Beware - Scammer

The Lounge General Discussion
1

Hi all,

I thought I would bring to everyones attention a user who has scammed me.

I entered into conversation with ‘Mariohof77’ with the intention of purchasing his Rytm as advertised in this post:

http://test.http://www.elektronauts.com/t/fs-eu-elektron-analog-rytm-1100euros/8637

payment went through last week and I have not received the unit and neither has he replied to any of my emails. I foolishly didnt take any other form of contact before making a bank transfer.
I requested pictures which he supplied, the pictures looked authentic enough.

He said he would use DHL or FEDEX, I did not receive a tracking number but have called both companies explaining the situation and asking them to check against my postcode (UK, the item/user are based in Germany). Both companies drew a blank.

I’m obviously extremely upset now, I feel a complete fool and with hindsight there are so many things that flagged up that this may not be all that it seemed.

I had saved and saved to get the money together and then was lucky enough to receive some payment for a track that i put out last year…that was just enough to top up the money to afford my long awaited Rytm.

All I can do now is to use my misfortune to ensure that no-one else falls for this scumbag, lowlife confidence trick.

I know I’ve been an idiot but Ive traded on the Elektron forum many times and Ive NEVER come across anyone that was anything other than decent and honest.

And if your reading this you piece of s**t…I hope justice prevails and you get what you deserve.

Peace

Peza.

2

Srsly, PayPal for a reason. You failed at the most n00bish obstacle.

Can your bank withdraw the sent funds ? Did you phone cops for this ?

Shame

3

Ahh mate, sorry to hear that. Is paypal the safest option for these types of transactions, what is the reason? I ask because Ive never bought used gear from a forum before, I’ve always waited for a local sale.

4

PayPal is pretty safe. Even if the scammer pulls the money from his PayPal account or spends it for goods, PayPal will cover the damage and go after the scammer. Thats their policy.

5

Do you have his address or something to share about this guy ? Maybe someone near him can do something … Sharing his name can prevent someone to fall into this scam again, under another user account.

There is NO escape, tiny world !

6

Yeah I totally messed up here…usually use paypal but got that eager to purchase, I got impulsive.

The bank it went to was in Lubeck, Germany…the guy used the name ‘Mario Hoffer Dodek’ and said he was based in Germany…

Ive reported it to ‘Action Fraud’ here in the UK, contacted my bank and everything that can be done is in motion.

I’ll keep you all posted on any progress.

7

Ah man that totally blows. Sorry to hear it. I’ve only been scammed once from some asshole in Ireland who was “selling” a PS4 cheap on Ebay. Luckily I was covered.

The benefit of hindsight won’t make you feel any better but at least you had the balls to let everyone know and tell your story and to really hit home the benefits of Paypal (always use services too, take the hit on the fee and ALWAYS ask for a fully detailed invoice to cover your ass).

Hopefully something good comes of it. Depending on your bank they might be lenient and cover you this time but I guess you know that’s likely to be wishful thinking. Fingers crossed anyway dude.

8

cheers J0n35y.

Yeah Im more than happy to put my hands up and admit to being a right lemon on this one but you just dont expect it to happen on a forum like this…bastard knew what he was doing…scum.

Im gonna put things right for myself and get the Rytm by hook or by crook now and I suppose it’ll mean that much more when Ive got it…f**k that shitbag, he aint gonna drag me down.

Glad people are seeing this though and can perhaps just be that extra bit more careful when making a purchase…at least then some good can come out of it.

9

I agree J0n35y, it takes guts to come out and tell the world you got scammed.
Now we are all more aware thanks to Peza.

Peza sorry to hear about the Rytm I hope it turns out well.

10

Sorry to hear about this. Something similar happened to me via Gearslutz classifieds last year. A guy selling various high end / vintage gear ripped of quite a large number of people for various amounts of money (from $1000 to $5000).

Of course we all did our best to verify that the sale was legit, and the guy had some positive feedback from the iTrader system GS was using at the time. Perhaps the guy was legit at some point and then turned, who knows. I was scammed out of approximately $1000 for a Distressor, other people for a lot more and some even sent other vintage (and very rare) gear as trades for stuff that never turned up.

The Gearslutz mods were extremely helpful and went the extra yard to help everyone involved - really impressive, they didn’t have to do that. In the end, everything got sorted out and the money / gear returned but it took a lot of work by the mods over several months.

