Posts Made By: Paul Mouritsen

Originally Posted by marcin namojlik

I got hit too.  I tried messaging the astromart support,  still no reply.  
By the way, there were red flags,  but what made it plausible was how well he knew the subject of astronomy items he was trying to sell.  

I paid via invoice,  can anybody that had similar experience please help on best way to report to paypal this fraud?
  I'm getting lost in their automated system.

Go to the PP website and file a claim. If you have any questions then call them. I just went through this and once I got an agent he was very helpful. Do it as soon as you can. Hopefully you did not use "Family and Friends".

Good luck!

Good news. Today I received confirmation from my bank that my money had been restored to my checking account. I had contacted both PP and my bank to dispute the charge(s).

Initially I divided the PP payments into three pieces because I was having a problem getting them to go through. I did not know that I was trying very hard to pay a criminal.

PayPal literally reversed the first amount instantly via the first web claim of three. That was for $100. The other two larger amounts are still in process. Once the bank credits clear I will need to contact PP to let them know that the bank took care of it.

Buying online is becoming very tricky. US Sellers are now subject to IRS taxes for a minimum that is very low. This will tempt them to use ask buyers to use PP Family and Friends or Zelle. This puts buyers in an awkward and unprotected position. Luckily I did not use F&F and have a good bank. The "seller" wanted me to use F&F or Zelle. If I had done that I would have lost my money.

It's a jungle out there!

Originally Posted by Julio Encarnacion

Hi I am currently doing business with Tyler S. but have not completed. I have an ad looking for a c14 and he sent photos. I am a teacher so he offered to break the payments. He sent an official invoice to my PayPal. I paid the first one. What happened in your case?

Do not do this!!!! Seems like the same guy that scammed me last month.

If Herb does not like negative feedback where no transaction takes place then perhaps he could disable the function.

Originally Posted by Greg Shaffer

Dont really see how that would be possible.....since transactions take place outside of AM how would the system know who really had a transaction or not?

The principal is really simple....if no transaction took place then no one was harmed therefor giving someone a bad rating (or a good one for that matter) should not take place.

Not sure that I follow. Currently one can leave feedback for anyone that they have contacted through the "Respond to Ad" button in an ad, even with an unsold item.

In my mind it should not be possible to leave feedback for anyone unless the ad has been marked as sold and you were the buyer or seller.

Let bad behaviour be addressed by contacting Admin, the same with attempted scams.

The key word is "should". Currently there is no way to stop someone who is disgruntled over a failed deal to then leave negative feedback.

"Should"  should be changed to "cannot". This is the only website I know of where you can leave feedback without ever completing a deal.

Given the alarming number of recent scams on AD I think that buyers and sellers will encounter more and more failed deals due to increased caution. This can lead to negative feedback towards someone who is just being careful.

Originally Posted by Greg Shaffer

The answer is if they wont accept PP goods and services but insist on either F&F or unprotected services like Zelle just keep moving and wait for what you want to come along from a legit seller.....simple

The problem is that new IRS tax laws have lowered the limit for the yearly total of hobbyist sales to the point that those honest folks who sell will want to use F&F or Zelle. I am starting to consider accepting personal checks allowing ample time to clear.

Originally Posted by Yu Ding

It seems scammers like to approach buyers who post 'wanted' ad. I got scammed on cloudynights when I posted an EAF wanted AD.  

I believe this is true. It was in my case here last month.

Regarding "Wanted" ads: I can see several good reasons for them to do it this way.

First. They do not create a post of their own which would leave concrete evidence of their scam and be a tip off to the actual owner of the account. Second is the word "Wanted". Someone who posts a wanted ad is strongly motivated to acquire and may tend to not be as careful in vetting the seller. They overlook the often subtle "red flags". The third reason is that as a seller they are only counting on receiving money without having something to actually offer. Risk is very low, especially if they live outside the jurisdiction. When scamming as a buyer they have to be careful about how they receive the merchandise while constructing a way to not actually pay before they get the object.

One way or the other one needs to be vigilant, but posting a "wanted" is probably the most risky. Even selling to someone who is a seasoned forum member may not work since these forums now seem prone to having accounts taken over.

If I had to make two suggestions to Admin they would be: remove the ability to post "Wanted" ads and set up two factor authentication for the site login with enforced password expiration.

I recently moved and am trying to change my profile address. When I click on "save" I get a message saying "waiting for approval" but then the address information immediately reverts to my old address.

Does it just show the old info until I get approval?

Thanks.