Possible Scam??

[W0LC]

Was contacted by KD5ZSX in offer to trade an older Kenwood TS-130 for an item I had listed. #
When I offered to possible do so and let's meet somewhere, the e-mail traffic stopped. #

Not sure if individual is trying to get someone to ship gear to him and then hold it without finalizing trade, but certainly was a BIG RED flag to me to be alert. Also uses a PO box and not a real location address. Another possible RED FLAG.

May be a false alarm, but just passing my experience along. #Never heard from him again when asked to meet somewhere mutually agreeable to exchange items.

[kc0ukr]

I use a P.O.Box for my business and it is not always a "Red Flag" in itself.
I use one of the Mailboc CXompanies and they provide me with resources for shipping and receiving that I can not do by myself.
I first started using it prior to getting divorced and it was my only predictable address for a long time.
Now I continue to use it as it is established as my address all over and allows me to travel and receive large packages without worry of missing them or having them simply abandoned as they might be at home.

I can certainly see where it might look suspicious to some,but not every one is and I for one will not stop using one.

[W0LC]

Quote[/b] (kc0ukr @ Sep. 28 2006,14:56)]I use a P.O.Box for my business and it is not always a "Red Flag" in itself.
I use one of the Mailboc CXompanies and they provide me with resources for shipping and receiving that I can not do by myself.
I first started using it prior to getting divorced and it was my only predictable address for a long time.
Now I continue to use it as it is established as my address all over and allows me to travel and receive large packages without worry of missing them or having them simply abandoned as they might be at home.

I can certainly see where it might look suspicious to some,but not every one is and I for one will not stop using one.
Odd thing about the PO Box, is it is what is also on file with the ULS. Didn't think that was allowed.

Oh well. At least I didn' lose out on anything...just time.

[WD4CHP]

I use a P.O. Box because I do not have mail delivery to my home address. It is that far out. UPS and FEDEX will deliver but not U.S.P.S. My P.O. Box is also listed on my ham ticket. My PayPal address is a combination of both. This seems to have taken care of the delivery problem.

Hope this helps with anyone in the same situation.

[N6KX]

Use of a PO Box for your official mailing address with the FCC is perfectly acceptable and not at all uncommon. #For security reasons, my official address is always a PO Box, not my home address. #Should not be considered a "red flag," but it is wise to be wary. #Plenty of crooks out there. #Good luck.

[WA2ZDY]

I'd say the PO Box is a valid red flag when considered in combination with the other facts stated in the original post. The PO Box is simply another piece of an unfortunate puzzle.

FCC stopped requiring a fixed station location years ago. All they require is a valid address within FCC territory where a licensee can reliably receive mail from FCC. A PO Box certainly fills that bill.

[W5HTW]

There is no mail delivery in this entire county, with the exception of one road. Even in the three towns in the county, PO Boxes are required. No IN town mail delivery, either. Either PO Box, or no mail. One contract carrier does carry along a 4 mile stretch of one paved road.

For the businesses I deal with that require a physical address, I do have one. A number and a street name. But USPS won't come out here. Neither will the newspaper carriers. I try not to get anything sent to me by FedX as they complain to me about my rural setting. Had to order one of their drivers not to come back onto my property again. And it takes, no joke here, up to a week to get something by FedX, just from Albuquerque - 50 miles away! UPS can find me, and can get here. Last time I had something delivered by FedX, it took six days to come 50 miles, and then the driver threw it over the fence and drove off.

Businesses that will not accept my address, simply don't get my business. My loss, too, of course, as I have to go somewhere else to get something.

Outgoing is the same problem. The nearest UPS shipping point is 20 miles away, and is in a (ugh) Radio Shack francise store. The post office is only three miles away (six miles round trip) so it's a much better choice!

Gone are the days when the FCC required a physical station location on the license. Fortunately. At least here, though, I actually have a 'road/street' address, even if it is just a dirt road in the desert. Been some places I didn't even have such an address.

But the fact this guy didn't reply, is indeed a red flag. The po box isn't necessarily so!

Ed

[W5MEJ]

He may have just decided that it wasn't worth the effort to drive a couple of hundred miles to meet with an obviously paranoid trader.

Sorry, W0LC, but I just can't see how his failing to answer your emails justifies you casting aspersions on his character in a public forum!

