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  #1  
Old 11-02-2020, 03:25 PM
Administrator
 
Join Date: Jul 2020
Posts: 110
BEWARE Scammers Spam Private Messages from WTB threads

Hello Peach community, I encourage everyone to do their due diligence and stay alert when buying or selling parts online. As this pandemic crawls on the internet scammers remain in full force trying to take advantage of unsuspecting victims.

Responses such as "I have xx available for sale, please contact me at scam@email.com" or "I know someone who is selling this part, please message me" with very low post count are almost always a scammer.

Check post counts, join date, and stay alert when dealing with online sellers.

DO NOT post your email address or telephone number on the main thread.

DO NOT wire money directly or send payments as "Friends & Family"

Try to verify they have the parts and they are real before exchanging any further contact information.

We are working on a solution for these scammers. Please post any of the usernames that have been replying and private messaging and I will be sure to swiftly ban them. These bots keep popping up with new accounts, while our new verification solution gets implemented please use this thread as a place to report the users.


Last edited by Gianni at Pelican Parts; 11-02-2020 at 04:30 PM.
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  #2  
Old 11-02-2020, 03:29 PM
greazzer's Avatar
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Really? I’ve been like many others sending alerts and these scammers apparently have not slowed down. They’ve been promptly banned?
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  #3  
Old 11-02-2020, 04:36 PM
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We are banning them as fast as we can, it is very difficult to track the private messages so we really appreciate you guys helping point out any suspicious PM's.

Please post any usernames of flagrant offenders here and I will be sure to handle them.
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  #4  
Old 11-02-2020, 05:03 PM
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Location: Alhambra California
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Thanks. Swift action to ban a scammer is appreciated.
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  #5  
Old 11-02-2020, 08:06 PM
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Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 6,025
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gianni at Pelican Parts View Post
We are banning them as fast as we can, it is very difficult to track the private messages so we really appreciate you guys helping point out any suspicious PM's.

Please post any usernames of flagrant offenders here and I will be sure to handle them.
FYI, be sure to check for reported posts and users. I flag every one of those deadbeat spammers I come across. I'm sure other users are doing the same.
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  #6  
Old 11-02-2020, 09:55 PM
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Posts: 20
Thanks for the heads up. I've had good luck with selling without vetting the buyers too much.
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  #7  
Old 11-04-2020, 12:27 AM
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Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Orange County, California
Posts: 491
I'll toss this into the suggestion box: Implement captcha's (annoying) and/or limit number of PM's and number posts by new accounts in the parts forum. I.e. no users with under 15 posts allowed in the parts/wanted forums. Make the barrier to entry a bit higher to post.
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  #8  
Old 11-04-2020, 10:45 AM
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Location: Los Angeles (Altadena)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 300CD Parts View Post
Thanks for the heads up. I've had good luck with selling without vetting the buyers too much.
It's usually the buyers getting scammed, not the sellers. But both can happen. If people just use a fairly secure payment method everyone is protected to some degree. Personally I invoice people with paypal, or accept checks (yes really).
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  #9  
Old 11-04-2020, 12:08 PM
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Location: Long Island, NY
Posts: 4,354
when in doubt, do a google search on the email address if there is one. Also, do a google search on the user handle.

In this case, you want to see somebody having some sort of history that is car related so that their offer is plausible. One memorable scammer had parts for every imaginable car type on multiple forums.

-CTH
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  #10  
Old 11-04-2020, 05:08 PM
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Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 1,806
You can also do a reverse image search for the pics they send you.
For those of you unfamiliar, go to google image search and "search by image."

If you find their pic in the results... etc.
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  #11  
Old 11-05-2020, 05:44 PM
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isn't there a way to verify people or have some post count number that has to be met before they can send PM's or post in the classifieds?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gianni at Pelican Parts View Post
We are banning them as fast as we can, it is very difficult to track the private messages so we really appreciate you guys helping point out any suspicious PM's.

Please post any usernames of flagrant offenders here and I will be sure to handle them.
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  #12  
Old 11-05-2020, 09:53 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hogweed View Post
isn't there a way to verify people or have some post count number that has to be met before they can send PM's or post in the classifieds?
Yes there is. It's a basic feature of the VBulletin software that this forum runs. I don't think any of the admins or moderators have actually ever read the manual. There are a remarkable number of features that can be put in place to prevent posting in certain forums or restrict features of the site for users with low reputation or below a certain post count.
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  #13  
Old 11-06-2020, 06:15 PM
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Location: Hill Country
Posts: 248
A useful site setting would have a separate designation or button to click to make a WTB ad. That way new members could be locked out of replying to them or even seeing them. The sentiment is don't join and then immediately go straight to selling parts. There's more than one spot on the internet to sell stuff. New members could also be blocked from contacting other members privately/through their profile. If they want to communicate with someone then just reply to them in a forum discussion.
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  #14  
Old 11-10-2020, 11:53 AM
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Join Date: Aug 2020
Posts: 8
I wanted to chime in here since I just got ripped off via this forum. To clarify without going into detail: someone read my post here regarding a blue dashboard (still looking, ha!) and contacted me outside of the forum and I got burned. Lesson learned.

PLEASE READ: I need to add that I am active on another forum and these same acts of fraud are occurring there. I was up late last night reading about detailed ripoffs for expensive, collectible, musical instruments. These crooks are scanning WTB threads and then baiting potential buyers with information they grab from all over the internet. I was stunned at the amount of specific detail they were able to provide to their victims to close the deal. As always, when it comes to payment, things get weirdly specific in the their favor so they definitely show their hand during the process and flags appear on the field. That said, I was stunned at their zeal in conning folks out of their money. BEWARE.

How you choose to manage with whom you transact is of course, your decision. I made the mistake of assuming that the likelihood of someone trying to rip me off for such an obscure and relatively low-value object was such that a criminal wouldn't risk jail time for it. I was wrong. I suspect that in these times in America, with Covid-19 lurking and the economy looking fragile, fraud is on the rise.

Good luck, be vigilant.
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  #15  
Old 11-10-2020, 02:31 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Diseasel300 View Post
Yes there is. It's a basic feature of the VBulletin software that this forum runs. I don't think any of the admins or moderators have actually ever read the manual. There are a remarkable number of features that can be put in place to prevent posting in certain forums or restrict features of the site for users with low reputation or below a certain post count.
really? insult the admins or moderators ?

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