Audiogon sellers, please stop and read this thread
I had a couple listings last week and I received one e-mail from a potential buyer to instruct me to contact him via his private e-mail right away.
I was offered to be paid by Cashier Check rather than Paypal. I accepted the term that the buyer would have his "agent" to pick up the units for sale. In term, I told the buyer I would only accept the Cashier Check from major banks.
Yesterday, I received an e-mail from the buyer instructing me to deposit the Cashier Check one I receive it BUT since the Cashier Check was made by his "financier" for more than the sale price, the buyer wanted me to cash out the difference and send a Moneygram to his "agent" so his" agent" can pick up the merchandise and the buyer thanked me for my " corporation".
I demand to know if the Cashier Check was made from major banks or not and how much is the difference between the sale price and the amount of the Cashier Check. I have not heard a response from him since then.
What's up? Was I born yesterday or is it a case of innocence 'till proven guilty?
A legitimate and professional agent (such as for a celebrity) would be the buyer and you would not know there even was a client. This is a scam to be avoided. The proposed transactional basis alone is inconsistent with best business practices.
Unfortunately, this has become a very popular scam. I sold two cars in the past year, and had at least a dozen offers almost identical to the one you described.
I had the same experience selling on Audiogon. The buyers audiogon name was mariecollins. I tore up the check and moved on, it had scam written all over it.
It's an old scam - just this weekend I've got several "offers" on items I have for sale here. They all have the same "tone" to them "Dear Seller" etc. Its clear that the fraudsters have no clue about what they are "buying" I of course alerted Audiogon and to their credit they acted on the tips almost immediately, by removing and presumably blocking the crooks from further actions on the site.
Its a shame that attempted fraud is becoming so prevalent here on the "new improved" Audiogpon. I for one am not impressed with it, real traffic is way down - with real - I mean folks that want to buy or sell audio whom have a real interest in it, just take a look at the forums postings are way down.
Got a similar offer on Audiogon. Once I asked for clarification, for the entire process looked convoluted and suspicious to me, never heard back from the "buyer". I eventually got a legit offer from another buyer, for less than my asking price, but with normal paying terms and everything went to the satisfaction of both parties.
I recently had such an offer from a potential buyer. Unfortunately, it appears that the professional scammers have discovered Audiogon. To avoid any such issues I typically avoid buying from sellers with no/negative feedback, and only sell if the person is willing to pay via paypal or US postal money order. It's probably unfair to new members who want to conduct legitimate deals, but I prefer to err on the side of caution.
Yes, a huge scam. I had a similar thing happen to me several times with the sale of Mountain bikes. If a buyer can't meet my terms (which are always very reasonable) I don't sell to them.
First thing first....what was the name of the Buyer? Audiogon should be notified immediately so they can remove his Buyer status and hopefully, all future usernames coming from his email account. I know this easy to work around, but A'gon should still be notified. This is a long running scam. In a week, possible longer, the "check" will turn out to be fraudulent; the Buyer hoping you will cash him out before the ruse is discovered. Run, do not walk, to the nearest exit. Jerry
Well that proves that thieves will infiltrate any medium to satisfy their unconscionable pursuit. It makes me wonder how succesful they have been with AudioGon members or if at all. The real crime here is that is will create a suspicious tone to all transactions. Hopefully you have registered a formal complaint with AudioGon so that they may determine if this person's membership should be blocked. Unfortunatly they can re-register with a new e-mail address before the membership is cancelled. Thanks for sharing.
I've seen something like this on local classified listing sitess well. Besides sellers reporting these types of scams what else can be done to stop these thieves? Audiogon has all sorts of gear for sale. Some really big dollar.
I had a similar experience a while back. Needless to say, run -- don't walk. As another courtesy, please let A'gon member assistance know. In my case, they blocked my purported buyer. But . . . like weeds, they always come back using different handles. Thanks for the heads-up.
How it works if you fall for it. Buyer sends a cashier's check for more than the amount. The buyer gets you to deposit the check and refund the amount over the purchase. What has just happened is the buyer gets free cash from you, it can take up to two weeks for a cashier's check to fully clear. Meaning you are out not just the excess cash but there was no payment for you item either, long after it is gone from you. As W.C. Field's said "You can't cheat an honest man"
Buyers are best to stick to PayPal payments. Sellers should use PayPal but not release the goods to the Buyer until the funds are fully cleared, e. g. 30 days plus. The fact PayPal puts a hold on funds going to the seller is the biggest hang up with PayPal transactions. Better yet, terms of cash on pickup, with demo of goods is the safest way.
Scam that is also uaed in car sales. Why would someone over pay and want change back? Next time play along to see how much info you can get on the crook. Hope all goes well and you don't get burned. These are good warnings. Thanks.
