Potential scam

[Y-Blockhead]

I have never had a problem using PayPal. I have even used PayPal to buy items from New Zealand with no issues.

The one time I had a probem with not recieving an item, PayPal got my money back.

[IDSpud]

Originally Posted by ModelA29

Some people will take PayPal. I ordered some parts (Model A full pressure oil pump plumbing for a pump he makes) from a guy when I got the email the parts were ready he asked payment by paypal. I sent the $. Two days later I got a message from PayPal that the transaction had been cancelled by the seller. I contacted the guy and he said I only take Friends and Family payments. I said he hadn't asked for that and I would have been happy to pay the 3% since to protect myself since I'd never dealt with him before. No reply. PayPal also put the returned funds into a debit account that necessitated me to jump through hoops to get my $ back. Moral of the story even though there is a nice web site you might not be dealing with someone who is legit.

Agreed. I use PayPal quite often for more security & peace of mind, however, in this case, the "seller" gave Zelle and money order options. Since I don't have / use /trust something like Zelle, I offered to provide a cashier's check. He agreed.


So far, I'm out $240...no recourse with a cashier's check. Unfortunately, it's exactly like giving him straight cash.


I'm usually fairly cautious in this age of fraud, scams and digital crooks. Live & learn...

[Joe K]

I dropped Paypal after my Email was hacked.

I was on vacation and I get a call from a friend who has my Email.

"Joe, why are you sending me an Email asking if I buy on Amazon?"

"I didn't send you an Email..."

Something afoot thinks I.

Back home after vacation I found access to my then Email non-functional. Someone had gotten to it and changed the password.

Approaching the Email people by phone I got a representative. They wanted $35 an hour to research and restore the Email - no estimate on how long it would take.

This for an Email which initially was FREE?

"Naw - I won't be doing that."

So I switched over to Gmail. Same game - free Email. Possibility of up to six "mirror" Email addresses.

Later, I found that Ebay had detected that I seemingly tried to buy something expensive at Melvin Village, NH. The amount and the purchase seemed out of my range or interest. So they locked the account. They admitted that Paypal was likely the source of the Email leak/hack but were good with restarting the account with a new Email.

At that time I examined Paypal transactions and didn't find anything unusual - outside of the Ebay attempt.

Now recently I purchased some Model B distributor parts from Renner. He deals only through Paypal so I have been forced to re-start the Paypal account. But so far except for Renner's purchase I'm not using it.

Joe K

[Randy in ca]

IDSpud,

In starting this thread you stated:

"A forum user suggested that I contact Jo Sh ......."

Did you check the profile, posts, etc. of this "forum user" ?
Have you reported them?

[ronn]

last month friend mailed a check from CO on the 18th. I recd it this month on the 15th.


the postal service is pretty bad with delays anymore.......... Im in NJ.


could have walked faster.

[updraught]

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>>"A forum user suggested that I contact Jo Shi"

Who was it?

>>"I have never had a problem using PayPal. I have even used PayPal to buy items from New Zealand with no issues.
The one time I had a probem with not recieving an item, PayPal got my money back"

Not my experience buying a Dell computer.
They way over charged what was advertised. (Always get a print out of the offer) and Dell ignored me.
Paypal kept killing my complaint. I paid Paypal via a credit card.
I got onto the credit card people and they rang me complaining that Paypal does nothing.
I got my money back, but I think it came from the credit card. Best to have a backup, of a credit card with Paypal.

[nkaminar]

Synchro wrote: "These guys are smart but if they used those smarts legitimately, they could make an honest living and have a clear conscience."

Many many years ago I went to NA meetings. These are like AA meeting but for people with problems with drugs instead of alcohol. The reformed drug dealers who quit selling had started legitimate businesses and were doing well. The same abilities that made them good a selling drugs were making them good at their legitimate businesses.

[ronn]

paypal is now 4% and holds my money for 3 weeks, because I wont attach a bank acct. zelle is far more efficient and only form I accept besides a money order.


I still think youre going to get your parts. 2 weeks is too soon to question a transaction.

[IDSpud]

Originally Posted by ronn

paypal is now 4% and holds my money for 3 weeks, because I wont attach a bank acct. zelle is far more efficient and only form I accept besides a money order.


I still think youre going to get your parts. 2 weeks is too soon to question a transaction.

Well, we'll see. To date, I haven't received any emails regarding shipping details at all. Prior to receiving my $, he was very quick to respond to inquiries...

[old john]

get the post office involved. sent by mail to a other state is fraud federal law had same problem let scammer know it was federal offence. sent me a check back all good.

