Scammed by user on TRF

[edwch]

I am pretty sure I am the latest victim of scammer that goes by Vintyage on this forum. I agreed to a price on a GMT BLNR over the weekend. Wired the amount. All was good, they sent me a FedEx number but only created a label - never dropped off the package. I grew suspicious when FedEx tracking hadn't been updated in 24 hours so I contacted them and they confirmed that they weren't in possession of it yet. Communication with this user has been frequent from Saturday up until yesterday morning and now nothing.

With hindsight being 20/20 - if I had done any due diligence it would have been clearer than day.

1) Don't trust. I've heard of asking to Facetime with the item. This might prove they have it but not that their going to send it to you. Bank-wire face to face is the only safe bet. I could probably got a flight out and back for $500-600 which is easily worth it.
2) If the deal is too good, be highly skeptical. I bit on price here and bargain shoppers are easy prey.
3) Research EVERYTHING before you wire money. Here's what I should have found out with a simply use of the internet and common sense. I was simply blinded by wanting to get a GMT and generally having a trust in people. I've been shopping online my entire life and this is the first time I've ever been scammed. The warning signs are so obvious:

- Google search of terumb76 at gmail only has links to the Rolex forum. This means they don't use this email for sales and probably just created it.
- Address provided: 9982 Hardy Dr. Creola, Alabama 36525 doesn't appear to exist (at least it didn't as of Sept 2022 according to google maps). There is a chance someone by the name Stephen A Ramos Jr lives there now if it was newly constructed. He is an attorney when found in LinkedIn and his employer's website but dark skinned. The photos in the posts clearly show a white person holding the watches.
- Bogus references: The references provided were for an Explorer was (gp at gregorypatrick email) and someone that reported reference (alcaliguri) in the "who's who" sub-forum. These clearly are two different people if you google alcaliguri and the email gp at gregorypatrick. They are references for the same watch which was the only watch Vintyage was selling at the time.
- Wire name and address: Debby K Lake to Wells Fargo in Idaho. This makes me nauseous thinking about it in hindsight. A suspicious name from a different state. How could I have been so stupid.

Some other flags:
- Vintyage is a newer user (Sept 2022) and only posted for a couple of weeks. Likely to be able to get pictures up.
- Asking for a screenshot of the wire. I don't know the purpose of this but it just jumps off the page as being sketchy.
- Stephen A Ramos Jr, if this is the owner of the home address provided, has 2 criminal records for battery (surprised he still has his license). Once 2020 and again in 2022. This is according to a crime page on Mobil, AL Facebook posts.
- The FedEx slip has the shipping from location 210 miles (Birmingham) from the home address. Could be the person above because it appears they cover Birmingham according to their employers website. This is after the fact but it should have immediately triggered something was off.

Needless to say I'm quite devastated. I have never owned a Rolex and only grew interested recently. I sold off some valuable instruments to bite the bullet only to find that they were only immediately accessible on the gray market.

Yesterday, spent the morning reporting everything to local law enforcement, both banks, the FBI, and also the CFPB (based on being quite dissatisfied with my bank Chase and the other bank - Wells Fargo). Hopefully they shut down this account and can recover something (not holding my breath).

Vintyage have another watch up for sale, so moderators - please be advised.

[cop414]

Eddie,
The account has been banned.

In the future the proper way to report scams/suspicious PM’s etc is by clicking on the red triangle contained in the post, thread or PM. This sends the report to all moderators immediately. Nothing wrong with a post/thread but send to the mods via the red triangle first and foremost.

Keep at it with what you’re doing. In PA we have a division of the state AG office that deals with these things, might want to check if that could be another avenue in your state along with what you’re doing.

Sorry for your situation, hopefully that doesn’t sour the brand for you.

[2loaded]

ah damn...

[Bearxj86]

So sorry to hear this. I would be absolutely devastated too :(

[Yzord]

Thats nasty, hopefully you get something back. But karma will get back on him.

[train-time]

So sorry to hear this happened to you. It looks like you did your due diligence after the fact. Buying the watch and not the seller is always a greater risk as evidenced in this unfortunate incident.

You did raise a point that many of us "old timers" haven't considered and that is there is a whole new generation of younger members on the Forum, who as you have pointed out have spent their lives on-line and shopping on-line. Clicking to buy something can be easy and you get comfortable doing it, but the scams are far more abundant these days.

[edwch]

Originally Posted by cop414

Eddie,
The account has been banned.

In the future the proper way to report scams/suspicious PM’s etc is by clicking on the red triangle contained in the post, thread or PM. This sends the report to all moderators immediately. Nothing wrong with a post/thread but send to the mods via the red triangle first and foremost.

Keep at it with what you’re doing. In PA we have a division of the state AG office that deals with these things, might want to check if that could be another avenue in your state along with what you’re doing.

Sorry for your situation, hopefully that doesn’t sour the brand for you.

