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Scammers still lurking

Davea320

Well Known Member
Just finished chatting with Venmo customer service about a fraudulent transaction.

Pm’d the seller here on VAF about his headset that is for sale. At about the same time I got PMs from the real seller and someone posing as the seller. Thought they were from same and sounded legit. I asked for photos and was sent pics of headset on some type of dinner table. Asked about hours used and when purchased and all answers seemed logical. Sent Venmo $ to email address and was told I’d get a tracking number when shipped.

Thought all was good until REAL seller sent me his photos then I realized what had happened and how I was duped by fake seller. I’m in dispute phase with Venmo now, but nothing can happen until $ post out of my acct. It’s not a ton of $, but frustrating to say the least.

First time I’ve been taken on this site. So just be forewarned the scammers are still out there and they are crafty suckers.
 
Scamers everywhere

Thanks Dave, Man how did they know you requested photos? Topic for another forum I know. I post sale items on BS and get inundated with "your Item" emails often with numbers on the Scam list. I think its best to speak with sellers or buyers first and confirm details. Aviation people are generally the best
if you get the sense their not..... walk away.
 
Scam

Can someone explain how this can hapoen?
He PM'd one person. How would the other know to reply? The second person never got a message.
So weird.
 
A person selling a SL30*represented himself to be Marshall Alexander,
RV10Man,1161 posts. I just found out that Marshall had been dead since sept 2021.
https://www.bffuneralhome.com/obituaries/Marshall-Alexander?obId=22396391
This person posted: https://vansairforce.net/community/showthread.php?t=200577
A Garmin SL30 for sale. I responded to an email address of [email protected] and paypal'd the money. *Later, he had me cancel that transaction and asked that I send a paypal gift transaction to [email protected].*I have not received a tracking number or the item as they had agreed to. I just reported it to paypal. I'm sorry I did not follow your advice on the*site. RV10Man*looked like a legitimate person.
 
Another scammer?
Prosperity Prosperity is offline
Join Date: Aug 2021
Location: Northwood
Posts: 0
Garmin SL30
Not sure if you got to buy as i have one for sale
Selling due to cancer issues
Willing to sell at $1550 shipped to anywhere within the USA
Payment - Cashapp/Venmo/Zelle
[email protected]
 
Most likely the 2 emails were the same person or someone working along with the scammer. Because of the number of scams I will only deal face to face or with PayPal. I will not send money via friends and family or as a gift because you then loose any of your protection.
 
It's extremely frustrating having to put up with these dirtbags. I've had scam attempts trying to sell things on Barnstormers and while shopping for a mower on line recently. Most of them can be sorted out with the warning signs posted everywhere.

I wish that the internet providers could come up with a way to nullify all these ways to steal money from people with technology-and stop also the stupid phone scams, of which I get scores of calls each month from people with Indian accents that want to lower my interest rates, etc......
 
I personally faced a scam (on other website) while sold an item and got paid via PayPal. The payment was for Goods and Services. After item was received by buyer he opened dispute in PP saying that item does not work. I agreed to accept it back for full refund, he shipped me package …. with some scrap metal but not the original item. PayPal took money out of me and refunded buyer back despite my explanations that package I received back contained no item I sold originally. Few $K in loses :eek: and no more trust to electronic payment services.
I think some sort of reference system or trust rating needs to be implemented but even though some scammers somehow able to use accounts of members who passed away :(
 
I personally faced a scam (on other website) while sold an item and got paid via PayPal. The payment was for Goods and Services. After item was received by buyer he opened dispute in PP saying that item does not work. I agreed to accept it back for full refund, he shipped me package …. with some scrap metal but not the original item. PayPal took money out of me and refunded buyer back despite my explanations that package I received back contained no item I sold originally. Few $K in loses :eek: and no more trust to electronic payment services.
I think some sort of reference system or trust rating needs to be implemented but even though some scammers somehow able to use accounts of members who passed away :(

Many have suggested to use Stein as a broker. This is a good idea. Yes it costs money, but it gives you peace of mind.

