Warning: suspected scam on this forum

[Tod]

I hope this warning is helpful to other members.

I recently posted a request here for a particular amplifier I wanted to buy. A new member “bradonryan” gave me the email address for a “Christopher Scott” who had one to sell. He had photos of the item and appeared to know what he was selling. I transferred the agreed price to his “son” through PayPal.

After that, neither “bradonryan” “Christopher Scott”, nor his “son” have responded to my emails.

Luckily it was quite a small amount, PayPal has supported me and it looks like I will be refunded, but I would be suspicious of new members with items to sell.

 

[fpitas]

Sucks. Thanks for the warning, although they'll just have a new name next time.

 

[Music1969]

A new member “bradonryan” gave me the email address for a “Christopher Scott” who had one to sell. He had photos of the item and appeared to know what he was selling. I transferred the agreed price to his “son” through PayPal.

Lots of red flags here.

Glad PayPal sorted your refund.

 

[fpitas]

Lots of red flags here.

Glad PayPal sorted your refund.

Yeah, never send money by wire etc. It will be gone forever.

 

[Music1969]

Yeah, never send money by wire etc. It will be gone forever.

Well the red flags are more in what I quoted:

1. A new member “bradonryan”

2. gave me the email address for a “Christopher Scott” who had one to sell. He had photos of the item and appeared to know what he was selling.

That's enough to believe this is a scam.

 

[voodooless]

Looks like he's active at other places as well:

Parts Wanted - Beware. New Member as of today 4/5/23 bradonryan is a scammer

If you are looking for something on this forum, you will probably get a PM from him stating that a friend has what you are looking for and that you should email that person for info about the item. It's an obvious scam.

7173mustangs.com

 

[fpitas]

Well the red flags are more in what I quoted:

1. A new member “bradonryan”

2. gave me the email address for a “Christopher Scott” who had one to sell. He had photos of the item and appeared to know what he was selling.

That's enough to believe this is a scam.

Agreed

 

[AdamG]

I hope this warning is helpful to other members.

I recently posted a request here for a particular amplifier I wanted to buy. A new member “bradonryan” gave me the email address for a “Christopher Scott” who had one to sell. He had photos of the item and appeared to know what he was selling. I transferred the agreed price to his “son” through PayPal.

After that, neither “bradonryan” “Christopher Scott”, nor his “son” have responded to my emails.

Luckily it was quite a small amount, PayPal has supported me and it looks like I will be refunded, but I would be suspicious of new members with items to sell.

Thank for sharing your unfortunate experience with us. Hopefully your story will save others from falling victim to this same scam.

My personal advice is to Never do business or any kind, with a Member who is New or has minimal posting history. By new I mean less than 3 months and at least a hundred post count. And even then I would be very cautious. I hope PP does make you whole in the end.

Just spam closed his account. But I’m sure he will be back under a new alias.

 

[DennisT]

Scams are everywhere on the internet. Here are a couple things that are a good idea to do

1. When using Paypal NEVER use friends and family. That takes away the protection Paypal offers. If the seller insists on it walk away.
2. Have the seller send a picture(s) of the item for sale. Then ask for another picture with a proof of date on it, IE newspaper, or some other proof - it could be as simple as "send me another picture with your left hand in the picture. This ensures the seller actually has the item instead of some pictures they harvested off the internet.

 

[Zensō]

Bummer about the scammer. Hoping you get a full refund from PayPal.

I agree with DennisT, whether buying or selling, I always insist on using PayPal “Goods and Services” to protect both parties. It’s worth the small fee and takes a big chunk of the risk out of the transaction.

 

[sarumbear]

Thank for sharing your unfortunate experience with us. Hopefully your story will save others from falling victim to this same scam.

My personal advice is to Never do business or any kind, with a Member who is New or has minimal posting history. By new I mean less than 3 months and at least a hundred post count. And even then I would be very cautious. I hope PP does make you whole in the end.

Just spam closed his account. But I’m sure he will be back under a new alias.

My profile was hacked and the hacker was conning people by “selling” items as me. Be careful and make sure that you have two factor authentication enabled to keep your established profile safe.

 

[JSmith]

active at other places

Same user name just created an account here 30 mins ago... they have a FS section too;

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/members/bradonryan.464657/

The Garage Journal

Garage design & tool discussion for the working man,,,

www.garagejournal.com

JSmith

 

[voodooless]

What idiot scammer uses the same username at more than one place

 

[AdamG]

Same user name just created an account here 30 mins ago... they have a FS section too;

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/members/bradonryan.464657/

The Garage Journal

Garage design & tool discussion for the working man,,,

www.garagejournal.com

JSmith

Thank you for the revision. I have enough to do already

 

[rvsixer]

1. When using Paypal NEVER use friends and family. That takes away the protection Paypal offers. If the seller insists on it walk away.

Good info. Another is to not do business with Paypal sellers that insist on buyer paying the fees, this is against Paypal policies and may void any protections you may have as well.

 

[Astoneroad]

What idiot scammer uses the same username at more than one place

 

[IAtaman]

What idiot scammer uses the same username at more than one place

Brandon Ryan?

 

[Hatto]

I transferred the agreed price to his “son” through PayPal.

After that, neither “bradonryan” “Christopher Scott”, nor his “son” have responded to my emails.

How is this "suspected" scam anymore?

Sorry about your experience, thanks for the warning!

 

[Music1969]

2. Have the seller send a picture(s) of the item for sale. Then ask for another picture with a proof of date on it, IE newspaper, or some other proof - it could be as simple as "send me another picture with your left hand in the picture. This ensures the seller actually has the item instead of some pictures they harvested off the internet

This is better than nothing but in hifi scammers have even proven to have the item with date and username in a photo.

But they stole money from multiple people for the same item

So it is not enough.

 

[Keith_W]

Just spam closed his account. But I’m sure he will be back under a new alias.

A forum I used to be an admin for had doppelganger detection. I am sure this forum has it, given that there were a few cases of banned members re-registering and showing up as a different alias. They were spotted pretty quickly. You do have this feature, yes?