Warning for possible scam for a fellow member

[Smy404]

If anyone personally knows member Avera, maybe they can help getting in contact with him. I wanted to purchase his 126710BLRO. Sent the money via wire but “Avera” kept saying the funds never showed up. My bank verified the transaction did go through. I have paid several members on here for some watches and they got my wife within a couple hours. Weird thing is up to 2 days after the funds went through this “person” replied one more time saying the funds did not show up. I would have thought they would have cashed out and disappeared.
Friends tip suggested I PM Avera on here. But that feature is turned off.
Just want to let him know that his email has been hijacked with sweep rules.
I did report fraud to my bank but just for formality. I am at peace that the money is gone.

[Chad353]

Originally Posted by Smy404

If anyone personally knows member Avera, maybe they can help getting in contact with him. I wanted to purchase his 126710BLRO. Sent the money via wire but “Avera” kept saying the funds never showed up. My bank verified the transaction did go through. I have paid several members on here for some watches and they got my wife within a couple hours. Weird thing is up to 2 days after the funds went through this “person” replied one more time saying the funds did not show up. I would have thought they would have cashed out and disappeared.
Friends tip suggested I PM Avera on here. But that feature is turned off.
Just want to let him know that his email has been hijacked with sweep rules.
I did report fraud to my bank but just for formality. I am at peace that the money is gone.

I'm sorry to hear that you're having difficulties.

I hope you recover the cash and don't need to become too comfortable losing BLRO kinds of money. That's quite a chunk of cash.

[Cwillis0001]

Originally Posted by Smy404

I am at peace that the money is gone.

Seriously?

[Smy404]

Lol. Yeah not wanting to add stress. If I found the scammer and got face to face, there might be some fowl language thrown but then again what does that do. I think this members account was removed. I just hope (if this member was not in on the scam) finds out why his account was deleted.

[Henrimontgomery]

Sorry this happened to you.

[cdmorenot]

I'm sorry that this continues to happen.

A friendly reminder that excessive diligence is sometimes not enough.

Best of luck to you.

[IsItFridayYet]

Horrible. Sorry this happened to you. Can’t imagine how I’d feel. Can you describe the situation so other members can learn from the situation? Was it a transaction via the forum classifieds?

[harvey]

Have you reported this to the police?

[Dynamin]

Why dont you report this clown to the police??
They can find out where he lives through his IP number

[skipstar]

Sorry to hear this but looks like you definitely got scammed

[Smy404]

Yes that is the goal for this thread.
Yes $16k for a BLRO is kind of low but not too far off. So I search the member. Not too many posts but has been a member since 2015. One review and buyers gave him great remarks. I find his eBay account, as one thread he says he is a scientist/engineer in California. So I email the address on the ad. Strike a deal and I wire. This was a Saturday. I asked did you get it. Person says not yet. I check with my bank Tuesday morning and they said it went through Monday night. I asked the person again and reply is not yet. I start to get suspicious and so I go to my bank and initiate a wire recall. That is when I said $16k see ya!
But I give the person a chance and email saying did you get it yet on Wednesday. Replies and says no. I PM the RF member who did the one purchase on here from Avera and the first thing he says is sounds like a scam. Already started to get to grips on that notion. Wednesday night to now, no more replies.
Hindsight and going forward we all need to talk to the seller on the phone. Face to face is better in a public space with MANY people around. And also get documentation before sending any money.
Here is what I think. Avera account gets hijacked. The scammer installs a “sweep rule” in the email settings. That way any key words that come through gets forwarded to the scammers email. The buyer has no idea their email has been rerouted. This is why I check my settings each week under advanced settings to make sure no sweep rules are placed and no email forwarding address has been added. Now the scammer could just go ahead and change the password and completely lock out the sellers access to their own email. But then the seller would know they have been hacked and do something about their ad.
Not the hard part is how did they hijack this forum. I could be wrong, but they got in and then they change the setting to remove private message options for the member. I am probably correct here. I bet Avera’s log in password on RF was the same for his email.
It is very true. Scammers drive around and park close to homes. They find wifi networks and use sophisticated software to get access. Then they get access by using Ip address to track key strokes and again put in key words like ACH payment, wire, etc thus sending a notification to the scammer the house they broke into is about to deal in paying or receiving money. They they jump in and pretend to be you.
Scary stuff. Luckily years ago my client called me right before she wired $80k to a scammer, but because the email language did not sound like me she called to verify. I was floored. She said she had over 10 emails back and forth with whom she thought it was me. I never even got any emails. If the had clicked send that $80k would have been lost. It was not my email that got hacked, it was my clients.
So please check your email settings frequently and change passwords (hard ones) and even the login ID frequently.