[ronn]

he was very quick to respond to inquiries...


some of you dont understand that once the item is shipped, not much else the seller can do.
most of us are retired on here and many have nothing better to do then to call every other day. just my opinion. patience is a virtue that many of us dont have........
__________________

[psimet]

Most popular payment processors on the internet are more than legit. PayPal has been around for 30ish years I believe. At this point they are just another bank and as such you can have good or bad experiences with them. I personally have used them as my primary processor for my businesses for 16+ years. In that time I have had probably 2 major issues. Both I was left high and dry as they always side with the buyer and not the seller unless that seller is a mega corporation.

If not then the buyer will almost always take it up with their card issuer and that card issuer will always take the side of the cardholder and reverse it. They WILL debit PayPal and PayPal WILL take it from the vendor account. I had one issue where I provided emails, invoices, shipping data, etc. and they came back with, "Yeah we can see you did everything right but their card issuer reversed the charge so we can't do anything else."

Client wanted to keep the product and reverse the charge and ignored all correspondence asking him to at least return the product. So I had a lawyer friend draft a strongly worded letter and sent it registered mail. That kid had probably never seen registered mail before and my efforts worked.

Zelle is owned and used by Bank of America, Capital One, JPMorgan Chase, PNC Bank, Truist, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo. So it's not a fly by night processor. It is a clearing house for the largest American banks. It can be trusted as much as anything.

At this point I pay and get paid using any major app out there. Zelle, PayPal, Venmo, Cashapp, etc. I am a man that has been 100% dependent on random people finding me on the internet and sending me money on faith for the last 16 years. While there are obviously scams out there I am happy to report that I am continuously surprised by how easily most transactions really do go.

[David in San Antonio]

One cautionary note about PayPal which may be unique to my case or more widespread-
I opened a PayPal account when I was living in location 1. Years later I moved, and years after that ordered something and the vendor only accepted PayPal. The package didn’t reach me, but was returned to the vendor. Three times. We finally figured out that even though I had updated the PayPal account’s credit card address, I hadn’t updated the shipping address, and PayPal defaults to that. Lesson learned.

[serocontra]

Originally Posted by Synchro909

Did we even know the word "SCAM" before things went digital?

snake oil and bridge sellers were alive and well decades before the internet.
if anything, nowadays it's harder for scammers to scam.
a simple google search, keeping up-to-date on scams, and some scrutiny will solve most problems.


Pics related

[ronn]

George C Scott- the Flim Flam man..............

[Ryan]

Two rules to follow religiously with online buying:

- Never do a deal off the Ford Barn. If they ask you to send an email somewhere else, it's a scam. 100% of the time.

- Never do a deal without using PayPal Goods & Services. If they don't take PayPal, don't buy from them. Without PayPal Goods & Services, you aren't protected at all... It's not perfect by any means, but it's better than zero protection.

[jgriffin]

Originally Posted by Ryan

Two rules to follow religiously with online buying:

- Never do a deal off the Ford Barn. If they ask you to send an email somewhere else, it's a scam. 100% of the time.

- Never do a deal without using PayPal Goods & Services. If they don't take PayPal, don't buy from them. Without PayPal Goods & Services, you aren't protected at all... It's not perfect by any means, but it's better than zero protection.

I would also encourage to speak to the seller on the phone as well. I have never had an issue after speaking to someone on the telephone. They usually have a common story to tell. I can imagine speaking with a scammer on the phone would throw some red flags just by the conversation.

[Kube]

Originally Posted by IDSpud

I'm a fairly new Model A owner (August '25), and recently was looking for a gas tank. A forum user suggested that I contact Jo Shi, email: [email protected], as he's sold parts before. I contacted Jo (think that's a partial actual name), he said had one with these pics. Granted, he could have pulled these pics from anywhere and passed them as a tank that he had. I then sent him a cashier's check for the amount, (sent to his "wife"s work address, which turned out to be in an apartment complex) and he received the $ on January 13.
To date, I haven't heard from him after multiple attempts by email. I did find out that the check was deposited, of course.


So, this is probably a $ scam, and it's on me, unless he suddenly provides a reason for the long delay with no response. Should have been suspicious when I researched the address to be in an apartment complex, and not his actual address. Everyone be watchful, if you see his name or email come up regarding Model A parts...


I do have (2) other sources for tanks, which I will carefully vet.

Do you know if this guy has advertised here on the Barn?

[IDSpud]

Originally Posted by Kube

Do you know if this guy has advertised here on the Barn?

Unfortunately, none that I can find...

[Kube]

Originally Posted by IDSpud

Unfortunately, none that I can find...

Thank you. I am hoping the parts show up still. However, this has all the signs of a scam.
Fingers crossed...