73
Chuck

[KM5FL]

In IMHO, a P.O. box isn't much of a red flag for any suspicious actions. I do think, however, that KD5ZSX is guilty of being rude in that he didn't "close" the communication between himself and W0LC. He should have told W0LC that he was no longer interested in making a deal.

W0LC: I'm with Chuck on this one. You weren't out anything except some of your time. I can't count the number of times I've gone to the trouble of prepaying for a vendor table at hamfests. Arrive early, set up my goods, and sit at the table all day long, watching people inspect my items. Without fail, someone will barter with me until a price is reached, only to have that person replace the item on the table and turn and walk off without another word. This doesn't upset me in the least. It's just part of the "game". I think you're over reacting a tad.

KM5FL

[WA9SVD]

Quote[/b] (W0LC @ Sep. 29 2006,05:21)]Quote[/b] (kc0ukr @ Sep. 28 2006,14:56)]I use a P.O.Box for my business and it is not always a "Red Flag" in itself.
I use one of the Mailboc CXompanies and they provide me with resources for shipping and receiving that I can not do by myself.
I first started using it prior to getting divorced and it was my only predictable address for a long time.
Now I continue to use it as it is established as my address all over and allows me to travel and receive large packages without worry of missing them or having them simply abandoned as they might be at home.

I can certainly see where it might look suspicious to some,but not every one is and I for one will not stop using one.
Odd thing about the PO Box, is it is what is also on file with the ULS. Didn't think that was allowed.

Oh well. At least I didn' lose out on anything...just time.
Not sure what you really mean. The FCC (ULS, whatever) merely requires an address (or P.O.Box) that is yours. It doesn't even require that you actually pick up the mail there; just thaty it NOT ever be returned to the FCC as undeliverable. And as long as you pay for a P.O. Pox in Podunk, Ohio, you could live in Timbucktu or even Cucamonga, and the FCC wouldn't care. or know. The only time they WILL take action is if correspondence from the FCC is returned to them as indeliverable. And as long as you keep paying for a P.O. box for the address on your license, that satisfies the FCC. Your REAL address could be a million miles away. You just have to keep the address on file with the FCC current. (Now, that's the legal, not necessarily the moral or ethical point.) The FCC rules state you have to a current address on file where you can receive mail; that's a vague rule. And stating you need to notify the FCC of any address change is also vague, since there's no time frame specified. (CA DMV specifies a 30 day notification of address change, just for trference.)

[W2BBQ]

If someone offers you a trade for your item, then have them ship their item to you first. That's the plain and simple show of honesty.

[WA2ZDY]

Quote[/b] (wa9svd @ Sep. 30 2006,04:24)]The FCC (ULS, whatever) merely requires an address (or P.O.Box) that is yours. #It doesn't even require that you actually pick up the mail there; just thaty it NOT ever be returned to the FCC as undeliverable. #And as long as you pay for a P.O. Pox in Podunk, Ohio, you could live in Timbucktu or even Cucamonga, and the FCC wouldn't care. or know. #The only time they WILL take action is if correspondence from the FCC is returned to them as indeliverable. #And as long as you keep paying for a P.O. box for the address on your license, that satisfies the FCC. #Your REAL address could be a million miles away. #You just have to keep the address on file with the FCC current. #(Now, that's the legal, not necessarily the moral or ethical point.) #The FCC rules state you have to a current address on file where you can receive mail; that's a vague rule. #
Not quite. If you get a "reply or call within 20 days" citation and you don't comply, you've got problems too. So someone needs to be checking that PO Box if for no other reason. So it's not that vague.

And it doesn't have to be YOUR address. Just one where YOU can reliably receive mail. Again, for the reason above.

Ed sez: Quote[/b] ]
Gone are the days when the FCC required a physical station location on the license. Fortunately. At least here, though, I actually have a 'road/street' address, even if it is just a dirt road in the desert. Been some places I didn't even have such an address.

Two different places I've been didn't have street addresses. One of my tickets said "corner of Groveville and Hogback Rds . . . " and another said "CR 215 1 mi N of FM970 . . . " the first in NJ (can you imagine? Rural in NJ! The other was in Texas.)

Fun times.

