So it's Happened... I'm a Dunce. Be Safe Out There.

[0zman99]

Hey Stinger Fam,

It was bound to happen and it did. I got scammed and I am now out 750 dollars and feel like a complete dunce.

Last week I was attempting to buy a used MBRP exhaust. Unfortunately, the "person" I met on Kijiji was a experienced scammer. This guy had everything covered; VPN, Tracking Information that temporarily worked, perfect English skills, photos that didn't appear in Google Reverse Image search, everything.

There were a few warning signs such as:

1. The deal being borderline good,
2. Being quick to respond, and
3. Being located outside my pickup range thus requiring shipping.

I've gotten so used to trading with good people (especially the people on this forum) that I became naive to how poorly people can treat each other. I was just so excited to be part of the Stinger modding community that I became blind to the signs. By the time I came to my senses, it was too late. Poof. Just like that 750 dollars gone.

Quite frankly, I'm so embarrassed that I fell for this scam, that I only told my family the partial truth. I told them someone stole my card. I feel as if my entire dignity has been dragged through the mud. It's been a really rough week.

What really sucks, is I am returning to school again. Thus this was the only $750 I could put towards my Stinger for the next two years as education and family funding take precedence.

To make my week even worse, My Bank is telling me I'm SOL as it has nothing to do with them as I used e-transfer (from within the banking app but still not technically them). Glad to know my bank doesn't have my back.

ANYWAYS, I'm very happy to report that everyone I've dealt with on this forum has never cheated me. For that, I THANK YOU ALL for being such a great community. I really wish the rest of the world was like this group. Just helping each other out and having a good time.

So, lessons learned, if a deal sounds too good to be true, It is. Stay safe out there!

TL;DR: Got too excited for the opportunity to mod my Stinger. Fell for a well-crafted scam and I'm out $750 and Bank is indicating I maybe SOL since I used e-transfer. Now gotta wait two years to upgrade again as I'm going back to school and don't have any other spare change. Stay safe. Watch out for scammers they've evolved massively in the last 5 years.

 

[GregS]

Explain SOL, if you used a card, you are cover the the fraud protection of the card scheme?

 

[0zman99]

Explain SOL, if you used a card, you are cover the the fraud protection of the card scheme?

I used interac e-transfer (part of the bank app but not actually the bank). The bank is still investigating, so there is some hope, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

If it was credit card I'd be 100% covered, but it gets mucky with e-transfer. If anyone has had any experience with that I'd love it hear it.

 

[GregS]

Ah, faster payments, heaven for Fraudsters

 

[nhcowboy28]

Sorry dude. That sucks.

btw… I have one for sale. $500.

you can zelle me..

Jkjkjk (too soon?)

 

[nhcowboy28]

Also… karma exists… the f’r who did this will pay for it eventually.

 

[Deviate]

Blows! Unfortunately you are correct the excitement definitely can fog your judgment. Sorry to hear. Hopefully you can get something back.

 

[RedCal]

Sorry to hear... and I hate to tell you but there is nothing the bank is likely to do to help you, they see it as you handed over cash to someone, the bank just gave you the cash, they don't protect the transaction. You can (and should) contact the police about it, if the scumbag gets caught, it will it at least be an extra charge filed against them

 

[Ric 'Ochet]

Yep…SOL…bank can’t do anything because you authorized it (from my experience). That said I think PayPal would have been a better option tied to a credit card. I only use that,
..don’t Zelle unless you know them well..

 

[87and66]

PayPal would have been a better option tied to a credit card.

Always do this! Then you have fraud protection from PayPal and your credit card company.

Sorry to hear you got scammed. There are some heartless people out there. Some people would take food from the mouth of a child and not think twice.

 

[0zman99]

Yeah happy I caught it quickly

Blows! Unfortunately you are correct the excitement definitely can fog your judgment. Sorry to hear. Hopefully you can get something back

 

[0zman99]

Always do this! Then you have fraud protection from PayPal and your credit card company.

Sorry to hear you got scammed. There are some heartless people out there. Some people would take food from the mouth of a child and not think twice.

Yep that's all I'm using going forward.

 

[jthrelf]

Sorry to hear that, definitely sucks. Hopefully some good balancing karma comes your way.

 

[AusStinger]

Don't feel too bad. A lesson learned !

Many years ago I got duped by a company that took money for parts "which would be purchased from Japan and brought into Australia then delivered to me / many others" They stalled and stalled for weeks and I had emails saying that the parts were on their way and then....nothing.
They took everyone's money and skipped interstate.

Thankfully I had a avenue to reap revenge but I never got my money back.

Live and learn !

 

[0zman99]

The verdict is in. Bank says (summarized): too bad so sad thank you for using our banking services .

Lessons learned indeed. Still sucks though .

 

[RogueIV]

Sounds like time to change banks too, if that wasn't a pain in the ass.

Hey I'm still bitter about getting scammed out of $400 20+ years ago, back when it was even harder to do internet transactions. Went to buy a pair of nice quarter panels for a different Gran Torino I owned at the time. Some time goes buy, guy goes to pull them then tells me they have rust, more than I want to deal with since the whole purpose to rust repair. I tell him to send my payment back and he ghosts. Never saw the or heard from the guy again.

 

[monusa]

Sounds like time to change banks too, if that wasn't a pain in the ass.

Definitely!!!! Even though the bank was not at fault, I would balance things out and then close that account and get a new one. It sucks big time but there may be enough "lingering" info attached to that account to still give you problems. I thought I got scammed once (and i'm in IT!!!!) and just for peace of mind, I shut the bank account down and opened a new one.

