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bebop Heavyweight Member
Joined: 20 Jan 2002 Posts: 661 Location: St Johnsbury Vermont
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Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 12:45 pm Post subject: Scammer on the Herald |
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We have scammers on the Herald again. The same message. I need the item right away, is it in working order-give me your best price. But now they say they can pay through Paypal. That sounds strange to me. What are they after? Any thoughts? |
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acritzer Heavyweight Member
Joined: 29 Nov 2009 Posts: 848 Location: Cincinnati, OH
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Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 12:58 pm Post subject: |
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I just got a couple of these after putting my horn on the marketplace. Fairly obvious when they asked for pics and the condtion (which are both right in the ad). |
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musicalmason1 Heavyweight Member

Joined: 08 Apr 2005 Posts: 731 Location: Pa
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Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 5:52 pm Post subject: |
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I got it too, a couple of hours ago. Pretty obvious...not even worth the time to reply. Scum like this is pretty unavoidable online. |
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JonathanM Heavyweight Member
Joined: 25 Aug 2007 Posts: 2073 Location: Charleston, SC
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Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 6:50 pm Post subject: |
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I got their message a few weeks ago when I put a horn up in the Marketplace. I didn't notice they were offering PayPal then - that may be a new wrinkle.
Frankly, it's a major disappointment for lowlife's to infiltrate our forum. Where's Dirty Harry when you need him, huh?  _________________ Jonathan Milam
Trumpets: Bach 18043*, 18043 Sterling Silver +, 18037 SterlingSilver+, Benge 4x, Olds: '34 Symphony, '51 Recording, '52 Mendez
Flugle: Strad 182
Puje: American Belle
Cornet: Olds Recording & Super |
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jhahntpt Heavyweight Member

Joined: 19 Apr 2010 Posts: 707 Location: Southington CT
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Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 7:05 pm Post subject: |
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me too! I'm not even going to respond..
Their message: Hey mate,
I saw your item on trumpetHerald and i am interested in buying the item for my lovely daughter ,so i will like to know the condition of the item and the final asking price,you can also email me with the picture of the item. Get back to me as soon as possible.
Regard.Note i have someone coming to your location for the pickup as soon as i make the payment Via PayPal.
Mark
was it something like this? _________________ Bb: Yamaha 9335NY Gen3
Bb: Yamaha 8335LA Gen 2
C: Shires 4S/W1B
Piccolo: Yamaha 9830
Flugel: Yamaha 8315G
Cornet: York Eminence |
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trpthrld Heavyweight Member
Joined: 09 Mar 2007 Posts: 4892
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loweredsixth Heavyweight Member

Joined: 24 Feb 2005 Posts: 1875 Location: Fresno, California, USA, North America, Earth, Solar System, Orion Arm, Milky Way Galaxy, Universe
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Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 7:08 pm Post subject: |
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Crap. I got almost that exact same message for a mouthpiece I just listed. The whole thing sounded too weird, so I told them they would have to pay cash for a local pickup. I haven't heard back from them since.
What are they after? I couldn't figure out what the scam could be. _________________ The name I go by in the real world is Joe Lewis |
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supportlivejazz Heavyweight Member

