trying to contact a member? READ BEFORE TRADING

[andyv12]

hey does anyone know or speak to a member on here called soft tissues?

i brought stuff off him, but he hasnt been on msn messenger for a while?

[David M]

There is a PC Mech member directory.

http://forum.pcmech.com/memberlist.php

[Jaggannath]

Soft Tissues

I'd suggest you'll be needing soft tissues for your tears of frustration, I'd say you're not going to see your money or your equipment any time soon. How did you pay?? See if you can cancel.

On a side note, I reckon we need to have a warning so people don't get stung, seems to be happening a bit lately

[glc]

DISCLAIMER -

PC Media, Inc. cannot be held responsible for any defective products, incomplete or fraudulent transactions. Acquiring products in our forum is taken at your own risk.

That is in the forum rules.

This thread may be of interest:

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=143395

One and the same person at the other end of these 2 deals.

[nocturnx]

Nice thread glc, an excellent read. I know I wouldnt buy off a forum unless it was from an active respected member. What method of payment did you use andy?

[glc]

I'm betting he took cash down to a Western Union agent.

[nocturnx]

Ouch, I hope not. Wonder if its the same person, can you see if both usernames are from the same person by looking at their IP?

[glc]

If you read the other thread, I asked the poster to PM me with the member's name. Guess what it was? I think it's time to make this public.

[nocturnx]

Uh oh, now im curious as to what you found out. Is it the same person? Good detective work glc, bring this criminal to justice and make our forum safe again

[glc]

Is it the same person?

Sorry if I haven't made this obvious enough.

There is no "criminal" and there is no "justice". Read the disclaimer again, please.

[David M]

You can be pretty assured that if someone wants you to pay Western Union that you are getting ripped off.

[andyv12]

i did take money to western union! oh my god!!!!! i cant belive it imm sooooooooooooooo angry

[TwoRails]

Don't feel bad, andyv12, as most everybody goes thru something similar at least once in their lives. Better with something small instead of all of your retirement money!

[rspassey]

A lesson learned I guess - Maybe for all of us. I have been ripped of before too - I guess it only happens a few times till we get good at detecting when its going to happen.

[nocturnx]

Originally Posted by glc Sorry if I haven't made this obvious enough. There is no "criminal" and there is no "justice". Read the disclaimer again, please.

It must not have been obvious enough because I swear this was about people being scammed which means there "is" a criminal and there "could be" justice as it is illegal to scam money whether pcmech admin cares or not. Just because the disclaimer says PCMech can not be held responsible does not make it ok. I find the fact people are scamming off this forum very sad. And is there really ever any justice in this world?

[David M]

The best you should be expecting from PC Mech is for them to deter scammers. I'm sure David D, glc and all the others who run PC Mech care very much. To expect PC Mech to be able to stop scammers altogether is unrealistic.

You just have to learn watch out for yourself...thats how life is.

[nocturnx]

I dont expect Pcmech to prevent scamming as that is impossible. I just felt glc's care-free attitude of the situation in his previous post was disturbing, especially when he is representing the forum. Mods can be human too, whats wrong with a little sympathy lol. Heres a link that all should read on what to expect when sending payment through Western Union.

http://www.westernunion.com/info/faqSecurity.asp

[glc]

Okay, nocturnx - please tell me what you think I/we *should* have done or be doing? I/we are open to input. Please use the private messaging system as per the last 2 sentences in Rule 7. Your messages will be shared with the forum owner and the rest of the moderation staff as we have been discussing this issue in our staff forum since it reared its head. Thank you.

As a point of order, we have banned the member in question even though he did not violate any of our forum rules.

[glc]

Bumped - as this guy is still around under one of his other aliases.

Do what you want, people, but if you have someone trying to trade with you by PM or email only, be VERY SUSPICIOUS. I do NOT recommend you use Western Union for payment. We cannot prevent scammers from registering in these forums and harvesting email addresses and usernames, you HAVE to be aware of what you are doing when you trade with ANYONE. I'm sorry, but that's all the protection we can offer. It is up to YOU to determine if the offer is legit.

[Jaggannath]

Is it Gnome??

