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Buyers Beware - Scams Are Out There
Feb 22, 2012 09:26 AM |
NUTNDUN
in News

Like the old adage that "If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is." If you come across a deal that sounds like way too much of a bargain it should start raising flags. Yes there are deals out there to be had but if you follow some simple steps it can be a pleasurable buying experience rather then one of disbelief that you just lost hundreds of dollars to a scam artist.
As the picture I made is for representation purposes only and some would jump off their seat in a heartbeat to scoop up a tractor with a loader for $200. I know I would, but this is how they lure you in, they have something posted for sale or they contact you about something you have posted that you are looking for.
It is always a decent deal that they offer but there is always one catch. They want you to western union money or send a money order to a post office box, they may even have you send it to a real address with the promise that they will either ship it to you as soon as they receive payment. They might even use the tactic that "They trust you that you will send the payment so they will go ahead and get the item shipped" which gives you that false sense of trust. Now you have that false sense of trust so you send them the payment in the method they asked for.
So what do you do if you happen to be one of the unlucky ones that have fallen for the scam? Contact your local police is the first thing that you should do. When it tends to be the same person scamming people the more reports the better. The next thing you can do is post on sites like GTtalk or on other forums and let people know, give as many details as possible, but don't share personal information.
So what can you do to prevent this from happening to you? There are quite a few things and I will try and list them all and I am sure I will miss a few. There is one though that would pretty much guarantee that it won't happen and that is going to be the first one that I list.
- Never send money to someone to purchase an item through a money gram service like Western Union. It is one thing if it is your kid in college and they need some cash but don't ever send money like this to someone you never met.
- Never send a money order to someone you never met offering something for sale.
- If it is a transaction that required shipping use paypal or another escrow service. There are scams that happen even with paypal but the chances are much less then sending a money gram.
- Only do a transaction in person
- Try to refrain from posting your phone number or email address allowing the scammer to contact you directly. Make them use other methods to contact you like eBay's messenger, or a private message system like GTtalk uses. This way messages would be logged, their ip addresses tracked and can be used by police to aid in finding the criminals and as a documentation trail. Sites like GTtalk, eBay, Paypal and others do abide to police requests for information regarding catching criminals.
It is hard to pass up on a good deal but use your thinking cap and remember scammers are out there.
As for the picture of my Massey 1655 with the loader,.... No it is not for sale.

- larryd, TomLGT195, BNK and 2 others have said thanks
12 Comments
LOL good topic and I hope no GTTalkers get scammed, that is just BS when people do that. Typically though not always their grammar is off a bit, which in some cases should send up a red flag. Also the face to face transaction is best, When dealing with 'tractors' it is unlikely they will go a 'shipping route' but, you never know. Also be aware of phishing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phishing techniques, so be careful what you share...
It is always a good idea to make sure your collection and parts are locked up in a secure area. Another tip is to always document what you have in your posession. If you have parts in another location, be sure you check on those regularly and keep that area well lit and monitored.
Sadly, theft is on the rise with the parts because it is so easy to sell them for cash. My friend who I mentioned earlier was relentless in his search for the crooks and one of them is in jail now. He found some of the parts at the scrap yard and had to buy them back. It took him about three weeks to get some of those items back, and yet some of them were taken as evidence by the police.
Save yourself the hassle and protect your stuff!
Speaking of theft - i was worried for a while there when scrap steel prices were super high - my tractors arent rare or collectable , so i was worried theyd be stolen for thier scrap price.
they make the flag go up if it looks to good
Tractorchick I hate to here that kind of stuff, we do scrap I am always on
the watch for things that are to good to be there and I am always looking for
tractor parts to save from a bad fate.I have started to lock my shop and do little things
to try help not help thieves do what they do myself .
If I am selling I try to pre-qualify the buyers before I give them information about where I live. I don't want tire kickers and scammers coming to my place where they can waste my time and scope out what I have that they might return for when I am not home. I have also found that when I post items for sale that they are acurately listed and represent very good fair deals. In the case of practically every LT, GT and associated implements that I have advertised and sold I was quickly contacted by serious buyers that came with trailers and paid my asking price in cash right on the spot. Perhaps I might have sold some things for a little more had I posted higher prices but the haggling, wasted time and the increased chance of scammers are not worth it to me. I want to be able to list it, show it, sell it and then cancel the ad and move on as quickly as possible.
JN
Be carefull with check's, my brother had the same thing happen and when he deposited the check somehow they got his routing number and cleaned him out. Thankfully he is a poor as the rest of us so he did not loose to much money.
Yep I get them calls also they say that they will pay $50.00 more than my asking price and arrange shipping. I just hang up that's why I deal on a cash upon pickup basis only.