Another Scammer on Our Forum - Beware on the BST
 

Another update in the bottom post....1/24/21


Yesterday I was apprised of a situation that happened very recently on our BST, which wasn't a good one. As we all know it is buyer beware, Caveat Emptor, check your trading partner (*can always PM me). blah, blah, blah, over there. Our members and our legal system are the only safeguards we have. So be careful.

The seller in this case had slipped in through some kind of back door (it can happen to almost any site). We really keep no secure type info so it shouldn't be a big deal.

But this member joined last week and had 0 posts. At a very minimum someone should PM me before doing any deal with a 0 post poster member unless the person is known, and is only a new member, it happens. :) Get references and call them! IF they won't give you a reference PM me immediately.

And to add a little fuel to the fire the seller (fake member) introduced our buying member to another person with a whole concocted story similar to a grandma's attic and it sort of checked out. Except the scans of the cards were taken from worthpoint upon further investigating. At any rate the deal was around $220, so not the end of the world but it still bites bad.

This isn't being posted for any other reason than to help keep our community as safe as we can. Yawl need to PM me first or another Mod (Brian or Chris B.) on stuff that seems weird. You stay anonymous and the situation can be addressed. Thanks for making the BST a really great place for trade. Please be careful over there.

Every thread needs a card...

https://luckeycards.com/1900s.jpg

" A zero post poster " ??

That can't be right.



But seriously....that's a shame. I hope the scammer gets a good flogging.

Always protect yourself by using PayPal Goods and Services, never Friends and Family or Venmo, they offer zero protection.

Sorry, a member with 0 posts. Not enough coffee.

And here is more transparency to the subject- This is part of what was in the email to me.

I believe “tenspa” is a fraudulent person on net55 forums. This person contacted me and connected me to a collector named Nathaniel Valencia.

Thanks to the member who pointed out the fact the apparent fraudster(s) id's or names aren't out here. As said before, the fake member crawled in and was never approved for his/her registration, therefore no info on file. But the info above is good to have out here. I am not saying anything is true or not but this is info I credibly received.

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I agree if it is a new member or one you think might be a little shady. Then some of the legit sellers want it for easier tax purposes.

On the other end of the spectrum I have mailed a hand full of cash on many occasions to fellow members.

Hey Leon, isn't that Paul Waner standing at far right, back row??? ;-)

I’ll toss this in...Leon quickly responded to a PM request of mine re: a new member offering cards at what looked like ‘too good to be true’ prices a few months back. Saved me from possibly making a costly mistake. Much appreciate his efforts to keep the board a good place to buy and sell.

that photo is fascinating....

what is the chap in the middle holding up in both hands? (black shirt)

Photo
 

Looks like it may be MORE COWBELL!!!!!

hahaha.... oh he's part of the band. I see it now.

I thought he was holding up two of those little snubnosed pistols

Not sure about Paul Waner, but if it is then maybe the guy next to Paul is Moses Fleetwood Walker.

I think that guy at far right, back row is Ty Cobb posing for his t206 "Cobb bat-off shoulder"

Sorry - Couldn't resist

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8fpVNhiqKQ

I can't possibly be the only one who read the title of this thread and immediately thought it referred to the new $1,800 man, right???

+1

Net55? is there a new version I wasn't invited to???

Alert:
 

..have you ever visited Area 52 ? ....( Area 51 is a decoy )

..

Good to know I did receive a PM from this person to contact "Nathaniel" for a card but I disregarded because it didnt pass the smell test.

another day another scam....11/24/21
 

I am bumping this because there was another idiot that made his way here today. He is/was selling some T206 Cobbs for very, very low prices. The scum touted helping with emergency funds. Our forum gets larger every day so this is going to happen. Don't do business with anyone without doing due diligence. IF it's too good to be true it is. Very low post counts are a yellow/red flag.
The minimum should be a PM to me. So far no one has ever been scammed here that PM'd first......

https://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=295349

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Hard to feel bad for the "victim" on that one. The people that fall for these type of scams are at best hoping to take advantage if a naive seller who doesn't know what the card they're selling is worth.

I think it's debatable if it's taking advantage of someone, if you give them their offering price.

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I remember a thread a while back on a similar subject. I understand that argument as well. If someone walks into a pawnshop with something worth 10k and asks for 1k I doubt many owners would offer any more. Unless it's being filmed for a reality TV show.

But these scams here and elsewhere always start with someone listing and trying to buy a card well below its actual value. And on top of that the "victim" usually tries to save another 3% sending funds PayPal FF.

Ben, I believe you have my current address on file.

Lololol

Frank is funny i like him

I wonder if requiring 50 posts on the message board (or something) would reduce the number of these hit and run scammers. This would make them actually join the community in order to benefit from it. Plus we could learn more about them.
Maybe also require anyone who sells an item on the BST has to have their whole name listed/obscured, so that there is transparency. Similar to the need to provide their name when stating an opinion about a business on the board.

