WTB Warning Scammer Tactic

[wablacktailaddict]

I posted a message that I sent a PM on a legit ad. I did send a PM but did not give my phone number in PM or post.

Got a text from a random # saying he was contacting me about the item I messaged him about buying. Clearly a scammer.

He must have got my number by going through my old posts and I had posted my number in a classified ad.

Watch out for this tactic!

 

[RTSJ]

Got the exact same thing last week. I knew right away. He asked for more money than the OP was asking. Soon as I asked for a phone call he never responded. No clue how he got my cell number. Crazy times man!


Roy

 

[wablacktailaddict]

They don’t even have to be members so you can’t ban them or weed them out. Don’t post your contact info anywhere public I guess!

 

[JoeB]

Had similar thing few weeks ago they sent me an email wanting to sell me the item I had inquired about

 

[mrbillbrown]

Wow. Thanks for sharing the tactic. Hadn’t experienced it yet


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[fngTony]

Those profile messages can be viewed by anyone who is logged in but not the general public. They are different from a pm, be mindful of what you post there.

 

[Pmringer]

Maybe it’s time for the powers that be to tighten the forum security further. I’m on a few and this is by far the worst when it comes to scammers and the variety of methods they use.

 

[isherwood91]

I received two emails in response to posts on sale listings this week which I now believe to be scams. I was on the verge of making payment to one of them when the second email on the same listing came in, raising suspicion.

I've done a lot of buying and selling on forums and haven't seen this before. The problem is apparently that my profile contact info is visible. I don't know whether I selected that setting when I registered, but I don't think I would have. If contact information is being made visible by default it should not be.

All sale transactions should be handled first via private message on the forum. It's the only way you can be sure you're communicating with the actual forum user.

 

[isherwood91]

Followup:

I went looking for the visibility of my email address. I couldn't find anything specifically for that. The closest I found was a setting for who can see my "identities" on the Privacy page. However, email address isn't listed under identities elsewhere. That leaves me confused. I would appreciate clarity on how to conceal my external contact information.

 

[isherwood91]

Oh, and this should be a sticky on the classifieds forum. I was surprised to not see it there, but at least it showed up in a related articles list.