Fraud and scam, how many of you are victims?


I was a victim of the most unpleasant experience just recently.I thought i was buying a preamp, but it proves i have been sending money to a scammer. It turns out the seller had been using a stolen ID and digitally manipulated photos.
I managed to get in contact with the fellow whos ID had been stolen, and it proves many more have been scammed like me. I'd like to point out that this is NOT through Audiogon, but another big sight.

Utterly painful when it's borrowed money. This makes me totally rethink any future purchase on the used marked.

I wonder how many of you fellow audio-friends have had this happen to you?

rird

Showing 1 response by skyscraper

What’s the safest way to sell a piece of equipment without getting caught up in any scams like described above?

I’ve a Marantz SA8005 CD/SACD player I need to move on and have never sold a piece of audio equipment. I live out in the country where there is unlikely to be a local market. I’m not looking to get rich from selling it, but it’s a little too valuable to simply give away like I did with all my old vintage stereo equipment, after purchasing a new system a couple years ago.

I don’t want to get caught up in any nonsense when trying to sell it, so I’ve avoided doing so. So it’s sits on a shelf in a store room unused, when someone could enjoy using it. What would your advice be to avoid fraud and scam from the seller's side of the equation?

Mike