Scammer responding to old WTB threads?

Brand new "member" (Brumfield) PMd me to say I should contact karensala8274@gmail.com about my WTB Larry's Rings post. Quick google of that email shows it's been called out on another forum as a scammer: https://mavicpilots.com/threads/user-chrisbrumfield7983.57930/

Anyone else heard from this person? Caveat emptor.

Comments

  • Yes, I heard from Brumfield too...offering to sell some SL1000 tweeters.
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  • shawn474
    shawn474 Posts: 3,047
    Same here; three separate messages from him yesterday
    Shawn
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  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 7,952
    Yes I also was contacted by this dude. Ban him!!!
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  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,862
    i also received one.
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  • BMF35
    BMF35 Posts: 86
    I had something similar and I fell for it. I was looking for a B&K 200 wpc amp. Someone on here was selling one. Tried to buy it but it went South.

    A week or so later, out of the blue member named rebsounds emails me saying he has with one for sale and gives me the guy's email. Nice guy.

    I contacted his friend and made a deal to buy it. He said he didn't have a PayPal account but I could send him money at Walmart. I'd never heard about Walmart offering something like this other than with Western Union. I went to my local Walmart and sent him $435, then sent him the info he needed to get the cash from the Walmart he wanted sent to. I was stupid for sending through Walmart because they offer zero buyer protection, but I gave him the benefit of doubt.

    A few days later he says his Walmart told him there was no record of it. I talked to my Walmart and they showed he'd picked up the cash and even signed for it. Him lying about not getting the cash got me thinking I might have been scammed.

    After calling him out and sent him proof I'd sent it and it had been picked up, he suddenly admits having the money and was going to ship it a couple of days later and send me tracking number. Didn't happen. After emailing him once a day for about two weeks, he finally replied saying he was simply too busy to ship. I told him to send my money back which he refused to do. Next day he claims his secretary had just shipped it for him but she forgot to get the tracking number. He also complained about how expensive shipping and insurance cost him. He ends that message saying if I don't get it within 4 days, it must have been last in transit. Now I'm almost positive I'd been scammed.

    Needless to say, it never showed up and I've received zero replies from either of them since. So if you ever receive a message from rebsounds saying he has a friend, or maybe even he, has whatever you're looking for, IGNORE it.

    The guy that I sent the money too is Donnie Evans of Cantonsville, MD. 21228. He told me his Polk forum name on the phone but I didn't write it down. Please don't try to do a deal with him or you'll probably get screwed too. It's a real shame two CP members have teamed up to pull scams.
  • tophatjohnny
    tophatjohnny Posts: 4,162
    edited April 2019
    BMF35 wrote: »
    I had something similar and I fell for it. I was looking for a B&K 200 wpc amp. Someone on here was selling one. Tried to buy it but it went South.

    A week or so later, out of the blue member named rebsounds emails me saying he has with one for sale and gives me the guy's email. Nice guy.

    I contacted his friend and made a deal to buy it. He said he didn't have a PayPal account but I could send him money at Walmart. I'd never heard about Walmart offering something like this other than with Western Union. I went to my local Walmart and sent him $435, then sent him the info he needed to get the cash from the Walmart he wanted sent to. I was stupid for sending through Walmart because they offer zero buyer protection, but I gave him the benefit of doubt.

    A few days later he says his Walmart told him there was no record of it. I talked to my Walmart and they showed he'd picked up the cash and even signed for it. Him lying about not getting the cash got me thinking I might have been scammed.

    After calling him out and sent him proof I'd sent it and it had been picked up, he suddenly admits having the money and was going to ship it a couple of days later and send me tracking number. Didn't happen. After emailing him once a day for about two weeks, he finally replied saying he was simply too busy to ship. I told him to send my money back which he refused to do. Next day he claims his secretary had just shipped it for him but she forgot to get the tracking number. He also complained about how expensive shipping and insurance cost him. He ends that message saying if I don't get it within 4 days, it must have been last in transit. Now I'm almost positive I'd been scammed.

    Needless to say, it never showed up and I've received zero replies from either of them since. So if you ever receive a message from rebsounds saying he has a friend, or maybe even he, has whatever you're looking for, IGNORE it.

