TromboneChat

Hey everyone, I thought I would share this with anybody here so they don't get scammed either.

A couple of weeks ago I posted a wanted ad for a Schilke 60 CV bass trombone mouthpiece. I also posted the ad over at trombone.org classifieds. I was contacted by a person by the name of Moss Recely. He appeared to have the knowledge of bass trombone mouthpieces and equipment. I tend to believe that he is a musician as he would have knowledge that most people who do not play trombone would not have.

We negotiated a price of $200 and he gave me his address which is in Marietta Georgia. He told me his wife worked at Walmart and he gave me her name and had me send a MoneyGram to her there. The money was picked up and since that time there has been no communication from them regarding the mouthpiece. It looks like I've been taken for $200. I just wanted to share this story with everybody in case this person contacts them and tries to scam them for money too.

Only use paypal.

Quote from: SethMatrix on Aug 10, 2017, 09:57AMOnly use paypal.

Lesson learned. I just find a disheartening that a fellow trombone player would do this to one of their own.

Quote from: DFWtrombonist on Aug 10, 2017, 09:59AMLesson learned. I just find a disheartening that a fellow trombone player would do this to one of their own.

Seriously doubt he was a bone player!

FWIW I live in Marietta GA. I have never heard of a Moss Recely,but I will ask around.What was his alleged wife's name and which Walmart was it.

I almost got scammed like that for the silversonic I posted about. The wanted me to send it thru Walmart,  never not use PayPal

Quote from: bonearzt on Aug 10, 2017, 11:10AMSeriously doubt he was a bone player!

Well, he definitely knew a few things about trombone mouthpieces that the average person would not know.

Quote from: John McKevitt on Aug 10, 2017, 02:13PMFWIW I live in Marietta GA. I have never heard of a Moss Recely,but I will ask around.What was his alleged wife's name and which Walmart was it.

His wife's name was Teresa. I'm not sure which Walmart it was.

Quote from: Anointed1984 on Aug 10, 2017, 02:16PMI almost got scammed like that for the silversonic I posted about. The wanted me to send it thru Walmart,  never not use PayPal

I will only use that in the future.

Quote from: DFWtrombonist on Aug 10, 2017, 03:56PMWell, he definitely knew a few things about trombone mouthpieces that the average person would not know.
www.google.com

Just adding this. There is another person doing something eerily similar.

The name is Tamara N. Norris. This guy is operating in Wisconsin. Claims to have multiples trombones and asks for the same type of Wal*Mart money gram.

Well, this story has a happy ending. I called Wal-Mart's customer service number for the money transfers to report the fraud. It turns out the money was never picked up after over a week and a half. They issued a refund to me and stopped payment to the scammer.

Quote from: DFWtrombonist on Aug 10, 2017, 05:01PMWell, this story has a happy ending. I called Wal-Mart's customer service number for the money transfers to report the fraud. It turns out the money was never picked up after over a week and a half. They issued a refund to me and stopped payment to the scammer.

Sweet!

Folks, as a reminder:

Unless you are buying from someone you know (or otherwise trust because of their track record), ALWAY pay using PayPal and make it a purchase.  Yes, you may have to cover the PayPal fee (usually 3%) but you will have protection against scams.

I always thought these kind of deals were done out near the abandoned warehouses -- you each show up with your whole gang and toss your briefcases at the same time. When you both open the case and see that it only contains rocks, your gangs can both open fire with submachine guns and/or bust out the nunchucks and brass knuckles.

Or that you used PayPal. How is moneygram and western union even a thing anymore? I'm pretty sure it's only used by Nigerian princes now.

The WalMart money center is busy from opening to close, with long lines.

Being poor is very expensive.  If you make minimum wage you don't have a bank account, can't afford the fees.  You cash your check, pay your bills, send money at walmart.  Of course they charge a fee to cover their personnel costs and that fee is significant.
 

Quote from: harrison.t.reed on Aug 11, 2017, 05:10AMI always thought these kind of deals were done out near the abandoned warehouses -- you each show up with your whole gang and toss your briefcases at the same time. When you both open the case and see that it only contains rocks, your gangs can both open fire with submachine guns and/or bust out the nunchucks and brass knuckles.

Or that you used PayPal. How is moneygram and western union even a thing anymore? I'm pretty sure it's only used by Nigerian princes now.

I used Money Gram to send money to my daughter in Poland when she was ripped off and had no money. Surprisingly it worked perfectly but it was my only option for quick results. Last I checked I'm not a Nigerian princess.

