Hijacked Member Account Posting Classified To Scam

[oddjobold]

Anyone want to sell me something G&S??

I promise to show you how brutally I can rip you off for your gear AND your money!

Not really... of course!!!

...but G&S is far worse for sellers, many of whom are selling because they are struggling!

I think it's a bad idea unless you are an actual shop with turnover and margins to cover credit card chargebacks, fraudulent claims etc.

Much, much better to establish trust and reliability and do your due diligence... for both buyer and seller.

Edit: To be absolutely clear:

In any dispute for goods bought G&S and sent through the post like this the buyer very nearly ALWAYS wins. All they have to do is...

Hmm, well perhaps I should not say here as I don't want to encourage bad behaviour, but trust me! G&S is heavily weighted in favour of the buyer and can leave the seller high and dry if there is fraudulent activity.

The thing is its far easier to scam someone with F&F. All you have to do is nothing. Stop communicating and sit back.

G&S you have to go through a whole process. This takes time, and is not 100% going to land in your favour (although I agree it is very buyer biased). Also requires some knowledge of PayPal to exploit.

Strangely enough one of the last times I used the process was on a timber elite. I was not happy with it and @Bravesst would not refund me, after I sent it back. That was when @Bravesst was @Bravesst. I got my money back (minus shipping).

I am guessing F&F scams are much more previlant. The clue is in the name. If they are not a friend or family - don't use it.

 

[kel]

The thing is its far easier to scam someone with F&F. All you have to do is nothing. Stop communicating and sit back.

G&S you have to go through a whole process. This takes time, and is not 100% going to land in your favour (although I agree it is very buyer biased). Also requires some knowledge of PayPal to exploit.

Strangely enough one of the last times I used the process was on a timber elite. I was not happy with it and @Bravesst would not refund me, after I sent it back. That was when @Bravesst was @Bravesst. I got my money back (minus shipping).

Okay then... Remind me never to sell you anything - thanks for the heads up

I... as they say in those quirky courtroom dramas... rest my case!

 

[Shit Snacks]

Yeah the point is anyone is free to choose what they are willing to work with and who they trust, we understand the support offered with G&S, sometimes some people want to use F&F and there's nothing wrong with that when you can trust them ... Even on reddit it is not actually enforceable per se, and there are other rules here, like posting and like count, in order to even post in the classifieds... The hacking thing has happened a couple times now, I don't know if we need a rule like you describe to control it, I think we need more conscientious buyers? I don't think having a G&S rule would have necessarily saved these particular buyers anyway for a variety of reasons... So yeah it's not really enough of a resolution and it could even be more of an inconvenience for more people, is all... We need awareness

 

[lazylathe]

Filed a dispute with PayPal and was told it was nothing out of the ordinary...
Explained that someone hacked an account and scammed some members and even gave @vtac contact details.

Lesson learned!
My trust in humanity has declined yet again...not too much lower to go before rock bottom!

Stay safe and don't just trust a username you are very familiar with.

 

[Cheesequake]

Anyone want to sell me something G&S??

I promise to show you how brutally I can rip you off for your gear AND your money!

Not really... of course!!!

...but G&S is far worse for sellers, many of whom are selling because they are struggling!

I think it's a bad idea unless you are an actual shop with turnover and margins to cover credit card chargebacks, fraudulent claims etc.

Much, much better to establish trust and reliability and do your due diligence... for both buyer and seller.

Edit: To be absolutely clear:

In any dispute for goods bought G&S and sent through the post like this the buyer very nearly ALWAYS wins. All they have to do is...

Hmm, well perhaps I should not say here as I don't want to encourage bad behaviour, but trust me! G&S is heavily weighted in favour of the buyer and can leave the seller high and dry if there is fraudulent activity.

So what you're saying is it's better to have a good chance of the buyer getting screwed over, and never have any chance of the seller getting screwed over. Got it.

 

[namasteIII]

The trouble is DD and trust and research get muddy when accounts are hacked as shown here. Especially if they don't give themselves away with shit english or fake names and emails. So if its a smart hacker, you could get fucked F&F.

