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Need Advice... I got scammed on RF Buy & Sell

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impo

Guest
So about two weeks ago (Aug. 9th) I pulled a trigger and thought I purchased a Leica MP from a (ryanshikaze19) at the Rangefinder Forum. Turns out I got scammed as he shipped the camera to another remote area nearby my home. The tracking number is showing that it got delivered but neither my leasing office or myself have seen the package. I felt insecure about this entire transaction from the moment I've made a payment to him through paypal and even asked for a refund the morning after the transaction. He replied back that his "wife" already shipped it out early in the morning and he would refund me my money back + shipping costs. When he provided me the tracking number (CX282760448CA) it showed "An order has been electronically submitted" on the 10th (6:14 PM) which was odd because he told me his wife shipped it out in the morning. The status remained that way for 3 days until I finally complained to him that the package was never dropped off at the Post Office. That same day several hours later after my complaint, the status finally changed to "Item accepted at the Post Office" (Aug 13th 4:08PM). He than replied back that his wife did indeed drop it off on the morning of the 10th. His story did not match what the tracking said so I felt pretty iffy about the whole situation. I asked him for his contact number so I could talk to him over the phone to clear up any misunderstanding and till this day I have not heard back from him since. I've tried emailing him and sending him PM throughout the course of this entire event but no response since Aug 13th...

So what can I do at this point? I've already called Paypal and made a claim for "item not received" but they said he used the Paypal shipping method which implies he must have used my confirmed paypal address right? But when I called USPS, they told me it went to a slightly different address but could not give that information out. I have a pretty good feeling that he already ran off with my money and now I'm short $2,500. This is the second time this year I've lost money on a transaction and now I think I've learned my lesson not to purchase anything online anymore.... Any advice would help, thanks.

Here is the buy and sell thread he started. I hope no one else got scammed during this whole ordeal.

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost-classifieds/showproduct.php/product/23525/limit/recent
 
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tonys05

Guest
For $2500 I'd hop on the next flight to where this person lived and would go knock on his door, politely asking for either the gear I purchased or the money I sent him. And I'm not fooling!! And I would email him in advance, call the local RCMP and advise them of my intentions to resolve the issue amicably, and request their assistance with knocking on the door.

Tony
 

Cindy Flood

Super Moderator
I was interested in a less expensive item in his other ad. I asked for his paypal so that I could send payment. His paypal was another completely different name. I wrote and said "Are you Ryan or are you Jim". He said Jim, and gave me an address (which I will provide to you if you PM me.) That sent up another red flag (new to forum, lower than normal price, 2 names)...so I asked for references. He gave me an ebay account for reference, but that was another name,...so I said bye. bye.
Good luck to you, I hope paypal can help.
 
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impo

Guest
Tony,

That's my plan if I don't get my money back :D . But knowing his exact whereabouts is going to take a lot of effort.


Cindy,

Thanks for the support, I sent you a PM. I too noticed that his username was different to his paypal name which was why I asked him for an immediate refund. The MP looked so sexy and the price was quite reasonable that I wanted to grab it before anyone else did... my stupid impulsive behavior did me wrong again :cry:
 

emr

Member
Damn. Sorry to hear about this.

I don't quite get the thing about sending a package to a location near you. Is it that he perhaps sent an empty package to somebody he knows near you so he gets a tracking code and even a tracking marking of the package being received?

I'd contact the Police in addition to Paypal. That's no small money to lose. Even if he's used fake a name on Paypal, there must be signs of the IP address he's used and so on.
 

stephengilbert

Active member
I always make Paypal payments with a credit card rather than a bank account. Your credit card issuer is much easier to deal with than Paypal, and will reverse the charge for a purchase you don't receive.
 
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impo

Guest
Well I at least did one thing right and that was to pay with my CC. However, my bank (BofA) said they can't do anything until 30 days after the fact so right now I only have Paypal deal with at the moment...

