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SCAM ALERT == Superman #2-149 DC Golden Age 152 Comic Run Collection

Started by tabcom,

89 posts in this topic

Sauce Dog

Sauce Dog

Posted
Posted

I contacted the seller asking for pics of all the CGC labels and they sent along this download (contains pictures of every issue in the lot, including CGC slabs). Good reference just in case somebody else tries to use these images for other auctions.

 

www.sendspace.com/file/zew1nb

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comicdonna

comicdonna

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Wow.. this genius swiped my old listing. He was so lazy in doing this that he even kept Ross' phone number in the description!

 

I'm part of the eBay EMR program and will report this right away. I try to keep up with the boards to catch stuff like this.

I remember that listing. That was quite some time ago.

 

What is Ebay EMR program?

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BrianHoward

BrianHoward

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Posted
Wow.. this genius swiped my old listing. He was so lazy in doing this that he even kept Ross' phone number in the description!

 

I'm part of the eBay EMR program and will report this right away. I try to keep up with the boards to catch stuff like this.

I remember that listing. That was quite some time ago.

 

What is Ebay EMR program?

 

Enhanced Member Reporting. It's an advanced reporting program created a while ago to utilize trusted members/experts to help police the site for fraud, violations, etc..

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Doohickamabob

Doohickamabob

Posted
Posted
Wow.. this genius swiped my old listing. He was so lazy in doing this that he even kept Ross' phone number in the description! I'm part of the eBay EMR program and will report this right away. I try to keep up with the boards to catch stuff like this.

 

Wait -- this is your old listing?

 

The reason I ask is because it is hard to tell, looking at this scam, that the scam is not being done by Ross Koondel / NeatStuff. Is the phone number legitimate, and does it mean that Koondel has been receiving phone calls about this listing? Wouldn't/shouldn't he be screaming bloody murder that somebody is perpetrating a scam using his name and telephone number? (Maybe he is...but if so, why has eBay allowed the listing to remain live?)

 

From what I have observed, this exact scam was done just over 3 months ago.

 

In early November, an identical listing was posted by a user named "rammanviper." He is no longer a registered eBay user, but he had an eBay history dating back to 2004. (The new listing was by osiris72, who has a history dating back to 2009.)

 

Obviously rammanviper and osiris72 are the same person with multiple accounts. Feedback history shows that rammanviper made bids on items such as home theater projectors, though he was non-paying and the account was suspended probably sometime in November (not long after his Superman scam ended). Osiris72 seems to have bought or sold camera equipment, video games, and women's clothing. One of his item listings shows his location as Springfield, Missouri.

 

Here's how the scam appears to work: After the high bidder wins, the seller emails saying he'd prefer to do a wire transfer because his PayPal account has a limit on how much money it can receive. (Who knows, the seller might actually SET a limit so that PayPal automatically refuses payment.)

 

The seller then offers the winning bidder a discount if he agrees to the wire transfer -- say, 8% off, which means hundreds of dollars. Pretty solid incentive, right?

 

The seller then calls and reports HIS OWN ACCOUNT as having been "hijacked." He claims he didn't post the listing, but it was hacked by somebody else. This gives him deniability in case of any consequences down the road. eBay cancels the listing, but the seller still has the buyer's contact information and can keep trying to convince the buyer to do the wire transfer.

 

At that point the seller can receive the wire transfer, never send anything, and not only can he easily get away with it, but eBay itself has destroyed all evidence of the crime.

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BrianHoward

BrianHoward

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Yes, this is our old listing. This person has tried this same thing in the past.

 

If the auction was being done by Neat Stuff then it would have been on our account. The phone number is legitimate and Ross received about 12 calls inquiring about the auction. As soon as Ross became aware of the listing he reported it to eBay and did indeed demand that his contact info was removed. As soon as I became aware of the scam, I did the very same thing. Unfortunately there wasn't a lot of time left on the auction at that point and apparently eBay did not act quickly to address this. I have been on the road, but will call them on Monday to discuss this in more detail.

 

In addition to the action taken to alert eBay, Ross advised everyone that contact us that it is a scam. He urged everyone who contacted him to report it to eBay.

