My Submariner C Stolen

[brandrea]

I was hoping that the revival of this old thread, meant you might have some good news about your stolen watch. Very sorry that this happened to you.

[Lucky777]

This totally sucks, there is nothing worse than being an honest person and being taken advantage of.

[DiamondJack]

Yes it always amazes me how the banks' computerised banking systems will show funds credited just on the receipt of a bit of paper (so effectively an IOU) and show those funds sitting in your account for up to a few weeks with an foreign cheque that takes longer to clear..... and then zap.... it's gone when the cheque bounces.

Depending on your credit worthiness, the bank will even allow you to withdraw the funds in cash even though they haven't cleared...... also resulting in zap and the immediate loss showing on your account.......which you are personally liable for........

A crazy system but one to be aware of.........

[joseluu]

Originally Posted by Lucky777

This totally sucks, there is nothing worse than being an honest person and being taken advantage of.

Well, believe it or not I think that being the criminal would be worse...

[Speedbird-1]

I did think about hiring some "non society friendly people" to track the driver and "make" the driver confess what he knows, but at the end of the day, I am trying to be a better citizen and not become one of them. Trust me, I have the ability to make that driver never breathe again, and not get my hands dirty, but I have chosen to take the higher road.
At the end of the day, I am in fact dealing with one, or two, person(s) that are not within the law, and one or both know where I live (at least the building). I have a beautiful wife and kids, so I do not want to put them in harm's way AT ALL, so I think I just have to take this as a $7,450 lesson.
__________________________________________________ _______________

Before you embark on a journey of revenge, first, dig two graves.

[Speedbird-1]

It's a horrible experience for you (and your wife by the sound of it) but,
just focus on doing all the 'right things' to get the watch/or money back.
It's easy to say, but it is just a watch, don't mean to preach but there are FAR worse things in life.
Sounds like your wife is being very supportive, don't forget to thank her. She is probably the real treasure in your life.
Whatever you do, don't get dragged down to the level of the scumbag(s) that
robbed you. You sound much better than that.
They'll 'get theirs', life will pay them back. Maybe the next 'seller' will meet them with a badge and a 9mm and the words, "you're under arrest". Maybe he'll try to run..........................


Good luck my friend.

[Actsulb]

Sorry to hear that! That totally sucks!

[gwozhog]

Bummer i was hoping for a happy ending.

[GOB]

This has yet to end fellas.... The local police is after this guy. The driver has to check in every Monday and until the funds are returned to me or the watch shows up, he is guilty of the crime. The lady who made the deposit has been linked to three other events just like mine (no driver involved, but the same modus operandis). We have tracked down the IP address of the mastermind behind it all and this week we should get the address of the account used to send the email. It's not over and I am hopeful that the parties involved will be in jail or I get my money back.

Oh, and regarding the Yacht Master, sold it on Saturday, only to get this piece yesterday

[Bangel]

Thanks for the update.

I'm glad to hear things have moved in a very positive direction with tracking down the perpetrators and congrats on the AP!

Please continue to keep us posted.

[Cc1966]

Good to hear that the trail did not go cold. Good luck! ...Congrats on your new AP also.

[Wesley Crusher]

Scumbags. I hope they're caught and rot in prison.

Good luck. Keep your head up and hopefully this whole thing ends in your favor!

[SLS]

Glad to hear that you are making progress.

[yahoo_mks]

Great to hear there may be a positive ending to this - happy Holidays-

[Leonard Osbourne]

Fcuking brutal storey, good luck with it all...

[joeychitwood]

Great news! I hope the perps wind up paying for their deeds.

[Qimchi]

Hope you will get your watch back. Now that AP is one beautiful watch.

[hdrazor251]

I hope the crooks pay in spades and you get restitution.

Congrats on the AP!

[jmp909]

Originally Posted by GOB

I'm the unfortunate recipient of a scam that netted out in my Submariner gone and no money to show for it. I am partially at fault for the whole thing, but just wanted to post this in case anyone runs into my watch that was stolen/scammed from me.

I put the watch for sale on a local classified ads website. Got contacted 3 hours after post by someone who obviously knew about watches and asked the right questions. This website does not allow for high resolution pictures, so he asked if I could send him some. I did and he called back right away saying he will buy it from me. In Panama, many people work in Colon (major shipping hub, free trade zone) and have other people do work for them, such as picking up stuff in Panama City. He asked for my banking information, which I provided, and he said he would wire me the money. When I told him that I would only release the watch after the money is in my account, he said "I'll give the money to my driver and have him deposit it in your account so we can do this today". I did get notification from my bank that a deposit was made, but, and here is where I MESSED UP ROYALLY, I did not know if it was a cash deposit or check..... When I saw that the deposit was made, I gave the watch to his driver who was waiting for me at the lobby of the building I live in. "Luckily" for me, I took a picture of my watch and the driver's license so I could prove to the buyer who I was handing the watch to (which he had previously told me his name and that it was his driver for years). Today, the bank calls me to tell me that the check bounced due to insufficient funds.

The buyer, will not respond my emails nor will respond to my calls. Local cell phone company confided in me that his phone is a pre paid chip, hence no contract, hence no contact information. The phone has seen activity (calls in and out) up to today, so it is obvious that he is blocking my calls. The bank confided in me that this is a check from an account that has been closed for a while and that the signature on the check does not match any of the signatures on record. Furthermore, the account never behaved in a manner that would afford this purchase. I went to the police and even though they know it's a fraud, the local laws take this as a "intent to cheat a citizen" (forged signature).

