Buyer BEWARE: Scammed by AlphaGuy

[vchau76]

I am writing to share that I have been scammed for a huge sum of money. The seller goes by AlphaGuy. I wired funds for a Rolex Daytona 116500ln. I cannot post a link the watch because I don't have a minimum of 10 posts. However, if you search for 'Rolex Daytona Ref. 116500LN White Dial Full Set' and user 'AlphaGuy' you will find the listing. I have already contacted moderators and provide full proof of transaction (wiring confirmation and supporting docs).

Before people start making assumptions and flaming me that I did not do my due diligence, I will share details and hopefully I will get some helpful comments. Below is context of the transaction and the due diligence, clearly not enough, that I did.

Prior to purchase, I asked for references and contacted the references he provided. One was for any individual that purchased a Patek from him and another an Omega. Both checked out but in hindsight it seems like they were a shell for him. I googled his profile name AlphaGuy and found someone on forum who had a positive experience as well which is posted in the 'Who's Who' section. He also sent me a photo of the watch on a piece of paper with the date, my name, his username, and the watch model. Additionally, he has history on the forum and was not someone who recently signed up, so that alleviated that concern.

I have reached out to local police department where this seller supposedly lives (Birmingham, AL) and have also reported this to the FBI. I am not hopeful this will be recovered and honestly am pissed at myself for falling victim after doing what I thought was enough due diligence.

He currrently has 2 other active listings on this forum, one for a Patek Philippe 5167/001 Aquanaut ($45.5k), which he listed the same time I was scammed and another Rolex Submariner 126610LN Full Set ($13.1K).

I am posting his contact info, which is probably fake, in case other folks in the future decide to search for this seller by whatever other alias he may go by at that time.

Tom Jaramie
Birmingham, AL

Can I post his bank wiring info too so that if he does change his alias, any buyers that may fall victim to this individual will at least be able to cross-reference any bank wiring info he may provide at the time?

[wclock]

That’s a bad news, so sorry for the whole incident. I will advise you post all information here so it can’t be used when searched even if he uses another account.

I wish you the best in your endeavors.

[gmorat]

Feel your pain man, just got scammed myself and the details are similar. Hindsight is 20:20 and it’s easy to sit outside of something and find fault but life goes on and hard lessons are learned.

G

[orangeguy]

Sorry to hear. I'm super cautious these days and usually insist on a FaceTime or Zoom call with the seller. I'm not sure that even helps, from the sounds of things these days.

You should also contact the seller's bank, in case you haven't done so already.

[derklink]

Unreal and sorry to hear. I hope there is a special place in hell for these people. I got scammed a while ago for a - in comparison to Daytona money - small amount but I know the feeling. It sucks and I still think about it sometimes. I try to avoid wires, Zelle, etc. when I'm buying but it is not always possible. Like other said, even Facetiming etc. may still end up bad.

[tike71]

Always check the seller's post history. It's easy to spot if they're just commenting on random threads to up their count. Sorry this happened to you.