[kstatefan40]

My only suggestion is to notify the FBI of the guy's IP address. I know it's difficult to get involved, but you guys know as well as I do that when someone gets a bargain offer, they're going to take it without a second thought. I'll think about counter-scam stuff at school today - there has to be something we can do.

[mandugi23]

how about everyone in here contact that scammer "soft tissues" and pretend we want to buy something from him, asking him all bunch of questions, and then after a week or so, cancle it.

he's gonna get pretty pissed answering all the questions without single person actually buying from him.

[Statica]

Firstly, we're not and shouldn't be in the business of counter-scamming or stuff like that .. most of that only works in movies or cartoons.. there is real danger in that someone will take it too far .. like use fraudulent methods of payment or something or whatever else.
Secondly, this is a thread to warn people not to ignore common sense (or whatever else is commoner) .. not to send off money to anyone that they are contacted by. It's really not that hard .. provided people learn to be wary of things that sound too good to be true.

[glc]

READ this thread.

http://forums.pcper.com/showthread.p...3&page=1&pp=15

toastedbun99 is how he recently appeared again here.

[Stuey]

In that first thread, it mentions email addresses with aol, gmail, among others. If the aol accounts are legit, can't aol be contacted to provide the user's billing information to authorities? I mean, if he was using an unauthorized account linked to someone else, then it would have been detected before he could have used the account for long.

I've been reading about this guy several times now, and it frustrates me to know that there are ways to track him down but so many obstacles in the way.

[delta013]

Originally Posted by kstatefan40 but you guys know as well as I do that when someone gets a bargain offer, they're going to take it without a second thought.

Taking a bargain without a second thought is exactly the kind of attitude that gets people into situations like this. If a person doesn't have enough self-control or common sense to at least think twice about a bargain, then that person will get scammed... a lot.

Of course even if you are careful you will eventually get scammed, but probably not this easily.

The seller is still to blame, but the buyer is the one that made the final decision without thinking. People are free to approach you in the street, in forums and in email to offer you goods or services at a discount. When that happens you are your own police force. Had this been a business with a website, I would think different. Businesses are a little easier to complain about, because they can’t hide as easily as one person.

The most you can do is forward the IP to the FBI or Attorney Generals office. Had this been an actual business and not an individual, there would be more you could do.

Delta013

[thefultonhow]

Originally Posted by glc READ this thread. http://forums.pcper.com/showthread.p...3&page=1&pp=15 toastedbun99 is how he recently appeared again here.

We might want to have a sticky thread warning people about the risks associated with trading. Of course, many people don't read stickies, but it would give it a bit more exposure.

[mandugi23]

wow... he ripped off over estimated 10000$ by doing this kind of scam... what a scum

[kstatefan40]

Originally Posted by Statica Firstly, we're not and shouldn't be in the business of counter-scamming or stuff like that .. most of that only works in movies or cartoons.. there is real danger in that someone will take it too far .. like use fraudulent methods of payment or something or whatever else.

I didn't quite mean it like that.

By counter-scam, I mean ways of alerting folks to this kind of stuff. The best counter-scam is obviously knowledge. If people are aware of it, they won't be fooled. I don't know what the chances of them actually seeing this thread is - especially if they are not a regular. Another method is to look at his aliases and put them on a blacklist - his email addresses for sure.

[drisley]

To all:

The Marketplace here on PCMech is here only as a value-added service to our members. However, it is an unfortunate fact of this world that a small percentage of folks are out to screw others over and make a quick buck by doing so. Their sense of ethics is out the bottom. It is unfortunate that this scammer was able to pull a fast one on our members, yet he seems to have done so. We do make every effort to handle any scammer we find in our midst, but be aware that we cannot possibly be predictive in who is good to do a deal with and who is not. It really is up to the member who is purchasing to ensure that the person on the other end of the deal is worthy of dealing with. Without completely shutting down the marketplace (which I think is gross over-reaction), all we can do is provide adequate warning and take care of those who cheat as soon as we find out. I will be looking into some other ways we could possibly harden the marketplace to potential fraud, but the one and only true point of safeguard is at the buyer level.

Just my two cents...