Please Be Wary!

[TimG]

Folks

 

Thanks to members who drew a potential issue to our attention, we’ve weeded out a scammer who was operating on the site suggesting possible equipment sale possibilities. Thanks guys!

 

We try very hard to weed out the dodgy and malign. But there are some seriously devious folks out there. 
 

So please, if a deal sounds dodgy, let us know. We will do what we can to look into it. 
Please be very wary of offers of equipment away from the forum from people who are low contributing members. If you’re responding to a Classified forum advertisement, have a good look at the bona fides of the person offering. If they are a long-term member with lots of posts, then that is a lot safer than someone who has just joined and immediately lists equipment for sale. 
 

Please be wary. We don’t want members getting caught out. If you’re not sure, ask us and we’ll do what we can. But bear in mind we can’t be infallible! 
 

From my own experience over many years, lots of sales between members have been high successful for all parties. Let’s keep it that way!

[brightnight]

If you don't know the person, I would strongly suggest paying with paypal good and services. The fee Paypal charges will let you fight the charge if they don't send something within a specified amount of time. Also, list the items in the transaction description before sending money so if you do have to esclate a case to Paypal the scammer can't try to write the money off for a non deliverable good such as "web services"

 

Red Flags to Me:

-Price to good to be true

-Suggestionsto use a weird email address with an non normal domain name to talk to someone that isn't on theis site

-Pressuring you to send money in a method which gives you no recourse when an item isn't sent

-Lack of responses

-Insulting you

-Spaces in name of email, probably to hide it from programs scraping the forum to protect you 

-Check how long to account has been active and their activity

-Even accounts with lots of experience can be hacked and the user impersonated so stay sharp!

-Most scammers will try to use VPN's to access this site so you might be able to check with a moderator to see if they are using one

 

 

 

Scam email example from this website:

Edited May 8 by brightnight

[makar0n]

12 hours ago, brightnight said:

(...)

-Suggestionsto use a weird email address with an non normal domain name to talk to someone that isn't on theis site

(...)

Scam email example from this website:

 

Just FYI - Proton Mail is a well known Swiss email provider with focus on privacy. Just because one does not let Google or Amazon read all your emails does not make you automatically a scammer. Heck I am using Proton myself.

Hence I would refrain from calling Proton "non normal" domain - that's like calling anybody who does not shop on Amazon "non normal" shopper. Not everybody likes to have Alexa shoved up their ass.

 

In terms of emails look for names that might look randomly generated by automated tools i.e. john56samoa@, as well as emails with full name -  john.silver15@ - sure, some members might use full names, but often scammers try to use that to appear as a real person. Another variation (at least popular on German small advert sites like eBay Kleinanzeigen) is to use word "familie" or "doctor", pretending to be either a family account, or a trusted member of society.

Domain wise, its more location - dealing with seller from Germany yet he has account on AOL? (like who is still using AOL in 2024 xD) Well, that is unusual, since AOL was rather US centric, so what does a German does there? I.e. possible red flag.

 

Also be wary of scammers agreeing on Paypal then sending you an address to an account located in a country where Paypal does not run the protection scheme at all (yes, there are such) - Paypal won't warn you(!), nor display any information about the destination country. When you enter it as an addressee it will default to "send as friends" instead, without any warning. Popular method for scammers from orc country.

 

One more, but again situational - see how quickly seller responds (weird, I know). Often seen scammers respond in seconds/minutes, over the period of the whole day. Normal people work or have things to do and rarely will respond every minute - scammer job is to sit in front of the computer and send responses, hence they are often very quick.

 

 

And best tip - don't' be afraid to pass if unsure. Won't loose money if you do not send it.

Edited May 9 by makar0n

[JustinO]

3 hours ago, makar0n said:

 

. Not everybody likes to have Alexa shoved up their ass.

 

Echo that!  I for one am fed up with my partner being bombarded by adverts from Zuckerberg's outfit for car batteries, brewing supplies, and even worse, camera gear... how on earth am I expected to indulge my GAS when she knows all about it before I've bought it?!   

 

Rant over. and back to topic...another RED FLAG for me would under the following scenario:
 - The "seller" is actively involved in a conversation with you (so you know they're not doing something else).

- The "seller" is unable to respond to a question about the gear/shooting underwater that only a real photographer would know... if they have to break off to check Dr Google that tells you all you need to know....

 

[TimG]

Some super tips, guys. Keep them coming!

[brightnight]

6 hours ago, makar0n said:

 

 Heck I am using Proton myself. Hence I would refrain from calling Proton "non normal" domain - that's like calling anybody who does not shop on Amazon "non normal" shopper. Not everybody likes to have Alexa shoved up their ass.

 

Interesting, I wasn't aware it was a real email service. I often see weird odd names for phishing sites and assumed it was something like that but glad you pointed out it's legit, will have to check it out.

[GaryR]

Beware of someone to eager to strike a deal.  Also, perform a reverse image search on the photos to see if they were pulled from somewhere else on the internet.  Ask for a specific picture of the equipment (a picture of the inside of the dome port, inside of the battery compartment of the strobe and contacts on the cap, etc.) to at least ensure they actually have the piece of equipment.

[jlaity]

Almost got taken by a Paypal scam I haven't seen before. It was through Craigslist not here but worth warning about. 

- Buyer wants to buy my underwater housing and camera. (They don't haggle which is a red flag.)
- I get their address and send them a Paypal invoice.
- They send me a screenshot showing they tried to send me money but 'the buyer isn't set up to receive funds.'
- I log into Paypal, there is a notification on my account but I confirm with customer service that my account is OK. I ask them to try again.
- I get a Paypal email saying you've got a deposit. At the LAST SECOND I notice a typo in the email, "Reply us with tracking number" so I don't click anything in the email and open PayPal from a new browser window. There is no money in there.

Here's the twist, the link in the email was to "https://www.paypal.com/" but with a TON of javascript after that. I think the key is the part where they say it didn't go through, which makes you log into Paypal. The link in the email opens Paypal (where you're already logged in) and probably transfers money to some account so quickly that you don't notice until it's over. And by this point you've been expecting the Paypal email so you click it (spear fishing hack.)