Beware of scammers

G

gepetto

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 17, 2003
Messages
451
I just wanted to give you all a heads up. I was recently scammed out of $300 on this site, I'm just giving you all warning. I placed an ad for a geforce 6800 and the guy never shipped it to me. Sent the money through western union and bye bye cash. He went by the name David Richel and his email is [email protected]

***never send money through western union*** its too easy for anyone to use a fake id to pick up the money
 
yea u need to let us know his user name here
also this really belongs in the TTT section
 
Did he give you any info? User Name or anything besides that email? real name address phone number?

If he did, dont post them here. PM me if you need to
 
how did it come about? Did he IM you sayin something like
"saw your post on [H]" ?

Just tryin to see how he pulled this off so can learn form it and maybe be able to find who did it
 
No he never replied to the post, he just emailed me directly. We actually never discussed my ad on Hardforum but this was the only ad I placed so he had to of seen it on here, whether he's a registered user i don't know. We chatted on AIM for a bit.

I have his aim nick and email logs if you're interested.

Here is another thread I think he targeted: http://boards.ign.com/pc_classifieds/b5329/102219513/r102348329/

He registered over at IGN and replied to that guy with his email, that's the same email he used when we were doing buisness.

his email is [email protected] so I'm pretty sure that's the same guy
 
Sounds a lot like David Riches/Richard Menkins. Search on hardforums for more info or check out his info here:
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=45&threadid=1320093&enterthread=y

In the future:
1. Never do a trade via western union unless you have dealt with the person before. Scammers love WU.
2. Always request heatware. If they don't have any, turn the deal down... especially if it is a ridiculously good price.
3. A yahoo e-mail address is shady.
4. Use communication through the boards at least partially. Then, IPs can be tracked.

/edit: #2 is a little strict. You can avoid having to do that if you use an escrow service or something. USPS MOs are somewhat secure because if you get trolled, it is considered mail fraud and the USPS will probably investigate.
 
agreed I try to do as much of the trade as possible via pm's and thread replies so an admin can sorta track any dispute and the timeline of..
 
Well is there anyway you can get his IP from that message he posted over at IGN. Cause that is definitely the same guy.
 
This is why I've decided not to include my email address on the OP, and instead, will only provide it to those interested once they contact me via PM. If you want to deal in here, you should register, period. If I have your [H] ID, I can check for your feedback and any horror/scamming stories.

Also, by primarily communicating by PM (instead of by email) and in the event of something like this happening, I have a good way of supporting my side of the story.
 
Wow I just went through that forum of all the people who got scammed by this guy. I didn't know it was this widespread. I hope they can catch this guy.
 
has anyone heard any news on this guy yet. have they caught him ? he had the nerve to email me today to ask if i've gotten the card or if i want a refund.
 
How long have you been waiting? It is the XMAS season, and nows the time that the mail and the carriers are extra busy,so the mail slows down. BD51
 
I dont know why you didnt know NOT To send western union before this happened!
Though that was common knowledge. I am sorry to hear what happened though.
Some people think western union is safe, am sorry you had to learn the hard way (depending on this guy actually coming through or not)
Not sure if that is in the newbie sticky but it should be, even on ebay they say to NEVER send any type of moneygram/western union. Cant trace them well enough and like you said, fake ID's work wonders for those scammers. Damn lowlifes, cant work a day in their life for what they want so they take it from nice trustworthy people. Makes me freakin sick, i was burned for $125 so I know the feeling.

I hope everything works out, but ya know...what goes around comes around. Hopefully this guy loses a leg (er two) in a freak accident or something if it turns out that he really did burn you.
 
this guy definitely scammed me, i will never get my card be assured of that. thi
 
I hate to say it but this kinda stuff really makes me afraid to make large purchases. I dont freak out over 15-50 bucks but man 300. whew I think that would be the end of my trading. Is it just me or does it seem like alot of these jerks migrate from anandtech forums? I imagine the admins over there must be miserable with all the stuff they have to deal with everyday.
 
You can never be too careful. I always ask for home phone numbers and addresses. Many times, I will call the person up to get a warm and fuzzy. I check heat, ebay refs, validate that their heat and/or ebay refs are really them (especially when usernames vary greatly). I have warded off a few trolls this way. If people don't like it, then tough crap, I take my business elseware. I also do most of the deal through PMs so admins can see the trail. If they pull a Wenzel on me, I want enough ammunition to expose the Wenzel so others won't get burned.

For definition of a Wenzel (as defined by Urban Dictionary), read here:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=wenzeled :eek:

Here is Wenzel's Demise: http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=399203

Trolls would really think twice if they went through what Wenzel went through. Poor guy was begging for aceptance of his apology, but too late... his name is now all over the web as a bad trader.

wenzelplayjacko.jpg

*picture courtesy of www.pirate4x4.com forums

So when you get your money and/or your merchandise back and the troll is exposed, you will feel gleefully happy!
Avatar_11.gif
 
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