I am willing to listen to a friendly debate (in another thread) but it will be a difficult sell. Any rule requires policing. And I like fewer rules. BTW, the scammer who is the reason for this current thread just emailed and asked why he is banned. He didn't break any rules he said. I told him to call me and I can conference in someone who can help., except he will carry a badge. I haven't heard back yet.
I would imagine I get one of those totally crazy emails but who knows. Comes with the territory. Caveat Emptor!

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I like these ideas. I think it's just as important to be open about who you are when you are engaging with this community as it is when you say "x dealer is a crook" or the like.

For entertainment purposes only, please no betting. The aforementioned email I knew would be coming. Almost as assuredly as summer and winter...

"Um no I’m not a scammer your a real a**hole man. I hope your mother’s proud of such a judgmental pos as you cause that is what she got. I dunno why people like you are allowed. To live . Your honestly what’s wrong with the world today too many judgmental pricks that think they know everything and assume the rest. Son I’m 70 years old and still kickin people like you don’t last this long I’ll go ahead and turn a blind eye to your slander and pray for you because you need it"


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Geez Leon. Looks like you peed in this man’s wheaties today. I wish he’d tell us how he really feels. 😂

the lack of grammer skillz does bother me two

Thank you for banning him Leon. I hope no members lost any money to this charmer!:rolleyes:

I ALWAYS know they are complete idiots and LIARS when they invoke The "PREY" (SP) part. God Bless. :D:D:D

Im part of other non-card forums and youre not allowed to sell without a minimum 100 posts.

I also suggested a deal feedback section a year ago to further vet bad sellers or buyers.


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I would think a multiple authentication system could work. Time, 6 months on forum, posting, minimum (for arguments sake 50), or reference, 3 references. Any would suffice.


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When someone responds with what I'd call an attack message and not a, what do you need from me to prove I'm legit message, is always a bad sign. Even if it turned out to be a real person and real cards, there's just a certain level of respect and understanding that should automatically be understood by the seller. If I was a new member and was trying to sell high dollar items on my first post, I'd be concerned that I can prove who I am and that at least mention someone who can vouch for me. It's unfortunate though, and will likely continue to happen during difficult financial times. Always use common sense. If it's to good to be true, then it usually is. If you need practice, just search eBay for T206 Honus Wagner. But not all newbies are bad. Some are maybe just jumping in the deep end of the pool too quickly. I'm currently dealing with an eBay issue for a $15 card. It was a new eBay seller with no feedback yet, but had a few auctions going and no red flags like one dollar cards mixed in with thousand dollar cards. I actually did get a package from him, but it had the wrong cards inside. So I looked at his other ended auctions and saw an auction with the cards that I received. Simple unfortunate mistake. I sent him a message and he responded with let me see who has your card. A few days passed and his account is now suspended. I believe he made a few mistakes but wasn't dishonest. Now I'm trying to deal with eBay to see if I can get contact info of the person who's cards I have. Fun times.

Keep in mind, all these systems take someone to maintain, monitor, and police them. I think it's just Leon and his pet Armadillo runnin' the whole shootin' match here and their hands are pretty full already. This is one of the best self policing communities I've seen, even though the occasional Grifter gets through now and again they don't last long.

Thanks, Leon.

Oh, and I’ll pray for you too, whether you need it or not.

hmmm....didn't realize you were "judgemental" :)

John:

The only problem with that is many people don't post. I suspect the posting quotient is about 10 percent of the members. The self-policing seems to do pretty well and constant vigilance is also doing fairly well.

Rich

I believe “tenspa” is a fraudulent person on net55 forums. This person contacted me and connected me to a collector named Nathaniel Valencia

Net 55 reminds me of this great song: Because every great set of posts needs both

1) A card photo (already in this thread)
2) A video (now posted)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9vS3hfS3sQ

RIch

When you think about the number of deals that get done on the board, it's amazing that there are so few problems. I think it speaks to the character of our members.

For example - I once did a deal for a large lot of cards and asked the seller to allow me to make multiple payments because I couldn't afford to pay for it all at once. The seller mailed me the entire lot with a note to "pay when you can." Obviously, I did.

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I am a new member (80s kid that has come back) and made my first buy on BST with less than 50 posts. My view point is I will need to be a buyer first and then if ever were to sell I have some "street cred". That is just the breaks for being new and unknown.

Post 50, just to be safe. :)

As nothing mentioned is going to happen, at this point, I think you are safe. If we have to get rid of an obvious troll/scammer every few months, to me, it is worth not having more rules. IF it gets more prevalent we can revisit more safeguards. Our members are our biggest defense so please keep your eyes open. Caveat Emptor, buyer beware and be careful.

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Well run board the best ,,

I really agree with this. I have done several deals on our BST forums and am amazed at how well they go. SOLID people. I feel safer here than on Ebay...

Post counts can become irrelevant rather quickly.

I am NOT saying Adrian was a scammer. However, that guy could ring up 50 posts in a single day...

But that did give you an impression on who you were dealing with....

Well run board the best ,,

Agree. THE BEST!

As a new guy, this has been a great read. I've been terrified of getting scammed since I got back into cards last March so I've stayed away from most private sales (with the exception of some S74s I found here!). You all have a lot of built-in knowledge so these are great posts to read.

There is SO much to learn for someone who stopped with 1985 Topps.