My sister wanted to send some cash to my parents with Zelle and I said NO for the very reason you described. I just gave the cash to them from my bank and had her reimburse me even though she didn't have to( tight family). Sorry for what you had to go through but now you have knowledge for the future.

 

[Deviate]

Definitely!!!! Even though the bank was not at fault, I would balance things out and then close that account and get a new one. It sucks big time but there may be enough "lingering" info attached to that account to still give you problems. I thought I got scammed once (and i'm in IT!!!!) and just for peace of mind, I shut the bank account down and opened a new one.

My sister wanted to send some cash to my parents with Zelle and I said NO for the very reason you described. I just gave the cash to them from my bank and had her reimburse me even though she didn't have to( tight family). Sorry for what you had to go through but now you have knowledge for the future.

What do you mean by you're in it? Soooo you scam people? Im just playing...seriously though im confused?

 

[WRXtoStingerGT]

Hey Stinger Fam,

It was bound to happen and it did. I got scammed and I am now out 750 dollars and feel like a complete dunce.

Last week I was attempting to buy a used MBRP exhaust. Unfortunately, the "person" I met on Kijiji was a experienced scammer. This guy had everything covered; VPN, Tracking Information that temporarily worked, perfect English skills, photos that didn't appear in Google Reverse Image search, everything.

There were a few warning signs such as:

1. The deal being borderline good,
2. Being quick to respond, and
3. Being located outside my pickup range thus requiring shipping.

I've gotten so used to trading with good people (especially the people on this forum) that I became naive to how poorly people can treat each other. I was just so excited to be part of the Stinger modding community that I became blind to the signs. By the time I came to my senses, it was too late. Poof. Just like that 750 dollars gone.

Quite frankly, I'm so embarrassed that I fell for this scam, that I only told my family the partial truth. I told them someone stole my card. I feel as if my entire dignity has been dragged through the mud. It's been a really rough week.

What really sucks, is I am returning to school again. Thus this was the only $750 I could put towards my Stinger for the next two years as education and family funding take precedence.

To make my week even worse, My Bank is telling me I'm SOL as it has nothing to do with them as I used e-transfer (from within the banking app but still not technically them). Glad to know my bank doesn't have my back.

ANYWAYS, I'm very happy to report that everyone I've dealt with on this forum has never cheated me. For that, I THANK YOU ALL for being such a great community. I really wish the rest of the world was like this group. Just helping each other out and having a good time.

So, lessons learned, if a deal sounds too good to be true, It is. Stay safe out there!

TL;DR: Got too excited for the opportunity to mod my Stinger. Fell for a well-crafted scam and I'm out $750 and Bank is indicating I maybe SOL since I used e-transfer. Now gotta wait two years to upgrade again as I'm going back to school and don't have any other spare change. Stay safe. Watch out for scammers they've evolved massively in the last 5 years.

I'm really (REALLY) sorry to hear this happened to you.

I genuinely know the sinking feeling and it's freaking awful. It's a terrible and disgusting feeling to be scammed and knowing nothing can be done about it while the other scumbag laughs it off and moves on with their honor-less and miserable lives.

I'll share a quick(ish) story.

I used to be in the E-Sport scene before I started to run my own small business after gaining some momentum and popularity with it (so nerdy, I know!). I did this for over six years; closer to seven.

I wont bore you with the details but basically I made money by running a "subscription" service where people would pay $5 a month to team up with myself or other high-ranked players to help them boost their ranking in a player verses player environment. We also boosted (played on customer accounts) if they were willing to pay very big dollars and wanted much higher ratings. I had a handful of people close to me (former E-Sport partners) that I would give a cut to for monitoring how people were and also of course helping us rank people and their accounts up. I digress.

Two people I had known for almost ten years and had been working with for almost six years stole nearly $8,000 dollars (which is worth over double that today in 2021) worth of virtual goods from me (accounts we were flipping, items in-game that had a monetary value in the real world, actual game currency, codes, etc.). I never saw it coming. These were people I had known for nearly a decade and had even flown and stayed with at their homes in other states. These were people who bought me nice birthday presents or would take on extra jobs and not take the full cut because they just wanted to be nice. These were people that would fly to my home and stay with me and met my other friends. Whatever.

Well when a family member of mine got sick and was told they had cancer I dropped everything in my life to drive nearly 24 hours (through the night) to get to them as soon as possible and be there for them. Thank God to this day they are currently alive and beat cancer twice now! Well these two snakes, short-signed greedy selfish cowards, saw their chance and took it. They had access to an authenticator and of course could spoof their IP address using a VPN. They knew that I would not be near the computer for at least a week if not more. They of course also knew I trusted them and therefore other people would not question them signing into certain accounts and performing certain actions.

They stole nearly $8,000 dollars (that's USD) from me, which would be worth more than double that today, and ran off. I could do nothing about it. As cliché as it sounds I convinced myself that in a way, perhaps a supernatural force traded me $8,000 to save the life of a loved one. That is how I look at it and it was 100% completely worth it. But back to the point. I hate and despise thieves, especially those who are virtual cowards.

I'm sorry again this happened to you. There is nothing to be ashamed of. There is evil out there. I hope this never happens again and perhaps by a small miracle your bank can figure this out and help you. Good luck friend!

 

[nhcowboy28]

What do you mean by you're in it? Soooo you scam people? Im just playing...seriously though im confused?

In I. T. As in ‘puters.