[IMPORTANT] A word about Scammers

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Joeychgo

Joeychgo

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Lately, we have seen several people come to FABO trying to scam our members.

Usually, they will respond to "Wanted to Buy" ads by private message, giving an email address to respond to. They usually have recently joined FABO and have few or no posts.

If you respond they wont want payment by PayPal, and will say their PayPal account or dormant or something like that. They will almost always ask for a money order for payment.

I cannot advice strong enough that you don't send a money order to someone you don't know well. Sending a money order is like sending cash, there is very little you can do in the event you are scammed. This is why the scammers ask for money orders. They are easy to cash and all but impossible to stop payment on or do anything with if you get scammed. Think of it like leaving $100 bill on a bar and going to the bathroom. There is a good chance it wont be there where you come back and nobody will be able to help you.

I cannot stress strongly enough that you should not use Money Orders unless you know the person your sending the money to fairly well. In my personal opinion, the safest way is to use PayPal for all online transactions unless you know the person your sending money to. Its not perfect, but its the safest in my opinion.

We do what we can to protect FABO members, but in instances like this we cannot do a lot without your help. If you get a PM from someone like described above, let a staff member know right away and we will look into the member.

Thank you for listening.

Joeychgo, Admin



ADDITIONAL INFO:
Scammers will usually ask you for the following info from the money order:
  • Sender's Name:
  • Reference #:
  • Amount Sent:
DO NOT GIVE IT TO THEM!

A scammer can take this info and pick up the money from anywhere in the world that sells those money orders. If they live at the address they gave you they don't need this info.



.
 
Thanks Joey for letting us know and for keeping FABO a scammer free website.

I have been searching for a 1965 Monaco moulding and a guy answered me. But as you said, he wanted to continue the Contact just by email. After we were done the guy said only Money order or payment with a system where there is 3 agents in Sweden. If that didn't work I could send cash! Yeah, right!

I tried to convince him to send to Keith or Don but he didn't even answer my emails!
 
Joey, I couldn't agree with you more about the need to be cautious. But I do know that the reason why I and a lot of other members originally joined the site was because we were looking for parts.

I recently had a successful transaction with a new member. hotrodvince joined the site 10/14. I was skeptical about sending him parts because he was new. After getting all of his contact info and talking to him several times over the phone, I was pretty confident that he was legit. He was willing to accommodate any stipulations I put on the transaction that would ensure I wouldn't get burned.
 
I am not saying all new members are scammers, I'm saying you need to be more cautious with newer members. That's all.
 
Joeychgo said:
I am not saying all new members are scammers, I'm saying you need to be more cautious with newer members. That's all.
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Ya, joey. I knew what you meant. I just wanted to make sure that new members didn't get avoided like the plague. Your advice on using caution is spot-on.
 
Joey,

Thank you for addressing this problem in this manner.

I'm a member of another car site that I used to spend much of my free time at. The owner of the site got so tired of being harassed by members that were scammed, like he was somehow responsible for it, that he discontinued classifieds for a long time. Participation on the site dropped dramatically. Years later, I believe someone else took over the site; they brought back classifieds, but it was too late. Now, most members are gone or only use the reference area of the site. I'm very glad to see the way you've chosen to handle this; I'd hate to see another awesome site destroyed by scammers.

Thank you for this site and all that you and the moderators do to keep it going.

Brad
 
I can attest to this post! BEWARE of anyone who wants payment not only by money order, but by wire also.

About 8 yrs. ago I fell victim to a car sale scam to the tune of $8500.00! I informed my local law enforcement, they took a report and that was all they could do because this person was very good at concealing his identity. I did eventually track the person to Barcelona Spain, but local and federal government could do nothing to go after this low life.

I can't say it enough, pay by either credit card, (at least you can recoup from c.c. company), or by paypal. DON'T BECOME A VICTIM!!!

Thanks Joey for the post, not because it brought back the feelings I wet through from this, but to remind the group that there are dishonest people out there looking to take advantage of good folks' trusting nature. I have since went to school and became a law enforcement officer so I can help people from becoming a victim.
 
Joey, thanks......Unfortunately its life,it happens and you or FABO cant be there all the time. Its like buying anything on line or else where........Buyer beware! Thats what i like here..Feedback score.
 
I just had this experience looking for a Super Six setup. The members name is Hawkoo. He wanted a reply through email only. He said his PayPal was "dormant". He wanted me to go to Walmart and send him a money gram. Tons of red flags in his replys. Pictures of intake and carb looked totally legit. Also I checked his membership and he just made it the day I put the want add in. So beware of Hawkoo.
 
got6pak said:
I just had this experience looking for a Super Six setup. The members name is Hawkoo. He wanted a reply through email only. He said his PayPal was "dormant". He wanted me to go to Walmart and send him a money gram. Tons of red flags in his replys. Pictures of intake and carb looked totally legit. Also I checked his membership and he just made it the day I put the want add in. So beware of Hawkoo.
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holy smokes, 17 posts in 9 and 1/2 years? you must be a busy man LOL
sorry, carry on ....
 
its really hard to know sometimes because I had an experience with a seller here who didn't have paypal and wanted a money order.