[Smy404]

Originally Posted by Dynamin

Why dont you report this clown to the police??
They can find out where he lives through his IP number

Here is the thing, I wonder if Avera even knows this. So I see if you Google his ad, it comes up somewhere else and it directs a link to this forum. But what that means is others can see his ad, his email, and then track its to him like I did. Then they could get scammed again. Since Avera has been deleted, no way to tell him about this. Now once again he could have been in on it, but no way to tell now.

[Smy404]

Originally Posted by harvey

Have you reported this to the police?

I might do that but you know it’s just paperwork for them and not a priority.
Still might do it just for formality.
John Crestwell is who I sent the money at a Chase Bank account. I bet that is not even Avera’s name.
My only 0.01% chance of seeing my money is if the wire recall I made got to Chase Bank before the scammer could cash out. I have a feeling when I submitted the recall on Tuesday, Chase probably wouldn’t see that until today or next Monday. But that is why I asked why did the scammer email me back on Wednesday when he/she should have been able to cash out on Tuesday.
So maybe that 0.01% is actually 0.05%. And the scammer was not able to cash out due to Chase Bank getting the recall?
Not losing any sleep over that notion.

[Flintstone]

Sorry that happened to you. It looks like you just got a very expensive life lesson. Always buy the seller -- not the watch.

[Brich436]

Report this to your local police immediately.

I have been able to recover wires which were sent fraudulently but you have to act quickly. Time is of the essence because if the fund get outside the US they are gone. If they end up at a US Bank (almost always Bank of America) the funds can be recovered via a seizure warrant by the police.

Good luck!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[harvey]

Please report this to the police. Hopefully members on here will be able to offer further advice.

[Cwillis0001]

This is why I don't understand how some private sellers actually have the balls to insist on wire transfers for payment. They invented things like Venmo and PayPal for a freakin' reason. I'm sorry you got taken.

[Dynamin]

Originally Posted by Cwillis0001

This is why I don't understand how some private sellers actually have the balls to insist on wire transfers for payment. They invented things like Venmo and PayPal for a freakin' reason. I'm sorry you got taken

There are also escrow companies who will keep your money until you have your watch

https://www.escrow.com/buy/watches/rolex

https://valueyourwatch.com/escrow-se...uxury-watches/

[Cwillis0001]

Originally Posted by Dynamin

There are also escrow companies who will keep your money until you have your watch

https://www.escrow.com/buy/watches/rolex

That's a great point, thank you for sharing that. Every time I'm interested in a watch and see it's being sold by some dude whose ad says says "wire transfer only", I read no further. No chance in hell.

[Tim Plains]

Originally Posted by Cwillis0001

This is why I don't understand how some private sellers actually have the balls to insist on wire transfers for payment. They invented things like Venmo and PayPal for a freakin' reason. I'm sorry you got taken.

Countless sellers have been scammed using PayPal. I would never accept it from someone I don't know.

[Cwillis0001]

Originally Posted by Tim Plains

Countless sellers have been scammed using PayPal. I would never accept it from someone I don't know.

Fair enough. What about the newer apps? Venmo, Zelle etc.

[fooey]

I don't think PayPal is a good option!
Get to the police and good luck

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk

[Cwillis0001]

Originally Posted by fooey

I don't think PayPal is a good option!
Get to the police and good luck

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk

I haven't sold anything through PP in many years. I didn't realize it was so scam prone on the seller end.

[Jack T]

Why does the OP not think Avera is the scammer?

[Dynamin]

Originally Posted by Cwillis0001

That's a great point, thank you for sharing that. Every time I'm interested in a watch and see it's being sold by some dude whose ad says says "wire transfer only", I read no further. No chance in hell

Ebay has also added an Escrow to their site

https://www.rolexforums.com/showthre...ghlight=escrow

[Cr_Zeek]

Wow OP must be very wealthy to have made peace with it.

Also, OP you may want to correct wife to wire. I kept reading it again and thinking, why the hell is he sending his wife?

I'd file a police report and start the proceedings. Another reason, I try not to buy from private sellers, only forum sponsors or chrono24 for me.

Thank you.

[Watchandhoop]

If I am buying grey, I only chose to buy from the really reputable on here. Would rather spend the extra 1-2k than to find a random with a "great deal".

[Goatrope]

Sorry OP. Scary to read these stories.

[TimePeaceKeeper]

In any event, thanks for being vulnerable and sharing this to give the rest of us a heads up on these types of scams.

[Cwillis0001]

Originally Posted by TimePeaceKeeper

In any event, thanks for being vulnerable and sharing this to give the rest of us a heads up on these types of scams.

Seconded. It's not easy to admit you've been had in public so my hat is off to the OP for being more concerned with the community than pride. Good man.