As I have written many times, if you underestimate the bad guys, they will take your money. They obviously have more experience scamming people, so don't think you are smart enough to not be fooled by them.
 
A good test is to find out the sellers location and mention that you have a mate who will call round with cash and collect on your behalf, tried that a few times, never heard back from some! If I can’t see an item myself or have it collected then I don’t buy!
 
Another scammer?
Prosperity Prosperity is offline
Join Date: Aug 2021
Location: Northwood
Posts: 0
Garmin SL30
Not sure if you got to buy as i have one for sale
Selling due to cancer issues
Willing to sell at $1550 shipped to anywhere within the USA
Payment - Cashapp/Venmo/Zelle
[email protected]



I just got a pm from him about an autopilot
 
Scams

Capt has the right idea. PM the seller and get a cell number from them. Tell them you will FaceTime them to see the item. If it is removed ask them to take a short video of all sides of the item for sale with the cables, mounting tray, documents etc. The more questions you ask the more certain you can be whether they are a scammer or not.
 
Capt has the right idea. PM the seller and get a cell number from them. Tell them you will FaceTime them to see the item. If it is removed ask them to take a short video of all sides of the item for sale with the cables, mounting tray, documents etc. The more questions you ask the more certain you can be whether they are a scammer or not.

Best idea of all so far. Still doesn't cover you from the dirtbag that buys something from you, pays with Paypal, receives your item, and then call Paypal and says the item didn't work and wants to return it, but returns junk back. When selling to someone, offer to do a video and anything else to get them comfortable with the sale, but get paid via Friends and Family or Venmo or another electronic payment that can't be reversed.
 
Never ever ever pay using PayPal under friends and family gift, buying goods from someone you don't personally know. As a seller, I factor in the Goods and Services fee when I price an item and it makes it much easier to ship and print labels.
 
I personally faced a scam (on other website) while sold an item and got paid via PayPal. The payment was for Goods and Services. After item was received by buyer he opened dispute in PP saying that item does not work. I agreed to accept it back for full refund, he shipped me package …. with some scrap metal but not the original item. PayPal took money out of me and refunded buyer back despite my explanations that package I received back contained no item I sold originally. Few $K in loses :eek: and no more trust to electronic payment services.
I think some sort of reference system or trust rating needs to be implemented but even though some scammers somehow able to use accounts of members who passed away :(

Wow. Thanks for posting this! I wasn't aware some of these scum were this creative. It seems this is turning into a career for too many people.

Larry
 
Never use something as sketchy as Venmo for payments. Venmo's only purpose of existence is to obscure and hide fraudulent transactions.
 
Scammers

The problem is honest folks don't think like a thief. How about they send a picture of there drivers license and pilots license. and a copy of there electric bill ?
 
Most likely the 2 emails were the same person or someone working along with the scammer.

That’s a low assumption. I was “the real seller in the deal,” and I can unequivocally say that I had nothing to do with this. As a long time member, supporter of VAF and builder, these types of comments are reckless and have no business here. I’ve bought and sold a lot here and this slander isn’t warranted.
 
I used to hobby in high end watches where scammers were abundant, the rule of thumb was buy the seller first, no matter how good the deal if you can't confirm the seller is legit with references then walk away.

A WTB ad is an invitation to scammers.
 
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The problem is honest folks don't think like a thief. How about they send a picture of there drivers license and pilots license. and a copy of there electric bill ?

That's a good idea by the way, however some people may not be willing to provide personal info (license, address) not because they are scammers but because they have no idea how secure you will store/delete this information.
eBay has sort of a reputation feedback system where you can not only see a feedback rating (0% to 100%) but also read feedbacks from customers/sellers. Maybe it is a time to implement such system in here - that will give at least more confidence when dealing with someone you do not know and who has no posts on forum.
 
That's a good idea by the way, however some people may not be willing to provide personal info (license, address) not because they are scammers but because they have no idea how secure you will store/delete this information.
eBay has sort of a reputation feedback system where you can not only see a feedback rating (0% to 100%) but also read feedbacks from customers/sellers. Maybe it is a time to implement such system in here - that will give at least more confidence when dealing with someone you do not know and who has no posts on forum.

not sure that helps, as it appears the last two scams involved hacking into the VAF accounts of respected members.