For whatever reason Swampr don't have a paypal is beyond me.......but he is far from a scammer .....if he tells you that he is going to send you a bridge then you better expect one because your going to get one.

So not everyone refusing paypal is a scammer.
 
As a full time Ebay seller and everyday Paypal user (and accepter) I need to chime in about another potential problem WITH PAYPAL: Paypal sellers pay the fees when you buy something from us.

There is a new option with Paypal: The "gift" option. This was designed for you to send money to a friend or family member without them being charged any fees. It has become very popular recently for those of us buying and selling parts on websites as well.

I do not know this for a fact, but I suspect that if you check the fine print, sending money via Paypal as a "gift" might cancel out some of the consumer protections that the service provides.

I would suggest that you not use the gift option unless you really trust the seller. Try offering to pay the fees yourself (about 3 percent) if you have doubts.

Good Luck!
Greg Purcell
 
I have sold a few items to members here and take pride in my packaging and timely shipping. I would love to see some sort of mandatory feedback for sellers and buyers to help people see who is a reputable seller or buyer.
 
I have to admit it when i sell something on here i ask for a money order, less of a problim for me,i do have paypal how does that work how do you get your money from it,just asking.
 
Hi, I sell many parts on a, b, c, e body only, I do not have paypal, so I ask for international money order from the usps, and all my buyers make a good deal with me and hi ship faster that I can,, when you have a scammer put his nick name on the site like other site do,, thank you, moparcuda
 
Snake said:
I have to admit it when i sell something on here i ask for a money order, less of a problim for me,i do have paypal how does that work how do you get your money from it,just asking.
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You have to set it up to receive funds. Once they are posted on PP then you can move them to a bank account. It all has to be set up by you, then verified by you.

It's not too hard to do, I just did it a while back. I would suggest a separate account to deal with PP with.
 
Snake said:
I have to admit it when i sell something on here i ask for a money order, less of a problim for me,i do have paypal how does that work how do you get your money from it,just asking.
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You can get a debit card from PayPal. You can also have it connected to a bank account and electronic transfer the money. Easy peasy.
 
moparcuda said:
Hi, I sell many parts on a, b, c, e body only, I do not have paypal, so I ask for international money order from the usps, and all my buyers make a good deal with me and hi ship faster that I can,, when you have a scammer put his nick name on the site like other site do,, thank you, moparcuda
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That does very little good. Scammers just register again with a new name.

The other thing (I'll edit the original post too) Scammers will ask for the confirmation or reference numbers off the money order. NEVER GIVE THAT INFO. With that info, they can go to any outlet and pick up the cash. Meaning the address you mailed to means nothing.
 
Joeychgo said:
That does very little good. Scammers just register again with a new name.

The other thing (I'll edit the original post too) Scammers will ask for the confirmation or reference numbers off the money order. NEVER GIVE THAT INFO. With that info, they can go to any outlet and pick up the cash. Meaning the address you mailed to means nothing.
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I had a guy that wanted to buy a 68 barracuda hood and fender mounted turn signals. we agreed on a price, but he wanted to see pics, which is fine . I sent him phone pics that he couldn`t receive for some reason that his daughter had his phone. he then (HE SAID), tried to
put $ into my paypal account for it. he told me he couldn`t because my account wasn`t activated. after a few emails over this, I counted how many times I`d used paypal that month, turned out to be 17 times. I told him this and never heard back from him again. scamm ???
 
I have sold (and bought) parts off the board at this forum since I have been a member here. So far, so good when it comes to payment rec'd or parts rec'd...... With one exception.

Oddly enough, the only less than happy experience I have had selling or buying parts was the time I donated 2 sets of large outlet 360 truck manifolds to a fellow who was plumbing a turbo in his Plymouth Scamp. I gave him the manifolds at no charge. The only thing I asked was that he send me $25 to partially cover shipping (it cost me a lot more than $25 to ship them to him). Well, they arrived OK and he thanked me for them, but I never rec'd the $25. Lesson learned the hard way. From that point on, I have waited until payment arrived and I have deposited it in our bank account before shipping to someone I do not know personally.

Regarding the comments about money orders and PayPal...... I am retired. Do not have a business, so no way to accept payment by credit card even if I wanted to. Just have some parts left over from past projects which did not get used for one reason or another. We have paid off and cut up all of our credit cards except for one which is literally frozen in water in a ziplock bag in our freezer. And after it is paid off, we are going to cut it up and celebrate. (Thank you, Dave Ramsey!)

So having no credit cards, I do not use PayPal...... I send US Postal Money Orders when I purchase parts for my car and accept them as payment when I sell something and ship it. That way, they can be traced if lost or stolen (probably takes a while though) and its literally a federal offense if someone steals them or commits mail fraud. I don't sell on e-Bay, only buy a few car parts from time to time. And if the seller won't take payment by US Postal Money Order in lieu of PayPal...... I pass it up and do not bid on it.