Joined: 05 Jan 2003 Posts: 3757
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Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 7:19 pm Post subject: |
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With only 5 posts required to gain access to the Marketplace, I'm surprised there have not been some "sellers" looking to take $$$ for horns that don't exist. It's only a matter of time. _________________ Conn 6B
1940s Blessing Artist
Olds LA Special Model Cornet
"I'm not apologizing, I am what I am. There'll be no compromising, I don't give a damn." |
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Leonel Leon Veteran Member
Joined: 11 Jan 2011 Posts: 145
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Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 7:33 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, I got a email about three or four weeks ago like that. But on a item I was looking for so it made me want to laugh a little bit. They said they would buy my Ny bach stop nuts. Just needed pictures. |
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TBrassMan New Member
Joined: 17 Dec 2004 Posts: 8 Location: Holland, MI
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Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 7:51 pm Post subject: Scammers |
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I had the same message today for a mouthpiece I have listed. I didn't think to submit it to the TH moderator before deleting.
Hey mate,
I saw your item on trumpetHerald and i am interested in buying the item for my lovely daughter ,so i will like to know the condition of the item and the final asking price,you can also email me with the picture of the item. Get back to me as soon as possible.
Regard.Note i have someone coming to your location for the pickup as soon as i make the payment Via PayPal.
Mark _________________ TBrassMan
Kanstul French Besson
Kanstul MEHA C French Besson
Charlie Melk custom '55 Olds Ambassador
Yamaha 233S Cornet
Pickett Brass 5C & 5D* and Curry Cornet 7's
"Praise Him with the sounding of the Trumpet..." Psalm 150:3 |
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ford850 Heavyweight Member
Joined: 15 Apr 2005 Posts: 664 Location: Ione, Ca
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Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 8:20 pm Post subject: |
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Remember if they do use PayPal they can dispute the transaction if there is no proof of delivery (local pickup may be difficult to verify)...cash is king here. _________________ Mark LaSavio
Shires CVLA
Kanstul Destino Bb
Getzen Renaissance 20S
Stomvi Master Bb cornet
Belcanto C |
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loweredsixth Heavyweight Member

Joined: 24 Feb 2005 Posts: 1875 Location: Fresno, California, USA, North America, Earth, Solar System, Orion Arm, Milky Way Galaxy, Universe
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Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 8:39 pm Post subject: |
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I thought about that... never use Paypal unless you are shipping to a verified address. But isn't the local pickup thing an awful lot of trouble for them to go through? _________________ The name I go by in the real world is Joe Lewis |
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Brad361 Heavyweight Member
Joined: 16 Dec 2007 Posts: 7081 Location: Houston, TX.
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Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 6:11 am Post subject: |
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Here's what I got from these as*****s:
"........Thanks for your swift respond,i am an Navy Officer and am currently offshore, i am buying the item as a gift for my daughter,i want to make it a surprise gift for her,so she won't know anything about the gift until they get delivered to her. I can only pay through paypal. So pls kindly get back to immediately so i can proceed with the payment and after the payment has been done,i have a pick up agent that will come around to pick the Item up immediately after payments.......
Looking forward to hear from you soon
Thanks
Mark Pratt......."
And then this:
......"Thanks for your effort,I'm about to make the payments when i had this little problem with the picking up of the Item, I think you remember what i said in my previous mail that I'm working presently offshore and i am buying the item for my daughter so i tried to secure booking with my pick up agent, but they asked me to pay first before they can make the booking, and they only accept Western Union Money Transfer for payments and they don't accept PayPal or bank transfer.
So I tried to send the money online but it's not going through and I am on the sea there is no way i can find a western union agent to make the transfer to my pick up agent, so i wanted to ask if it will be OK for me to include my pick up agent's fees together with your payments through PayPal,So you will help me wire the pick up fee to them via western Union Money Transfer immediately i pay you.I don't mean to bother you I'm sure you understand that I'm presently on the sea and there is nothing i can do to that.
The bottom line is after I have made the payments via PayPal,you will help me wire my pick up agent fee to them through western union money transfer, I just wanted to seek your consent before going ahead with the payments,I will be very happy if my offer is given a favorable consideration,Respond as soon as possible so that i can send out your Payment........"
We always need to be careful, and this is pretty typical internet-scam verbage.
Brad361
Last edited by Brad361 on Mon Jan 23, 2012 6:32 am; edited 3 times in total |
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Brad361 Heavyweight Member
Joined: 16 Dec 2007 Posts: 7081 Location: Houston, TX.
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Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 6:19 am Post subject: |
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loweredsixth wrote: | .....But isn't the local pickup thing an awful lot of trouble for them to go through? |
Sure, but would YOU give your home (or business, for that matter) address to a stranger on the internet? That almost adds another higher level of danger to the whole thing.
Brad361 |
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tubbs831 Heavyweight Member

