be wary of sellers

[Rgcards]

I received an email from a new member here Patrick8, that he knew of someone selling a jacket I was look for , hamiltonholmes27@gmail.com. The seller offer me th jacket at a very low price, but said he only had paypal through his son, and that account could only accept friends and family. AFAIK there ar no F and F only accounts on paypal. Suspect scam

 

[oskar]

Thanks for the information. Better be save than sorry.

 

[dinomartino1]

"hamiltonholmes27@gmail.com" is a known scam email address listed on this site.

https://www.stopforumspam.com/search

 

[Monitor]

Definite scam. It's how they operate on Iron Hearts classifieds, too.
It's a huge problem. You'll even receive legit looking photos of an item in question, should you get in touch - I did, just to see how far they will go - images that you can't trace back thru Google Image reverse search. And it's always the same approach, email their friend who has what you're looking for. Mail address is always some generic sounding name like that, with an initial message composed in proper English which rapidly degrades with further correspondence.

Asking price might not always appear generous either so the deal wouldn't appear "too good to be true" and they only seem to hook on rare items, possibly knowing you might let your guard down more than you normally would.

 

[Edward]

Useful information - thanks, folks. It's sad that anyone would target this way; we've built up a lot of trust among each other over the years in trading / buying / selling often items of significant value with problems being rare. I suppose that is why some scammers might see us as an attractive target.

Caveat Emptor.

 

[TooManyHatsOnlyOneHead]

good post. I've been tempted by a couple really nice jackets from posters only having 1 or 2 posts and decided to pass. Not saying those are frauds, but comfort level wasn't there for me.

 

[Monitor]

good post. I've been tempted by a couple really nice jackets from posters only having 1 or 2 posts and decided to pass. Not saying those are frauds, but comfort level wasn't there for me.

These types of scammers will contact you only if you put a WTB thread.

 

[J Leather Investigater]

These types of scammers will contact you only if you put a WTB thread.

That is good to know. I have only did a web add once but definitely could have posted one in the future. That sucks because I think its awsome to be part of a community where sending an receiving 1,000 regularly buying/selling with no protection and no worries is the norm. I label us as men of honor. Where else on the internet can you buy and sell on the honor code? members earn trust by their conduct. Good heads up fellas, I can dig it. If a fox gets in the hen house grab your shotgun an yell it out.

 

[J Leather Investigater]

That is good to know. I have only did a web add once but definitely could have posted one in the future. That sucks because I think its awsome to be part of a community where sending an receiving 1,000 regularly buying/selling with no protection and no worries is the norm. I label us as men of honor. Where else on the internet can you buy and sell on the honor code? members earn trust by their conduct. Good heads up fellas, I can dig it. If a fox gets in the hen house grab your shotgun an yell it out.

A wtb add ,sorry

 

[Harris HTM]

Lately there have been two cases of scam here and in the VLJ forum, both regarding long standing members. I have recently put up some dress shoes and boots for sale here (I'm only willing to sell only in these forums and not ebay or other similar platforms). I was really pondering at whether I should include a "sell to known member only" line in my listings. I finally did, I know that this excludes honest new members but as said above, better safe than sorry.

 

[Harris HTM]

And ofcourse I really admire the general honesty here and the fact that members speak out about any dishonesties.

 

[Will Zach]

@Edward - maybe you can restrict use of PM until a new member hits a certain number of posts? It might not totally eliminate the scam but it may make it more difficult for opportunistic scammers registering at the forum for a quick score.

 

[J Leather Investigater]

Lately there have been two cases of scam here and in the VLJ forum, both regarding long standing members. I have recently put up some dress shoes and boots for sale here (I'm only willing to sell only in these forums and not ebay or other similar platforms). I was really pondering at whether I should include a "sell to known member only" line in my listings. I finally did, I know that this excludes honest new members but as said above, better safe than sorry.

Long standing members??? Thats disheartening to hear. Never knew anything about it

 

[Harris HTM]

Long standing members??? Thats disheartening to hear. Never knew anything about it

Unfortunately yes.

 

[TooManyHatsOnlyOneHead]

Lately there have been two cases of scam here and in the VLJ forum, both regarding long standing members. I have recently put up some dress shoes and boots for sale here (I'm only willing to sell only in these forums and not ebay or other similar platforms). I was really pondering at whether I should include a "sell to known member only" line in my listings. I finally did, I know that this excludes honest new members but as said above, better safe than sorry.

as a seller, you got more protection. I was more worried about a Paypal FF transaction where it's 100% trust you're hoping you get what you bought. But sounds in your case, it doesn't matter new or old. Really too bad.

 

[Monitor]

@Edward - maybe you can restrict use of PM until a new member hits a certain number of posts? It might not totally eliminate the scam but it may make it more difficult for opportunistic scammers registering at the forum for a quick score.

Isn't that in effect already? I often see people complaining how they cannot send PM's and I know I can't even send them to newly registered members.

 

[oneterrifichog]

Not to mention the fact that this address uses a U.S. civil rights hero's name as the name to contact which really irritates me. Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter Gault were the first African Americans to desegregate the University of Georgia in 1961. Additionally, Holmes was the first African-American student to attend the Emory University School of Medicine, where he earned his M.D. degree in 1967, later becoming a professor of orthopedics and associate dean at the school. I hate scams like this on so many different levels.

 

[Rgcards]

I saw that too. Amazing hubris

 

[Harris HTM]

as a seller, you got more protection. I was more worried about a Paypal FF transaction where it's 100% trust you're hoping you get what you bought. But sounds in your case, it doesn't matter new or old. Really too bad.

That's true in general, but keep in mind that in both the two cases of scam I've mentioned the victims were the sellers.

 

[Tom71]

Thanks for this discussion. Always helpful to get a "heads-up" on potential issues.