Fraud and online sales... What can you do?
 

So, you are surfing the classifieds and you find something you've been looking for for a while. You contact the seller via PM, agree to a price and send off the payment with the understanding that the seller will send you a PM with a tracking number the next day.

One day goes by, and another, and you start to get nervous so you send a PM asking what the hold up is.

Silence....

What can you do?

Well, if you want to protect yourself you have to be proactive. You should ask the seller for personal details (name, address, phone number) before you send a penny, and verify those details online using Canada411.ca or a similar service. If you get a phone number that doesn't show up in the directory, call the seller to confirm it is their phone. You owe it to yourself to cover your ass from the get-go.

OK, so a week has gone by and you got nothing, no response at all...

Pick up the phone and call... If you get voicemail, leave a message each time you call. Try to get ahold of the person for a couple days. Remind the person that they have accepted funds for goods sold and are refusing to ship. Send PMs and/or emails. Make notes of when you called and what you said. DO NOT threaten them with anything stronger than referring them to the autorities.

Give them a set date by which you expect to receive confirmation of shipment and inform them of this date and time by email, PM, voicemail, phonecall, whatever.

Remind them that non-delivery of goods or services IS FRAUD

Remind them again, 24 hours before the deadline is up.

Once the deadline is up, report the seller to the RCMP if you do not get a tracking number.

If once the package arrives you find the box is full of rocks, blocks of wood, whatever, then you have been defrauded. Report the seller to the RCMP.

Reporting is simple as there is a website for this purpose

Just surf over to the RECOL.CA website and follow the instructions.

Here are some other online resources:

https://recol.ca/intro.aspx?lang=en
http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/scams-frau...fraude-eng.htm
http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/scams-fraudes/recol-eng.htm

Good post Agit, a lot of people have no clue what to do when they get ripped or how to prevent it! Definitely worth stickying.

this will be set up as an announcement in a few days.

Also, I believe the mods here such as Lisa will be nice enough to provide you with an IP address, that actually helped with a dispute that happened last year with someone selling the same item to multiple people.

I'm guessing this person is Bush Master we're talking about at the moment?

This is one of the reasons I love Direct Deposit so much.

I ask Agit to write something up because with the past issues of people taking funds and not delivering everyone says call the police but no one ever does because they are too lazy to look on how to report it.

I also wish to remind people that fraud (including mail fraud) is punishable by jail time. http://www.crimes-of-persuasion.com/...minal_laws.htm

What about EMT? Oh yeah how's that G18C?

EMT is a secure method for sending money, but does not protect you from fraud. That is your own responsibility.

thanks agit, the websites are helpfuil and should deter people from fraud, and encourage people to do something about it, i think this should definatly be sticky'd

holy fuck agit prop is still alive ??
thought he dissapeared from the forums for like 2 years



good post btw very informative for first time buyers

Direct Deposit could be a good method, because then you have a name, bank account, location. Someone would have to go to alot to get you with their own personal bank.

Agit -prop is like the archangel, now that the holy trinity has receeded to the far corners of the web he has perched and been vigilant but not vacated. Again swooping in to save the minions from the evil doers on the inter web.
Cheers

No, this is entirely self serving... I'm sending a message.

and FAQed

I guess you can say that you have your sights on him.

fraud is not coool

Breaking any law is not cool, but there are many here who try anyway.

Some more tips:

When you call, be sure to call from your own lines
Furthermore, be sure to use a line that includes a detailed monthly report of all calls. This may or may not be redundant advice (I never check my landline bill, only cellular). Being able to prove when you called may be important.

Document, document, document!
If you do wind up having to report fraud or theft to the authorities, a generous information package will mean a faster recovery time. Include proof of purchase/ownership, transcript of written communications, transcript of call logs, anything pertinent to the case. That way, the person in charge of your case won't have to wait for your imput as much.

Use secured, traceable funds
Money order, credit card, Paypal, DD, etc... Basicly anything else that cash stuffed in an enveloppe.

Pony up the extra cash for insurance
You may or may not get the complete value for a thrashed package, but it's at least more than nothing.

Hi Guys,

I am some kind of a newbie in airsoft and happened to come accross Nakamura's WWIIguns website.

What would you suggest in case of a non-delivered item ?

Hope your advice will be helpfull, thnx.

How did you pay, and was the item seized by customs?

Paid via Paypal, I haven't received any notification for shipment whereas order has been made 1 month ago. I got promises of shipment but still no shipment.

I am in Europe, say in a country were airsoft is permitted.

Reverse the charge, either with paypal if the payment was funded via PP credit or bank transfer, or with VISA/MC/whatever if the payment was funded with them.

Oh, and that site is one big scam BTW, refer to the PropScam section of the forum to see what kind of grief the owner put the local scene through...

Thank you,

I indeed browsed the thread you mention and now consider initiating an action in court. I already asked my bank to act before Paypal to reverse the payment and I will sue TTD.
My order was originally a gift for a friend's birthday...I am very disappointed.

This Miki plays with fire, definitely, I am not the one who is gona stay quiet and forget this.

This guy is about to become as famous as the most wanted wrong-doers in the world !
Why isnt on the www any site dedicated to such scam apart from your thread which I found doing a google research ?
Isn't any way to initiate an action against this corporation ?

I recently bought an airsoft rifle from WGC and had no problems, the price was even lower for an item that has been discontinued.

i bought my ca gearbox from warthers originals ebay store and its been almost 30 days now and nothing in the mail yet. i suppose i should send him a message about it to see if he refunds my money like other people have said hes done when they ask him about it. i paid with pay-pal on ebay. i suppose i will be alright getting my money back if i have to file a complaint with ebay to fix it
its also been ten+ days since i bought my kraken from only a few states away. im hoping i havent gotten screwed over with that too. wo is makin me nervous about why its taking so long for airsoft things in particular to arrive in the mail

has anyone ever seriously gotten a box full of rocks and blocks before? thats crazy, what a dick

If you did, you could charge them with mail fraud. Very bad.

