Well done Fred, The same thing happened to me but in reverse,I was selling a professional tv news gathering video camera a few months ago, when I was approached on line by somebody wanting to buy it,and would i dispatch it to Nigiera, as soon as I saw that address alarm bell rang out loud and clear.I told the prospective buyer that I would not dispatch it to that destination. In the next email there was a deposit slip from PayPal to show that they had paid the sale price. Upon closer examination the PayPal receipt was obversly false, so it was forwarded on to PayPal fraud department. So as you can see sellers can be victims of fraud as well, needless to say I did not dispatch the camera disputed getting up to ten emails a day with fake PayPal receipts to show that they had paid.these emails only stopped when I informed the sender that all there emails had been forwarded to both eBay and PayPal. 73's Tony Kaye G1YIL
I am by Trade an AUTO TECH and very skilled with on board Auto Computers. I know in some past life I was a Brain Surgeon. I have all the Tools I need to re-wire HRC to do one specific job. That is to run a Vacuum Cleaner instead of her Mouth.
The scammers are getting more sophisticated... I run an online SwapShop at www.kwarc.org/swapshop for Canadian hams and last night, one of my users notified my of a fraudulent offer of an Elecraft KPA500/KAT500 combo he was looking for. The user got suspicious because the price was too low for these and the scammer was too vague about other details also. In the process, my user got a picture of the gear supposedly with the perp's QSL card in front of it and if you didn't investigate and look closely some could take it as evidence that he actually owned the gear he was offering. However, if you do an image search and look closely, you can see that this is actually an altered screen shot from K6OZY's YouTube video (same table, wall, stuff to the left and just a bit of the Flex-3000 case at the right) but the W2 unit in the video has been digitally removed with a fair degree of sophistication. The only real tip-off is that the top edge of the KAT500 gets a little wavy where the alteration starts. Of course, the QSL card is a bad job - the perspective is wrong for a card that should be leaning against the amp and the edges of the card image align too exactly with the edges of the image - photoshop has tools that would have let him do a better job but I guess he got lazy). So... while getting a picture with a QSL card is still a good idea, don't take it at face value - these guys are getting more sophisticated in trying to con you out of your money! 73 Dave VA3DGS
And he's at it again... He's also taken a screenshot from a 'Kenwood TS990 UnBoxing and Basic Review' YouTube video and altered the image of the power-on screen that should look similar to this: to look like he has customized the radio with his own callsign: (its the same blue shirt and video camera reflected in the main LCD as the originator - I'll leave it up to you to figure out what else he did wrong). I spoke to the real VE7RRB on the phone last night and he isn't selling any radios (and has been away from the hobby so long he had forgotten he still had that callsign). This is getting pretty damn sophisticated so its fair to assume that anything is now fair game and you should not take anything you are shown at face-value.
With all the talk about scamming I am surprised about 4 big red flags people still fall for: 1. Pay me with "friends and family". 2. Send my money via Western Union. 3. Send the money to my sister / wife / mother etc at a different address. Or if you are the seller: 4. The guy sends you a check for more then your asking price and then they say their associate made a mistake so he says take the check to the bank and cash it and keep a certain amount for your trouble and send the extra (Usually Western Union) back to them or send it with the item you just sold them. The check will bounce in 10 to 20 days and then the bank will ask for their money back. (I have had a lot of fun with this one!!! I have got them to FedEx over night me checks so it cost them money and then finally tell them that they have been had but thanks for spending the money to over night me some checks) I think those are the biggest red flags out there and if anyone is asked to do any of these things do one of two things. End the dealing with them immediately and find another seller or lead them on and have some fun with them before you tell them you know they are scamming you and then move on. But don't give them any info while leading them on. (I love to play this game with them!!) There are other things out there but I think these are the biggest red flags that everyone should know. Unfortunately the ones that get caught up in these and don't realize they are being scammed is the elderly. So help them know these signs. The only one that I don't feel sorry for the buyer (unless it is really and elderly person that just doesn't understand) is the "friends and family". Any buyer that does that is just as "in the wrong" as the scammer. It is cheating Paypal when it is done to bypass the 3% fee. If someone looses money doing that I just laugh at them. (Sorry if anyone reading this has done F&F on Paypal. These are my opinions on scams. John, WB0MPB
Are people on the internet really that stupid? They think they can pass off that passport photo??? VA3BLL
Fred,, it was an special report for me,I was looking to buy a radio for me from anywhere,now I will more smart about these situations.For me a great lesson. Thanks Cesar Meza. ve6zw-ce7bbl Calgary AB
Hey, thats my MUM in that pic on the passport, she sold my FTDX-9000D the mare!!!!! On the cheap too .....Fair play OP for bringing that to everybody's attention.....MUM!!!!! You're in trouble when I see you!!
I never buy "used" equipment; only new from a reputable dealer. Don't want to deal with other amateurs or scammers troublesome or inoperable radios. Many hams think by buying "used" --they're getting a bargain. In the vast majority of cases--they're NOT!!
When I was building up my equipment I purchased a lot of things via eBay. I know it cost more for the fee's. I have even offered to share the paypal fee when it was a big item (I think its unfair that the sell has to pay it all). I even purchased a forklift of ebay once. The only thing I ever purchased on one of the ham websites was a Ameritron ALS-1200 Amp. I got a fair deal and everything went smooth, but I was nervous and the sell and I spoke a few times on the phone. I wish that somehow QRZ and eHam would come up with some kind of feedback system for sellers here. My local gun club has a website that people buy and sell guns on and accessories (we follow all the laws) and there is a forum where people post their experiences with different people. You go search for their name and see what people have said about them. That would be easy with call signs as a reference. I do not buy much off the ham radio sites (used, I love the ads for the business and I buy way to much from them) I just do not feel safe.