After talking with Cindy, who happened to be so helpful :), we concluded it was indeed a scam. He provided her a completely different name and paypal address than the one he provided me. He probably sent the package somewhere nearby in the same zip code so that he would have plently of time to withdraw the cash and run. And there probably was nothing inside the box.
 

mjm6

Member
Doesn't the Paypal requirements need to have a confirmed delivery? If it didn't get to the correct address then I think Paypal should be siding with you on a refund. I'd be persuing them on this aggressively.

I feel for you. I am generally trusting when I can tell a person really knows about the gear they are selling, and so far I've been luck I guess. Please let us know how it trurns out.


---Michael
 
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RF_newbie

Guest
Paypal will refund anything not received over a $250 payment without signature conformation to your paypal address, as long as you paid him correctly(not as personal). Just file the claim, it does not matter if he scammed you or not, paypal has to refund you
 

Charles2

Active member
Is there a notation of package weight in the electronic trail or deducible from the postage? That might help prove fraud. Hope the con man was not smart enough to put something heavy in the box.
 
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impo

Guest
All I have is this tracking number CX282760448CA. Doesn't say much other than when and where the package was during the process of delivery.
 

Traut

Member
Please let us know the identity some way. I buy thousands of $$ worth of stuff on forums. All the best to you.

H
 

Cindy Flood

Super Moderator
Traut, I would not want to disclose the names that he used online. One happened to check out as a photographer, so this is a pretty clever person. I'm afraid that he stole identities. I would be glad to give you the info that I have if you PM me.
The really weird part is that when I told him that I wasn't buying from him because I felt he didn't check out, he wrote back one more time and said "All right.
Anyway, thanks for your interest."
I wouldn't expect that from a scammer.
 
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impo

Guest
Cindy is right, this guy knows what he is doing. And there's also something else that I found out today. I believe this scammer has been selling some of the same camera/lenses and much more on ebay these past few days. If you check the "complete listings" for these two ebay users: fruitgirl820 and krisbeaudet731 you'll notice that he has been selling the same items (same pictures) that he tried to sell 2 weeks ago on the RF forum. And it looks like many already bought it which is a shame... I just bought one and left a negative feedback to warn the others...
 

Terry

New member
Why not report it to ebay and alert paypal and perhaps they can get more info to trace the person.
 
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impo

Guest
Terry, I've already tried calling both an hour ago but they were closed. I plan on calling both again tomorrow morning. Hopefully they can put a hold to all his funds.
 

abstract

Member
impo-

This is great detective work on your part!

As you may know, I am one of the other RFF members who tried to purchase a used M8 from the same classified ad. The seller indeed caused concern when I learned that at least two buyers were sold the same (presumably non-existent) camera.

I do hope that you get your money back without further delay or additional heartache.
...

Cindy is right, this guy knows what he is doing. And there's also something else that I found out today. I believe this scammer has been selling some of the same camera/lenses and much more on ebay these past few days. If you check the "complete listings" for these two ebay users: fruitgirl820 and krisbeaudet731 you'll notice that he has been selling the same items (same pictures) that he tried to sell 2 weeks ago on the RF forum. And it looks like many already bought it which is a shame... I just bought one and left a negative feedback to warn the others...
 
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luke_28

Guest
Paypal will refund anything not received over a $250 payment without signature conformation to your paypal address, as long as you paid him correctly(not as personal). Just file the claim, it does not matter if he scammed you or not, paypal has to refund you
Has this been your experience with Paypal during a non-ebay transaction ? The last time I checked (a couple months ago), Paypal's policy was still that they will offer "buyer protection" ONLY on ebay transactions. All other transactions, Paypal can reverse if the seller keeps the money in their Paypal account. If the seller transfers the money out, Paypal can lock down the account, but the buyer is still out the money.
 

kalex

Member
Paypal's protection is a joke. IMPO - make sure you file a claim with them ASAP and keep pushing them. They are pretty useless for their protection. You will probably get something along the lines of "we tried our best, but so sorry, case is closed" You need to really push them and get your credit card involved as soon as you can
 
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