2. misc-audio
  3. 152009-110964

Beware: New (at least to me) scam being run on Audiogon members

First, let me say that Audiogon's swift response to my having notified them of the scam was exceptional. They immediately took down the scammer's account. The problem is that it could easily be repeated by this individual or anyone else at any time.

Yesterday, at the suggestion of a friend, I posted a WANTED post on USAudioMart for a very hard to find but relativity inexpensive item that I have unsuccessfully sought on Audiogon for almost a year. Within hours of posting there the scammer set up a new account on Audiogon and contacted me (I have the same user name on both sites) to offer me that very item. This person was knowledgeable enough to offer me the separate power supply by model number as well as the item I was seeking, which is scary in itself. The communication was very well spoken so there was nothing suspicious on its face. The time stamp on their communication incidentally indicated they were in the UK time zone, a fact Audiogon verified to me.

When I contacted Audiogon they were very pleased to be informed of this as they then discovered that the new "member" scammer had contacted 7 other Audiogon members with similar proposals. I want to point out that Audiogon responded to me in minutes of my reaching out to them through the normal website contact system. In this day and age of endless phone center number pressing to end up nowhere and automated email responses with "we'll get back to you within 72 hours" I found this to be very gratifying and commendable on Audiogon's part. 

I never see anyone comment on something else that I feel is worth mention that is separate but interesting to note in light of how this went down, so I will do so here. I have no idea how or why Greenville, SC was chosen or ended up being Audiogon's business location but, as someone who has spent a good deal of time there, I can honestly say that I know of no better location (I'm sure there are others as well) to find exceptional potential employees to hire. No regional bias. I live in AZ.

Thanks for listening.

Tony


skywachr

Showing 1 response by minorl

minorl
1,014 posts
 
I don't see a scam at all.  If I were to be suspicious, then maybe my gut feeling is to back away before I made the decision to do business with that person.

It could just as well have been a scam in the making.  But, so could any other sale or purchase on this site.  even if using paypal.

Remember, Paypal protects the buyer, not the seller.

I've smelled a rat a few times before I did business.  no evidence that a crime was going to be committed or a "scam".  just a gut feeling based on instinct or experience.

But, in this case, there really is no real evidence of a crime or scam.  I don't necessarily do business on other sites.  Some maybe, but not all.  So who cares if I didn't have an account on another site?  What difference does that make and why should it?

I've listed items on another well known site and Audiogon.  I've sold all my equipment (to date) on Audiogon.  so, the other site was essential worthless to me.  I didn't get timely responses or inquiries.

one must be careful crying wolf before the wolf actually appears.

enjoy  
More to discover