This is a well know scam; avoid this scam artist like the plague! You are being wise to consult with fellow Audiogoners before parting with hard earned cash/components.
Perhaps we ought not be so passive. Why not try to actually get these scum arrested by reporting them to the apprpriate authority. I believe interstate internet sales are actually policed by the Postmaster General's office. I am unsure if there are other ways to try and defeat this nonsense.
I have had this happen several times since the beginning of the year. Always a no feedback "buyer" that wants you to reply immediately by email and pay by cashiers check. Do not continue contact with them. Go through the link at the top of the Audiogon home page for reporting problems and ask them to ban this person. Ensure you use the fraud tab on that page to send the email. From my emailings to Audiogon staff about this, they are working to put a stop to this type of activity.
The FBI could care less about these scams. I had a guy send me a check. What is trendy now is for them to send a check for more then the amount and then apologize for the error and ask you to wire the overage back to their bank. Those check are bad and if were to cash them then you would be liable for cashing a bad check. Not a good idea. If anyone knows how to bust some of these guys please share that.
I have received a couple offers like this one. They are answered in the foulest effing language I know, and 20 years in the military taught me some good stuff.
Nothing new under the sun. I remember buying a demo pair of Apogee Duetta Signatures from a high end dealer in Atlanta in the early 90s; I had paid for them and they were sending them air freight collect to Knoxville; I got a call telling me that they had mistakenly dispatched them collect for the purchase price + the freight but if I would pay again they would refund the money. I declined and told them they would have to go back to Atlanta. Somehow they managed to retrieve them [ HA!] and send them the way we had arranged. They went out of business a short time later. Moral: if you have doubts don't do it!
When I was sent a cashiers check (by express mail, no less) for three times the amount, the sender advised me to deposit it first and send him the difference after it cleared. . . . as if he expected the bogus check to clear.
Ive reverted to posting Wanted Ads for what Im looking for. One response said short and sweet Have 3 new, will sell all 3 for $$$. The respondent had no feedback or forum interaction. While the respondents asking price was in the ballpark, I felt it was a little too low for new. I E-mailed asking as nicely as I could how it came to be that the respondent had 3 new cables. I got no immediate response. About a week later I received another E-mail from the respondent offering to sell the cables for even less, and threating to post an ad on AudiogoN at the lower asking price unless I responded immediately with payment. I took a pass and no ad was posted by the respondent.
Why would someone pay more than your asking price? And then ask you to send the difference? Totally it is a scam. Period. Be careful. I got these emails many times.
I get more of these than I do legit emails these days. Probably have had 50 in the last several months! Traffic is so bad now, I really wonder why I even bother anymore. Funny, I never had a single one before the new system launched. At times, I've rec'd as many as 4 within 2 or 3 minutes, from the same person. Actually had one that wanted 2 different center channels at the same time. Always worded the same, basically. They always ask about the items condition too. (New in box should speak for itself) I've given up even reporting it. They just keep coming.
I guess I'm the minority in thinking that in addition to sellers being on alert for these kinds of scams that Audiogon should be on the hook for policing these kinds of fraudulent sellers and keeping them out. I sold a bit of gear (but not big dollar) before the Audiogon upgrade and never got any of these kinds of scam solicitations. Could it have been that when the upgrade occurred these scammers got in? I've seen these scams on CL but never on eBay or Amazon whenever I've sold stuff on those sites. This is just too weird.
It's important to forward the scam offers to Audiogon so they can delete the memberships. They are very proactive about it. I'm sure they don't want the site to turn into the old Audio Shopper, which was ruined by scammers.
Elizabeth, good idea. Got the check today and has been pressured from unknown, no trace buyer instructed me to deposit the check.
Now,I have the upper hand since I can use the check to trace to an Auctioneer Co, in Canon,Oh drew from the Huntington Natl'Bank. The sender is a third party( not the buyer) is in Baltimore,MD.
BTW, the buyer insisted that I have to go thru with the deal since the check is good. Maybe it's good to him but does not look like an CC to me.
here's one I received tonight, which I just forwarded to the Audiogon moderators...
I Am interested in your listed Item ,Please contact me at garciadaniel062@gmail.com, to get more details about my interest and let me know its present condition.I am ready to deal asap
Well I'll be darned, here's one of three I received all from the same person
>>I Am interested in your listed Item ,Please contact me at garciadaniel062@gmail.com, to get more details about my interest and let me know its present condition.I am ready to deal asap<<
They're nasty parasites, Bill. Audiogon already removed them from the site. But more will come. Hopefully if everyone copies the perps questions to the moderators this can be radicated. So stop waiving the bad checks around and acting like school girls, everyone please police your ads. And me! :)
You must have a verified phone number and physical address in order to post in the Audiogon Forums. Please return to Audiogon.com and complete this step. If you have any questions please contact Support.