Larry
 
Also, Zelle

Avoid using Zelle as well. I got scammed (another SL 30 for sale) and Zelle was utterly, completely useless. "It's in our terms of service that we won't protect you," they said (paraphrasing here), "so, tough luck."
 
That’s a low assumption. I was “the real seller in the deal,” and I can unequivocally say that I had nothing to do with this. As a long time member, supporter of VAF and builder, these types of comments are reckless and have no business here. I’ve bought and sold a lot here and this slander isn’t warranted.

I mean no disrespect to an honest seller and you have my sincere apologies if I have offended you.

There are a lot of cases where scammers will have other people involved to make it seem more legit. I have been taken on that myself for about a grand.
 
Many years ago I sold a DC headset to someone who insisted on using an escrow service. He sent the money to the service, who then notified me it was received. I sent the headset directly to him, then he told the service to release the funds.

I wonder if such a service still exists?

Edited to add: yup, here's one such service:
https://www.escrow.com/what-is-escrow

Example fee from their fee calculator: Selling a $1000 general merchandise item, buyer paying with check. Escrow fee is $32.50.
 
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Use Steinair, steinair.com, as a middle man, as soon as you mention that to anyone selling avionics they will either jump in or run for the hills.
Protect yourself out there, these $astards are cowards and scum!
 
I wonder if such a service still exists?
Steinair has offered this service in other threads, and if I understand correctly, does not charge for the service. The buyers/sellers pay for the shipping costs, but Steinair confirms the payments and the products protecting both buyers and sellers. I have not used them, but have read many positive comments from people who have.
 
Steinair has offered this service in other threads, and if I understand correctly, does not charge for the service. The buyers/sellers pay for the shipping costs, but Steinair confirms the payments and the products protecting both buyers and sellers. I have not used them, but have read many positive comments from people who have.

We still do this - a whole lot (we're in the middle of some transactions for customers right now).

I'm afraid, however do not do it for free (well...sometimes we do, if it's an existing customer with a device they had purchased from us to begin with or is upgrading, then we'll sometimes provide that service for free, but not as a general practice). We charge a percent of the transaction (with a max cap) as well as any charges we incur such as fees, shipping, bench testing, software updating, etc..

FYI, an airport a couple cities away from us had several planes broken into a couple weeks ago, the thieves stole a bunch of avionics - which will inevitably show up on some website at some very discounted price...and will be worthless to the buyer ones it's discovered they purchased stolen avionics.

I don't have a lot to add as there has been much advice offered above. I will however, offer these points to help you to try and sort out the obvious scams:

1) If the items is priced significantly lower than standard market price, then it's likely a scam.
2) Insist on a phone conversation and get the sellers physical address. You can cross compare on the internet the ph# and address to see if they at least are in the same area code. If it's a PO box or a random office, then NO GO.
3) If the seller wants you to use any non standard type of payment service then it's likely a scam.
4) If there is a photo, do an "image search" on Google. You'd be surprised how many times they just pull a pic from someone else's posting or a stock image.
5) Insist on a photo with the seller themselves holding a dated piece of paper or a word/code you give them to write down, a newspaper with current date, handwritten date stamp, or some other identifiable way to differentiate the photo from previously mentioned stolen images.
6) Ask them where/when they got the unit - this trips up a lot of scam sellers because they won't know or won't be able to make something up quickly enough...especially if you ask them for that person/businesses name/number.
7) Simply ask them for their "N Number" of the plane they own, have built, or are building. Many scammers are unable to replicate this accurately.
8) Ask them for their pilot license number also works great (and it's public info you can compare via the FAA website).
9) Ask them for a photo of their drivers license (and then compare addresses, etc..).
10) If the seller changes the email, money payment address, service or anything from the original post, it's highly suspect.
11) Ask the seller to send the device to reputable shop for a for a checkout (on your dime after a shop receives it) to which you'll pay after the unit has been checked. This will remove 99% of scam sales.
12) See #1 - if it looks to good to be true, it almost always is!
 