Joined: 23 Mar 2005 Posts: 989 Location: Massachusetts/New Hampshire
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Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 6:32 am Post subject: |
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I had a similar situation about a month ago.
Guy was buying for his dad who was coming home from off shore. He was located in the UK, and also wanted me to use some sort of bizarre looking home pick up site. I stopped responding. At first it didn't seem as sketchy as previous scams. But when it came to the home pick up, like someone said above, I wasn't about to give out my home address to them. |
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TrumpetMD Heavyweight Member

Joined: 22 Oct 2008 Posts: 2495 Location: Maryland
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Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 6:41 am Post subject: |
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The scammer is most likely using a fraudulent eBay account.
I've purchased several horns using eBay, Craigslist, and TH. So far, I've been fortunate. Here are the rules I follow.
- I only accept or send PayPal payments to verified PayPal accounts.
- On eBay, I won't deal with people with new accounts or low ratings.
- I always require cash when dealing in-person.
- I won't do anything out of the ordinary (stop an auction early, ship to a different address, etc.)
- I won't purchase or sell a horn to anyone without speaking to them on the phone first.
I lost at least one sale because I insisted on speaking to the seller by phone. I'm sure he was a good guy. But he couldn't understand my caution. Better to lose a sale than to get scammed.
Mike _________________ Bach Stradivarius 43* Trumpet (1974), Bach 6C Mouthpiece.
Bach Stradivarius 184 Cornet (1988), Yamaha 13E4 Mouthpiece.
Olds L-12 Flugelhorn (1969), Yamaha 13F4 Mouthpiece.
Plus a few other Bach, Getzen, Olds, Carol, HN White, and Besson horns. |
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trumpetherald System Administrator

Joined: 25 Oct 2001 Posts: 1520 Location: USA
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Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 7:06 am Post subject: |
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Quote: | - I won't purchase or sell a horn to anyone without speaking to them on the phone first.
I lost at least one sale because I insisted on speaking to the seller by phone. I'm sure he was a good guy. But he couldn't understand my caution. Better to lose a sale than to get scammed. |
This is very wise.
When in doubt: INSIST on speaking to someone on the phone. Ask them questions that they should know the answers to if they're really looking for trumpet stuff. I was amused above by the 'bait and switch' tactic of saying "I'll pay via PayPal" and then "whoops I have to send you a (scammy) money order."
But it wouldn't be amusing if you got tricked. Remember that a forged money order might be accepted by your bank - only to come back as bad two weeks or more after you deposited it - and guess who is out of the money and the item - YOU! Always ask your bank to verify the money order with the issuing bank when depositing it, or, better yet, don't accept payment via money order/western union/any of those scam vehicles.
Watch yourselves out there! These things tend to come in waves and there have been more scam attempts than usual lately.
Best,
td |
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Autigermania Regular Member

Joined: 11 Mar 2009 Posts: 29
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Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 7:06 am Post subject: |
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Yep, same guy hitting me up on a trumpet right now....using the same verbage as all the other posts.
I contacted Paypal and confirmed that local pickup eliminates your paypal protection.
I'm ignoring this MARK PRATT contact and would advise you to do the same.
I'll try to forward to the TH moderators.
Derek _________________ Derek Saidak
Legends Brass
www.legendsbrass.com
Ask for the TH Member Discount! |
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trmptz Heavyweight Member
Joined: 17 Sep 2004 Posts: 791 Location: St. Louis "Blues"!
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Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 7:11 am Post subject: |
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Uh, it's painfully obvious that this is a scam. Really no question about it. Once you read the offer common sense alerts you to this. Ignore! |
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Mikeytrpt Heavyweight Member
Joined: 15 Mar 2004 Posts: 5028 Location: Richfield, Minnesota
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Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 7:22 am Post subject: |
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Todd, thanks for adding the advice. I have 3 items in the marketplace right now; 2 very expensive trumpets and a gig bag. I've received the same message as the others. I don't bother responding.Thanks again for keeping the Marketplace. I think we do a good job of keeping an eye on the scammers, and we save Ebay fees!  |
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