Thanks - just joined the forum so learning the ropes. Of course, hoping I won't have to ever do it again. Also will look into the state's AG for support in Illinois.

[sski]

truly sorry to hear this; i hope you're able to recover the funds somehow and that scumbag gets the book thrown at him.

[tike71]

Highly likely the scammer is using another victim to receive the funds perpetrated from a "romance scam." The victim then forwards the scammer the money for reasons involving love. Find out the contact info of the person you wired the money to; call them and explain your case. I know it's a small chance but someone who was scammed on here before was able to recover their funds.
https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=777418

[edwch]

So a quick update.

I found the person’s home address and info online that I wired the funds to. They live 15 minutes from the bank’s address in Idaho falls so I’m fairly sure this is the right person since the name checks out also (“Debby” is not a common full name).

My guess is she is a victim of perhaps being hacked or maybe there is a bigger story. With that said, none of the phone numbers I could find online are valid for her or her husband. I called their local police department and their dispatcher declined to send an officer to stop by and pass on my information. At this point, I can send a letter maybe (?) unless anyone has any ideas.

[15belowzero]

So sorry to hear of this. Thanks for sharing your story. As a new user and someone actively looking to buy, the stories are good reminders on what to look for.

[edwch]

Well, had some time off on vacation this week which totally got my mind at peace. Checked my bank account and thrilled to see that Chase was able to recover half of the funds. I didn't expect this at all, so just happy to get a decent amount back.

[omar10213245]

Originally Posted by edwch

Well, had some time off on vacation this week which totally got my mind at peace. Checked my bank account and thrilled to see that Chase was able to recover half of the funds. I didn't expect this at all, so just happy to get a decent amount back.

i'm very happy you were able to at least get half of your funds back, but, also very shocked. i was scammed back at the beginning of february in my quest for a Hulk Sub, and unfortunately, I've not seen one cent back, and probably won't ever see anything back to my name. do you know exactly what Chase was able to do to get some of your money back? Did they reference any specific action that YOU took to make that happen?

[Steve Epps]

Originally Posted by edwch

So a quick update.

I found the person’s home address and info online that I wired the funds to. They live 15 minutes from the bank’s address in Idaho falls so I’m fairly sure this is the right person since the name checks out also (“Debby” is not a common full name).

My guess is she is a victim of perhaps being hacked or maybe there is a bigger story. With that said, none of the phone numbers I could find online are valid for her or her husband. I called their local police department and their dispatcher declined to send an officer to stop by and pass on my information. At this point, I can send a letter maybe (?) unless anyone has any ideas.

I think you should fly to her home town
Go first to her bank and tell them that there could be fraud
If the bank says all seems fine

Go to her home - tell her you do not want to get the police
involved before she goes to the bank with you and check her account
If she or her husband will give you a hard time
Call the police now they must respond
Good luck

[NachoNeal]

Originally Posted by edwch

Well, had some time off on vacation this week which totally got my mind at peace. Checked my bank account and thrilled to see that Chase was able to recover half of the funds. I didn't expect this at all, so just happy to get a decent amount back.

Interesting that you got half your money back. You would think that they were either able to retrieve all of it or none of it.

[walds11]

Originally Posted by NachoNeal

Interesting that you got half your money back. You would think that they were either able to retrieve all of it or none of it.

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by NachoNeal

Interesting that you got half your money back. You would think that they were either able to retrieve all of it or none of it.

X3

Sorry to hear about this OP. I truly hope you are made whole

[KY..]

Originally Posted by NachoNeal

Interesting that you got half your money back. You would think that they were either able to retrieve all of it or none of it.

Could be the bank held half the money for a certain number of days like they sometimes do with checks; or perhaps the account balance is historically low or the account is fairly new.
Good thing the OP reported it immediately before the scammers got a chance to get the rest of the money.

PayPal goods and services purchase invoice is a much better buying option IMO over any bank wire transfer and better than PayPal friends and family transfer.
Pay the small fees and protect yourself much better against never receiving the watch or receiving a fake.

[omar10213245]

one thing i've noticed with these recent scammers, they always insist you send a pic of the paperwork proof of the bank wire for some reason...i'm intrigued by such a peculiar pattern. it happened with me and it seems to have been the case with the few other folks whom were scanned since my situation back at the beginning of February.

[ketchumj]

Thank you for sharing your story. Some wisdom to be had here.

[Oyster Lover]

Wow.... I just couldn't sleep this evening and so came to TRF to see what was happening. It's shocking to me to see post after post after post about scams and folks getting taken advantage of, here on TRF, and elsewhere out there in the wild. I became a member in 2007 and I can tell you that insofar as I can remember, back in those "old days", one would hardly ever, ever read about scammers or scams on here. It's just shocking... My heart goes out to anyone who has been scammed out of so much money!

[47Fountain]

Personally, I'd be in "Debby's" hometown immediately. You never know.