Scam Alerts!

[jrm53]

What is the cause of so many scam alerts in the want to buy section? What is the matter with folks, this is a very hi-class forum. We thank the moderators for doing a great job. Jeff

[chief38]

Originally Posted by jrm53

What is the cause of so many scam alerts in the want to buy section? What is the matter with folks, this is a very hi-class forum. We thank the moderators for doing a great job. Jeff

There are professional scammers everywhere - not just here! They figured out it's safer, easier and more profitable scamming honest folks who are generally trusting. The trusting of fellow human beings might have been good in the past, however it an easy way to make yourself very vulnerable today. When scamming over the internet, the thieves and crooks don't have to look us in the face, don't need to meet us in person and to them it is just normal everyday business to them. If it were not so damned profitable for them, it would not still be happening! Be on-guard!

It's very sad that we now have to live life with our guard up all the time, but that's the hand we were dealt. Don't let it down.

[Tom S.]

Scammers are nothing new. I can remember as a kid of warnings about door to door salesmen who would take deposits for products that were never delivered. The computer age makes it easy for them not only to scam but to do so anomalously. You will find them on every forum of any nature - guns, cars, motorcycles, electronic equipment, you name the forum and you'll find scammers there.

WTB ads are their mainstay. WTB require the seeker to send money for the item. Unfortunately, people fall for these scum bags, especially when the price is very attractive. Lee has posted a very comprehensive guild to help members avoid being scammed and it can be found here:

How to NOT get Scammed

Fortunately, scammers are lazy. They use the same spiel over and over that is easy to spot. English is a second language for most and it shows. If you are suspect about any response to a WTB ad response, REPORT IT!!!!

[s&wchad]

Thanks for the compliment!

These are a few of the reasons why you're seeing more scam alerts in the WTB section:

- The boards popularity is attracting crooks from all over the world. We've caught scammers from Western Europe, Somalia, Nigeria, India, Canada, the Ukraine and Russia, in addition to those in the USA.

- Scammer tactics have changed and they're now mostly targeting WTB ads by sending private messages. They think they're being sneaky, but our members are now more aware of these scams and quickly report them. Keep up the good work!

- We've been investigating EVERY new member for about the last 4 months and will continue to do so. We have a lot of tools at our disposal. We sometimes get 15-20 new members per day and it takes a bit of time, but a lot of the riffraff are now stopped before they have a chance to work their scams. Some are very persistent and re-register using different emails and IP's, but we're persistent too!

- In the past, we only posted scam alerts when PM's were sent with fraudulent sale offers. We now go public with their personal information, even if we ban them before any message are sent. Crooks don't like the spotlight and we hope the attention will dissuade them from coming here.

It's been quite awhile since any of our members have been cheated out of their hard earned money and we want to keep it that way!

If you have not read this, READ it-
Sticky: How to NOT get Scammed

[Mule Packer]

Jeff, you're right on the money when you say our moderators do a great job. But, personally, I think they're being too easy on these scammers. They need to post heir home addresses and turn them over to the rest of us.