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...

FYI, an airport a couple cities away from us had several planes broken into a couple weeks ago, the thieves stole a bunch of avionics - which will inevitably show up on some website at some very discounted price...and will be worthless to the buyer ones it's discovered they purchased stolen avionics.
...

I read some thieves were stealing devices from two aircraft, moving device A to aircraft B, and then selling device B. The owner of aircraft B would not be aware that they now have a stolen device, and of course would not report their device stolen, since they have one in the panel. Take care out there - the scammers are tricky.
 
Heads up: I posted a WTB and got an email from a VAF user saying he has what I'm looking for. I PM'd him to email pix and info, he did. He offered a good price and convincing story with "His RV-4", etc. As soon I said paypal I never heard a word since. He has wings for sale posted here and only 2 posts.
 
I would feel much more comfortable buying a larger item from a person who took a video of the item with a brief tour of their shop with them describing their item. If they are talking, it is much easier to tell that they are not a scammer from overseas? They could send a private link via YouTube?
 
I would feel much more comfortable buying a larger item from a person who took a video of the item with a brief tour of their shop with them describing their item. If they are talking, it is much easier to tell that they are not a scammer from overseas? They could send a private link via YouTube?

VAF should start to require a picture and in the picture have the sellers username and date on a post it note on item. This is a good way to fend off those scammers that don’t even own the item
 
Still waiting on refund

As of today, 11/24, still waiting on refund or headset. Scammer is communicating with me, but no $ as of yet just excuses.
 
I've seen a couple of ads here recently that look pretty legit but are from "first posts". Take care, everyone.
 
I think there should be a Sticky with the names of the scammers on VAF. This would give the forum info on who they are and would the exposed scammers would disappear. I just had another one email me with a radio for sale, as soon as I started asking the right questions he vanished.
 
Names

I think there should be a Sticky with the names of the scammers on VAF. This would give the forum info on who they are and would the exposed scammers would disappear. I just had another one email me with a radio for sale, as soon as I started asking the right questions he vanished.

Problem is they can register as anyone they want.
 
Caveat Emptor

Buying online is not difficult.


  • Buying items that the cost is not a big loss…just buy it.
  • Buying items of where the cost is more significant, talk the the seller…you’ll soon know if they’re really a builder.
  • Buying items that cost a lot, use a third party like Steinair or at the minimum PayPal (not friends or family)

But the onus is on the buyer, always has been, just because we’re online now doesn’t change anything.
 
Buying online is not difficult.


  • Buying items that the cost is not a big loss…just buy it.
  • Buying items of where the cost is more significant, talk the the seller…you’ll soon know if they’re really a builder.
  • Buying items that cost a lot, use a third party like Steinair or at the minimum PayPal (not friends or family)

But the onus is on the buyer, always has been, just because we’re online now doesn’t change anything.

This is absolutely correct.

I only buy/sell stuff with folks I either recognize from meeting them or who have history of rational posting on this site or others. I'll make exceptions for low value items.

Paypal Friends/Family is just that. A discount service for dealing with people you know personally. It doesn't have the protections you need for dealing with strangers.

Buyer/Seller beware...
 
Many times I try to figure out a way to get the persons plane reg number. If I can't get it, I question. If I get, I search the FAA website to see if the info jives....just a thought.
 
Many times I try to figure out a way to get the persons plane reg number. If I can't get it, I question. If I get, I search the FAA website to see if the info jives....just a thought.

That wouldn't do you a bit of good. One of my scammers had pix of an RV-4, of the radio and a good story that seemed plausible. But it was a scam. Probably a stolen user ID.
 
I only buy/sell stuff with folks ........ who have history of rational posting on this site or others.

