SCAMMER ALERT
 

I was attempting to buy lifters from SLOWBIRD on here. SLOWBIRD had NO part in the crap, was just selling an item. I received an email from "Mike Clinton" claiming to be Slowbird. I figured I may have purchased from him before and he had my email. Well, it wasn't him and they got $150 from me. No worries, I will find them out

i got the same email claiming to be Mike s here on some parts listed right around the time the forum had issues a week or so ago. i sent him a pm and he never replied so i figured it was a hacker, gave me 2 different e-mails to reply to.

sorry to hear that.. thanks for the heads up

Don't buy anything from someone you can't talk to and get a feel from. Ask specific questions about the item items.

A few years ago, I had advertised a Ford 9.5" ring and pinion on Racingjunk. I got a message from what sounded like a scammer, wanting to buy it. I sent a reply with "apologies, I forgot to put in my ad that it only fits the (made-up-goofy-name) Ford axle. Do you have this type?". When they answered "yes" I knew I'd blown their cover.

Eric

Well done, you.

I was selling some Jeep tire/wheel assemblies which, obviously, would have a very specific bolt circle and pattern.

When I had someone express interest in "the item" I had for sale I knew it was a scam.

I strung them out long enough that I got bored and then called 'em out on it.

K

Yes, the best advice is try to get a phone number and ask him specific details about the item and you can even make stuff up about item and get them to agree to it and then slam them

I had someone respond to my request for an 11B block. $300 shipped....lol. Asked them to provide me with pictures of the block that has a card showing today's date. They disappeared. A couple months ago my 62 GP showed up for sale on ebay. You have to be really careful these days.

Put out a wanted add for a 421 block. Got a private message from an Alexanderson who said contact my uncle. Seen he just joined py and his so called uncle sent me some magazine pics. Wanted to use fenmo. Strung um along then called um out.

I'll say it again: the best thing to do is report these PM's to the moderators so we can deal with them as soon as possible. It's not worth your time playing with them.

You should never communicate in ad threads.

PM the seller, that way nobody but you and the seller knows that you’re a buyer.

Protect yourself, always send any kind of personal or business communication when you’re here on the forums in a private message.

If you do let potential scammers see you communicating here on the open forums then you’re making yourself a target unfortunately. Learn to recognize broken English. Any improper use of person, plurality or tense should be recognizable.

Finally DO NOT display your email, just because the forums gives you that option doesn’t make it safe. Scammers will use it to try to fool you. Share your email with potential buyers or sellers by PM only.

Would it be possible to lock down the for sale / wanted section of the forum to members with x number of posts?

It's a shame these scammers ruin things, buying off forums was a great way to find nice stuff from like minded people. You really have to be extra careful these days.

It’s scammers taking advantage of members who use the classifieds, not scammers posting ads in the classifieds.

The classifieds are running just fine as they are, people just have to stay on their guard.

Using the proper payment methods to protect yourself would stop you from becoming a victim, be smarter than the scammers. If you’re not truly familiar with who you’re dealing with you must use a payment method that offers the ability to get your money back which usually requires paying additional fees, otherwise you’re just rolling the dice.

What I meant was locking down access to the entire for sale section similar to the clubhouse section but based on postcount rather than password based.

Ive tried to get a 10 10 rule put in place for new posters to curb this but so far the higher ups havent made it happen.

Ive messaged the owner on this and got nowhere.
Some Mods agree with me,some dont.
Even thru this I still think this is the best site out there and thank them for the privilege .