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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

[FS: RED Gear] *BEWARE* Scammers on RED User!

David R

David R

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Hi Guys

Sorry not sure if this is the right place to post this but I just wanted to relay my experience of almost being scammed out of $1500 by a fake red user account.

I replied to this post to purchase the RED Touch LCD 5.0. Posted by a user calling themselves Anna Stiltson located in Istanbul

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?123369-5-Touch-LCD-redvolts-and-charger

I emailed them directly as it seemed the best way to communicate as I don't check my red user email much. After several nice email conversations in which 'Anna' agreed to sell me the Red Touch and ship it to Australia, she offered up that I should pay for the LCD via her partners email account. I didn't really think that much of it and the email was a mans name at a construction company so it seemed legit.
I paid the money via paypal and then waited to hear that 'Anna' had mailed the item to me. Almost a week later I emailed her to check on the progress of the shipping. No Reply. I emailed her several times after and still no reply. I eventually realised that I had been scammed and checked the email I had paid the paypal transfer to. Weirdly it was the email address for a construction company here in Melbourne which seemed quite odd. I then did some research and found Anna Stiltson's Facebook page which to my dismay was just an advertisement for dodgy paypal accounts.

I immediately made a claim through paypal and it was instantly fast tracked to a refund claim. I'm guessing due to the fact that the email and paypal account didn't actually exist anymore.

I eventually got my money back from paypal after about 20 days, but it was a bit of time to be out of $1500 and just a hassle because I missed out on grabbing other RED LCD's that where on sale.

Also I noticed that Anna Stiltson has posted a couple of things for sale on RED User and other Forums but no one else has mentioned any issues...??

Anyway just a little heads up and word to the wise. If it smells fishy it probably is!
 
Always do a background check no matter what.

For starters what was her post count?

I dont buy from anyone less than 100 posts.

I also check the posters history (past posts started or joined).

Gives you an idea if they are serious REDusers.

Ive bought and sold on here for over two years.

Ive had one complaint (REDVOLTs weak charging) but learned a lesson on that since at the time I had no idea those things can die so easily.

I felt bad but I was inexperienced so Ill have to live with it.
 
And its not hard to create numerous accounts and sit on them for months before making solid moves e.g. PM sent, SOLD etc...
 
David R said:
Hi Guys

Sorry not sure if this is the right place to post this but I just wanted to relay my experience of almost being scammed out of $1500 by a fake red user account.

I replied to this post to purchase the RED Touch LCD 5.0. Posted by a user calling themselves Anna Stiltson located in Istanbul

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?123369-5-Touch-LCD-redvolts-and-charger

I emailed them directly as it seemed the best way to communicate as I don't check my red user email much. After several nice email conversations in which 'Anna' agreed to sell me the Red Touch and ship it to Australia, she offered up that I should pay for the LCD via her partners email account. I didn't really think that much of it and the email was a mans name at a construction company so it seemed legit.
I paid the money via paypal and then waited to hear that 'Anna' had mailed the item to me. Almost a week later I emailed her to check on the progress of the shipping. No Reply. I emailed her several times after and still no reply. I eventually realised that I had been scammed and checked the email I had paid the paypal transfer to. Weirdly it was the email address for a construction company here in Melbourne which seemed quite odd. I then did some research and found Anna Stiltson's Facebook page which to my dismay was just an advertisement for dodgy paypal accounts.

I immediately made a claim through paypal and it was instantly fast tracked to a refund claim. I'm guessing due to the fact that the email and paypal account didn't actually exist anymore.

I eventually got my money back from paypal after about 20 days, but it was a bit of time to be out of $1500 and just a hassle because I missed out on grabbing other RED LCD's that where on sale.

Also I noticed that Anna Stiltson has posted a couple of things for sale on RED User and other Forums but no one else has mentioned any issues...??

Anyway just a little heads up and word to the wise. If it smells fishy it probably is!
Click to expand...

Learned my lesson today. I just got scammed as well by the same person "Anna" -- I wish I looked up her name via this site prior to purchasing a Red Touch 5.0 via paypal. I've started a claim in the resolution center to get my money back. F*cking scammers.

e-mail address I received from "Anna" anna.stiltson@gmail.com
paypal e-mail address: laszlomohacsi@outlook.com (googled it and it's a guy in stockton,ca who owns a masonite fabrication business)

I pray I get my money back.
 
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Feel your pain David, I was in a similar situation but luckily paypal came thru for me again. Took about a month or so to have my money returned but they still made it happen, though missing out on countless items i then was not able to buy.

For the most part I follow Eric's basic rules. I myself don't even have 100 posts so I usually have various ways for people to look me up. Even on ebay or here if something feels off i ask to see some legitimate form of social media or their site. Another is i preform a search on google images for the item to see if the same image shows up. Rather spend 20 extra minutes then loose money.
 
A good idea when buying from someone and wanting to make sure is also to have them send you an image with the serial number visible and a paper showing the name and current date in the same image.
 
Naturally they'd be from Stockton, CA. That's where I'm from, lol! Yeah, there's a lot of unscrupulous folks in Stockton, mostly downtown (not everywhere is bad). I'm sorry to hear about your experience, I've had a scam or two happen to me before, it's unfortunate as the REDUser forums used to be the safest of places but that's the state of the forum marketplaces now. If I'm ever interested in anything I do the post count check and look at any scam stickies or threads. Again, sorry about your situation.
 
I've bought and sold on the forum and I always verify the person through social media.

I make sure the person has actual interaction with people on facebook/twiter/ig (likes/comments/photos) or whatever platform and send the person a message on that platform to verify the conversation had on REDuser. That way, you lessen the chance of dealing with an imposter.
I posted a story in the scam thread about a guy who impersonated somebody else and I sent the real dude a message on Vimeo and he told me it wasn't him.

That works well for people with low post counts too because some honest people here just lurk and post when they need to buy/sell.
 
Hehe, no wonder that I (as a new forum member & red owner) have a hard time getting people here to trust me, so I could buy stuff here, when the scam-o-meter is on red :)

I for example am trying to win some credibility through using a corporate email as a form of identification, but thanks to cases like "Anna", it takes more than that to convince someone, even tho I have offered to pay upfront and asked to wait with the shipping until the money is received.
It also would seem silly to start posting into threads just to get the post count up so that people would trust me more - I'm just about to get the camera, and I have not yet anything to ask - most questions are already answered with sticky posts or can be found via search.

But in general it is possible to track people the way Akin said and ask if they really exist and are the same person (unless they're called John Smith or something that generic).
 
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