The Rolex Forums   The Rolex Watch

ROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEX


Go Back   Rolex Forums - Rolex Forum > Classifieds > WatchOut!!!

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 31 August 2024, 01:54 PM   #1
duckowner
2024 Pledge Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Real Name: Bao Ngo
Location: Concord, CA
Watch: GMT IIc 116710LN
Posts: 176
Buy the seller, not the watch. I have been scammed.

I am here not asking for sympathy, ridicule, or laugh at. Just a warning about an individual. It is a long story so I just want to thank those that will read this. Thank you.
As a longtime member on the forum, I have learned so much about watches and making friends along the way. I saw an ad for sale from a member named aawatches80, and he told me in the emails and call conversation his name is White Diane living in Miami, Florida, that he listed for a date just 41mm 126234 and I contacted him. He emailed back and after he sent me 2 refs, they both checked out (I am now thinking they are both bogus as well.) I proceeded to deposit to his Chase account the money the next day. He then asked if I would like to buy his "2023 Batgirl" and gave me a very good price, I then sent him more money. He then told me he would drop the watches at his local USPS in Miami, FL. He then sent me a label showing his name as the sender and mine as the recipient. The next day he emailed me stating that USPS just emailed him letting him know due to weather and technical issues, the package will not be updated in their system and that the delivery will be for Wednesday, 8/28/2024. Now this is 4 days after I sent him the money. He also emailed me asking me to send him the remaining $5000 for the watches, at this time, I started to worry and contacted him. He texted me back stating he needed the money since his company sent him to Germany for a meeting. I declined and called USPS and was told by a customer rep that USPS never sent out an email to anyone. I have been trying to call, text, and email him but of course he has since been gone. His phone number is 305-998-3186. When I took the photo of his " Florida" driver license to my local police dept here in Concord, CA., an officer here told me this was in fact a fake driver license. I have contacted a trusted seller here on the forum since he lives in Floridia to see if he can help but he told me the money is gone. The old advice: Buy the seller but not the watch is so true. This guy even has the gut to write a positive review about me on the forum the day he asked me sent him more money. When I logged into my account the next day, I was informed that my account has been banned due to phishing issue. I have requested and granted by the Mod to reopen my account. I am writing this long warning, so all of the members here just watch out for this individual
__________________
GMT 116710. I have never complained about how heavy the load is, I always work on having a stronger back.

Last edited by duckowner; 31 August 2024 at 02:00 PM.. Reason: Spelling
duckowner is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31 August 2024, 02:06 PM   #2
Gearjockey
"TRF" Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: USA
Posts: 589
Very sorry to hear about this.
Many of us (myself included) have had a difficult learning experience with private purchases, some more painful than others. I realize this may sound insensitive but ultimately, it’s just money and hopefully you will forget about it soon.
Gearjockey is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31 August 2024, 02:24 PM   #3
ArtNouveau
2024 Pledge Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: NWA, USA
Watch: BLRO/Daytona/OP41s
Posts: 5,367
Sorry to hear. I have bought and sold many watches person to person over the years but won’t do it anymore. Too many tire kickers on the low end and too many scammers at the higher end.
ArtNouveau is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31 August 2024, 02:28 PM   #4
duckowner
2024 Pledge Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Real Name: Bao Ngo
Location: Concord, CA
Watch: GMT IIc 116710LN
Posts: 176
The money I sent him is my saving for over 3 years. He is still on the forum listing the same watch and he last logged in on 8/27/2024. I hope Mod will ban this guy.
__________________
GMT 116710. I have never complained about how heavy the load is, I always work on having a stronger back.
duckowner is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31 August 2024, 02:29 PM   #5
Ursusarctos
"TRF" Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Real Name: Andy
Location: Canada
Watch: 126613ln
Posts: 37
Thanks for sharing your experience. More reason to wait for my AD to have another watch for me. I get that many have success with other venues but stories like this one are awful. I'm pretty certain, based on watching many videos, that I'd not be able to determine the difference between the most recent fakes and a real Rolex.
Ursusarctos is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31 August 2024, 02:38 PM   #6
daysky1
"TRF" Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2020
Location: Earth
Posts: 434
I was almost the victim of fraud by a supposedly legitimate gray Market dealer. fortunately for me I used PayPal as the intermediary for the payment and I filed it dispute payPal investigated and refunded my money. It's a long story I really don't want to get into it at this time but even though somebody has a long history and supposedly a stellar reputation doesn't mean much when it comes to them wanting your money.
daysky1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31 August 2024, 02:40 PM   #7
puma1552
"TRF" Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2023
Location: USA
Posts: 716
So you got banned here, and the scammer didn't?
puma1552 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31 August 2024, 02:42 PM   #8
duckowner
2024 Pledge Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Real Name: Bao Ngo
Location: Concord, CA
Watch: GMT IIc 116710LN
Posts: 176
Yes. For some reason TRF forum banned me but since has restored my account after they verified my identity. Guess what, that guy is still here listing the same watch on this forum. Check out aawatches80 listing a date just in the for-sale section dated 8/16.
__________________
GMT 116710. I have never complained about how heavy the load is, I always work on having a stronger back.
duckowner is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31 August 2024, 02:44 PM   #9
KatGirl
2024 SubLV41 Pledge Member
 