    The guy that I sent the money too is Donnie Evans of Cantonsville, MD. 21228. He told me his Polk forum name on the phone but I didn't write it down. Please don't try to do a deal with him or you'll probably get screwed too. It's a real shame two CP members have teamed up to pull scams. [/quote
    2 CP members ??? . I doubt it and you didn't write down their names? I doubt it. You haven't been here a year yourself nor 100 posts...again I doubt it

    The shame goes to anyone even listening to a newbie without meeting the criteria of CP"s set rules. I have moved along plenty of gear here with ignoring all kinds of new members not meeting the rules. I flat out ignore them. Pretty easy
    "if it's not fun, it's not worth it & remember folks, "It's All About The Music"!!
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  • mdaudioguy
    mdaudioguy Posts: 5,165
    2 CP members ??? . I doubt it and you didn't write down their names? I doubt it. You haven't been here a year yourself nor 100 posts...again I doubt it

    The shame goes to anyone even listening to a newbie without meeting the criteria of CP"s set rules. I have moved along plenty of gear here with ignoring all kinds of new members not meeting the rules. I flat out ignore them. Pretty easy
    I've little doubt he got scammed. Why lie about that? I applaud him sharing his story to warn others. I'm sure it sucks to admit he's been duped. Where he's likely wrong is that it was "members" working together to take his money. The one member whose username he mentioned had just 2 posts in a single WTB thread. Sure, they might have made accounts here, but they weren't "members" preying on him, just posers. He hasn't hit the magic 100 himself, but 70+ should be enough to earn a little respect, at least that's the way I see it.

    Walmart has some good fraud warnings on their Money Center page, like, never use their service (or Western Union) to pay a telemarketer. These services are essentially like sending cash to a stranger. They offer no protection.
  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,438
    edited April 2019
    As easy as that scam was. It would not be hard to say im a member & send me money through Walmart Western Union my name is Blankedy Blank... Ive bought lots of items here. Most between 2-700.00. I only had 1 issue where the member didnt ship for 3-4 weeks & no communication & i paid F&F. So i understand. Its a jab in the empty gut feeling.... My advice is if you dont feel comfortable about it then "Dont Buy It" because its that easy to get scammed. Ask other members about seller. Ive seen members post "i dont know you & wont buy off you" . Thats why forum has nothing to do with FS items. Svcks all the way around. There are many members here i wouldnt hesitate to send cash to. Great experiences IMO. Sending through PayPal can sometimes be your friend watching over you... Sorry to have this happened to you. If your not sure pay the extra elsewhere. These scams do happen
    ..
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    Randy/Maine
  • msg
    msg Posts: 9,308
    edited April 2019
    BMF35 wrote: »
    I had something similar and I fell for it...It's a real shame two CP members have teamed up to pull scams.
    Awww man, that sucks, dude.

    I'm pretty sure BMF didn't necessarily mean that two established members have teamed up to scam people, but more just that two people who've taken advantage of being allowed membership here to increase credibility are trying to scam people.

    Every once in a while these $%*# come up with something clever, and it sounds allllmost legitimate. Last year, I had something similar that I almost fell for. It was a guy selling a VPI record cleaner for a great, but still believable, price on US Audio Mart. (That's one of the tricks - making the price still believable, so it skirts the "too good to be true" filter.) I was about to go forward on it until he said he didn't have PayPal, and wanted to handle the transaction with Western Union. (Social engineering, here. Even though it was sketchy, I really wanted that VPI.) I had to take a step back and take a look at what was going on. There was no way I was going to pay over Western Union. He also casually let on that he was a doctor and had to travel and was trying to get it buttoned up before he left. (See the setup here? I pay, he doesn't have time to ship before he leaves on an important trip to save starving kids or something, which I shouldn't question because it's probably to save starving kids somewhere, and if there's even any further communication, he gets to tell me he's away and can't see to it, but will when he returns, if I were ever to hear from him again, etc. Further, I think maybe the idea here is that the longer this drags on, the more the victim will think there's no use, or they're too embarrassed to involve authorities before it's too late.) I was disappointed, but knew that it wasn't a good idea to continue. I didn't get back in touch with the guy, and he hounded me for a few days, confirming my suspicion, and kept saying, "Let's do the deal." It was almost comical at that point. In the end, not really knowing what this dude was capable of, I just played along, and told him I went a different route.

    I've done lots of PayPal F&F with people I "know", and it's worked out great. I would never do that with anyone I didn't know or feel fully comfortable with.

    By talking about this, we're all helping each other out, annnd also possibly giving scammers feedback on what to work on :) So, yeah, thanks @BMF35 for sharing your story. That does take guts to share. Did you report it to anyone?

    It's always a roll of the dice buying from strangers. Try to get to know your seller a little, if you can. I think I do this in general, but it serves a purpose, as well, of getting a sense of what kind of person/owner they are. Talk to them about the gear if you don't know them, try to get some history on it, ownership chain, maybe, and watch out for things that don't quite seem to make sense. Similarly, I think it can help to head off potential catastrophes.
    I disabled signatures.
  • msg
    msg Posts: 9,308
    edited April 2019
    Here's something similar.