It seems to me that there is a problem with reporting sales fraud of at least guns to the rcmp. Isn't buying or selling non-clear airsoft guns in Canada illegal now? We all do it using the grandfather clause as cover but if you report that you paid for an airsoft gun and never received it aren't you basically admitting to a crime yourself? There's no way the government doesn't know about our forum here and what goes on. But unofficially knowing about it and being officially notified by a guilty party in writing via a police report are two very different things.

Kuro_Neko

thanks for the info.

thankz for the info

I always try to find seller in my local so I can meet them in face to face and trade my cash for item. if they don't have item, no cash

How can a direct deposit can be secure, when he have the money in his account, how can you prove that is not a donation or something else?
And how can you recover your money?

Thanks

You really cant, that's why it's honesty based.

1.check the seller's Trader Ratings
2.check the seller's joining date
3.check the seller's legitimity: a 1 year member who never signs up for any game and only has 3 ads selling car equipment is not very legitimate on ASC and should be considered with caution.
4.never offer electronic payement for local pickup unless you know the customer.

Just to add, also look at who the trader ratings are from. If the seller has a couple of positive or negative feedbacks from well respected community members it should tell you something.

How about this guy ?

http://www.airsoftcanada.com/member.php?u=478

I got screw by him almost 500 $ and I can't do anything at all.

he only have 3 positive feedback.
anyways i always ask for the sellers personal info when buying expensive toys.

If it's not a custom order, why seller's don't use C.O.D, Cash on delivery. You ship your gun or anything, when the guy receive it he pays the postman and Postal office pays you.

Re:Fraud and online sales...
 

Hi Agit-Prop,

Well,Thanks for posting such a nice information regarding Fraud in On-line Sales.You have created a good awareness among others in the topic of on-line sales.I like these article and want to know some more tips regarding these article.I am waiting for your positive reply.

Thanks

Agit-Prop no longer (hardly ever) frequents this forum anymore.

Is that me or the links do not work anymore ? Thanks !

yeah, same problem here

Updated links

Hey anyone know if these sights are real or just fakes trying to scam me?
mach1airsoft.com
shootsoft.com
albertaairsoft.com
airsplat.com
coastreconairsoft.ca
buyairsoft.ca
Thanks any info on this would really help.

mach1airsoft.com is one of the reasons we get our guns from CA, Ares and VF now, so they are definately not a scam.

albertaairsoft.com aka Captial Airsoft is a very well known airsoft site here on ASC, Jeff is a really nice guy who's always willing to help you with anything airsoft wise. Both are solid if not outstanding retailers.

The rest of the links, I'd stay away from.

You will however mostly likely have to get Age Verfied to purchase from these two sites. Check the FAQ for how to get verified.

Buyairsoft.ca kills kittens.

So does airsplat.

I don't know if anyone has used BBB.com before but I just tried it with another website that scammed me some money a couple months ago.

I used it.. with EVIKE lol. If the company even remotely cares about their reputation, BBB can be pretty effective in getting them to take action to resolve the matter.

If I'm buying an anything other than gear, accessories or parts...wouldn't I then get into trouble reporting this to the RCMP for purchasing say an AEG or GBB/R?

Was thinking about this. I guess they couldquestion how they got the guns into the country, if they don't have the right permit, the business goes defunct and could get it some serious shit. Now as a buyer I don't think it matters as we are not importing it into the country, just buying it. So intheory we aren't doing anything illegal buy buying there stuff, as we wouldn't know if they had a permit or not. It's really confusing at least to me, hopefuly someone can explain this better.

I reported a custom tee shirt site and they seem to be doing something to get my money back from them. It said it may take a month but hey if I get something back i'm happy.

So are you saying that airsplat and buyairsoft are going to rip me off?

Where are you located?

You cannot buy guns from outside Canada.

Airsplat is not Canadian.

And Buyairsoft, you don't want to try.

oh man why did i not see this thread earlier >_< im having a bit of a dispute right now....

edit: btw how come we dont have a classifieds resolution section like we have a retailer one???

Because we use the same one for sales in the classifieds.

seems to be for people with retailer status as far as i can tell.

Thus is true, dont try to order Fully assembled guns from the US thats a no no.

I have Purchased both a Full metal G&G Carbine Advanced and a G36, (as well as sum random parts like bb's and a not so cheap battery) through buyairsoft.ca over the past month or so (approx $1000) , by far they are the fastest and more reliable next to airsoftparts.ca which ships retardedly fast

I wouldnt worry at all about buyairsoft

buyairsoft is brutal! i would not trust them at all!

Just because you banged the hooker at the bus stop without wearing a condom and didn't catch something doesn't meanyou should recommend others do it.

Search around this site, there is a few reasons why buyairsoft.ca is so scorned.

W


T


F


?!?!?!?! :confused::confused::confused:

Order Placed for ASC Mart
 

I placed an order ( 998 ) last Sept 15, and until now i haven't received it yet.

I try sending them a message, but I did not received any answer.

Is there anybody who can help me on this.

Thank you

Holy necro mate,

So did ASC Mart actually take your money or did you place an order and payment is still pending?

I didn't think ASC Mart was still active to be honest. Try contacting Lisa, she's a mod and runs(ran?) the site from what I understand:

http://airsoftcanada.com/member.php?u=4845

I sent a text to Lisa to check, odds are its an order request and payment not processed.


***Edit***
Received a response, no payment has been sent for the order ASCmart is still waiting for payment to be sent as per their emails with you. No order will be processed till you send in your payment, then they will ship and provide your next update.