KatGirl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Real Name: Kat
Location: CA, USA
Watch: 126233 Wimbledon T
Posts: 7,138
I’m really sorry you got scammed. I had a 5 digit Sub I loved stolen, and had no insurance, so I know the feeling. I had to tell myself it’s just stuff. Sometimes , bad stuff happens to us. But things will get better. Chin up!

Kat


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
KatGirl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31 August 2024, 02:46 PM   #10
duckowner
2024 Pledge Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Real Name: Bao Ngo
Location: Concord, CA
Watch: GMT IIc 116710LN
Posts: 176
The mod informed me that my account was compromised and phishing issues. I emailed and requested my account be restored, paid the fee, and after the Mod was able to verify my identity, he or she reopened the account thus I am able to report my incident to this forum.
__________________
GMT 116710. I have never complained about how heavy the load is, I always work on having a stronger back.
duckowner is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31 August 2024, 02:53 PM   #11
996marty
"TRF" Member
 
996marty's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2019
Location: Uk
Watch: RolexGMT/Tudor7928
Posts: 4,181
Sorry to hear your story. It’s unfortunate that we get scum like this infiltrating the site just to bring misery on people and financial gain for themselves
996marty is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31 August 2024, 02:54 PM   #12
duckowner
2024 Pledge Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Real Name: Bao Ngo
Location: Concord, CA
Watch: GMT IIc 116710LN
Posts: 176
I received an email on this forum from a guy named luckypiper asking for ref for DavidSW, and of course I gave David a glowing review since I have bought and sold at least 4 watches with David and next thing I knew was my account was compromised. Mod told me, via email, that I must have clickedh is email and that was how my account got compromised.
__________________
GMT 116710. I have never complained about how heavy the load is, I always work on having a stronger back.
duckowner is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31 August 2024, 02:57 PM   #13
Socal Runner
2024 Pledge Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Los Angeles
Watch: Day-Date
Posts: 253
Very sorry about this. What a bummer. No legitimate dealer or seller would ever send a watch USPS. Fed ex or UPS only. References prior always a necessity. Sorry you had to go through this.
Socal Runner is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31 August 2024, 03:06 PM   #14
Mr. Superlative
"TRF" Member
 
Mr. Superlative's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Planet Earth
Watch: Me Now
Posts: 854
Very sorry to hear this news. Thank you for taking the time to share.
Mr. Superlative is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31 August 2024, 04:11 PM   #15
tike71
"TRF" Member
 
Join Date: May 2020
Location: NV
Posts: 270
I'll parrot what I posted in another thread. Scammers use multiple hijacked accounts to provide false references. A quick look at a scammer's post history can indicate when an account got hijacked; usually when they start posting a bunch of useless comments within a short time span. Also compare past sold listings to current ones to note any changes in writing style or contact info.
__________________
2FA Enabled
tike71 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31 August 2024, 04:27 PM   #16
1259
"TRF" Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2022
Location: California
Posts: 342
Sorry to hear. Hope you get some justice.
1259 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31 August 2024, 04:41 PM   #17
joli160
2024 SubLV41 Pledge Member
 
