Scam Warning in the classifieds!

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Hoosier

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Hi all,

I think I have been almost scammed in the classifieds forum today (please see the attachment).

One guy just joined today without filling out the profile. He/She classified all attractive gears for the inventory clearance due to the shop closing. I think many members sent PMs and emails, but there have been no reliable replies. I also asked to disclose the identity, such as shop name, name, phone number, and address. But, nothing bounced so far. In addition, I am just told that one of our members is saying “he has done business with this guy before and that its a scam. He said he was going to report it to the moderators.”

I would like to make some suggestions to prevent our online society from the scammers.

1. Seller should post an actual picture and offer.
2. Seller should delete the posted pictures before closing the thread.
3. Seller should close the thread after completing business. Otherwise, seller cannot post next thread until he/she closed the previous thread.
4. Seller must join in the board at least 2 month before posting classified.
5. Seller must post at least 35 posts before posting classified.
6. Buyer should leave “Trader Rating.”


Moderator or Tech Admin, how do you think my suggestions? I know you set up the “Rules” for the classified forum. But, as you know, our board is getting popular so that we have to be more restricted, especially for the “Classified” forum. Otherwise, there is no guarantee that there won’t any victims.


Thanks for your task.

My 2 cents,
 
hoosier:
Hi all,

I think I have been almost scammed in the classifieds forum today (please see the attachment).

One guy just joined today without filling out the profile. He/She classified all attractive gears for the inventory clearance due to the shop closing. I think many members sent PMs and emails, but there have been no reliable replies. I also asked to disclose the identity, such as shop name, name, phone number, and address. But, nothing bounced so far. In addition, I am just told that one of our members is saying “he has done business with this guy before and that its a scam. He said he was going to report it to the moderators.”

I would like to make some suggestions to prevent our online society from the scammers.

1. Seller should post an actual picture and offer.
2. Seller should delete the posted pictures before closing the thread.
3. Seller should close the thread after completing business. Otherwise, seller cannot post next thread until he/she closed the previous thread.
4. Seller must join in the board at least 2 month before posting classified.
5. Seller must post at least 35 posts before posting classified.
6. Buyer should leave “Trader Rating.”


Moderator or Tech Admin, how do you think my suggestions? I know you set up the “Rules” for the classified forum. But, as you know, our board is getting popular so that we have to be more restricted, especially for the “Classified” forum. Otherwise, there is no guarantee that there won’t any victims.


Thanks for your task.

My 2 cents,

I emailed this person many times this evening concerning a couple of the products. Hubby and I were not satisfied with the responses we received so we decided to sleep on it. Thanks for your post.
 
Thanks for the heads up. The thread had been removed this afternoon, pending a little discussion amongst the Moderators. A few comments...

Most of your suggestions are good to excellent, but Caveat Emptor applies as much today as it did 2000 years ago. As much as we don't want to see anyone taken advantage of, ScubaBoard can't possibly guarantee that it won't ever happen, indeed we don't guarantee, endorse or recommend any seller - or buyer. Common sense should guide anyone buying equipment through the internet and a good dose of paranoia is probably a good idea, too. I'll make sure the other Moderators see your suggestions, but I think we have enough rules around here already and don't relish the idea of the Mods taking a more proactive role in policing the Classified forums. Unless you're volunteering to take over the task of supervising the Classified forums and enforcing the policies you've recommended...and I do mean volunteering. :wink:

We really do appreciate the heads up. It's only by luck that I saw this thread, however. I know you couldn't hit the Report This Post button, since the thread in question had already been pulled by the time you acted, but anyone with a complaint about a post - any post - always has that option. We do want to hear about trouble before it becomes TROUBLE and the PM that goes out when someone hits the beef button is an excellent way to do this. Try not to overdo the beef button, however: there are 40 some odd Moderators (odd, did I say odd?) and most of us like the idea of having a life beyond dealing with complaints.

Oh, yeah, about the intensive formatting you did to your post: I had to remove all that stuff to be able to read it - that was a chore. Sometimes simple is better.:D

p.s. I pulled your attachment - we know the thread you were talking about and don't want it on the board, even as part of your complaint.
hoosier:
Hi all,

I think I have been almost scammed in the classifieds forum today (please see the attachment).

One guy just joined today without filling out the profile. He/She classified all attractive gears for the inventory clearance due to the shop closing. I think many members sent PMs and emails, but there have been no reliable replies. I also asked to disclose the identity, such as shop name, name, phone number, and address. But, nothing bounced so far. In addition, I am just told that one of our members is saying “he has done business with this guy before and that its a scam. He said he was going to report it to the moderators.”

I would like to make some suggestions to prevent our online society from the scammers.
  1. Seller should post an actual picture and offer.
  2. Seller should delete the posted pictures before closing the thread.
  3. Seller should close the thread after completing business. Otherwise, seller cannot post next thread until he/she closed the previous thread.
  4. Seller must join in the board at least 2 month before posting classified.
  5. Seller must post at least 35 posts before posting classified.
  6. Buyer should leave “Trader Rating.”

Moderator or Tech Admin, how do you think my suggestions? I know you set up the “Rules” for the classified forum. But, as you know, our board is getting popular so that we have to be more restricted, especially for the “Classified” forum. Otherwise, there is no guarantee that there won’t any victims.

Thanks for your task.
My 2 cents,
 
So would they be Modderators?
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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