VMARS ####


V.M.A.R.S.

 

The Vintage and Military Amateur Radio Society
Scam Warnings
Ours is largely a friendly hobby, but unfortunately out there is a form of low-life that will try anything to extract money from unsuspecting people.  The following was published in VMARS Newsletter 46 (May 2006)

I recently sold my ********  on eBay for a high price and duly shipped it to the buyer in the US (item no:********). Several bidders for my ********* asked questions so in answering them I got to know one or two of them.

I've just had an email from one of the bidders I got to know saying that he has had a second chance offer sent to him for the very same ********** with the same item No claiming that it didn't sell or I had several. Only the seller can send a second chance offer so this has to be a scam and eBay confirms it. Presumably this pseudo second chance offer was an invitation to pay for a non-existent item or an invitation to give someone your bank details. I wonder how many other bidders have had the same offer?"

There are other variations of Ebay scams about so beware!!

 

Then two other members each had enquiries about items advertised on the VMARS website along the lines of 

"I saw your ads posted which am really interested in purchasing from you. Kindly get back to me these details as soon as possible.
1) The present condition.
2) Exact Price.
3) Send picture.
4) Pickup arrangement though I’ve a reliable shipper who use to take care of my shipment that can come for the pickup.
5) Payment by cheque will be fine for me."

These were from a "David Gowland" and a "Mark Liane". Sounds innocent enough doesn't it?  Further correspondence led to:

I have a CLIENT of my that is owning me some Fund in United Kingdom that will issue you the cheque of (£2000) soon as you receive the cheque and when cleared from the bank, you will deduct the cost of the item and the remaining balance will be send to the Shipper through western union money transfer for the pick up from your location.

This is a well known scam for either money laundering, or an exercise in bouncing cheques, which results in you (the seller) sending the buyer a large amount of money (in this case £1,980) in "change". 
The rather strange English is another clue.

And finally, someone who appears not to be a VMARS member at all, approached the Brooklands Museum enquiring about some radio equipment they had for sale. Museums usually try and pass unwanted equipment along to other museums as a first choice. This person claimed that he represented VMARS officially, and wanted the equipment for the "VMARS museum"!

So the advice is: take nothing on trust from people that appear out of the blue with no credentials, such as a provable mailing address and landline phone number. (All VMARS members have a verified mailing address.) If you are offered a phone number, ring it back and check the person is real. Check things out with other VMARS members. Don't let the scammers wreck our hobby!

A useful website is www.scam.com . It can also be very revealing to copy a few words from any suspect emails into Google and see what turns up!