Becareful of scammers

I had the same thing happen a month ago.

Wanted payment made to a Western Union outpost.

When you see this .....beware.

When I asked for OGR credentials, they went silent and I never heard back.

Oscar posted:

Darn, I really wanted those locomotives.

Take solace in the fact that almost certainly he didn't actually have them!

gunrunnerjohn posted:

Oscar posted:

Darn, I really wanted those locomotives.

Take solace in the fact that almost certainly he didn't actually have them!

So TRUE! Did you even ask for a picture of what you are purchasing? No pic NO SALE!

The attempt on me did provide wonderful pictures and a well spoken commentary.

The pictures were likely borrowed from E Bay.

Old scam here. Happened to me 3-4 years ago after posting a WTB.

The failure to provide pictures after I requested and of course the Western Union nonsense were the main giveaways.

Nice timing. I have been in contact with him for a few days, and he will not send pictures. Said the item is boxed, and ready to go in excellent condition, and he said to call him. He sent me references, and I asked one person with positive feedback. So now what??? I was going to send him the money tonight. He keeps saying everything is fine.

Jeff B. Haertlein posted:

Nice timing. I have been in contact with him for a few days, and he will not send pictures. Said the item is boxed, and ready to go in excellent condition, and he said to call him. He sent me references, and I asked one person with positive feedback. So now what??? I was going to send him the money tonight. He keeps saying everything is fine.

I wouldn't do it.  He won't send you anything.  Even if he did send pictures, he could get them from the net.

Wow I am really surprised at these happenings. He even gave me references. What is the Forum going to do about this??

Hard to believe we apparently have someone like this on our Forum.

Well, I know what I'd do.  Run, don't walk, away from this deal.

I got an email from him too after posting a WTB ad. Luckily I’d already found and purchased what I was looking for from forum member GN Man.  I thought something seemed fishy about this Mark character...

Same thing happened a few years ago a guy didn't want Paypal, USPS money order, cashiers check, etc, only wanted a Money gram from Walmart.  Guy was from KC.MO.  Buyer be aware.

So far it looks like several people have made a contact with this guy Mark.

Does "Mark" have a user name on OGR?  

When buying / selling, I look at the person's join date and posting history.  If he hasn't been on long or it looks like his main activity on the forum is related to selling, that's a huge red flag.  

If someone is trolling the site for "wants" but either has not joined or rarely posts, what does that tell you?

And why are we even still discussing people who request payment via Western Union money orders, gift cards, etc.?  That stuff is Internet Scam 101.

He must be a member, because I didn’t publicly post my email address- it’s only in my profile.

I only deal with people that take regular credit cards, not the kind you can get at the stores and Pay Pal.

If they don't  take them I pass !!!

Also when buying on the Bay, I look for people with very high sales numbers and between 99 and 100% ratings.

mlavender480 posted:

He must be a member, because I didn’t publicly post my email address- it’s only in my profile.

It's hard for me to believe you're still considering this.  However, I'm outta' here, good luck!

The poster was right on the money to be wary. Anytime you see western union, money gram or anything like that, 9999.9999% of the time you will be defrauded.  Someone should id this guy from his IP.  Or pay him a visit in Vermont.  BigRail

laz1957 posted:

Same thing happened a few years ago a guy didn't want Paypal, USPS money order, cashiers check, etc, only wanted a Money gram from Walmart.  Guy was from KC.MO.  Buyer be aware.

Oh yeah! I remember his email. I wanted some Weaver die cast trucks and his email claimed he had them but his price was a bit rediculous.

One more thing...a lot of us have been on this forum a long time.  We have met each other in one form or another over the years and some are more famous than others.  Some have been featured in magazines and videos etc.  And if I don't know someone I bet I know someone who does.  Bottom line is when in doubt ask.  No one should be insulted if someone does some due diligence on someone they are thinking of giving money to..or sending a train etc.  Who you trust is up to you, but money gram and western union should almost always be a NO.  BigRail

I'd say fine, what' your wife's name at western union, I'll give her a call.

Western Union is the red flag, period, no recourse.

Jeff B. Haertlein posted:

Wow I am really surprised at these happenings. He even gave me references. What is the Forum going to do about this??

I think the forum is very clear that they don't get involved in buy sell transactions or settling disputes.

Aussteve, Yes, I believe you are correct about the For Sale/Wanted To Buy forums that moderators don't get involved. However, if this guy is a forum member, they might do something about that if they are notified of who it is. Pretty sure scamming is illegal and I believe anything illegal is banned from this forum. I'd have to look at the TOS again, but I think they may ban the offenders from the forum. 

I think the OP should at least report the incident to the moderators, especially if several other forum members have had experience with this same person doing the same things. Just a thought here, but I would sure give it a try.

I answered a want to buy ad for a ES44AC.  It was a die cast KCS.  I sent 16 or so hi res pics and the guy got me down to $360 including shipping i think.  Came time to pay, he wanted me to ship it first to a p.o. box in Maryland.   Then he would pay after acceptance.  His rationale was he had no assurance i owned the engine or would ship it.  

I declined and sold it for $400.00 with no shipping.  I mentioned this scenario to some other forumites and they were familiar with him.

gunrunnerjohn posted:

mlavender480 posted:

He must be a member, because I didn’t publicly post my email address- it’s only in my profile.

It's hard for me to believe you're still considering this.  However, I'm outta' here, good luck!

I’m not “considering” anything, I was replying to the post questioning whether he was a member.  I clearly stated in my first post that I thought his email was fishy.

I’m reminded, though, of why I’d stopped posting here. 🙄

Thanks for all your posts today/tonight.

The Forum helped me out once again!

Jeff B. Haertlein posted:

Wow I am really surprised at these happenings. He even gave me references. What is the Forum going to do about this??

Not a darned thing unless you privately let us know his/her email address, name, etc.   Read our Terms of Service and the For Sale/Trade rules.  Use common sense and ask the right questions...namely "Are you a forum member and if so identify yourself with your forum avatar name".  If the person can not do that, then they ARE NOT a forum member!  If they can answer this most important question, and you still have a gut feeling something is not right, then go with your gut feeling....