    I was recently in correspondence with a seller on Ebay, and he was one of those who started getting a bit annoyed when I politely asked questions about shipping, and for specifics. It was one of those, "I pack good" things. I tried to joke with him that I once received an integrated amp in a fruit box that was "packed good" - true story - so I like to go over these things to help avoid possible problems, but I was getting the sense that he was becoming defensive. I had to confirm insurance, etc. To all of this he was not able to provide satisfactory intent, and I could tell he wasn't particularly open to packing properly, and didn't particularly seem to care whether it arrived safely. This was for a 40lb+ sub, by the way. Here's some of that correspondence.
    It, will be packed good, but i can't be responsible if the carrier does some damage. Thanks
    I will wrap with buble wrap, till now i didn't have complaints. Insuring it it's costly, i offer You free shipping. If i may ask, in which zip code are you to estimate the cost. Thanks!
    If i put one layer of buble wrap and i put paper or foam on side or the bottom it should be fine, i shipper AVR like that and toucscreens and nothing happened, that is like a airbag in the car it can help you but will it protect you 100% for sure NO. Thanks!

    I prefer to deal with people who are relaxed, open and forthcoming with details, not having to drag information out of them. Sometimes you have to know when to just walk away.

    I disabled signatures.
  • daddyjt
    daddyjt Posts: 2,305
    Kind of off topic, but a very funny take on scammers...:-)

    https://youtu.be/_QdPW8JrYzQ
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,708
    Donnie Evans of Cantonsville, MD. 21228.

    That's Catonsville.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


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  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,438
    BMF35 its too bad you had a very bad experience & we all wish you the best. This forum use to be 100 post min to buy or iirc you could not even look on FS section. This has been talked about over the years & scammers are getting better each day. There is a reason when new people join the forum some here say "stick around" . The changes that happened 4 years ago just down right svck. Those rules that were in place need to come back. Changes need to be done. If i had it my way even stricter on FS & WTB for all new members IMO.. Its got to the point where older members dont monitor FS & WTB section any more because Vanilla. Just svcks donky bad :)
    ..
    ..
    ..
    Randy/Maine
  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,477
    Yep couldn't even see sale items on the old vbulletin site without 100 post. Our site now is out for every Tom, Dave and Sally to see whether we want them to or not. Selling something put must have ### of post to buy and most now do that.
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,708
    It's too bad we no longer have a mod as rebsounds and whomever Donnie is would be banned.

    Polk, we need a mod!!!
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


    President of Club Polk

  • BlueFox
    BlueFox Posts: 15,251
    Depends on the power of the mod. Banning opinions gets tricky.
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,708
    Not when it comes to ripping someone off.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


    President of Club Polk

  • mdaudioguy
    mdaudioguy Posts: 5,165
    F1nut wrote: »
    It's too bad we no longer have a mod as rebsounds and whomever Donnie is would be banned.
    Agreed, but I also wouldn't be surprised if there was only one person behind this, and Donnie was an alias.
  • kevhed72
    kevhed72 Posts: 4,950
    msg wrote: »
    Here's something similar.

    I was recently in correspondence with a seller on Ebay, and he was one of those who started getting a bit annoyed when I politely asked questions about shipping, and for specifics. It was one of those, "I pack good" things. I tried to joke with him that I once received an integrated amp in a fruit box that was "packed good" - true story - so I like to go over these things to help avoid possible problems, but I was getting the sense that he was becoming defensive. I had to confirm insurance, etc. To all of this he was not able to provide satisfactory intent, and I could tell he wasn't particularly open to packing properly, and didn't particularly seem to care whether it arrived safely. This was for a 40lb+ sub, by the way. Here's some of that correspondence.
    It, will be packed good, but i can't be responsible if the carrier does some damage. Thanks
    I will wrap with buble wrap, till now i didn't have complaints. Insuring it it's costly, i offer You free shipping. If i may ask, in which zip code are you to estimate the cost. Thanks!
    If i put one layer of buble wrap and i put paper or foam on side or the bottom it should be fine, i shipper AVR like that and toucscreens and nothing happened, that is like a airbag in the car it can help you but will it protect you 100% for sure NO. Thanks!

    I prefer to deal with people who are relaxed, open and forthcoming with details, not having to drag information out of them. Sometimes you have to know when to just walk away.
    Nobody read into this...but the incorrect use of English when dealing with people online you have never met has turned into a red flag for me over time....
  • maxward
    maxward Posts: 1,490
    Bingo! Sometimes legitimate sellers have spelling and/or punctuation errors, but when it seems a little odd to read, that’s a red flag.
  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,034
    We could also just put these one post wonders on ignore...
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,708
    For sure, BMF35 learned a valuable lesson. Never, ever pay with a MO, check or send cash to someone you don't know. Anybody can get a PayPal account, so that excuse is a huge red flag.

    I hope the local authorities are able to help resolve this issue as the name and address of the thief is known.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


    President of Club Polk