that vital post mini.

I like the idea of having to be a member for at least 3 months before posting on the Buy/Sell forums, let people get to know them first.:shrug:
 
busterboy said:
That could encourage spamming the forums with rubbish just so they can make that vital post mini.

I like the idea of having to be a member for at least 3 months before posting on the Buy/Sell forums, let people get to know them first.:shrug:
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Im in agreement with that. I would maybe make it even longer. Its probably best to have a time restriction, and a post count retriction as well. This hopefullt woulkd stop people signing up, then just having a sleeping account, and after 3 months is up becoming active.
 
Keltic Ice Man said:
Tim what say you and I go up to Edinburgh to meet him :)

[S3]THE'RE GOING HOME IN A BIG WHITE AMBULANCE[/S3]
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That's my sorta way of thinking mate...:bat:

Sod getting the police.:suspect:
 
thanks for bringing this up Tim, consider this a priority, if anyone is suspicious of anything that shows up in classifieds then please let us know
 
If they used bank transfer they have his bank details. If they have his details they can go to the police, if enough of them have been conned I think the police would be willing to spend some time catching him.
 
Steep said:
If they used bank transfer they have his bank details. If they have his details they can go to the police, if enough of them have been conned I think the police would be willing to spend some time catching him.
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I read the whole thread Steep and the bank WILL NOT disclose the maggots details and DO NOT want to get involved.:bang:

Strange I know but the guy has done everything by the book including getting the police involved.

Once a payment is made via BT there is no chance of cancelling it..:(

Its all in the thread in the first post Steep, Sorry if you can't read it not being a member etc..:rules:
 
I am sure I have seen an ad on Ebay just like that recently ?

The "waiting time" plus post count seems like a good idea to me too!
 
i should point out that ALL IP addresses are logged with VB(and most other software) and Bod is very good at spotting spammers before they hit(the odd one gets through, but hey) But you can all do your bit to help avoid this sort of thing by remembering this thread!
 
matty said:
thanks for bringing this up Tim, consider this a priority, if anyone is suspicious of anything that shows up in classifieds then please let us know
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Yeah - especially 'lorry' drivers selling expensive canon gear!

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Dalton said:
Yeah - especially 'lorry' drivers selling expensive canon gear!

super_smilies007.gif
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Yeah but I stole paid for all my gear with my hard earned cash..:suspect:
 
Cobra said:
I am sure I have seen an ad on Ebay just like that recently ?
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Do you know, that was exactly what I was thinking - Have defiantly read something like this just couldn't remember where, maybe it was ebay???
 
The git :shake: , everyone keep there eyes peeled :suspect:

Im of to Edinburgh in 3 weeks on a shoot, could arrange another type of shoot :eek:

Edit: should this thread be a sticky?
 
read the last few posts...
so, now what? a big missunderstanding? jumping to conclusions?

...I hope it comes to a happy ending.
 
This is indeed a sad situation.

Can I just say however the waiting time and post count issue may seem responsible and off putting, but I assure you it does not work.
I think the most valid point to come out of this is that all dealings should be visible and within the thread and not Via PM. Had this transaction taken place in the public eye the scammer would not have received anything.

I have in the past dealt with people being ripped off by forum members with substantial post counts, registered for longer than you would consider reasonable to sell.

It is always a case of "buyer beware"!
 
ONE WORD for scum bags like this ...

B'STARD ... of the worst kind ...
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Well spotted and pointed out Tim ...


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... Just noticed this suggestion in that thread ... might be worth considering here and should no way offend 'honest' sellers ... :shrug: ...

... There was a possibility of more people paying than items available. That must not be able to happen again. There is a forum (www.avforums.com), that insist that all transactions must be done wholly on forum - no pm's. They have a few other rules, which make much sense. Maybe a model worth checking out.




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:p
 
As ShiatoStorm says, it may just be a mistake, from the last posts the person who had bought from the guy before had in fact been to his house to pick up the item, had tea, met the girlfriend. It had been mentioned then that the seller was heading back to china for some time.
 
sites not working for me at the moment, once it is i will catch up..
 
PoTN said:
I bought the 16-35 mentioned above from Alextian in Glasgow. I met Alex and his girl friend at their flat, paid cash and was treated very courteously for over an hour with Chinese tea while discussing photography around Glasgow. Alex did mention that he was shortly returning to China to see his parents for a couple of weeks but would be back.
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This chap has also offered to supply details to the police if need be.
 
yeah, reading more the mods there banned his ass already, and hes used 2 identities, the first of which was also banned. I really hope its all a big misunderstanding, but its not looking too good at the moment
 
Venomator said:
There was a possibility of more people paying than items available. That must not be able to happen again. There is a forum (www.avforums.com), that insist that all transactions must be done wholly on forum - no pm's. They have a few other rules, which make much sense. Maybe a model worth checking out.
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That's actually a rule we toyed with implementing but decided against it for the time being, as being quite restrictive, instead we chose to put into the rules that the thread must be updated regularly instead.

Still something to think about though :)
 
Thanx Marcel ... but let's just hope this place does not get tainted with such low-life activity ...
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... keep 'em peeled everyone ...
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... for everyone's sake ... :D







:p
 
I've not been to AVF in ages. I did buy and sell on there years ago and didn't see the need for public bargaining.... but this type of thing does make it seem a good idea.
 
Marcel said:
That's actually a rule we toyed with implementing but decided against it for the time being, as being quite restrictive, instead we chose to put into the rules that the thread must be updated regularly instead.

Still something to think about though :)
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Bloody good idea that man.
 
This isn't a good situation at all! One system I'm aware of which seems to work well is that run by OCUK whom I believe a few members will be aware off. They operate a 'trust' system where other users may leave positive or negative feedback and a text description regarding a purchase/sale/trade etc, those with low feedback scores are generally dealt with more sceptically than those without a good feedback i.e. a face to face deal or COD may have been the chosen method when purchasing from this guy given he probably wouldn't have any feedback. The system offers some security to both parties when combined with a membership time and post count requirement. Having said that no system is perfect but this does seem to deter a good number of the low life scum suckers who are only to happy to scam us.

I would also suggest obtaining a verifiable address and phone number (none mobile) from any party I was buying from prior to parting with any cash.

Just my 2c...
 
Surely if they've done a bank transfer they have his name, account number and sort code. What else would they need from the bank. I'm sure that would be enough to give the police to start with.
 
Kev Mills said:
Surely if they've done a bank transfer they have his name, account number and sort code. What else would they need from the bank. I'm sure that would be enough to give the police to start with.
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You are correct Kev but it seems the bank will not issue any personal information to the payee regarding this matter.:(

If the police approach them it will be a different matter.;)
 
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