[n9vo]

Two inputs:

A couple of weeks ago I had a TS830S for sale. I believe it was the same individual offered me a 130 for trade. Have deleted the email but believe it was the same call. I never heard back from him either.

A few months ago a individual in Virginia had a radio for sale on ebay. He had a pretty low feedback rating. I was going to VA to visit relatives. I emailed and ask that if I was the winning bidder could I just pick up in person vice shipping. He said NO that first of all he didnt have time to let someone pick up and secondly he didnt want people to know where he lived for security reasons. So guess what, I let the item go.

Now both situations could be entirely innocent. I'm always nervous on such dealings. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[W0LC]

Quote[/b] (n9vo @ Sep. 30 2006,08:06)]Two inputs:

A couple of weeks ago I had a TS830S for sale. I believe it was the same individual offered me a 130 for trade. Have deleted the email but believe it was the same call. I never heard back from him either.

A few months ago a individual in Virginia had a radio for sale on ebay. He had a pretty low feedback rating. I was going to VA to visit relatives. I emailed and ask that if I was the winning bidder could I just pick up in person vice shipping. He said NO that first of all he didnt have time to let someone pick up and secondly he didnt want people to know where he lived for security reasons. So guess what, I let the item go.

Now both situations could be entirely innocent. I'm always nervous on such dealings. #http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
I see the same individual advertising his stuff for sale, omitting the defective power supply information, and stating it is in "excellent" condition. Seems to be growing by the week.

Like you, not sure if this is a potential scam or ripoff coming, but glad I didn't do the trade. I even offered to drive and exchange equipment, but that is when everything ceased.

Just thought others ought to know and be aware.

Making deals nowadays on swap boards is definitely a gamble to say the least.

[n0nwo]

Quote[/b] ]Not sure if individual is trying to get someone to ship gear to him and then hold it without finalizing trade, but certainly was a BIG RED flag to me to be alert. Also uses a PO box and not a real location address. Another possible RED FLAG.


My only question is why are you posting a persons call and implying somthing about him, if you are not sure? You could have made your post without giving the persons identety if you had a question. Instead, you publicly post inflamitory remarks without sound reason.

Minton

[WS2L]

When I lived in NJ I had a PO Box as the address on my drivers license. The way it was a year and a half ago when I moved out of state as long as the Div of Motor Vehicles has your physical address on file it is perfectly legal to have a PO Box on your drivers license. Of course now with all the hightened security and such they may have done away with it but I will find out when I move back to NJ in 2 weeks. The reason I had a PO Box on my license was that I'm a retired Correction Lieutenant and worked in several prisons. Even if some con got my license plate number he could only get the PO Box as my address.

[N2RJ]

You need a physical address in NJ.

You also need good proof of address. Be prepared to pull your hair out with the clueless idiots at the NJMVC.

[WA2ZDY]

Quote[/b] (WS2L @ Sep. 30 2006,16:24)]When I lived in NJ I had a PO Box as the address on my drivers license. The way it was a year and a half ago when I moved out of state as long as the Div of Motor Vehicles has your physical address on file it is perfectly legal to have a PO Box on your drivers license. Of course now with all the hightened security and such they may have done away with it but I will find out when I move back to NJ in 2 weeks. The reason I had a PO Box on my license was that I'm a retired Correction Lieutenant and worked in several prisons. Even if some con got my license plate number he could only get the PO Box as my address.
It had always been that way, then they changed it to no PO Boxes allowed. So for several years, including the time frame when the fruits were collecting license plate numbers in the ACSU parking lot, I had my home address listed.

One renewal I went into the DMV office and asked and the lady showed me the form. PO Boxes were allowed again - as long as the physical address was also listed. At least the PO Box was what was listed on the license, so if it got lost, that's all the finder had.

Incidently, I worked in the same prisons as WS2L. We had been teenage buddies but ended up working together for only a few months. The rest of the time we worked in different places at different times. I too retired from that insane way of earning a living and my PO Box use was for exactly the same reason.

You still haven't moved Q? Geez, leaving the beautiful sunshine to head straight into winter. I don't envy you! Me, I'm staying here now. That and I couldn't afford to go back anyway.

