Fraud

Tone

Hi Everyone

Almost lost a Gibson SG on Gumtree today, EFT receipt faxed to me was a fake. Luckily I could stop the couriers in time.
Don't be as trusting (stupid)as I was, make sure the money is in your account before handing over goods.

singemonkey

Good reminder. And good luck selling the guitar to someone who's not a complete scumbag.

vic

Marco Melfi wrote: Hi Everyone

Almost lost a Gibson SG on Gumtree today, EFT receipt faxed to me was a fake. Luckily I could stop the couriers in time.
Don't be as trusting (stupid)as I was, make sure the money is in your account before handing over goods.

Hi Marco...so glad you did not loose the guitar. NB: To deposit money in your account is not good enough. WAIT until whatever was deposited (cash, EFT, cheque) is cleared by your bank....even if it takes 7 days. These scumbags are usually very much in a hurry to get the article, but don't be fooled.
I lost a LP Custom like that. ☹

aubs1

The situation in South Africa is getting sicker and sicker.......... I almost lost a Nikon Camera like that, but fortunately we "smelt a rat"....... >☹

You are very lucky Marco .......

inflames

Same thing happened to me!
The rule is, if you don't meet the buyer in person, don't sell your gear!

EFT can be faked by a cheque deposit.

DonovanB

inflames wrote: The rule is, if you don't meet the buyer in person, don't sell your gear!

Yeah, although I've had some good dealings with standing forum members. all done via EFT. Then again, all were paid upfront and I did see the money available in my account before sending away. The whole process generally takes a few days but if there is some fall back and trust, deals can be done.

needleshy

thank goodness you were able to recover the guitar man. i can only imagine what it must be like to get taken by these douchebags.

my xxxx boss was held up at gunpoint by trying to sell his car on gumtree, they made him draw his limit at the ATM, so be aware of these things that happen.

another mate of mine wrked at FNB and a guy came in once that was being held against his will by a group who wanted to buy a boat he was selling, but they nabbed him and took him to the bank in N1 city where he was told to get them R20000. He told my mate at the teller to help him, so he called security and they caught 2 of the 4 guys who were armed outside the bank door waiting for him.

its a scary place we are in and its very troubling and dangerous times, but what i can't understand is that in a country that is in a far worse financial state than what SA is in, Zimbabwe for example, there is very very litle crime, besides Political vibes. We should be setting an example to them, not the other way round.

singemonkey

Donovan Banks wrote:
inflames wrote: The rule is, if you don't meet the buyer in person, don't sell your gear!
Yeah, although I've had some good dealings with standing forum members. all done via EFT. Then again, all were paid upfront and I did see the money available in my account before sending away. The whole process generally takes a few days but if there is some fall back and trust, deals can be done.

I agree with Don. Forums go a long way toward minimising these risks. A forum member with a lot of posts, usually known by name to some other forum members is usually going to be a pretty good bet. Like a real community, reputations and trust are created over time.

Skywalker

I agree with Don. Forums go a long way toward minimising these risks. A forum member with a lot of posts, usually known by name to some other forum members is usually going to be a pretty good bet. Like a real community, reputations and trust are created over time.

My thoughts exactly ?

This forum rocks!!!!

flatfourfan

Damn. I can't say enough times that wait until the dosh has cleared in your account before letting anything go, plus also making the buyer aware at day 1 that there are going to be delays while you wait. If he's legit, he wont' have a problem with that. I for one believe in referals.......

I agree 101% with what Donovan said.....A guys reputation is everything and even more so when you're online. I value every contact that I've made online and in person and have sold stuff in about 20 different forums with ZERO issues.

The most issues that I have all been face to face. People wasting time, tyre kickers, trying to knock off more money after a price has been agreed on and hands shaken. I dunno what it is today with people. There are more people out there trying to scam off the un-knowing on gumtree and junkmail because they KNOW that they would be called out in a second on an online classified section that's linked to a forum.

Glad to hear that you didn't get ripped off though. That's all that counts.

deefstes

vic wrote:I lost a LP Custom like that. ☹

Ouch, that's gotta hurt!

Reinhard

I was scammed out of an ES-335 in a similar manner.

singemonkey

I'm almost inclined to think that there should be a sticky thread about this stuff. The fact that forum members have actually experienced this and lost or nearly lost guitars adds a lot of weight.

vic

deefstes wrote:
vic wrote:I lost a LP Custom like that. ☹
Ouch, that's gotta hurt!

The sad thing is that the money showed up in my account as "available" prior to shipping the guitar to a post office up north. Few days later the bank called me to say it was a stolen cheque ! ? Further investigation revealed that the person collecting it had a false ID doc.
I bet it was the same scammers who also got Reinhard...?

Reinhard

Cash also showed as available in my account, turned out to be a fake cheque. I hope the f'er gets sorted out by karma.

deefstes

Jeez boys, that's hectic! What stands a person to do then? How much longer after the funds shows as available should you wait before you know the money really is yours?

vic

deefstes wrote: Jeez boys, that's hectic! What stands a person to do then? How much longer after the funds shows as available should you wait before you know the money really is yours?

Best practise is to ask the bank to check on the deposit and to clear it. (even if it shows as "available") Then if there's a mishap the bank could be held liable.
I strongly recommend this if you deal with strangers..especially those with foreign accents and emails with a not-so- English flavour ?

Renesongs

+1 at make sure the money has cleared your bank before posting your goods Also check the buyer out on FB or other social networks low lives keep a very low profile

flatfourfan

vic wrote:
deefstes wrote: Jeez boys, that's hectic! What stands a person to do then? How much longer after the funds shows as available should you wait before you know the money really is yours?
Best practise is to ask the bank to check on the deposit and to clear it. (even if it shows as "available") Then if there's a mishap the bank could be held liable.
I strongly recommend this if you deal with strangers..especially those with foreign accents and emails with a not-so- English flavour ?

Yup.............I have the bank clear the funds for me before letting anything go. If there are any delays then I update the buyer accordingly.

deefstes

flatfourfan wrote:I have the bank clear the funds for me before letting anything go.

I'll certainly take all of this advice to heart. Just to be clear though, what does it mean to "have the bank clear the funds"? Is it a matter of phoning your bank and ask them "A deposit of such and such amount has been made into my account, can you clear the funds please?"