How the Detect Fraudulent Equipment Sales
I have been shopping for a new camera and think I have witnessed just about every form of mail, wire and internet fraud imaginable in the last few months. I don’t get fooled, but someone must. And they waste your time checking them out. So as a public service, here is some advice on how to avoid these deceptions.
I find that electronics sales frauds fall roughly into the two categories described below:
AMATEUR FRAUD
Amateur fraud lives mostly on Craigslist. It may even be here on DVXuser but it is probably limited by better editing and flagging. It is characterized by a decent price on known equipment, often displayed sitting atop the original shipping carton or laid out on the living room floor—so it must be a real deal, right? It may or may not contain a believable story, which can range from “brand new but lost my receipt” to “don’t need anymore in my new business.”
So you email the anonymous Craigslist address and quickly get something like this back:
“Hi,
First of all I want to apologize for this late reply but I was not able to reach to a computer because I had some problems that I had to take care of.
I'm located in the United Kingdom. We could use a third party to work between us for safety. I have found a way complete the deal safely and fast, and in this way you will receive the unit in less than 2 days, if you move fast as well. The solution is provided by a company called TNT which is very similar to Fedex, DHL or UPS, which will handle the payment and delivery of the unit, that will allow you to pay for the unit only after you will receive it and through this way you will see it and test it before I receive the money. Like I said, I will pay for a 2 days delivery so you will receive the unit right away.
If you are interested please let me know.
Thanks’
This is an actual response to one of my enquiries. This type of fraud ALWAYS involves an out-of-town and generally foreign seller (usually in England or Africa) who for some reason can’t make it back to conduct the sale in person. He also cannot be reached by telephone and will do business only by email and through a third-person escrow service of his choosing. They will place variations of the same ad on many Craigslist cities, altering the photos, prices and stories. But the general scheme is always the same--you will never see the item, paid for or not.
I guess someone could pull off something similar on more specific, local sites like this but with greater difficulty because of tighter security and community. I have heard of people playing with these conmen, stringing them along about shipping and price but you will not catch them. I contacted UPS about setting up a sting and there was no interest. Maybe the feds could arrange a wire fraud case but I don’t think it’s a priority. So protect yourself by following two rules.
Rule #1: Do not buy equipment that does not exist
PROFESSIONAL FRAUD
Professional fraud lives mostly in Brooklyn, New York. For instance, I attempted to order a new DVX100B the other day from Broadway Photo, who advertised the ridiculously low price of $1639, although there were others even lower. I picked them because they run full-page ads in national publications, which might hold their advertisers up to some standards. Guess what—they don’t.
I called, rather than submitting the order online, having read on www.resellerratings.com how these companies call the next day anyway to jack up the charges to your credit card with extra batteries, lenses, warranties, etc until you get to the retail price. In the end, you save nothing and it costs you aggravation and perhaps a criminal enterprise having your personal information.
When I called, the salesman immediately told me the camera is incomplete at that price and that I would need the extras. When I asked what the camera really costs, he said about $2400 and hung up. So don’t order online and give them a head start on defrauding you. Better yet, don’t order at all. Check their ratings first. If you want something cheap, buy it used. Buy local if at all possible. And most importantly, follow the rules:
Rule # 2: Ignore deals that don’t exist.
:kali:
I have been shopping for a new camera and think I have witnessed just about every form of mail, wire and internet fraud imaginable in the last few months. I don’t get fooled, but someone must. And they waste your time checking them out. So as a public service, here is some advice on how to avoid these deceptions.
I find that electronics sales frauds fall roughly into the two categories described below:
AMATEUR FRAUD
Amateur fraud lives mostly on Craigslist. It may even be here on DVXuser but it is probably limited by better editing and flagging. It is characterized by a decent price on known equipment, often displayed sitting atop the original shipping carton or laid out on the living room floor—so it must be a real deal, right? It may or may not contain a believable story, which can range from “brand new but lost my receipt” to “don’t need anymore in my new business.”
So you email the anonymous Craigslist address and quickly get something like this back:
“Hi,
First of all I want to apologize for this late reply but I was not able to reach to a computer because I had some problems that I had to take care of.
I'm located in the United Kingdom. We could use a third party to work between us for safety. I have found a way complete the deal safely and fast, and in this way you will receive the unit in less than 2 days, if you move fast as well. The solution is provided by a company called TNT which is very similar to Fedex, DHL or UPS, which will handle the payment and delivery of the unit, that will allow you to pay for the unit only after you will receive it and through this way you will see it and test it before I receive the money. Like I said, I will pay for a 2 days delivery so you will receive the unit right away.
If you are interested please let me know.
Thanks’
This is an actual response to one of my enquiries. This type of fraud ALWAYS involves an out-of-town and generally foreign seller (usually in England or Africa) who for some reason can’t make it back to conduct the sale in person. He also cannot be reached by telephone and will do business only by email and through a third-person escrow service of his choosing. They will place variations of the same ad on many Craigslist cities, altering the photos, prices and stories. But the general scheme is always the same--you will never see the item, paid for or not.
I guess someone could pull off something similar on more specific, local sites like this but with greater difficulty because of tighter security and community. I have heard of people playing with these conmen, stringing them along about shipping and price but you will not catch them. I contacted UPS about setting up a sting and there was no interest. Maybe the feds could arrange a wire fraud case but I don’t think it’s a priority. So protect yourself by following two rules.
Rule #1: Do not buy equipment that does not exist
PROFESSIONAL FRAUD
Professional fraud lives mostly in Brooklyn, New York. For instance, I attempted to order a new DVX100B the other day from Broadway Photo, who advertised the ridiculously low price of $1639, although there were others even lower. I picked them because they run full-page ads in national publications, which might hold their advertisers up to some standards. Guess what—they don’t.
I called, rather than submitting the order online, having read on www.resellerratings.com how these companies call the next day anyway to jack up the charges to your credit card with extra batteries, lenses, warranties, etc until you get to the retail price. In the end, you save nothing and it costs you aggravation and perhaps a criminal enterprise having your personal information.
When I called, the salesman immediately told me the camera is incomplete at that price and that I would need the extras. When I asked what the camera really costs, he said about $2400 and hung up. So don’t order online and give them a head start on defrauding you. Better yet, don’t order at all. Check their ratings first. If you want something cheap, buy it used. Buy local if at all possible. And most importantly, follow the rules:
Rule # 2: Ignore deals that don’t exist.
:kali:
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