I've been scammed, folks, and I feeling rageous.

[tac]

Late last year, I posted a request for an old Weaver scope with a post reticle on another well-regarded forum. Apart from a couple of other gentlemen, a person called 'Lakes' popped up, new to the forum, advising me that he had one that his uncle wished to sell. It sounded legit, although the English in which he wrote it was not exactly standard, I agreed to email his 'uncle' and the deal was set up for $150 when he added another interesting-looking old scope to the deal.

Shortly after that, I was asked to send the money via PayPal to another name. I did so. The person said that dealt with a well-known freight company with a depot in Fresno airport CA. I'm deliberately not naming them as I believe them to be totally innocent in all the shenanagins that followed.

Next thing happened, yet another name advised me that the insurance to UK was another $50, so I asked him to send the package what was now two old scopes to Portland OR, in the hope that insurance would be cheaper. Nope, he'd already paid it and he needed the money.

But there was a problem.

It seems that somehow the freight company had found not just a third scope, but a handgun, in the package. I knew nothing about either of these two extra items. As a result of this, he said, they had declared the value to be $950 and were 'holding it in customs' and it would take another $450 to release'.

Needless to say, I refused to offer to 'help him out' and asked for my money back.

Over the last two months, that has been my request to him - pay me back or send the two scopes I paid for.

All I got was 'you don't see that you help me with this - just send money to help me out' - or variations of it.

It finally dawned on me that this guy was ripping the a$$ out of me. So I pulled the plug this morning.

Here are the names under which he operates - if anybody wants the full skinny - email addresses and so on, please PM me for them.

This is my post to him/them -

tac
To:Tommy Count

Sat, 21 Jan at 10:06

Dear Mr Lakes, Donald Sammy068, Tommy Count, William Gannon, Sammy Simonton and sampaco - it looks like you've scammed me out of a deal of money with your crooked and very clever system.

ALL these names under which you operate, including the one you originally used on [named forum], will be publicised on the following web sites later today -

gunboards.com
northwestfirearms.com
sigforum.com
canadiangunnutz.com
firearmstalk.com
muzzleloadingforum.com

Along with the names will be a strong warning not to have any dealings with you.

I'll be posting the method you used to carry out your scam, with fake 'customs holdups' and 'accidentally' putting a handgun and an additional scope in the package with two scopes to a third party.

I'm not sure how you got the [name] company involved in this scam, but it's obvious that you used their contact form to concoct a 'reason for hold' in your version of English, to try and get me to pay for some of the charges to 'release' the package - if it ever existed at all. I'll be calling them on Monday to talk directly to them about it.*

I hope that anything I do will prevent other gullible people from getting involved with you. I recommend that you use some of my money for English lessons - you sure do need a a few.

tac foley

*I actually emailed the company last week, in an effort get some clarity about this. I told 'Tommy Count' what I had done. He emailed me back to say that the company had 'fired the guy with your scopes'. Riiiiiiiiiiiiight.

Be careful, folks, they are everywhere, even on a forum like this one.

Read More

 

[Jay Walk]

Don't send money to a random internet dude in the hopes of saving a couple of bucks.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Don't send money to a random internet dude in the hopes of saving a couple of bucks.

This is why Sally Struthers got so fat.

 

[tac]

I wasn't trying to save money. The scopes involved were at least fifty years old and the price was pretty much what I'd pay anyhow.

Lesson learned. Next time it'll be FTF or nuttn.

 

[CZP07]

was the paypal friend to friend or business? you can try and claw the money back by submitting a fraud claim to paypal. Unfortunately, this sort of sh!t happens to often they have teams dedicated to resolving the issues. worth a shot.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Yikes , sorry that happened tac.
Thank you for posting the names the scammer goes by.

In any event , I will continue to keep my eyes open for older Weaver scopes at a good deal for you.
( If you would like )
Andy

 

[tac]

was the paypal friend to friend or business? you can try and claw the money back by submitting a fraud claim to paypal. Unfortunately, this sort of sh!t happens to often they have teams dedicated to resolving the issues. worth a shot.

'Friend to friend', and PayPal can't help, they say. I'm just going to have to suck it up.

 

[jackrv]

I have an old Weaver 4X with a post reticle that is yours if you want it. I live in Wood Village, which is about 13 miles east of Portland just off of Halsey.

Had it on a 50s era Mossberg model 142A.

Jack

p.s. also have one with crosshairs also.

 

[Member 5605]

Caveat emptor

Well know member or FTF.

 

[Mikej]

Late last year, I posted a request for an old Weaver scope with a post reticle on another well-regarded forum. Apart from a couple of other gentlemen, a person called 'Lakes' popped up, new to the forum, advising me that he had one that his uncle wished to sell. It sounded legit, although the English in which he wrote it was not exactly standard, I agreed to email his 'uncle' and the deal was set up for $150 when he added another interesting-looking old scope to the deal.

Shortly after that, I was asked to send the money via PayPal to another name. I did so. The person said that dealt with a well-known freight company with a depot in Fresno airport CA. I'm deliberately not naming them as I believe them to be totally innocent in all the shenanagins that followed.

Next thing happened, yet another name advised me that the insurance to UK was another $50, so I asked him to send the package what was now two old scopes to Portland OR, in the hope that insurance would be cheaper. Nope, he'd already paid it and he needed the money.

But there was a problem.

It seems that somehow the freight company had found not just a third scope, but a handgun, in the package. I knew nothing about either of these two extra items. As a result of this, he said, they had declared the value to be $950 and were 'holding it in customs' and it would take another $450 to release'.

Needless to say, I refused to offer to 'help him out' and asked for my money back.

Over the last two months, that has been my request to him - pay me back or send the two scopes I paid for.