I have the serial number of the watch. I have the scammer's temporary cell phone. I have a high res pic of the driver's license of the person who picked up the watch. What I don't have is my watch or the money that should replace the watch.

Go to the police with the DL info. Update us!

[jmp909]

Originally Posted by GOB

This has yet to end fellas.... The local police is after this guy. The driver has to check in every Monday and until the funds are returned to me or the watch shows up, he is guilty of the crime. The lady who made the deposit has been linked to three other events just like mine (no driver involved, but the same modus operandis). We have tracked down the IP address of the mastermind behind it all and this week we should get the address of the account used to send the email. It's not over and I am hopeful that the parties involved will be in jail or I get my money back.

Oh, and regarding the Yacht Master, sold it on Saturday, only to get this piece yesterday

Should have read farther down. Congrats! Stick it to 'em. Can you press charges like we can in the overly litigious USA

[Baco Noir]

Justice may be slow, but it sounds like the system is working. You were right not to lower yourself to their standards to try to make things right. As they say, two wrongs don't make a right. I'm guessing the AP is helping dull the pain in the meantime! Congrats on the new acquisition.

[GOB]

Just because I'm not going to "let this go", figured some may be interested in what has happened since. The AP is gone due to a faulty mechanism that would make the watch just stop randomly. Since that model has no second hand, makes it difficult to determine when exactly the issue rose up. Long story short, I returned it and instead came back to Rolex. It's pretty, but I'm longing for something else already.....



Regarding the scam, the taxi driver still reports every Monday. Paperwork now at another governmental office and since we went through Presidential elections a few weeks back, all cases are "behind schedule". I've given up on hoping to get my watch back and catching all parties involved, but I will not rest until the taxi driver pays me back for my watch, even if that means he has to sell his car and make payments for the remainder. If he walks, then I'll chalk it up to an extremely expensive learning lesson.

[Travelair007]

Originally Posted by GOB

Just because I'm not going to "let this go", figured some may be interested in what has happened since. The AP is gone due to a faulty mechanism that would make the watch just stop randomly. Since that model has no second hand, makes it difficult to determine when exactly the issue rose up. Long story short, I returned it and instead came back to Rolex. It's pretty, but I'm longing for something else already.....



Regarding the scam, the taxi driver still reports every Monday. Paperwork now at another governmental office and since we went through Presidential elections a few weeks back, all cases are "behind schedule". I've given up on hoping to get my watch back and catching all parties involved, but I will not rest until the taxi driver pays me back for my watch, even if that means he has to sell his car and make payments for the remainder. If he walks, then I'll chalk it up to an extremely expensive learning lesson.

I just read your story for the first time....really sorry this happened to you.... I'm surprised and also disappointed in the AP...??!?

But regardless, nice Rolex......!!! Wear it in good health and stay SAFE!

[jvmartin]

This has happened to every dealer friend I know... please everyone remember... this is a common scam run by many people around the world... NEVER ship or hand a watch over until at least the day after the deposit was made. This includes when payment has been made with bank wire. I have seen a 50k wire reversed due to hacking. I would usually ask for a copy of the deposit receipt, bank wire confirmation, etc. in order to further verify the payment method.

[locutus49]

Man that sucks. In a way, the bank is at fault for not specifying the nature of the deposit. I would have drawn the same conclusion, that the money was in the bank.

In America you might have recourse. In Panama, I don't know.

Sorry for your problem.

[AbsolutelyROLEX!]

Also so sorry to hear, myself being the victim of a scam I know what its like....

[yasto36]

go to the "dark side", these guys are scum & need to be fixed.
Retribution is necessary - you won't become "one of the them" - maybe a Republican though!!!

[reecester]

Any updates?

Originally Posted by GOB

Just because I'm not going to "let this go", figured some may be interested in what has happened since. The AP is gone due to a faulty mechanism that would make the watch just stop randomly. Since that model has no second hand, makes it difficult to determine when exactly the issue rose up. Long story short, I returned it and instead came back to Rolex. It's pretty, but I'm longing for something else already.....



Regarding the scam, the taxi driver still reports every Monday. Paperwork now at another governmental office and since we went through Presidential elections a few weeks back, all cases are "behind schedule". I've given up on hoping to get my watch back and catching all parties involved, but I will not rest until the taxi driver pays me back for my watch, even if that means he has to sell his car and make payments for the remainder. If he walks, then I'll chalk it up to an extremely expensive learning lesson.

[thewatchguy1]

That sucks! Sorry to hear that

[GOB]

Even though I'm not a masochist, I'm also not a quitter, hence this saga still continues. Not much has changed on my end, but a couple of weeks ago, a person got in touch with me as he was also the victim of a scam identical to mine. Top top it off, the same woman that deposited the stolen check with no funds used on my case, was the same woman that did the same exact thing to him. As in my case, the "messenger" used in his case claims to have no knowledge of the woman as he was merely "running an errand".

The Rolex pictured above was sold a day before its 1 year old birthday and replaced with a Patek 5167, but that one too is gone now and replaced by an Apple Watch Sport. Yes, that is not a typo. Potential changes in the work environment/job security have led me to "simplify things in life".