SCAMMED!
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649 Posts
I just don’t understand what possesses some people to be so underhanded and create negative energy for dishonest gain, taking other’s hard earned money. This person will ultimately be caught and exposed for the slime ball he is. And yes, the vast majority of members on this Forum are awesome, stand-up people.
Sorry for your loss and I hope you recover your funds, Bradley.
Sorry for your loss and I hope you recover your funds, Bradley.
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373 Posts
Dirty pool.
Sorry to hear of your troubles. Thanks for posting and warning the rest of us.
I hope it works out for you.
Sorry to hear of your troubles. Thanks for posting and warning the rest of us.
I hope it works out for you.
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2,839 Posts
Sorry about the situation.
That is a major disappointment.
That is a major disappointment.
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566 Posts
sorry to hear that. I hope you can find him and resolve the problem. Also, thanks for the warning.
Cd
Cd
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4,153 Posts
Not the way you describe it; no it wasn't, or at least I think not though I am unclear on a key detail: what do you mean by he " texted" you? I am assuming that since you say he was banned, and known to the mods, that it could not have been a forum private message. Classified ads and user profiles are viewable to anyone without having to sign up nevermind sign in to GC.
Sorry this happened to you but we must be careful about calling this something that happened "on" the forum. Especially in light of recent upsets, but also for personal safety reasons (more on that below).
The exact same thing happened to me on another forum. A small off the beaten path forum, still user-owned, and using a different software platform, all of which I mention to reinforce lack of fault here as well (not that anyone was faulting anyone, but it just could be read/interpretted that way by a reader who may already be upset about other things ya know).
What happened to me, a presentation of what to look out for in this rather common scam:
On this other forum there was a thread where , at some point, I meantion something to the effect of "I'd give my left nut for a Thunderfunk [amp], but they're unobtainium." Not even a wTB ad, which, while on the one hand makes it easier for the scammer to find you, on the other, makes it less obvious of a phish/scam - that was my luck vs yours.
Months later I get a cold email from a dude saying he's selling a Thunderfunk, referencing this old thread (linked to it). Lucky for me I am a suspicious person and never deal online with someone long distance (not a meetup to pickup situation) outside of some sort of safety poviding 3rd party (e.g ebay or reverb, actual GC sale where I've seen the user around or can check their profile out - not even kijiji, which I will use, but only if meetup). I forwarded it to the forum Admin immediately and never replied.
Like I said, due to old thread and extreme unlikihood of someone who actually has a Thunderfunk being so hard up to sell it that they cold call me based on a passing line in a very obscure/small forum, as well as probably not being able to afford it anyway, it was a much easier call for me to make than in your situation. The point is, both for the purpose of politics here right now as well as a general rule of online safety, if someone contacts you, via a channel that is not part of the forum (i.e. not a forum post or a forum private messge - now called "conversations"), even if they are referencing a post of yours, it is not "on the forum" and therefore do not let any feelings of safety , as would be appropriate if it were "on the forum" (and you did some checking, if unfamiliar with the user) take hold because they certainly do not apply and this is a common scam because of that false sense of security that they are trying to exploit.
Like I said before, forum posts, want ads , and even our profiles are open to the public. The dude who emailed me got my address from my forum profile (went to my website and found it there - not my real address but the one I post there that forwards to my real one so I know where rando's got it/are coming from; I have sold a few things that way, but solicitation to buy is always a red flag). @Bradley, you also have a website posted and I was able to find email addresses on, all without logging in to GC, if your name is there, one can use that and your location (in your GC profile and the band website) to lookup your phone number to text you. So that's the how.
Your choice is whether to remove all personal info and links to places where personal info can be found, from your profile(s) or whether (if, as in my case, some positive things have come about via that) you can trust yourself to be vigilant for signs of non-legit outreach.
Most forum software works this way - at least the default settings, so this applies to all your online travels. Be safe out there my friends.
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47 Posts
You sure the area code is not 204 ? That would be a Manitoba area code. 200 isn't an area code at all.
EDIT: You fixed it, I just replied to fast, lol
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Really hope we can nail this guy as a group, I hate scammers !
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1,383 Posts
This sort of thing has been happening on car boards for years, especially lately as certain parts are discontinued and a member is reluctantly forced into the used parts market.
Establishing a no-edit Feedback forum on the board definitely reduces fraud, but it will never eliminate it.
Establishing a no-edit Feedback forum on the board definitely reduces fraud, but it will never eliminate it.
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383 Posts
Hey Bradley; I can only imagine how bad you feel. I had almost the exact same thing happen to me here on the GC Forum last week. Some dirt bag answered answered my WTB: Eastman E40 OM ad here. His asking price seemed a bit high & right away he dropped the price by $500.00 without me even asking...1st telltale sign...Then he would only accept etransfer. No PayPal. 2nd telltale sign... he even did the same as your guy. Sent me pics of his drivers license & some other ID card to show he wouldn't rip me off. Hmmmm...My Spidey Senses were REALLY tingling now! I said- "Okay. Send me a pic of you holding the guitar"....Crickets! I KNEW IT! SCAMMER!!!!
I reported it here right away & Jay banned him
I reported it here right away & Jay banned him
I'll just point out that the ID you posted probably doesn't belong to the scammer. More than likely that's one of his other victims. Posting personal information like that without knowing for certain probably isn't a good idea.
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530 Posts
Been there. Got driver’s licence, cell number, verified with Linkedin.
Turned out to be stolen wallet used to hijack identity.
Cops couldn’t do much.
I found the new cell of the original ID/wallet owner - he has been going through nightmare.
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383 Posts
Good point! Pics removed. Thanks.
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775 Posts
The lost victim in all of this. Will the REAL Pete Riley please stand up.
I've had my CC hijacked to pull cash from NYC while I was sitting at home in Ontario. Easy to cancel, painful to update all my pre-paid stuff. I can't imagine how frustrating it would be to do that for all government docs, bank cards etc.
@Bradley hopefully the universe squares things up for you in some unknown way.
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2,063 Posts
Winnipeg is a small community when it comes to musicians. I'm sure someone knows who this guy is.
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35 Posts
Maybe guitars Canada should make members have 1000 posts before they can post on the for sale section...
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