joli160's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: NL
Watch: Yachtmaster
Posts: 14,745
Terrible, I feel for you
__________________
Day Date 18238, Yachtmaster 16622, Deepsea 116660, Submariner 116619, SkyD 326935, DJ 178271, DJ 69158, Yachtmaster 169622, GMT 116713LN, GMT 126711.
joli160 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31 August 2024, 04:51 PM   #18
xrole
"TRF" Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Cuckooclockland
Posts: 555
Quote:
Originally Posted by duckowner View Post
I am here not asking for sympathy, ridicule, or laugh at. Just a warning about an individual. It is a long story so I just want to thank those that will read this. Thank you.
As a longtime member on the forum, I have learned so much about watches and making friends along the way. I saw an ad for sale from a member named aawatches80, and he told me in the emails and call conversation his name is White Diane living in Miami, Florida, that he listed for a date just 41mm 126234 and I contacted him. He emailed back and after he sent me 2 refs, they both checked out (I am now thinking they are both bogus as well.) I proceeded to deposit to his Chase account the money the next day. He then asked if I would like to buy his "2023 Batgirl" and gave me a very good price, I then sent him more money. He then told me he would drop the watches at his local USPS in Miami, FL. He then sent me a label showing his name as the sender and mine as the recipient. The next day he emailed me stating that USPS just emailed him letting him know due to weather and technical issues, the package will not be updated in their system and that the delivery will be for Wednesday, 8/28/2024. Now this is 4 days after I sent him the money. He also emailed me asking me to send him the remaining $5000 for the watches, at this time, I started to worry and contacted him. He texted me back stating he needed the money since his company sent him to Germany for a meeting. I declined and called USPS and was told by a customer rep that USPS never sent out an email to anyone. I have been trying to call, text, and email him but of course he has since been gone. His phone number is 305-998-3186. When I took the photo of his " Florida" driver license to my local police dept here in Concord, CA., an officer here told me this was in fact a fake driver license. I have contacted a trusted seller here on the forum since he lives in Floridia to see if he can help but he told me the money is gone. The old advice: Buy the seller but not the watch is so true. This guy even has the gut to write a positive review about me on the forum the day he asked me sent him more money. When I logged into my account the next day, I was informed that my account has been banned due to phishing issue. I have requested and granted by the Mod to reopen my account. I am writing this long warning, so all of the members here just watch out for this individual
Sorry to hear this that really sucks, but just the name itself would have raised a red warning flag. White Diane? It's a womans name, just reversed.
xrole is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31 August 2024, 05:11 PM   #19
basicxj
"TRF" Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2023
Location: north of the 49th
Posts: 3
I am sorry someone scammed you. In doing a little searching online with that username, there is an "aawatches80" with an online profile on various platforms, though the watch content seems to revolve around Cartier and JLC rather than Rolex. The poster claims to be a surgeon out of New York.

I wouldn't be surprised if the scammer simply registered here with a found username for legitimacy or used phishing to compromise an existing registered account here on the forum. I used to moderate an online forum not connected to watches years back, and you'd be surprised at what information can be available to moderators when they do a little digging. I won't speak for mods on this forum and what they have access to, but sometimes registration emails and IP address data exists which could potentially reveal location data or other online identities for the scammer, provided it wasn't spoofed, proxied or VPN'd. Scammers tend to think of themselves as "smart," but you can often find breadcrumbs to who/where they actually are with some help from a moderator that could prove useful to law enforcement.
basicxj is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31 August 2024, 05:39 PM   #20
Gerardus
"TRF" Member
 
Gerardus's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Real Name: Gerardus
Location: often in the air
Watch: ♕
Posts: 12,131
Quote:
Originally Posted by xrole View Post
sorry to hear this that really sucks, but just the name itself would have raised a red warning flag. White diane? It's a womans name, just reversed.

x2
__________________

♕126610 ♕126333 ♕116300
Gerardus is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31 August 2024, 06:06 PM   #21
waterman1
2024 Pledge Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: USA
Posts: 889
I am sorry this happened to you.
What I find really insane is that this person is still on this forum and waiting for the next victim. Is there not a way to identify this person and go after them legally. Isn’t there an investigative branch of the FBI that targets internet crime like this? And can the moderators of this site get involved along with the police to root this person out? Sorry I don’t have answers - just questions , but scumbags like this need to go.
waterman1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31 August 2024, 06:15 PM   #22
fooey
"TRF" Member
 
fooey's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2019
Real Name: marco
Location: UK
Watch: Quite a few now!
Posts: 1,319
This is very grim!
I wonder what % of Watch listing's on here are actually scams?