For me after being scammed here before with F&F I'll never do it again. Unless its an actual friend.

The best thing to do when getting scamed is after you accept your loss drill the lesson of what you did wrong into your head so you never make the mistake again. And also say to yourself I fucking hate scammers and share that message whenever appropriate.

A rule would be unenforceable because what happens in PMs and off site are unenforceable but I agree a big banner is a good idea. Education is the key to change.

 

[kel]

So what you're saying is it's better to have a good chance of the buyer getting screwed over, and never have any chance of the seller getting screwed over. Got it.

No... 100% absolutely not!

Please re-read, perhaps in context of my other posts, there's a whole discussion in this thread before this post. edit: hope this doesn't sound harsh, just want to be clear and for everyone to be safe.

I am saying it is better to get to know each other and build up trust and then come to an agreement between yourselves that you are both happy with in full understanding of what the different methods of payment actually entail.

 

[Cheesequake]

No... 100% absolutely not!

Please re-read, perhaps in context of my other posts, there's a whole discussion in this thread before this post. edit: hope this doesn't sound harsh, just want to be clear and for everyone to be safe.

I am saying it is better to get to know each other and build up trust and then come to an agreement between yourselves that you are both happy with in full understanding of what the different methods of payment actually entail.

I agree with that, but that sure isn't how the post I quoted came off. Thanks for clarifying.

 

[badbee]

This is what they do on entexchange. Due to the amount of scamming on the site.

I am also strongly in favor of G&S being required here with a permanent ban to anyone, on either side of the transaction, who requests\requires F&F. Not everyone will agree but it's the right and safest approach.

 

[oddjobold]

Look at it this way.

F&F scam. Buyer at risk. Gain to scammer, PayPal balance. Can be spent anywhere.

G&S Scam. Seller at risk. Gain to scammer, a niche vaping product.

Which is more appealing to a hacker?

 

[iDRINKBLEACH]

Received my refund just now It’s best to play like tech confused idiot than a guy who got scammed. Claimed I entered wrong amount for the whole $80 to wrong email address and I’m confused and would just like this fixed. Then I checked the box that I want a refund Hopefully it works out well for you @lazylathe

 

[Abysmal Vapor]

I am also strongly in favor of G&S being required here with a permanent ban to anyone, on either side of the transaction, who requests\requires F&F. Not everyone will agree but it's the right and safest approach.

Why not remove the classified section, that is even safer approach,lol. If anyone tries to make a sale thread, permanent ban.
I'd say it is more democratic to leave it to the buyers or sellers to decide if they wanna get fucked by either option,rather than enforcing such rules,but that is just my point of view from a third world country.
-----
Weak passwords and people who fall for phishing in 2021 is what is most appealing to scammers.

 

[Vaporware]

@kel ‘s right about sellers getting screwed over by PayPal too. F&F is more of a risk for buyers, but as a seller I had someone dispute a charge months after shipping, so PayPal held like $400 for weeks. I think after I sent proof of shipping the buyer may have stopped responding or something so I finally got the money back, but it seemed like there was a very real risk they would get away with robbing me.

I also had a friend in a similar situation and PayPal did refund the money on him (again several hundred), and I know the buyer got what they paid for.

I guess I see both sides, so I don’t have a strong opinion on whether or not people should be using F&F for sales in the classifieds, but I’m definitely wary of using it with people I don’t know.

@lazylathe and everyone else who sent money, I thought I reported the post from Bravesst like 10 mins after it was posted; you guys are fast!

I’m glad it seems like there is some ability to deal with scammers even with F&F and that you guys are getting your money back.

 

[lazylathe]

PayPal replied and said the transaction was not out of the ordinary in their opinion.
Even after I said I did not notice the wrong email address not linked to the actual person. Also mentioned the same event happened to two other members and the administration was willing to help prove I was scammed.

Be careful out there!!

@iDRINKBLEACH
Lucky you... I was honest and they screwed me over...

 

[iDRINKBLEACH]

PayPal replied and said the transaction was not out of the ordinary in their opinion.
Even after I said I did not notice the wrong email address not linked to the actual person. Also mentioned the same event happened to two other members and the administration was willing to help prove I was scammed.

