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Beware of scammer account “franklinbland”

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mypantsrblue

Active member
Joined
Mar 26, 2021
Messages
35
I posted looking for modutec meters and was messaged by someone named franklinbland for 2 modutec meters.

He was sort of pushy but I chalked it up to being an audio engineer type…

I have since realized that the photos he sent me were from Google, and that his account is one day old. He has not replied to me about shipping etc. beware of this user. Mods, I can provide proof if you’d like to ban. I’m only out $100. But I won’t get it back because I sent it in a non refundable way. I tried to give the guy benefit of the doubt

i find this sort of hilarious because it took me and many other people here over a year to have our account approved here, yet you guys somehow approved someone who made an account Tuesday, so he could scam me on Wednesday. I don’t blame the forum or the admins, but that’s pretty silly innit….
 
Thats real bad luck but if the person has no history here on the site selling your taking a big risk dealing with them . Make sure to report the issue to the relevant person ,probably JR .
 
Thats real bad luck but if the person has no history here on the site selling your taking a big risk dealing with them . Make sure to report the issue to the relevant person ,probably JR .
JR is aware but AFAIK the scammer has not broken any forum rules other than being dishonest in an off list transaction.

Caveat Emptor....

JR
 
It doesnt seem right that the guy is free go on and try and defraud other users ,
although thats probably unlikely now because of the warnings associated with his user name .
Same time nothing to stop the same miscreant signing up again under a different alias and doing the same thing all over again . Even the mighty Amazon cant combat confidence tricks or internet scams , sadly its often the end user that gets taken to the cleaners in the process. I also agree with you John , going down the road of having to police people over private transactions ,its an impossible task and way beyond the call of duty . Has anyone tried taking an issue with a seller on ebay for instance , its a f****ing minefield even though they have huge resources to throw at the problem .
 
I think actually there might be a downside to the sign up fee in that the person who signs up pays money in expectation of a service , that could be the innocent user like we saw got ripped off or the scam artist , in this case its the theif who gets the benefit of the doubt , the only other alternative is having the staff play judge ,jury and executioner . In any case tagging a suspected fraudster is at best a temporary solution as more of the same kinds of people will find their way in again . This storm in a teacup overshaddows the many transactions in goods and services by the members here over the years that went perfectly smoothly . The simple answer is dont deal with anyone who hasnt made a solid contribution here over a period of years , unfortunately putting out that you want a particular piece of gear in the form of a 'wanted' ad is like a red rag to a bull or scam artist.
 
Quite a few other forums I belong to will not let you post an advert until you have been a member for three months and made more than 50 posts. Unfortunately this is no protection against a scammer who replies to a wanted ad. The obvious lesson is don't trust a newcomer and never pay in a way that prevents you getting your money back.

Cheers

Ian
 
That seems like a sensible way to at least thwart potential scammers Ian , but doesnt cover all eventualities like we said , Theres nothing fool proof on the internet , never will be . What is happeneing is a gradual erosion of our privacy under the guise of security ,but that enevitably goes tits up in the end too .
 
Quite a few other forums I belong to will not let you post an advert until you have been a member for three months and made more than 50 posts. Unfortunately this is no protection against a scammer who replies to a wanted ad. The obvious lesson is don't trust a newcomer and never pay in a way that prevents you getting your money back.

Cheers

Ian

I would never buy something from someone that registered the day before or that has less than 50 posts, ever.
JR has a warning thread in the Black Market advising people against scams, but it seems new members are so hungry that they will buy from anyone and still get scammed.

Besides this I think that rule that Ian described in other forum should be put in practice here also,
I would like to ask JR and the other admins to please rethink the new member policy and think about limiting what a new member can do in the forum before a certain number of posts/activity around here.
At least 50 posts and 3 months seems a reasonable
 
All great replies here.

I was stupid, I’m aware. And I saw most of the red flags and decided $100 was not the biggest risk.

great ideas and conversations being had here though!
 
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