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk
fooey is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31 August 2024, 07:47 PM   #23
Ali1009
"TRF" Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2020
Location: Uk
Posts: 50
Really sorry to hear this. I have bought watches privately in the past, and have always bought the watches in person. I have never done a transaction and paid before receiving. If anyone is thinking of purchasing privately don't, be put off by the OPs experience. Just do your due diligence. There are a lot of good private sellers
Ali1009 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4 September 2024, 10:41 PM   #24
Exceeder
2024 Pledge Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2024
Real Name: Mike
Location: US
Watch: explorer II
Posts: 131
That sucks man, it’s a minefield out there
Exceeder is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4 September 2024, 10:50 PM   #25
Bazil
2024 Pledge Member
 
Bazil's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2022
Real Name: Bazil Brush
Location: Star Gazing
Watch: Any Daytona
Posts: 3,460
Horrible this, some rotten people out there ..
__________________
<a href=https://ibb.co/P5C6k8z target=_blank>https://ibb.co/P5C6k8z</a>
One day, it just stops ticking, so enjoy every second
If you have no enemies, you have no character. Taking a stand always creates opposition.
Paul Newman

Being Serious = Onto the list you go
Bazil is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4 September 2024, 11:34 PM   #26
brandrea
2024 SubLV41 Pledge Member
 
brandrea's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Real Name: Brian (TBone)
Location: canada
Watch: es make me smile
Posts: 77,942
Dry sorry to read this OP.

Did you file a police report? I wonder if there is any way to track down this character by following the money …
brandrea is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 8 September 2024, 03:42 AM   #27
Daryl
2024 SubLV41 Pledge Member
 
Daryl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: USA
Posts: 3,423
I’m sorry to hear this 🥲


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
__________________
2FA-Enabled


Official Member "Perpetual 30" Las Vegas International GTG 2016
Official Member "WIS-CON" Las Vegas International GTG 2017
Official Member "WIS-CON" Las Vegas International GTG 2019
Daryl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 8 September 2024, 03:52 AM   #28
subtona
"TRF" Member
 
subtona's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Real Name: gus
Location: East Coast
Watch: APK & sometimes Y
Posts: 26,583
thanks for sharing the education. hopefully this helps someone in the future.

hopefully your scammer gets hit by a train.
__________________
subtona is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10 September 2024, 04:01 AM   #29
PeterKelly
2024 Pledge Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2023
Location: Vancouver BC
Posts: 31
Fortunately scamming someone is just inconceivable to the vast majority of us on this planet. I have bought and sold many expensive cameras and lenses on various photography boards without any issues and I have never heard of a scam in this area.

I guess high value watches are “ hot items” and relatively easy to trade which attracts the criminal element. I am now ultra cautious and avoid private deals unless I can thoroughly check out the seller through a variety of independent means.

I feel for the OP - what a horrible experience!
PeterKelly is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 14 September 2024, 11:30 AM   #30
southtexas
2024 ROLEX SUBMARINER 41 Pledge Member
 
southtexas's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Great State of TX
Posts: 5,761
Quote:
Originally Posted by Socal Runner View Post
Very sorry about this. What a bummer. No legitimate dealer or seller would ever send a watch USPS. Fed ex or UPS only. References prior always a necessity. Sorry you had to go through this.

To be clear, this is not correct. USPS registered is used.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
__________________
Forty six & 2 are just ahead of me.

Follow me on Instagram @ccrolex
southtexas is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Asset Appeal

Wrist Aficionado

DavidSW Watches

Takuya Watches

OCWatches


*Banners Of The Month*
This space is provided to horological resources.





Copyright ©2004-2024, The Rolex Forums. All Rights Reserved.

ROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEX

Rolex is a registered trademark of ROLEX USA. The Rolex Forums is not affiliated with ROLEX USA in any way.