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I banned an account recently (Jay9
that was PM'ing users offering they had a contact that had XYZ parts that whomever might have requested. Come to find out, they had been PM'ing multiple people about it. Even I fell for it a little. I asked for pictures, then asked for a picture of the items with a note of my screenname written in it, never got a reply back from them. ALWAYS ALWAYS try to ask for this when this sort of thing happens. If they're legit, they should have no problem with that simple request.
Some other pointers:
Paypal, insist on goods and services. If they complain, offer to cover or split the fees. If they're legit, they'll take up that offering. At least that way you'll have some insurance on sending money. (But understand they could send you a rock in a box with a tracking number and PP will say "we saw the tracking number, you got what you ordered".
Never ever ever wire money. I've almost been burnt by this over a diesel motor I bought once. While it did show up, it was missing parts and I basically have no recourse. It's just a bad idea.
NEVER send cash. EVER.
Never accept a 3rd party check, or a check for more than the purchase amount. This is another scam.
I don't like sending checks personally, because someone could wash the check and re-write it for a higher amount.
Pay with a USPS money order if that's the only means that they'll take. Send the MO in a tracked envelope. Demand a mailing address and shy away from PO boxes. While you might not ever see any money back from this approach, understand that it sets up a different set of laws for any criminal, these include felony mail fraud, sometimes federal level.
I hate to have to post this, but I just wanted to remind our users about it. If something feels off about something, just pull the plug on it!
that was PM'ing users offering they had a contact that had XYZ parts that whomever might have requested. Come to find out, they had been PM'ing multiple people about it. Even I fell for it a little. I asked for pictures, then asked for a picture of the items with a note of my screenname written in it, never got a reply back from them. ALWAYS ALWAYS try to ask for this when this sort of thing happens. If they're legit, they should have no problem with that simple request.Some other pointers:
Paypal, insist on goods and services. If they complain, offer to cover or split the fees. If they're legit, they'll take up that offering. At least that way you'll have some insurance on sending money. (But understand they could send you a rock in a box with a tracking number and PP will say "we saw the tracking number, you got what you ordered".
Never ever ever wire money. I've almost been burnt by this over a diesel motor I bought once. While it did show up, it was missing parts and I basically have no recourse. It's just a bad idea.
NEVER send cash. EVER.
Never accept a 3rd party check, or a check for more than the purchase amount. This is another scam.
I don't like sending checks personally, because someone could wash the check and re-write it for a higher amount.
Pay with a USPS money order if that's the only means that they'll take. Send the MO in a tracked envelope. Demand a mailing address and shy away from PO boxes. While you might not ever see any money back from this approach, understand that it sets up a different set of laws for any criminal, these include felony mail fraud, sometimes federal level.
I hate to have to post this, but I just wanted to remind our users about it. If something feels off about something, just pull the plug on it!