 

If the seller received payment via wire or pretty much any form other than cash/cashier's check/money order then there will be record of him receiving funds and he will be on the hook for the scam.

 

Hopefully nobody fell for it.

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Doohickamabob

Doohickamabob

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Yes, this is our old listing. This person has tried this same thing in the past. .... I have been on the road, but will call them on Monday to discuss this in more detail. ... Hopefully nobody fell for it.

 

A friend of mine has been on the phone with eBay repeatedly to get them to shut down the listing. No luck, eBay is apparently useless. If Ross himself contacted eBay and they still wouldn't cancel the listing, that is really an egregious example of how useless they are.

 

This same friend of mine purposely won the previous listing (in November) to derail the scam. He didn't do so this time because there's a snipe fee each time. I think he should have done it again.

 

In the case of the November listing, the seller was rammanviper. My friend got emails from burton.runion@yahoo.com trying to get him to do a wire transfer. The wire transfer information given was as follows:

 

"The total comes to 11,455 I have limits set by paypal. If you could pay via the bank-to-bank transfer I`ll give you a 7% discount ($802)

Pay to: Moniech Lewis

Bank: City Credit Union

Bank Address: 1500 Marilla, 1B South

Dallas TX 75201 Type:checking

Routing #311079050

Checking #303012040"

 

I assume this is the same guy. I don't know what is involved in receiving a wire transfer. Do you have to show your ID? If so then the scammer might actually be Moniech Lewis. I googled the name and there really is somebody with that name in Dallas.

 

If I were Ross or you, I would pursue this as far as possible since they are seriously endangering your reputation if anybody mistakenly thinks the scam is actually being perpetrated by NeatStuffCollectibles.

 

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jimjum12

jimjum12

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Posted
Yes, this is our old listing. This person has tried this same thing in the past. .... I have been on the road, but will call them on Monday to discuss this in more detail. ... Hopefully nobody fell for it.

 

A friend of mine has been on the phone with eBay repeatedly to get them to shut down the listing. No luck, eBay is apparently useless. If Ross himself contacted eBay and they still wouldn't cancel the listing, that is really an egregious example of how useless they are.

 

This same friend of mine purposely won the previous listing (in November) to derail the scam. He didn't do so this time because there's a snipe fee each time. I think he should have done it again.

 

In the case of the November listing, the seller was rammanviper. My friend got emails from burton.runion@yahoo.com trying to get him to do a wire transfer. The wire transfer information given was as follows:

 

"The total comes to 11,455 I have limits set by paypal. If you could pay via the bank-to-bank transfer I`ll give you a 7% discount ($802)

Pay to: Moniech Lewis

Bank: City Credit Union

Bank Address: 1500 Marilla, 1B South

Dallas TX 75201 Type:checking

Routing #311079050

Checking #303012040"

 

I assume this is the same guy. I don't know what is involved in receiving a wire transfer. Do you have to show your ID? If so then the scammer might actually be Moniech Lewis. I googled the name and there really is somebody with that name in Dallas.

 

If I were Ross or you, I would pursue this as far as possible since they are seriously endangering your reputation if anybody mistakenly thinks the scam is actually being perpetrated by NeatStuffCollectibles.

 

......someone probably has the ability to also hijack the Lewis account from which the transfer would then be transfered AGAIN to an overseas Bank in a country that doesn't recognize U.S. sovreign law.....GOD BLESS....

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

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Doohickamabob

Doohickamabob

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Posted
The phone number is legitimate and Ross received about 12 calls inquiring about the auction. As soon as Ross became aware of the listing he reported it to eBay and did indeed demand that his contact info was removed. As soon as I became aware of the scam, I did the very same thing. Unfortunately there wasn't a lot of time left on the auction at that point and apparently eBay did not act quickly to address this.

 

It occurs to me that if he received 12 calls, he would have received them at various times and not right before the auction ended. So I can't quite understand why "there wasn't much time left" by the time Ross and you complained to eBay. Surely you were aware of the scam at least a few days into it? Or did you only receive phone calls on the last day?

 

Since this scam has been done twice using your name and business, I would recommend you run an eBay search on your own name and have it send you an email whenever there is a positive hit.