All I got was 'you don't see that you help me with this - just send money to help me out' - or variations of it.

It finally dawned on me that this guy was ripping the a$$ out of me. So I pulled the plug this morning.

Here are the names under which he operates - if anybody wants the full skinny - email addresses and so on, please PM me for them.

This is my post to him/them -

tac
To:Tommy Count

Sat, 21 Jan at 10:06

Dear Mr Lakes, Donald Sammy068, Tommy Count, William Gannon, Sammy Simonton and sampaco - it looks like you've scammed me out of a deal of money with your crooked and very clever system.

ALL these names under which you operate, including the one you originally used on [named forum], will be publicised on the following web sites later today -

gunboards.com
northwestfirearms.com
sigforum.com
canadiangunnutz.com
firearmstalk.com
muzzleloadingforum.com

Along with the names will be a strong warning not to have any dealings with you.

I'll be posting the method you used to carry out your scam, with fake 'customs holdups' and 'accidentally' putting a handgun and an additional scope in the package with two scopes to a third party.

I'm not sure how you got the [name] company involved in this scam, but it's obvious that you used their contact form to concoct a 'reason for hold' in your version of English, to try and get me to pay for some of the charges to 'release' the package - if it ever existed at all. I'll be calling them on Monday to talk directly to them about it.*

I hope that anything I do will prevent other gullible people from getting involved with you. I recommend that you use some of my money for English lessons - you sure do need a a few.

tac foley

*I actually emailed the company last week, in an effort get some clarity about this. I told 'Tommy Count' what I had done. He emailed me back to say that the company had 'fired the guy with your scopes'. Riiiiiiiiiiiiight.

Be careful, folks, they are everywhere, even on a forum like this one.

Really sorry to hear this tac. Those bastages will sneak up on a person sometimes. And I KNOW, when it's over you kick yourself for being so blind. Hope that lost money doesn't mean going without something.

 

[tac]

I have an old Weaver 4X with a post reticle that is yours if you want it. I live in Wood Village, which is about 13 miles east of Portland just off of Halsey.

Had it on a 50s era Mossberg model 142A.

Jack

p.s. also have one with crosshairs also.

Sounds good, can you email me any pics? At least you've been here a good while......any Weaver scope is a good Weaver scope..................................

 

[monkeybutler]

With all due respect, the wacky arrangements with third parties are obvious signs of a scam.

 

[tac]

With all due respect, the wacky arrangements with third parties are obvious signs of a scam.

I guess so, in retrospect, but I've not done this before. Call me Mr Green - I deserve it.

 

[oremike]

Please forgive my ignorance but are there restrictions or government hoops to jump thru to send you a scope? I'm not understanding the use of a freight company. Over here I'd just put it in a if it fits medium flat rate USPS box full of packing peanuts pay the $15.00 and send it on it's way. On another note saying they send a handgun is a federal felony for them so as a point of leverage you might mention that to them as well.

 

[Siglvr]

Thanks for the heads up but why did you consent to "friend to friend" on Paypal? The regular method, that is, you tell paypal what you are buying, all but guarantees you will NOT be ripped off. There is a small fee to utilize it, and I have paid that fee if the seller complains. If they refuse and insist on "friend to friend", it's a good bet that it's a scam.

I bought 3 Baofeng 5RA Radios off of Ebay that a seller had put a professional looking sticker on indicating that they were the next model up (Baofeng F8HP). I paid more than the cheap model that I discovered that they really were and confronted the seller. They admitted to the scam and offered a small refund. I said nope, I will send your radios back and you give me all of my money, including the freight cost. They complained that they were authentic Baofeng's, just the cheap model and that I should accept them. I replied"No, these are not f8hp. I want all of my money back. "

They then said: "OK. Please BROKE and SMASHED these 3PCS walkies to pieces,then put them together.
Send photos to us, we will issue full refund to you directly after confirmtion your pictures.

Waiting for your further reply.

---

Best regards,
Flysea-tech"

They were in China and the freight back would cost more than the product and they wanted me to smash these low grade but working radios with a hammer and only then would I get a refund. I refused and filed a paypal refund request. The next day I had all of the money back in my account and also kept the now free Baofeng radios. It was so satisfying to both catch a scammer and make them lose money for attempting to scam me. Hopefully others won't be scammed by them if they lose money doing it enough times.

Moral of the story: use regular paypal, it's a small price to pay.

 

[Member 66129]

'Friend to friend', and PayPal can't help, they say. I'm just going to have to suck it up.

I still don't understand why people send money to anyone but their closest friends and family with this method. I'm sorry you had to learn the hard way, but this was easily avoidable.

 

[tac]

Please forgive my ignorance but are there restrictions or government hoops to jump thru to send you a scope? I'm not understanding the use of a freight company. Over here I'd just put it in a if it fits medium flat rate USPS box full of packing peanuts pay the $15.00 and send it on it's way. On another note saying they send a handgun is a federal felony for them so as a point of leverage you might mention that to them as well.

No longer with the scope. However, when I pointed out the inter-state - CA to OR - attempt to ship a handgun without FFL-ing it, it seems that the guy working for the ftreight company got fired.

Anyhow, all water under the bridge now - I've learned my lesson the hard way, and we move on...

 

[HotRodGuy]

Start sending every email you had contact with PayPal invoices/requests for money.

 

[pharmseller]

To sending me the mony please, I will be fixing your problem soonest.

 

[monks]

I've bought and sold a number of things on forums over the years and I've always been successful. The biggest thing to remember is that if it seems like too good of a deal that's because it is. I rode halfway down the gorge with a friend once before I convinced him an ad on here was a scam. Be careful out there folks! Use a search engine and do some research on a person before you send any money! Sorry to hear about your loss tac. I can't remember but maybe I sold you a Weaver once on here.....