When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I hope people are aware of the scamming that has been going on on forum classifieds. Not just here, it's a lot worse on other forums but it's absolutely happening. "I know a guy who wants that" or fake sellers who don't really have the product pictured are two of the big ones.
Don't call, text, email, etc anyone who knows a guy who wants to buy/sell whatever you have / want.
Talk to the seller on the phone, this won't always save you but it will filter out a lot of scammers.
Just because the seller / buyer has a good history, lot's of posts, etc it doesn't really matter if it's a scammer who hacked their account and is pretending to be a known member. This is happening and has been for a year or two on other forums and it's been working well for them. I saw a scammer using the account of a well known member, who sold a fishing reel to six different people. They all paid and then he got on the thread and called everyone stupid. Banks won't refund your account, maybe a credit card will but I don't know for sure. Goods and services is the only way I know of to be protected in that case. This is also why it's important to use secure passwords, even on something as insignificant as a forum account you rarely use.
Sorry for the rant, I just think there should be a little more awareness. Best of luck with your sale.
I post one question and then get 6 messages asking me to text someone… including OP. I hope mods can find a good way to mitigate this problem. I don’t even know if the OP is the real owner of the account. Sad how scammers have to infiltrate everything.
I hope people are aware of the scamming that has been going on on forum classifieds. Not just here, it's a lot worse on other forums but it's absolutely happening. "I know a guy who wants that" or fake sellers who don't really have the product pictured are two of the big ones.
Don't call, text, email, etc anyone who knows a guy who wants to buy/sell whatever you have / want.
Talk to the seller on the phone, this won't always save you but it will filter out a lot of scammers.
Just because the seller / buyer has a good history, lot's of posts, etc it doesn't really matter if it's a scammer who hacked their account and is pretending to be a known member. This is happening and has been for a year or two on other forums and it's been working well for them. I saw a scammer using the account of a well known member, who sold a fishing reel to six different people. They all paid and then he got on the thread and called everyone stupid. Banks won't refund your account, maybe a credit card will but I don't know for sure. Goods and services is the only way I know of to be protected in that case. This is also why it's important to use secure passwords, even on something as insignificant as a forum account you rarely use.
Sorry for the rant, I just think there should be a little more awareness. Best of luck with your sale.
I post one question and then get 6 messages asking me to text someone… including OP. I hope mods can find a good way to mitigate this problem. I don’t even know if the OP is the real owner of the account. Sad how scammers have to infiltrate everything.
@SounderMN Yeah, same here. Blasted by new accounts, all want a text and take the transaction offline, which is the first red flag.
I now do two step authentication with sellers. First, PM here. Then get a phone number thru the PM process. Make sure user PM and user name here match, that's the easy part. Check area codes, against the users state if you can. Use multiple methods to ensure you have the actual seller. I know it's extra cost, but use paypal goods and services, even if you have to cover that. The family friends thing can be a lost payment.
Users and Sellers without history or low post history, I pretty much avoid.
Last edited by MartyKC; 05-06-2024 at 04:20 PM.
Reason: Add stuff
@SounderMN Yeah, same here. Blasted by new accounts, all want a text and take the transaction offline, which is the first red flag.
I now do two step authentication with sellers. First, PM here. Then get a phone number thru the PM process. Make sure user PM and user name here match, that's the easy part. Check area codes, against the users state if you can. Use multiple methods to ensure you have the actual seller. I know it's extra cost, but use paypal goods and services, even if you have to cover that. The family friends thing can be a lost payment.
Users and Sellers without history or low post history, I pretty much avoid.
Another option is to ask for a photo of the item with hand written user name and today's date in the photo. That's harder to fake.
This is/was a real post. I responded to those who PM’d me. I have no idea who or what caused any issues.
I would recommend starting a new post. I asked a question at the top of the thread, and immediately got numerous IMs asking me to text reply. Then you apparently also sent me a reply and included a text. It looked like a scammer and Sys Admin may have blocked it.
FYI, scammers often reply asking for a text response, and then they start scamming/phishing attacks. It happens in this forum often. So a response asking for a text is often considered as potentially bad news. You can show you are real by sending a pic of the item, your user ID and today's date all in one pic. That's a good way to prove you aren't a scammer.
Honestly, it all looked a bit like your account may have been hacked. I sent you a PM, and will take it.
05-03-2024, 11:32 AM
MGW Shifter
