Classified Ads: I got scammed

[ye1low]

Hi all.
I'm reposting this from the S4 classified adds since I contacted some of you on here about a bumper cover for my B6 A4 and want to give you a follow-up.

Public Service Announcement:
So I got scammed (almost).

My A4 B6 recently got rear ended and I was looking for a S4 bumper cover in good condition minus parking sensors and reflectors. I have a few leads on here from legit members (Thank you all that reached out to me) but they all required filling in parking sensor holes ect.

I then got a mysterious message from a member "Grivust", ZERO posts and only joined Sept. 30th 2023. Big red flag here but anyway he goes on to say to contact "Michael Wilkerson" and that Grivust has bought rims from Michael and they arrived in top notch condition.

I contact Michael (via email, He's NOT a member here) and he sends me a pic of a bumper in pristine condition and wants $150 shipped. He wants payment via PayPal friends and family. All good up to this point.

His first PayPal email gets rejected multiple times from PayPal. I contact PayPal and they say its his account that has been flagged and not mine. I reach out to Michael and he provides his daughter’s account. That gets flagged too!
I then tell him this is a little weird but he insists on cashapp. I HATED those money apps on my phone and they are really more of an invitation for scams than anything good. Knowing that if I sent cash this would be a once and done thing considering none of my payment is secure at this point. I email him and tell him there are too many red flags for me to keep going. He writes back saying he's and "old fart and religious and all this crap". I let pressure take over me and I send the cash either way knowing that $150 isn't going to kill me in the long run. This time the account is "Nick Ramsour" (odd it's not even related to his name and the account is registered in Cali)

Cash app takes the payment and Michael confirms he will send it out today with a tracking number. An hour or so later while I was at home depot I get a notification from Cashapp that they reversed the payment in efforts to protect my account. Now I know for sure Michael, Grivust, and Nick are probably all the same people or multiple people trolling this site looking for prime opportunities to cash in.

I writing this for a multiple of reasons. 1.) Overall the Audizine community is a caring, honest and helpful environment of guys really truly willing to help others. That was the reason I wanted to buy from here rather than some recycler or parts house. 2.) Just because someone pretends to know you from here or has been referred by a member do your homework. If things don't add up; its probably in your best bet to let the deal go and move on.

Go luck guys and be safe!

[09SCiduA]

I got scammed for the same amount on a front fender...sent money to his GF's PayPal account and he got it and has been in radio silence since...due diligence needs to be highly regarded these days! I was pretty bummed and still haven't found what I was after...oh well...Stat vigilant and thabks for the reminder that Audi folk are good peeps and that scammers are all over!

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

[Audibot]

Hi all.
I'm reposting this from the S4 classified adds since I contacted some of you on here about a bumper cover for my B6 A4 and want to give you a follow-up.

Public Service Announcement:
So I got scammed (almost).

My A4 B6 recently got rear ended and I was looking for a S4 bumper cover in good condition minus parking sensors and reflectors. I have a few leads on here from legit members (Thank you all that reached out to me) but they all required filling in parking sensor holes ect.

I then got a mysterious message from a member "Grivust", ZERO posts and only joined Sept. 30th 2023. Big red flag here but anyway he goes on to say to contact "Michael Wilkerson" and that Grivust has bought rims from Michael and they arrived in top notch condition.

I contact Michael (via email, He's NOT a member here) and he sends me a pic of a bumper in pristine condition and wants $150 shipped. He wants payment via PayPal friends and family. All good up to this point.

His first PayPal email gets rejected multiple times from PayPal. I contact PayPal and they say its his account that has been flagged and not mine. I reach out to Michael and he provides his daughter’s account. That gets flagged too!
I then tell him this is a little weird but he insists on cashapp. I HATED those money apps on my phone and they are really more of an invitation for scams than anything good. Knowing that if I sent cash this would be a once and done thing considering none of my payment is secure at this point. I email him and tell him there are too many red flags for me to keep going. He writes back saying he's and "old fart and religious and all this crap". I let pressure take over me and I send the cash either way knowing that $150 isn't going to kill me in the long run. This time the account is "Nick Ramsour" (odd it's not even related to his name and the account is registered in Cali)

Cash app takes the payment and Michael confirms he will send it out today with a tracking number. An hour or so later while I was at home depot I get a notification from Cashapp that they reversed the payment in efforts to protect my account. Now I know for sure Michael, Grivust, and Nick are probably all the same people or multiple people trolling this site looking for prime opportunities to cash in.

