Almost got SCAMMED on the forum?

[walkman2727]

hello forum,
Want to share my first watch buying horror on the forum, feel free to leave your input!
I have been looking at the ss Daytona panda 116500ln for a little while. But the hype price is hard to take easily. Until yesterday, I saw a listing on the forum sales section, a 2019 dated card, new condition panda caught my eyes. The seller asking $24.250, but willing to accept 23k offer by me, poor me. So I went to bank to "wire". Then story began here: bank teller told me the sellers account is invalid and inactive! The teller would not say anything further, bc I am not the account holder, and told me to contact the seller. When I explained my reason for the "wire", the teller clearly told me twice "go home think about it". So, I right away messaged the seller and ask the reason, he offered me another account of his business . But he quickly messaged me again and told me the business account is closed by the bank again.... After all these drama, I decided to follow the bankers instruction "go home think about it" . The seller had called me a couple of times and message too.
This morning, he started email me again, and tell me to "wire" to the 3rd account , 100% guaranteed. I declined, and ask if he can take paypal, he gave me interesting reason: his paypal is closed bc his bank account is inactive.... Once again, new strategy here, he emailed his Driver's licenses and offer me "wire" him 60% of the watch so he can ship it out to me . I can complete the payment when the watch arrives...
Of course I reply him with the biggest "NO" in my life.
By reading his posts on the forum, I can easily feel his is a watch lover and have some collection of Rolex and PP... talking nicely like a gentlemen. But I feel terrified for what happened and about to happen to me....
Lesson learned today, hope this will go away quickly in my mind, everyone stay "SAFE" !


.

[csfischer20]

Sounds like you dodged a bullet. I'm happy for you.

[Seddyspaghetti]

Thanks for sharing your story, glad you didn't get scammed. I think you should share your experience about the seller in the "Who's who section" so people are aware.

Next time you should probably stick to trusted sellers to keep it safe.

[S’portEye]

Who was it??

[bmb15]

Originally Posted by s’porteye

who was it??

Exactly. The name! Removing here is good but not sufficient. There are other channels for selling watches.

[Cloudchaser]

Originally Posted by bmb15

Exactly. The name! Removing here is good but not sufficient. There are other channels for selling watches.

I think Old Expat Beast named him upthread in the form of a question.

[bmb15]

Originally Posted by Cloudchaser

I think Old Expat Beast named him upthread in the form of a question.

Thanks! I saw that but was not sure because it was a question (as you wrote) concerning Protour2003. It does not really help if he creates a new account.

[Tavli3]

You were 100% going to get screwed and you should identify this person before he claims a victim.


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[dpt.calvin]

Buy the seller.

[Marcjvr]

Rule number 1. Buy the seller
Rule number 2. Never forget rule number 1

[Bassplayer]

Share the details on watch out - smart move on your part and bring that bank teller huge box of See's...

[MacDaddyOC]

Originally Posted by Marcjvr

Rule number 1. Buy the seller
Rule number 2. Never forget rule number 1

You forgot #3 there is no Fight Club.

[McinRolex]

Scammers always want SOME of the money if not all.
Wire is a "one-way street" so make sure you know who you are sending the money to!

[ndrs63]

I would never go for bank transfer for anything more than $50, unless it’s a well-known reputable business and I can verify that


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[fooey]

well dodged!
but Definitely name and shame soon as!

[spikep]

Drop off a gift card or something to the bank teller! Reward his/her honesty

[Vivalas]

You should let everyone be aware so no one gets scammed.

[TswaneNguni]

Glad you didn't lose money

[hbg1]

Glad you dodged it and the bank teller definitely deserves a lot of credit as well.

I'd say in addition to name and shame, report the post as well. Someone else might not ignore the warning signs for this "deal".

[garyk]

Fantastic you didn't send your money off to this sketchy deal. Follow all the advice here and you'll do fine.

For future information:

Panda




Not a Panda





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[Calatrava r]

Having sent numerous wires I do not know how your Bank would know the account you were wiring to had issues. Perhaps in the same bank? Normally, the wire is just returned if it cannot go through. Lucky for you. If I hear anything like that I am out of there the first time. Closed accounts is never a good sign.

[Nikrnic]

One red flag is one too many. If a deal doesn't go 100% perfect from the start, run. No excuses.

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[BNA/LION]

I'm glad to hear this ended good for you. Where there is Smoke there is usually Fire. Stepping back and not pushing the purchase because you really want the watch was a wise decision.

Best of Luck finding one and cheers to a smooth transition!

QUESTIONS: Did you file a formal Police report or is there a process to report the Scumbag to the authorities? Chances are he/she will just do it again.

[walkman2727]

Thank you everyone for sharing your thoughts!

[Goin2drt]

OP you absolutely need to share his name and info on here so other folks don't get scammed. There is no place for folks like that even being allowed on here.

[zengineer]

Originally Posted by BNA/LION

I'm glad to hear this ended good for you. Where there is Smoke there is usually Fire. Stepping back and not pushing the purchase because you really want the watch was a wise decision.

Best of Luck finding one and cheers to a smooth transition!

QUESTIONS: Did you file a formal Police report or is there a process to report the Scumbag to the authorities? Chances are he/she will just do it again.

What kaw exactly was broken. All we know for certain is that the seller is disorganized. He may have been running a scam, or maybe not.



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[BNA/LION]

Originally Posted by zengineer

What kaw exactly was broken. All we know for certain is that the seller is disorganized. He may have been running a scam, or maybe not.



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Don't know but if there was a pattern of suspicious activity like this it would tell a story. I'm just curious if there is a way or place besides TRF to document them?

[Tavli3]

Originally Posted by zengineer

What kaw exactly was broken. All we know for certain is that the seller is disorganized. He may have been running a scam, or maybe not.



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Get real. Are you saying that because this scammer wasn’t successful he didn’t break any laws. That’s like saying attempted murder is not a crime. Just because someone might be a bad shot doesn’t mean they didn’t break any laws.


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[zengineer]

Originally Posted by Tavli3

Get real. Are you saying that because this scammer wasn’t successful he didn’t break any laws. That’s like saying attempted murder is not a crime. Just because someone might be a bad shot doesn’t mean they didn’t break any laws.


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Of course we are all against bad people. I am not going to get tangled up in the silly annalogy you brought up.

I am simply suggesting it will be very difficult to convice a law enforcement agency to do anything that would help anyone at this point. If you have an actual direct response I'd love to hear it but don't waste time with any more of your "get real"s or strawman arguements.
Does anyone think the OP has this person's real name or traceable phone number?

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[GGGMT]

Originally Posted by zengineer

What kaw exactly was broken. All we know for certain is that the seller is disorganized. He may have been running a scam, or maybe not.



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This is why scamming will always continue to occur. Unwillingness to make a reasonable inference in the face of obvious facts to keep yourself and others safe.