[N4AUD]

I get my mail at the local Post Officer also because we have a real problem in this area with identity theft. People steal mail sitting in rural mailboxes and look for information about you they can exploit, and steal your new blank checks and forge them. There are some sellers on Ebay and the different forums who use USPS as a shipper but won't ship to a PO Box. Having a PO Box ISN'T an indication of dishonesty, but I can't do business with anyone who won't accept a PO Box as an address.

I was also a police officer for many years and I'm currently a magistrate and there are lots of people that I don't want knowing exactly where I live.

[KI4RDB]

I too only receive mail at a PO Box. My Amateur Radio license, my bank account, my PayPal account, my eBay account, my motor vehicle license/vehicle registration, my voter registration, and more all show my PO Box (I do have to have a physical address on file for some, but not all). I only receive packages there too. Some don't like that, but if they refuse to deal with me, then I take my money elsewhere. Even though it has become more and more difficult to keep everything registered to a PO Box, I am thankful that I continue to meet the main exemption (if you don't know what the reason might be, I won't post it in open forum). To take the paranoia one step further, when Virginia first allowed us to remove our SSN from our driver's license, I did that too.

Am I a bad person hiding behind a PO Box? Unless you ask my exwives, you'll be told no. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif

Matt KI4RDB

[W0LC]

Having a PO Box as an address is not a bad thing. However, from a buyer's perspective, it can be a bit disheartening when something doesn't come through and now you cannot "physically" locate the person.

It can be a red flag in certain circumstances when you take into consideration other factors as I mentioned earlier.

Thanks for the inputs though. Appreciate hearing from others out there.

[WA9SVD]

Quote[/b] (WA2ZDY @ Sep. 30 2006,07:28)][quote=wa9svd,Sep. 30 2006,04:24]The FCC (ULS, whatever) merely requires an address (or P.O.Box) that is yours. It doesn't even require that you actually pick up the mail there; just thaty it NOT ever be returned to the FCC as undeliverable. And as long as you pay for a P.O. Pox in Podunk, Ohio, you could live in Timbucktu or even Cucamonga, and the FCC wouldn't care. or know. The only time they WILL take action is if correspondence from the FCC is returned to them as indeliverable. And as long as you keep paying for a P.O. box for the address on your license, that satisfies the FCC. Your REAL address could be a million miles away. You just have to keep the address on file with the FCC current. (Now, that's the legal, not necessarily the moral or ethical point.) The FCC rules state you have to a current address on file where you can receive mail; that's a vague rule.
Not quite. If you get a "reply or call within 20 days" citation and you don't comply, you've got problems too. So someone needs to be checking that PO Box if for no other reason. So it's not that vague.

And it doesn't have to be YOUR address. Just one where YOU can reliably receive mail. Again, for the reason above.
---------------------
That's really two different issues; two different sections of Part 97. A person COULD be receiving their mail daily at their home address, and still foolishly not answer a "20 day or else" notice. Or even be on vacation or business travel for more than 20 days.
§97.23 specifies a license can be revoked if mail is returned to the FCC; it merely requires a valid Postal address. Failure to answer correspondence would be a possible violation of a different section of the rules, (and would probably require a darn good excuse) but doesn't mean an address is false or inaccurate.

[WA9SVD]

W0LC:

As pointed out, some people HAVE to use a P.O. Box as their only postal address. (When I lived in Northern Indiana in 1980, THAT was all we had!) But it's unfair to accuse the other fellow of being dishonest based on the meager information you have. Certainly, if he became disinterested in the deal, he should have told you so. But unless he actually tried to get you to send an item before payment or some such, you really can't say. Perhaps the fellow doesn't (or can't) drive, or time/work/family constraints prevent him from a physical meeting. At most, as pointed out, he was guilty of very rude behaviour. Unfortunately, that's all too common these days, along with such gestures as saying "thanks" and the like. You get that a lot on the forums too; someone asks a question, and after sevewral people research a subject and reply, they never respond again, so you wonder if they even got their answer. It shouldn't be too hard to say "thanks, problem solved."

Just be glad you didn't lose anything, and didn't have to travel however far and find the fellow a "no show."
Good luck and 73

[WA2ZDY]

SVD, your points are well taken on the address. Different reasons but still the same result. If you don't get your mail from FCC, problems are just over the horizon.