I writing this for a multiple of reasons. 1.) Overall the Audizine community is a caring, honest and helpful environment of guys really truly willing to help others. That was the reason I wanted to buy from here rather than some recycler or parts house. 2.) Just because someone pretends to know you from here or has been referred by a member do your homework. If things don't add up; its probably in your best bet to let the deal go and move on.

Go luck guys and be safe!

Ouch! Sorry to hear that dude! Thanks for the PSA. Let me know if you still need that bumper--I never do Friends and Family for this very reason.

Funny enough, first time someone mentioned "cash app", I thought it was a totally fake app.

[ye1low]

I got scammed for the same amount on a front fender...sent money to his GF's PayPal account and he got it and has been in radio silence since...due diligence needs to be highly regarded these days! I was pretty bummed and still haven't found what I was after...oh well...Stat vigilant and thabks for the reminder that Audi folk are good peeps and that scammers are all over!

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

Same guy?? Man we need to get his name out there (although he will probably ever use that name again) so other's don't fall into his crap.

[EuroxS4]

Guys I cannot stress this enough. Never ever use cashapp,venmo, zelle or friends and family to send money to people you don't know. There is little to zero recourse if you get scammed. These assholes are everywhere most are Nigerian cocksucking mother******s. Always pay via paypal via goods and services. Otherwise tell them to go fuck themselves but before you let them know what up make sure to report them first. This has gotten so out of control they are practically in every facebook group, forum and marketplace known to mankind even on IG I had a asshole contact me there and try to scam me. I know this because I dealt with these assholes on all those platforms. It's gotten to the point where facebook groups their "buddies" will say buy from this guy he is legit and has good prices. It's all a scam if the price is too good to be true then it is. Another hat trick is they find a reputable business and make a copycat account and accept payments only via cashapp, venmo, zelle or friends and family. Goods and services or tell them to go fuck themselves. They don't like goods and services as paypal holds those funds before they can be transfered out of the account. That girlfriend account shit is all bullshit, what they do is hack an account and use that account to funnel money through it, once they have the funds they then send the money out of the country. Once it's out of the country it's as good as gone. I know plenty of people that have been scammed on FB enthusiast's groups for vw audi and everything else in between. Don't fall for the bullshit.

[BumblebVR6]

Hi all.
I'm reposting this from the S4 classified adds since I contacted some of you on here about a bumper cover for my B6 A4 and want to give you a follow-up.

Public Service Announcement:
So I got scammed (almost).

My A4 B6 recently got rear ended and I was looking for a S4 bumper cover in good condition minus parking sensors and reflectors. I have a few leads on here from legit members (Thank you all that reached out to me) but they all required filling in parking sensor holes ect.

I then got a mysterious message from a member "Grivust", ZERO posts and only joined Sept. 30th 2023. Big red flag here but anyway he goes on to say to contact "Michael Wilkerson" and that Grivust has bought rims from Michael and they arrived in top notch condition.

I contact Michael (via email, He's NOT a member here) and he sends me a pic of a bumper in pristine condition and wants $150 shipped. He wants payment via PayPal friends and family. All good up to this point.

His first PayPal email gets rejected multiple times from PayPal. I contact PayPal and they say its his account that has been flagged and not mine. I reach out to Michael and he provides his daughter’s account. That gets flagged too!
I then tell him this is a little weird but he insists on cashapp. I HATED those money apps on my phone and they are really more of an invitation for scams than anything good. Knowing that if I sent cash this would be a once and done thing considering none of my payment is secure at this point. I email him and tell him there are too many red flags for me to keep going. He writes back saying he's and "old fart and religious and all this crap". I let pressure take over me and I send the cash either way knowing that $150 isn't going to kill me in the long run. This time the account is "Nick Ramsour" (odd it's not even related to his name and the account is registered in Cali)

Cash app takes the payment and Michael confirms he will send it out today with a tracking number. An hour or so later while I was at home depot I get a notification from Cashapp that they reversed the payment in efforts to protect my account. Now I know for sure Michael, Grivust, and Nick are probably all the same people or multiple people trolling this site looking for prime opportunities to cash in.

I writing this for a multiple of reasons. 1.) Overall the Audizine community is a caring, honest and helpful environment of guys really truly willing to help others. That was the reason I wanted to buy from here rather than some recycler or parts house. 2.) Just because someone pretends to know you from here or has been referred by a member do your homework. If things don't add up; its probably in your best bet to let the deal go and move on.

Go luck guys and be safe!

I have a A4 bumper in Houston if you still need. I have no use for it. Its moro blue and has been repaired/repainted before, but solid other than that.