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
First of all, the information given was not meant for prosection, only as a warning to consumers. It is not necessary for you to receive a case ready for prosecution to take precautions in purchases made on the internet. If you choose to ignore that information, that's your business. More information was available to you, just as it was for me, simply by exploring the websites with your eyes open. That was the purpose of this posting.

I understand your concern about labeling. I considered carefully what I wrote in that posting. It is certainly not my intention to be inflammatory or cast a shadow on any particular race or ethnic group of people. Nor do I think I have done that. Facts are facts, and I have them to support what I have said. My intentions were to only provide as many indicators or clues to the identification of these false ads as possible. I based the indicators mentioned in the original and follow-up postings on what I use to identify these false ads. Some of the email addresses I have found use Arabic surnames. Some of them are indicative of a certain political philosophy. When you see this in email addresses of sellers, it is just one more caution to be aware of. As I said, look at the totality of events. Fraud cases in particular are like small snowballs rolling downhill. As they pick-up speed, they grow in size. With fraud cases, one clue leads to many others, until a pattern is apparent and obvious. The information I gave was the results of that first small snowball I "discovered" that has now grown to an enormous size. I can't begin to tell you how complex and far reaching this case has become. And consider that I probably only know bits and pieces of it.

Would I have pointed it out if they were British or German? Absolutely! I don't care what race or ethnicity they are, I just want them caught. As far as "satisfying you", after being involved in many newsworthy events over the course of my career, and having been interviewed and quoted (and misquoted) by various forms of media, I have learned one thing: You can't please everybody.

As far as the "hysteria", in our city there were some minor, isolated incidents, and nationwide there were a handful of newsworthy events related to September 11th. But those occurred within two months after that tragic event. Maybe it's different in your community. If so, that's unfortunate, and it makes it easier to understand your concerns. Feel free to email me at my personal email address of [email protected]. This discussion has veered to far away from the intent of this original posting.
More to the purpose of this thread, if anyone has become a victim already, and don't wish to send the information to me, at least notify the FBI at www.ifccfbi.gov. If you would also cross reference your complaint to the original complaint # I02030713598991, I would appreciate it. This group may also be currently attempting to establish accounts with Paypal. They do have access to numerous stolen credit cards. I will post more information if possible as I come across it.
Speaking of copying ads, I would encourage sellers to mark auction/classified pictures with their name in a way to prevent picture thieves from cropping out the identifying marker.

I have sold items on ebay only to find my pictures resurfacing in later auctions. Often it's just people who don't have cameras, but the practice is misleading and can be wrongly used. Photo thieves also make your own posting look like a scam.
They have found their way to Audioshopper. Check out http://audioshopper.com/cgi-bin/classifieds.asp?action=showad&id=63658. Same email as "afrank" on Audioweb ([email protected]). He moved to Audioshopper because his membership was revoked from Audioweb.
Way to go, Glreno.

I knew you were a stand-up guy when we did business together.

It's a shame that you felt compelled to justify your statements to whatshisname in this thread.

I wouldn't have wasted the time or bandwidth.

Best regards, March