SCAMMER ALERT: Sammy Howell and collinshoward36.

[dudefe]

Hi All,

Please be aware that there SCAMMERS on this forum that go by the names of collinshoward36 and Sammy Howell. collinshoward36 will tell you to reach out to Sammy Howell [email protected] for whatever part you are looking for to buy. In my case it was 3 Blade Prop. I sent money via PayPal to Mercy Chepngetich [email protected]. He told me that He mailed it and I never received and has stopped responding to my email. Putting all this information out so no one else can get SCAMMED!!

[Xrayted]

This is one of the oldest classified scams around. Someone post a WTB ad, them someone else contacts you telling you he has a buddy that just happens to have exactly what you need, and then directs your communication outside of the forum. There is no "them", its all the same guy that you are communicating with.

And let me guess, you paid with some form of unsecured payment rather than Paypal goods and services, so no way to get it back? Sorry you got taken, but there is no "Sammy Howell or collinshoward 36". These are offshore scams from Nigeria, and all emails or phone numbers you are given are spoofed, and not really where anything is coming from. Its the same guys doing the Nigerian prince and romance scams, and they are prolific in ANY classified forum of any kind. This one should be instantly recognized just like the Nigerian Prince scam, because its been around for many years.

So many red flags, yet people line up to hand their money over to these guys. Seriously, why would some random guy that just signed up and joined the forum with zero post the same day, just so happen to go to the classified ads to see if there might be someone there that needs something his "buddy" might have? And then pay this total stranger using a forum of unsecured payment? The whole thing should be obviously ridiculous and one giant red flag to anyone.

You are also helping the scammers get you by posting your phone number in your post. NEVER post personal contact info openly on any web forums! The scammers look for people in the classifieds that are working deals with others like yourself, and when they see you make a deal, they will contact you by text/email or whatever they can find about you in a Google search, and reach out to you pretending to be the legitimate person on the forum you were dealing with and trick you into paying them instead. Then the buyer thinks he paid the real seller, and accuses him of being a scammer, when the real seller never made any deal or was paid by anyone. All because someone posted their contact info for them to see.

This is a huge problem on this forum, and so many people foolishly post their full names, emails or phone numbers here for the scammers to use, and the scammers dont even need to join the forum for this scam. Just simply sit and watch the classifieds and wait for an "I'll take it" and then Google search the buyers username to see if they have ever been foolish enough to post their info for everyone to see in any of their post. You handed yours right to them on a silver platter, so they didn't even need to search.

There is a possibility to get your money back if by chance you used PP friends and family with a credit card. Call the CC company directly and see if they will refund you. My guess is they got you with Zelle or something like that since they typically won't accept anything else (which is another big red flag), and your screwed if so.

[Xrayted]

Oh, I was also fooled by him. So bad.

Really? You literally just created your account, so please tell us exactly how you managed to get taken on a forum you weren't even a member of until just now? You are just another new scammer account, and everyone here knows it

[Xrayted]

And yet to this day, you still haven't deleted your phone number that you keep placing in many of your post. You are handing your contact info directly to the scammers, and that is how you got taken this time, yet are doing nothing about it. The Admin cant do anything to help people that foolishly post their their real names, phone numbers and emails on a public forum for the entire world to see. It's not 1960s any more, and people on the internet are not your friends. You are the reason you got taken, and its going to happen again if you keep handing your contact info to the scammers

[Notoriousone]

This is why I only buy anything online with Paypal. If you get scammed by a seller or online business that you used Paypal to pay, one 10 minute phone call with Paypal customer service is all it takes and they reverse the transaction and you get your money back..

[Xrayted]

Correct. The number one way to shut all of this down is for people to stop paying strangers on the internet with unsecured forms of payment like Zelle, etc, and only use PayPal Goods and services. Even if someone is foolish enough to post personal info and get contacted by scammers, they will magically disappear if you insist on paying with a secure form of payment

[dudefe]

For all to understand
I did not post any personal info. I posted a wanted to buy. I was contacted in the post on this forum. I payed using PayPal good and services. I have been in this hobby for a very long time and I am on many other forums that closely monitor who joins. Thank you for your comments. I have learned a valuable lesson from this forum.

[Xrayted]

You have posted your phone number on this forum asking people to text you. This IS personal info! This how one ends up getting contacted by scammers pretending to be an actual seller in a deal you might be involved in, trying to trick you into paying them instead. They dont even need to be a member, as all they do is sit and watch the classifieds until they see someone publicly post "I'll take it", and then immediately do simple Google search to see if either party has posted any contact info of any kind publicly that they can use to impersonate and scam either party.

It seems you fell for the old classic "I got a friend that has exactly what you want" scam, but you shouldn't have any issues getting your money back then if you used PP G&S, so at least that's a win. Its odd as the scammers will typically not accept PP G&S and will disappear if you insist