Fraud alert Fair warning to Audiogoners.


I recently came across a scam on Ebay. Persons of Arabic descent using Anglo or Jewish surnames are fraudulently auctioning cameras, and now seem to have found their way to audio sites. I noticed a suspicious ad here not long ago, but it has disappeared. There was no email address for it. The seller was in Spain, which is where one of my suspect's is located. Now I noticed similar ads popping up on other audio sites. I found two ads today on another audio site. The ads all have the following properties:

The items advertised are very desirable

The items are priced below market value

The feedback, if any, is recent and contrived

The payment method always assures no recourse for the buyer (Postal Money Order, Western Union)

Spain and New York City area seemed to be where these scams are coming from. Once I discovered the people in New York, the ads started to come from Spain.

The ads are very well done and includes pictures

Many of the ads have cryptic messages built into them

Yes, I am in law enforcement, but the jusidiction here is with the FBI and possibly the Postal Inspectors, depending on how payment is made. They are aware of it. If you see any of these ads, please let me know where the ads are listed. I'm keeping a file of other possible ads with the case I turned over to the FBI. If you are a victim of this, please let me know.
glreno
is there any other earmarks to identify these fraud listings? properties mentioned cover a large percentage of the active sellers posting items or auctions. kurt
Further info: They are copying ads from real sellers on Audiogon, and posting fraudulent ads on Audioweb. These ads are copied verbatim including pictures. I have emailed most of the persons affected, but recent postings have occurred since then.
I saw an in audioweb for a Bryston 7Bst amps and the seller was in Spain. After looking at the photo closely, the amps were plugged into 120V outlets. Spain uses 230V.
I was wondering when these people would start with audio. I used to check plasma tv prices on U-Bid. There used to be tons of sellers of similar description selling 10K plasmas for 3-5K. Same payment options. Alot from Spain but even more from Romania and other Czech areas. I heard all of these scams were traced back to Czech's but I can't say that is a fact. It was fustrating to see all these people had bid on them and there was no way to alert them that it had to be a scam. I haven't seen them on U-Bid recently but I don't go there much anymore. I did bid 50-100K on several of those auctions just to disrupt them...I hate seeing people getting ripped off.
On behalf of all at Audiogon, thank you Glreno, for your valuable information. We all benefit knowing that there are such scams taking place.

They show their obvious deceit and intent.

Kind regards,
Brian Weitzel