Scammers

[Lastronin]

Hi don’t ussally do this but needs must.

i made a wanted add looking for giga target or valor target. 
got this reply within an hour . 
off a member who just joined. 
Clearly dosnt know how hard to find they are.

so thought I’d let everyone know

[Tackle]

@Jimmydxty is gone, good riddance ?

[Lastronin]

That was quick good job ?

[Cannonfodder]

This is one of the reasons I like this forum, scamming twats are dealt with quickly 

[Tackle]

5 hours ago, Lastronin said:

That was quick good job ?

Unfortunately he'll be back with a new name, I wish we had a more permanent option ??

[Galvatron]

I reckon exposing the dirty laundry of scammers in public is a good thing.

[Jez_Armstrong]

21 hours ago, Tackle said:

@Jimmydxty is gone, good riddance ?

He is back 

 

 

[Cannonfodder]

It'd be a shame if someone was to add the dickhead's e mail to a particularly dodgy mailing list

[Jez_Armstrong]

Unfortunately it might just be a burner 

 

But do it 

[Tackle]

@Martinjjx, you're becoming a bit of a nuisance ?, say bye?

[Enid_Puceflange]

@Tackle

 

This guy is prolific 

 

[Tackle]

2 hours ago, Enid_Puceflange said:

@Tackle

 

This guy is prolific 

 

Blimey, he's in to everything,  so many hobbies?, he's clearly single lol.

 

Seriously though, how on earth do you combat this ?, vpn's mean you can't hope to ip block, I'm guessing those aren't solely uk forums, so does it go back to blocking new members from certain countries or regions ?

[Enid_Puceflange]

10 hours ago, Tackle said:

Blimey, he's in to everything,  so many hobbies?, he's clearly single lol.

 

Seriously though, how on earth do you combat this ?, vpn's mean you can't hope to ip block, I'm guessing those aren't solely uk forums, so does it go back to blocking new members from certain countries or regions ?

Could we not have a rule, before you can do ANYTHING after joining that you MUST post on the “new players” page

An introduction of yourself that must be passed by an admin?

 

Just a brain fart thought ??‍♂️

[Herrgh]

1 hour ago, Enid_Puceflange said:

Could we not have a rule, before you can do ANYTHING after joining that you MUST post on the “new players” page

An introduction of yourself that must be passed by an admin?

 

Just a brain fart thought ??‍♂️

 

We definitely need some sort of filter to stop immediate access to the classifieds. This could work.

 

Alternatively go the SomethingAwful route and charge money for Account Registration. A mere £2.50, for example, would go a long way towards heading off scamming types, and defray some of AFUK's operating costs. But that comes with the disadvantages of putting off genuine casual potential users and needing to set up some way to handle money/personal info. So I like @Enid_Puceflange's idea.

[Tackle]

But surely anybody can say whatever like in an introduction thread, pretty sure it wont be like:

"Gor blimey guvnor, an introduction thread, you've got me bang to rights & no mistake"

[Daveoc33]

On another forum there's a 50 post minimum before you get access to the classifieds section. It's not a bad idea I don't think. It's a pain if you're new and want to buy/sell stuff but it would definitely prevent a few scammers like this guy. Also I can't be the only one who gets a bit nervous when someone with 0 post count who joined 5 mins ago wants to buy something of mine. 

[Herrgh]

7 hours ago, Tackle said:

But surely anybody can say whatever like in an introduction thread, pretty sure it wont be like:

"Gor blimey guvnor, an introduction thread, you've got me bang to rights & no mistake"

 

It's not about what they say, it's about making them post in the first place. Scammers won't be inclined to post at all, because they just want access to the classifieds, so any casual scammers will be instantly blocked.

 

This would likely also frustrate any bots or any scammers using automated tools specifically tweaked to this forum's software (as there is now a step that requires human intervention).

[Enid_Puceflange]

8 minutes ago, Herrgh said:

 

It's not about what they say, it's about making them post in the first place. Scammers won't be inclined to post at all, because they just want access to the classifieds, so any casual scammers will be instantly blocked.

 

This would likely also frustrate any bots or any scammers using automated tools specifically tweaked to this forum's software (as there is now a step that requires human intervention).