Most potential purchasers on VansAirforce obviously do the same....they check out the posting history. But it provides absolutely no guarantee that you won't be scammed. Smart scammers can hack into an existing member's account and take it over and use it for their own purposes. It happened just recently on VansAirforce and was mentioned in an earlier post on this thread. You think you're dealing with a person who has a 1000 posts on VansAirforce over 10 years...but it can still be a complete hoax. The scammers might be criminals...but sometimes they are very smart criminals.

People need to understand that when they go online through VansAirforce to buy expensive second hand avionics from complete strangers in order to save maybe piddling amounts of money...they're swimming with very clever sharks!!!
 
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I just got a pm from him about an autopilot

That is the guy. Username: Prosperity. DO NOT send him any $. He is a liar and thief. Claims to be a pilot with cancer or some other debilitating illness. Only uses PMs, does not post and even sends photos of items he has. Tried to get a refund, but got lots of excuses and no $. Continued to email with me to get his Venmo acct unlocked since I filed a dispute with Venmo. Dispute ended but he must still be having trouble with Venmo, since he continues to blame me for his locked acct. Ended up giving me an ultimatum to have them unlock his acct, which I couldn’t do, or he would just keep my money.

Last few emails were full of “go f*** yourself and I’m not giving you a f******* dime” and other profanities from him. So clearly something is not working well in scammerland. He also said he was reading my posts on here and I needed to clear his name before he would send me any $.

I post this in hopes the mods can lock out this supposed member and prevent anyone else from getting scammed by this person. I have had such wonderful experiences on this site buying and selling RV related items. Even met and made a few friends along the way.

Edit: his email: [email protected]

I have learned a lot from this painful experience, but still have a couple avenues to pursue to try and get my money back. Fortunately it wasn’t a huge amount, but enough to be worth the continued pursuit. Be careful out there.

[ed. I locked this Prosperity guy’s account down some time back. The options to login, send/read PMs, send emails from the system, etc were turned to OFF. He can’t log in as that person. V/r,dr]
 
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In my search for an EMS D-10, I posted a WTB on the "B" site. Received two replies. One sent a photo of the unit and a copy of "his" driver's license. A quick search found the same unit photo (a frame from a Utube video) and another search produced the address (it was blacked out on the license photo) and phone number of the license holder. I called and the gentleman told me that he had responded to an ad and the "seller" in this case asked for a photo of his license to verify that he was legitimate. The scammer is now apparently using that driver's license as "proof" of his legitimacy! In both cases, I told the scammers that I would pay for a Stein escrow. They both said that wouldn't work.

Thankfully, Walt (EXP Aircraft Services) came to my rescue and sold me a very nice EMS D-10.

Be very, very careful out there.
 
Venmo refund

After about a month since I sent the scammer “prosperity” $ for a headset, I received an email regarding my dispute with this scammer. Venmo refunded my $ and considers the dispute closed. It took some time, but I was eventually able to recover the lost funds. Lots of lessons learned and things to consider going forward, but I do enjoy buying and selling on this forum so I won’t let this one bad apple spoil the rest of the wonderful transactions I have made here. Thanks to Venmo for making this right and constructive advice from others going forward.
Dave
 
After about a month since I sent the scammer “prosperity” $ for a headset, I received an email regarding my dispute with this scammer. Venmo refunded my $ and considers the dispute closed. It took some time, but I was eventually able to recover the lost funds. Lots of lessons learned and things to consider going forward, but I do enjoy buying and selling on this forum so I won’t let this one bad apple spoil the rest of the wonderful transactions I have made here. Thanks to Venmo for making this right and constructive advice from others going forward.
Dave

Dave,

Glad to hear you got it back. Sorry about the mess
 
After about a month since I sent the scammer “prosperity” $ for a headset, I received an email regarding my dispute with this scammer. Venmo refunded my $ and considers the dispute closed. It took some time, but I was eventually able to recover the lost funds. Lots of lessons learned and things to consider going forward, but I do enjoy buying and selling on this forum so I won’t let this one bad apple spoil the rest of the wonderful transactions I have made here. Thanks to Venmo for making this right and constructive advice from others going forward.
Dave

One for the good guy. Great to hear it ended well. Too bad the world has these crooks.
 
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