I paid via PayPal, I think using a linked debit card but not 100% sure (it might have been a credit card). Direct transfers usually have less protection.

In my case, I was fortunate to get the money back from PayPal but my bank indicated they also had protection, and if PayPal didn’t refund the transaction I should speak to them.

So where possible the best advice is to always use PayPal with the Credit Card option - that offers the most protection. Credit cards are better protected than debit cards. Always be suspicious of sellers that request direct deposit, and never use wire transfer services (e.g. Western Union).

Also it’s best to never use the PayPal “gift” option - PayPal don’t typically offer any protection for gift payments (since they’re supposed to be used for family and friends only, not high priced sales of goods).

Sorry I can’t offer any advice that will help get your money back now, but hopefully this helps for the future. Trading gear online is generally fine, if we observe these simple rules.

A ton of gear and software is traded here, on Gearslutz, KVR and a few other forums and while fraud does happen (as you’ve found out …), it’s pretty rare.

I think you said you’ve contacted your bank, which is about all you can do in a situation like this. Good luck, I hope they come through for you.

11

Thanks everyone, It does go some way to make me feel better knowing that the 99.9% of you guys on here are straight up and honest.
I wont let this wanker blight my opinions…I know what he is.

Im ordering a Rytm today…from a reputable dealer…using Paypal!!

Honestly though…thanks for the kind words of support…It means alot!!

Peza

13

Sorry to hear Peza, hope you find the basterd… I looked up the user curious if he was an “actual” member to this forum at one point and he was created October 29 2014 with only one post “RYTM FS” . That should of been a huge red flag.

*Moderator/admin
Couple ideas to help forum members weed out trolls or spot something shady. Many forums do not let new members create a Topic unless they have participated a certain amount of posts. Also, within comments/replies in a topic you can see how many posts they’ve written and how long they have been a member listed below their avatar.

14

Would you post the pictures he sent? I noticed a guy scamming Elektron stuff on eBay under various names, but his handwriting (in the photos) was very distinctive. Unlikely it’s the same guy, but maybe it would help to avoid anyone else here getting scammed if he tries it again under another username.

15

Thanks guys…and yes, I should have checked his status as a forum user but I just got a rush of blood I guess and lost my common sense…!

Guaranteed it will NEVER happen again and if anyone who reads this can learn by my mistake rather than make the same mistake …then job done I suppose…

I’ll see if I can post the pics rikrak…the only problem I have with that is (im now extremely paranoid!) that another scammer may be able to use them for the same reason… dunno, what do you think??

16

I am gutted for you man. :neutral_face:

17

Rytm now ordered through Digital Village…!

Onwards and upwards…!

:slight_smile:

18

Thanks Martin…

20

Oh man, sorry to hear that. I would go to the police and report this case. They may be able to get the IP of said user or something like that. You might have better chances with your bank too. Best wishes!

21

Excellent advice ther Baddcr… Exactly the reason why I wanted to post this up… The more we share good practice when purchasing second hand, the less likely it is that people will get ripped off.

Seriously folks, I’m humbled by all of the support that you lot have shown, it really has meant a great deal and hugely helped to restore the damage done by this…

Thank you!

22

I also had a blood rush when I saw the AR for 1100 euro … He (the alledged money taking scum head) replied to me it was sold … we all know now the end of that story …

1 )please ask the Elektronauts Forum officials to supply you with the IP address and additional info from the registered user in question.

  1. Since the alledged crime took place in Germany, I could think of you being able to get a ball rolling inside Germany (I know you can start a police investigation via Email) … German officials might actually be interested, or are already on his heels (fingers crossed) … police will definetly be interested in his account number and name … no step towards solving this is futile!

  2. please post the images (you were shown) here in the forum … get some info on how google image search works … once a scammer used pics, and you do the google image search using exactly those pics, other users may get directed to THIS very thread, to learn that the exact pictures have been used already AND are used by scammers (no risk involved for future buyers / scammers IIRC imho )

  3. coming out here shows balls and will help others to not make the same mistakes ( I am amazed by how many chimed in and said they had also been scammed)

  4. elektronauts: we have a unspoken rule that you have to post a pic when offering a sale … how bout we delete them threads where there are none? I for my part feel like I am too noobish, but we SHOULD make this a common practice, shouldnt we?

5b) this forum needs stickies … like “how to avoid a fraud” (or at least a automated message or thread posts …