Be careful out there!!

@iDRINKBLEACH
Lucky you... I was honest and they screwed me over...

Dang man that sucks, yeah PayPal is always willing to help keep confused peoples business but if you get scammed they chalk it up as we told you so… pretty lame it’s that way…

 

[tb42091]

I have used F&F to buy more glass than I'd like to say, a lot of it over instagram it isn't inherently a bad thing. Like was said, G&S is more buyer protection and F&F is more seller protection. I can understand why a seller on the internet would want to protect themselves when dealing with unknown accounts/people....I'd be worried about getting screwed too.

Personally, I always use a credit card for the extra couple % fee so that if all else fails, my CC company will help me with a charge-back.

Unfortunately, it seems like honesty isn't the best policy here if you want your money back.

 

[VapeEnthusiast]

I'm really sorry that happened to you @lazylathe. I hope you can get your money back! This shit sucks. I wonder how the accounts were hacked...

 

[Vaporware]

PayPal replied and said the transaction was not out of the ordinary in their opinion.
Even after I said I did not notice the wrong email address not linked to the actual person. Also mentioned the same event happened to two other members and the administration was willing to help prove I was scammed.

Be careful out there!!

@iDRINKBLEACH
Lucky you... I was honest and they screwed me over...

Sorry man, I read your previous message as like “yeah, we see this all the time and we’ll fix it” when I guess it was “yeah, we see this all the time, sucks to be you”. PayPal sucks.

 

[Allanthia420]

I'm really sorry that happened to you @lazylathe. I hope you can get your money back! This shit sucks. I wonder how the accounts were hacked...

It also looks like the Vapwood thread has been full of people who paid for one but never received it. So I wonder if it was hijacked a while ago.

 

[Abysmal Vapor]

It also looks like the Vapwood thread has been full of people who paid for one but never received it. So I wonder if it was hijacked a while ago.

You havent read carefully enough. He ghosted customers on all channels,not just FC. Maybe the hacker also put up custom wood furniture on his private site for sale too. Also he got so hacked that he never bothered to return to tell us about it. If his account was actually hacked it was just a poor choice by the hacker,cause he ruined his reputation long before that.

 

[Vaporware]

He hadn’t posted in a year or more, so I doubt that he would suddenly show up again just to run that kind of scam. This has happened with other accounts recently too, so I’m pretty sure it wasn’t him.

You’re right though, that wasn’t the best account for the scammer to use! Seeing that name again was what caught my attention and made me wonder if it was really him or not.

 

[710Coils]

If anyone got scammed on buying 710 coils gear. Please shoot me a message and I will get you the gear you were supposed to get =)

Shane

 

[bossman]

Modnote: The following 20 posts were moved into this thread from the Tetra P80 thread.

You guys see @jerseydvd selling two P80s in the classifieds?

Anybody had a transaction with him before? He's being super sketchy: says ppgs fee is included in the price but then in pm says he'll only do venmo. No name or date in the listing pic either.

I'm disappointed because I was first in line and would have finally had a P80 to check out. I asked these questions and now he's "can not deal with me" and will sell to someone else

 

[jerseydvd]

You guys see @jerseydvd selling two P80s in the classifieds?

Anybody had a transaction with him before? He's being super sketchy: says ppgs fee is included in the price but then in pm says he'll only do venmo. No name or date in the listing pic either.

I'm disappointed because I was first in line and would have finally had a P80 to check out. I asked these questions and now he's "can not deal with me" and will sell to someone else

My Venmo account is a company account and I told you you need to pay me G&S.

You still do not trust me. Don't take it then! Your money will already be safe!

 

[bossman]

My Venmo account is a company account and I told you you need to pay me G&S.

You still do not trust me. Don't take it then! Your money will already be safe!

I'm just following the FC classified rules. Are you gonna upload a pic with your username and date? I'll pm you my venmo but don't step to me like I'm being difficult.

Do you have any successful sales in the FC classifieds so I can see a satisfied customer?

Why say ppgs is included and then say you only take venmo? That's just suspicious and I don't see how it's my fault dude