Of course if someone is local and picks up something I am selling in person, or if I buy something and pick it up locally...... Its a cash transaction. Works for me.

Best regards to all,

Harry
 
enigma57 said:
I have sold (and bought) parts off the board at this forum since I have been a member here. So far, so good when it comes to payment rec'd or parts rec'd...... With one exception.

Oddly enough, the only less than happy experience I have had over the years was the time I donated 2 sets of large outlet 360 truck manifolds to a fellow who was plumbing a turbo in his Plymouth Scamp. I gave him the manifolds at no charge. The only thing I asked was that he send me $25 to partially cover shipping (it cost me a lot more than $25 to ship them to him). Well, they arrived OK and he thanked me for them, but I never rec'd the $25. Lesson learned the hard way. From that point on, I have waited until payment arrived and I have deposited it in our bank account before shipping to someone I do not know personally.

Regarding the comments about money orders and PayPal...... I am retired. Do not have a business, so no way to accept payment by credit card even if I wanted to. Just have some parts left over from past projects which did not get used for one reason or another. We have paid off and cut up all of our credit cards except for one which is literally frozen in water in a ziplock bag in our freezer. And after it is paid off, we are going to cut it up and celebrate. (Thank you, Dave Ramsey!)

So having no credit cards, I do not use PayPal...... I send US Postal Money Orders when I purchase parts for my car and accept them as payment when I sell something and ship it. That way, they can be traced if lost or stolen (probably takes a while though) and its literally a federal offense if someone steals them or commits mail fraud. I don't sell on e-Bay, only buy a few car parts from time to time. And if the seller won't take payment by US Postal Money Order in lieu of PayPal...... I pass it up and do not bid on it.

Of course if someone is local and picks up something I am selling in person, or if I buy something and pick it up locally...... Its a cash transaction. Works for me.

Best regards to all,

Harry
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Harry, you can still do Paypal without a credit card.

Guys that I know that try to be ultra careful will set up a checking account that they keep a very limited amount of money in and use that account only for Paypal. If anything ever goes screwy with that account, - they haven't put any of their regular funds at risk.

If there's a bank around you that offers free checking accounts you won't get charged any fees. I used my bank debit card to set up my account with Paypal. I find it to be a lot easier than having to run out to buy or cash a money order.
 
Thanks, 1967 'cuda! Appreciate your sharing that. I was not aware that it could be done that way.

I will pass on PayPal, though. I have a few acquaintances on other car forums who sell on e-Bay and use PayPal. Some have had no problems whilst others have had situations where their payment was held up for weeks or longer (not sure of the circumstances as I do not sell on e-Bay but only buy a part for my car there occasionally). And of course, there is the 4% PayPal takes off the top...... Which must either be passed along to the buyer as a price increase...... Or eaten by the seller.

Regarding setting up a separate bank account with low balance used strictly for receiving payments...... That's a very good idea regardless of what form of payment you accept.

Funny you should mention that...... Until his past Saturday, I had just such an account. Had it for several years and used it primarily as you suggest. At times, it would simply remain unused for the better part of a year or more if I wasn't buying or selling car parts.

When I opened this account, there were no fees and no minimum balance. So as long as it had $50 or $100 in it, no problem, right? Wrong! In late 2013, the bank arbitrarily changed the terms of our accounts (we have more than one there)...... Without notification nor our approval. Now there is a $500 minimum balance required. And if our balance falls below that amount, they begin charging a $5 monthly fee. Well, that happened to us at one point a couple of months ago (my fault for not being more vigilant, but I am old and not all that computer savvy. So have no electronic access to our account and my wife set it up so that we do not receive a statement in the mail each month).

Anyway, the bank began taking $5 per month out of this account without my knowing it and the next time I wrote a check on the account (months later), instead of having the amount I should have had, my balance was lower than I thought and I was inadvertently overdrawn by $3.

Because of this $3 'overdraft', the bank (no doubt out of the goodness of their heart)...... Put $100 into our account as overdraft protection and began charging us 19.88% interest monthly on the $100! By the time we figured out that something was not right (this past Friday evening), the bank had screwed us out of $58.13 in interest and fees!

So I went down there Saturday morning. Couldn't get it straightened out to my satisfaction, and closed out the account. Had nearly $2 grand in there at the time (less the $58.13 they stole), but the charges and interest payments were continuing nonetheless.

This week, will begin looking for another bank. And once I find a good one...... We will close our other accounts at this particular bank and consider this a lesson learned the hard way. From now on, I am going to get a monthly statement in the mail as I have from other banks in years past even though my wife wants to monitor our accounts online.

Sorry to bore you with all this about the bank...... But if it causes even one other person here to check their own accounts more closely and avoid being screwed by their bank...... Then I don't mind sounding dumb...... Because it was a dumb thing on my part not to catch this earlier and avoid getting screwed over.

Thanks,

Harry
 
Harry, the same thing happened to me. And I switched banks because of it too. You'd think that the banks would go way out of their way to inform a person when they start adding fees to an account that was supposed to be free.
 
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