• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

Aaaargh! I responded to a Scammer Dave ad! Am I going to die?

J

JLange2010

Well-Known Member
Responded to his ad for a Marantz 2270 last night. The price seemed way too good so I suspected to find something off. Doing a bit of research here, I quickly found that he is a notorious scammer. But I didn't get an idea of exactly what his scam is.

I'm supposed to meet him this evening. Supposed to call and get an address. Obviously, not going to do that; it is clearly him due to similarities with previous ads. He has my name and phone number.

So what exactly is his game? Am I in mortal danger? Is it just a money scam (none has changed hands) or is he going to show up in the middle of the night with an ax?

Help us, Audio-wan-kakarma. You're our only hope.
 
Register to hide this ad
Thousands of people/companies/organizations have my name and phone number. I know this due to the high volume of robo calls that I get. :mad: Haven't had one yet show up at all, let alone with an ax.
 
rickb119 said:
Thousands of people/companies/organizations have my name and phone number. I know this due to the high volume of robo calls that I get. :mad: Haven't had one yet show up at all, let alone with an ax.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I get super paranoid about personal info these days. And then I remember back when they would publish a book with my name, address and phone number in it and distribute it free to the entire city.
 
He will NEVER EVER agree to meet with you.
He will only take paypal (friends and family) and promise to ship it to you.

He won't actually ship you anything, and using PP f&f they will not help you either.
If you use Goods and services you would have some protection, no protection with F&F.
 
Not sure it could be much of a scam if your physicals going to look at said tuner. Maybe a bait and switch maybe a take your money situation. But if it's close take a couple of buddies with and check it out. I've got deals too good to be true that way:dunno:
 
FWIW, this is clearly the guy. Researching "Scammer Dave" on this site I've seen ads that are identical, placed all over the country. "Will ship". "Call after 7". I've already bowed out from the meeting. If someone in the Seattle area wants to satisfy curiosity, the ad is still up on Craigslist. And hey, maybe you'll pick up a nice Marantz 2270 for $175. But I'm just not the adventurous type.

In the spirit of the day, gonna go listen to some Steely Dan. "The Royal Scam".
 
Last edited:
JLange2010 said:
FWIW, this is clearly the guy. Researching "Scammer Dave" on this site I've seen ads that are identical, placed all over the country. "Will ship". "Call after 7". I've already bowed out from the meeting. If someone in the Seattle area wants to satisfy curiosity, the ad is still up on Craigslist. And hey, maybe you'll pick up a nice Marantz 2270 for $175. But I'm just not the adventurous type.

In the spirit of the day, gonna go listen to some Steely Dan. "The Royal Scam".
Click to expand...

Might want to wear jeans to bed tonight to be safe. I too am curious if he would have given an address (doubtful).
 
  1. There will never be a physical person to person meeting with scammer Dave.
  2. There will never be a "demo" so you can audition your next piece of gear. See number one above.
  3. The likelihood of the existence of the gear in the photos, are practically zero.

Scammer Dave probably scams landlords out of rent, and has to be mobile so lugging around heavy vintage audio equipment, along with other possessions would hamper mobility. Besides, someone would eventually see it, and put two and two together since there is vast 411 out there on the web about this POS.

This is purely speculation on my part so take it with a grain of salt. But I highly doubt Dave is sitting in a nice little McMansion just flush with highly sought after pieces, dusting them off weekly, to snap nicely staged pics, so he can price them so low as to remove all better judgement to it being a scam, chatting victims up, and plan on you coming to audition diddlysquat. He sure as hell isn't about to lug one of these out into John Q. Public-ville, and risk getting knocked upside the head, and robbed or worse. Seriously, think about it. PayPal isn't going to do anything, since it was a F&F deal you chose to willingly participate in, cops won't either. It's easier for them to just take a report, and that will be the end of it.

IF IT SEEMS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT'S MOST LIKELY A SCAM!
 
Yeah, any sort of oddness to the deal would have set off serious alarm bells. Up to the point where I cut it off it was a straightforward go meet him, audition and purchase. I even had the supposed general neighborhood. I have a bit of curiosity about how he could fabricate a story which involved any other circumstance given how it was progressing, but I’m sure something would have come up. I was a bit uneasy because I knew it to be a good deal, but I’m not so intimately familiar with pricing on that piece. So, figured I would see. Glad I did a little research here. Not so much because I think I would have fallen for his scam, but more that I would have wasted the time.
 
JLange2010 said:
Responded to his ad for a Marantz 2270 last night. The price seemed way too good so I suspected to find something off. Doing a bit of research here, I quickly found that he is a notorious scammer. But I didn't get an idea of exactly what his scam is.

I'm supposed to meet him this evening. Supposed to call and get an address. Obviously, not going to do that; it is clearly him due to similarities with previous ads. He has my name and phone number.

So what exactly is his game? Am I in mortal danger? Is it just a money scam (none has changed hands) or is he going to show up in the middle of the night with an ax?

Help us, Audio-wan-kakarma. You're our only hope.
Click to expand...
Get a photo!
 
Wait in the bushes and tell him you got there early and left the money between the 2nd shrub on the left and the pissing Cupid statue, because you had to leave,but you trust him. Wait there,then snap his picture. I suspect you get a 2D image bearing strong characteristics indicating Cormorant or Frigate-bird DNA in a slime-matrix.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom