Buyers beware!

[acarlos33]

TRF Family,

I have been reaching out to a few posters in the classifieds section and today 1/1/19, I found what I thought to be the watch I've been looking for, 116610 Sub C. The seller is "Jenson". This the link to his posting. https://www.rolexforums.com/showthre...33%40gmail.com

We came in accordance with a price and I offered to pay through paypal and I would cover the fees. He gave me this huge "novel" on how paypal has been holding his funds for the past 2 weeks do to some shipping issues with another transaction. He then proceeds by offering to accept the money VIA wire. He provided me his banking info this is what he gave me:

Name: Usoro Michael Udoekong
Bank Name: CITIBANK, NA
Account Number: 42007728779
Routing Number: 321171184
Bank Address 1096 Blossom Hill Road, San Jose, CA 95123

I don't know this seller at all so I decided to perform my due diligence on this guy. I searched Facebook and it turns out that this person is a lady with what appears to be a fake account with no followers at all and a ton of sketch info on their page. I then called the seller directly and when they picked up they stayed silent on the phone, as did I, to see who would answer, they mumbled something and hung up. They then text me and ask me if the funds have been sent out yet so they can ship the watch... It's 1/1/19, no bank nor post office is open. They then call me to say their name is Jenson and to ask if I had sent the funds yet. I told them that the bank is having issues identifying that account. "Jenson" got nervous and told me they would call their bank to see what is going on. Now he text me with a completely different bank account and beneficiary asking to use this account to send the money.

TRF Family be extremely careful with this guy.

His phone number is 703 672 5779.

[Mrjohnhuo]

Good investigative skills mate. I saw his ad and was tempted to make contact myself. Glad I didn't.

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[Old Expat Beast]

Thanks, I've banned that member and removed their listings. You can report suspicious threads direct to mods by clicking the red triangle if you have doubts.

[cop414]

Thank you Carlos, you’ve probably saved another member much grief.

[acarlos33]

Anytime guys! Mods, thanks for banning this guy

[77T]

Carlos - now that Jenson is gone, how did you determine a new member with no transactions nor references should be trusted to begin with?

I’m not blaming the potential victim but this is the crux of dealing on the classifieds merhinks.


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[MinMay]

Name linked to Nigeria.

I hope some authority can go to Citibank and report the account.

[VintageVagabound]

Phone number is a landline in Virginia but the account goes to San Jose...hmmm...

[joli160]

Originally Posted by 77T

Carlos - now that Jenson is gone, how did you determine a new member with no transactions nor references should be trusted to begin with?

I’m not blaming the potential victim but this is the crux of dealing on the classifieds merhinks.


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Innocent until proven guilty

[77T]

Originally Posted by joli160

Innocent until proven guilty

I’m guessing you’re kidding?

In our world here, untrusted until proven trusted.


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[acarlos33]

Originally Posted by 77T

Carlos - now that Jenson is gone, how did you determine a new member with no transactions nor references should be trusted to begin with?

I’m not blaming the potential victim but this is the crux of dealing on the classifieds merhinks.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I completely agree, trust no one until fully vested, which is why I did some research prior to even sending this guy a penny. I always pay with PayPal either way to avoid dealing with these issues, if they were to arise.

[joli160]

Originally Posted by 77T

I’m guessing you’re kidding?

In our world here, untrusted until proven trusted.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Yes, unfortunately this is the new reality.

[WristCheckDaily]

Originally Posted by 77T

Carlos - now that Jenson is gone, how did you determine a new member with no transactions nor references should be trusted to begin with?

I’m not blaming the potential victim but this is the crux of dealing on the classifieds merhinks.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Might be a good idea to do only face to face transactions to start with.


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[77T]

Originally Posted by WristCheckDaily

Might be a good idea to do only face to face transactions to start with.

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I would suggest that’s more risky if you’re dealing with an unproven seller.

Of course you could meet at a police station for physical security - but unless you’re a watchmaker, how would you validate the watch is authentic?



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[WristCheckDaily]

Originally Posted by 77T

I would suggest that’s more risky if you’re dealing with an unproven seller.

Of course you could meet at a police station for physical security - but unless you’re a watchmaker, how would you validate the watch is authentic?



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I was thinking meet at RSC/AD. They usually have some sort of security, I have seen some jewelry/watch stores that require a buzzer to enter and leave the store. Plus with people around it’s less likely some one would pull a shady move.


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[Humble michael]

Just use pay pal or AMX- when you get piece get authicated.

[77T]

Originally Posted by WristCheckDaily

I was thinking meet at RSC/AD. They usually have some sort of security, I have seen some jewelry/watch stores that require a buzzer to enter and leave the store. Plus with people around it’s less likely some one would pull a shady move.


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I understand - now can you help me understand why you would deal with someone that would require such measures to be sure of the specie?

I’m going to guess it would be price.

Availability can’t be the reason - trusted sellers here have any model you’d want.

Of course, their price is higher but I prefer the peace of mind.


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[WristCheckDaily]

Originally Posted by 77T

I understand - now can you help me understand why you would deal with someone that would require such measures to be sure of the specie?

I’m going to guess it would be price.

Availability can’t be the reason - trusted sellers here have any model you’d want.

Of course, their price is higher but I prefer the peace of mind.


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Price is one point and also distance, I personally like to avoid the extra risk of theft during shipment. Also I personally am new to TRF but I believe everyone has to start somewhere.

I was apart of different BST forums when I was younger and always conducted myself professionally from both the buyer and sellers side, so I do understand how hard it is building new reputation.

Im in the real estate development field and I deal with new clients everyday. There’s always a chance to get screwed, but I have seen established companies do a chop shop job for more and also have seen less known/new companies do an amazing job at a very competitive price. I guess what I’m getting at is even the most trusted sellers/buyers start somewhere lol.


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[acr]

This scumbag is at it again under a different username but with the same phone number. Watch out!!! I called and spoke with them, and something seemed off.

link: http://forums.timezone.com/index.php...=0#msg_7580613

[CorradoBrit]

Not the same persons hand in all pics

[ftrainwill]

I was almost caught up in a similar scheme. I think the lesson learned is to be extra careful why a seller is requesting for a wire, especially not in their name.