Yup, anything that takes effort will possibly discourage them.

plus the wait for the post to be “approved” would hopefully encourage them to shuffle off elsewhere

[Airpig41]

2 hours ago, Daveoc33 said:

On another forum there's a 50 post minimum before you get access to the classifieds section. It's not a bad idea I don't think. It's a pain if you're new and want to buy/sell stuff but it would definitely prevent a few scammers like this guy. Also I can't be the only one who gets a bit nervous when someone with 0 post count who joined 5 mins ago wants to buy something of mine. 

I'm on a forum like this and it can't stop the scammers 100% (what can!!) but you can quickly tell by a members posts if they are serious about the hobby and as stated before in this thread, they would likely give up before they reach 50 'meaningful' posts.

[Tackle]

1 hour ago, Herrgh said:

 

It's not about what they say, it's about making them post in the first place. Scammers won't be inclined to post at all, because they just want access to the classifieds, so any casual scammers will be instantly blocked.

 

This would likely also frustrate any bots or any scammers using automated tools specifically tweaked to this forum's software (as there is now a step that requires human intervention).

Don't get me wrong, anything that deters them I agree with, but we've seen so many different attempts, regular appearing sales threads, wanted ads being targeted, & even people introducing themselves & engaging in very public chit chat in an apparent attempt to integrate & appear trustworthy, before making their scam attempts. 

& let's not forget the sob stories, "my friend/brother/son is sick or has passed away unexpectedly, I've got all this stuff here & I don't know what it's worth but there's bills to pay", all in the knowledge that there'll be someone who'll throw caution to the wind to get a quick bargain.

 

Membership approval (maybe the demi mods can help filter those ?), blanket bans on certain countries or regions, & post limits before access to classifieds is granted all sound viable.

[Cannonfodder]

Unfortunately there's not much that can be done to make sure the forum is completely free of scammers, just do enough to put them off. I like the idea of having a post count before getting access to the classifieds. Sure this might put off people who only want to buy/sell but if they're not engaging with the rest of the forum are they going to be missed?

 

Imo the most effective way of staying on top of any scammers is to have admin who are quick to deal with any who rear their ugly heads and a community who look out for each other and aren't afraid to call out bullshit. Fortunately this place is pretty good at that, especially compared to other forums or social media platforms 

[Jez_Armstrong]

4 hours ago, Daveoc33 said:

On another forum there's a 50 post minimum before you get access to the classifieds section. It's not a bad idea I don't think. It's a pain if you're new and want to buy/sell stuff but it would definitely prevent a few scammers like this guy. Also I can't be the only one who gets a bit nervous when someone with 0 post count who joined 5 mins ago wants to buy something of mine. 

The problem is this dickhead is going through Pm's

[Daveoc33]

1 hour ago, Jez_Armstrong said:

6 hours ago, Daveoc33 said:

On another forum there's a 50 post minimum before you get access to the classifieds section. It's not a bad idea I don't think. It's a pain if you're new and want to buy/sell stuff but it would definitely prevent a few scammers like this guy. Also I can't be the only one who gets a bit nervous when someone with 0 post count who joined 5 mins ago wants to buy something of mine. 

Expand  

The problem is this dickhead is going through Pm's

Sure, but if he doesn't have access to classified section he can't see anything wanted or for sale. So he won't know who to pm. If that makes sense.. 

[Rogerborg]

The reality is that there's a hard core of determined scammers who are determined to scam.  They'll come back again and again and again, and jump through any hoop in order to get access to victims.

 

So I'm going to be a little contrarian and suggest that - while it's great that accounts are getting squished when they're spotted - ultimately this is a caveat emptor issue.

 

Could we add a big warning on signup, or on the first post in the classifieds?

 

 

[Tackle]

Very true, & regarding "buyer beware", I wonder how many buyers that get scammed, primarily on here as it's probably the busiest UK forum, are the types who just sign up for the classifieds access, without reading other threads, in particular the horror stories & warnings regarding scams & sending money ?.

One might argue that those are the people that bring it on themselves, & are technically the "enablers" that the scammers rely upon ?.