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BrianHoward

BrianHoward

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Yes, this is our old listing. This person has tried this same thing in the past. .... I have been on the road, but will call them on Monday to discuss this in more detail. ... Hopefully nobody fell for it.

 

A friend of mine has been on the phone with eBay repeatedly to get them to shut down the listing. No luck, eBay is apparently useless. If Ross himself contacted eBay and they still wouldn't cancel the listing, that is really an egregious example of how useless they are.

 

This same friend of mine purposely won the previous listing (in November) to derail the scam. He didn't do so this time because there's a snipe fee each time. I think he should have done it again.

 

In the case of the November listing, the seller was rammanviper. My friend got emails from burton.runion@yahoo.com trying to get him to do a wire transfer. The wire transfer information given was as follows:

 

"The total comes to 11,455 I have limits set by paypal. If you could pay via the bank-to-bank transfer I`ll give you a 7% discount ($802)

Pay to: Moniech Lewis

Bank: City Credit Union

Bank Address: 1500 Marilla, 1B South

Dallas TX 75201 Type:checking

Routing #311079050

Checking #303012040"

 

I assume this is the same guy. I don't know what is involved in receiving a wire transfer. Do you have to show your ID? If so then the scammer might actually be Moniech Lewis. I googled the name and there really is somebody with that name in Dallas.

 

If I were Ross or you, I would pursue this as far as possible since they are seriously endangering your reputation if anybody mistakenly thinks the scam is actually being perpetrated by NeatStuffCollectibles.

 

Great Detective work!

 

I have been on the road so I didn't catch this earlier or get the chance to call my eBay contacts about it, but I will do so on Monday. Usually when I report something through EMR it takes a few days, but they do act. I didn't see this thread until there was around 2 days left so I guess that just wasn't enough time (which is why I said there wasn't enough time). Unfortunately most people wait until close to the end of the auction, and in many cases the final hours, to make contact. I agree that they need to be more agile about stuff like this. They do take these things very seriously.

 

I'll be sharing your excellent findings with them, so if you have anymore info feel free to PM me.

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BrianHoward

BrianHoward

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Posted
The phone number is legitimate and Ross received about 12 calls inquiring about the auction. As soon as Ross became aware of the listing he reported it to eBay and did indeed demand that his contact info was removed. As soon as I became aware of the scam, I did the very same thing. Unfortunately there wasn't a lot of time left on the auction at that point and apparently eBay did not act quickly to address this.

 

It occurs to me that if he received 12 calls, he would have received them at various times and not right before the auction ended. So I can't quite understand why "there wasn't much time left" by the time Ross and you complained to eBay. Surely you were aware of the scam at least a few days into it? Or did you only receive phone calls on the last day?

 

Since this scam has been done twice using your name and business, I would recommend you run an eBay search on your own name and have it send you an email whenever there is a positive hit.

 

Yes, most people wait until the final days to make contact. Whatever the case, eBay was contacted prior to auction close and should have taken action before the auction ended.

 

Great idea on the ebay search, I'll do that.

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Doohickamabob

Doohickamabob

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Great Detective work! I have been on the road so I didn't catch this earlier or get the chance to call my eBay contacts about it, but I will do so on Monday. Usually when I report something through EMR it takes a few days, but they do act.

Thank you, and thanks for the follow-up messages. Most of the detective work was done by a friend of mine (though part of the reason he has been investigating these scams is because of earlier stories I had told him about Action Comics #1 frauds, etc.). I really hope nobody got suckered in by today's listing. An unwary person with dreams of doubling their money by reselling the comics individually might instead find all their savings gone.

 

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Doohickamabob

Doohickamabob

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Yes, most people wait until the final days to make contact. Whatever the case, eBay was contacted prior to auction close and should have taken action before the auction ended.

Incidentally, did you or Ross telephone eBay to inform them your name, business and phone number were being used to perpetrate fraud? Or just email them a report?

 

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Doohickamabob

Doohickamabob

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Ross emailed them even before I found out about it. I've been on the road all week so I will call them on Monday

What happened there? I notice the listing is still up (auction ended, but findable in the user's completed listings) and the user's account is still active. eBay does not seem to be taking yours and Ross's reports and phone calls seriously, or maybe they are okay with people impersonating established dealers to make fraudulent sales?

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