Quote from: wgwbassbone on Aug 11, 2017, 09:01AM Last I checked I'm not a Nigerian princess.

They have mail-in dna tests now - you should find out once and for all... you might be surprised! 

I was recently contacted by the  Nigerian Consulate saying that a long lost relative that passed had left me over 2 million in his will. A courier will be bringing a box with the money.All I have to do is give them $897 upfront for their costs. Damn I am lucky.

That's fantastic news!  $900 is a pretty small investment to get $2M.  I wish I had your luck.

Could we keep this pinned in the top of this classified section, and keep it updates ??

I would like to see a compilation, a  more complete list of
Scammers. A list with their emails what sites they contacted you through and
where are they located if known. Apparently this is Worldwide, as I have been contacted  by Scammers thru posts I put on German and UK sites. Over a period of 3 yrs I had collected over $10,000
in useless checks for instruments I was selling.

  Quote from: DFWtrombonist on Aug 10, 2017, 05:01PMWell, this story has a happy ending. I called Wal-Mart's customer service number for the money transfers to report the fraud. It turns out the money was never picked up after over a week and a half. They issued a refund to me and stopped payment to the scammer.

Moss Recely? I'm pretty sure that's a city on Tatooine.

Quote from: robcat2075 on Oct 25, 2017, 07:01AMMoss Recely? I'm pretty sure that's a city on Tatooine.


That'd be Mos Eisley - but close enough.  LOL

Another offer from "chris adams" [url=mailto:[email protected]][email protected][/url] to buy my 10h. Here's his pathetic story.

"Am okay with the price and am ready to buy it i'll mail a bank certified check to you because I'm in Marine Corp Base Camp so i can't come in person,i will setup pickup arrangement once the check clear your bank, I will be responsible for the pickup arrangement after the check i send to you clear through your bank.. If you Agreed to this, Kindly get back to me with your full name and your mailing address to send the check..Thanks"

Don't fall for this crap. I wish there were a way to report it to someone who would give this guy something productive to do like picking up soap in Dannemora.

I did loose $50 buying an Edwards leadpipe from a guy here on the forum.  His forum name was "thesoulbone" and he never sent the pipe and quit communicating with me.  I did use PayPal but used the friends and family option and they wouldn't do anything about it. Be warned.

Quote from: hyperbolica on Nov 30, 2017, 07:40AMAnother offer from "chris adams" [url=mailto:[email protected]][email protected][/url] to buy my 10h. Here's his pathetic story.

"Am okay with the price and am ready to buy it i'll mail a bank certified check to you because I'm in Marine Corp Base Camp so i can't come in person,i will setup pickup arrangement once the check clear your bank, I will be responsible for the pickup arrangement after the check i send to you clear through your bank.. If you Agreed to this, Kindly get back to me with your full name and your mailing address to send the check..Thanks"

Don't fall for this crap. I wish there were a way to report it to someone who would give this guy something productive to do like picking up soap in Dannemora.

Agreed that the story sounds very fishy.

But as a general question: If you take a check (personal or bank check) and wait two weeks for it to clear, under what circumstances can you still get burned?  Has somebody actually had a problem with a check on which you waited for clearance?

Quote from: SilverBone on Dec 03, 2017, 01:40AMAgreed that the story sounds very fishy.

But as a general question: If you take a check (personal or bank check) and wait two weeks for it to clear, under what circumstances can you still get burned?  Has somebody actually had a problem with a check on which you waited for clearance?

Well, your first mistake is to believe anything the guy says. One time I played along with one of these to see what would happen, and the story kept changing. I got a series of fake postal money orders for more than the total I had asked for. Then he wanted me to send a check for the difference. The story keeps changing. I gave the fake postal money orders to the postal inspector. In the end, after he'd been caught, he wanted his fake money orders back. Unbelievable gall. I wound up getting 3-4 different names or addresses, none of which matched anything else. They aren't particularly bright.

One thing to be aware of. If you deposit a check that turns out to be fraudulent, you can be held criminally responsible as well.

I got emails from someone interested in a horn I was selling on craigslist. I knew immediately that the guy was a scammer, but I played him along out of curiosity. I wanted to see where it went.

He sent me a bank check via overnight Fedex. I took the check to my bank and asked to see the manager. I told him my suspicions and I just wanted confirmation that the check was bogus. He looked at and quickly agreed it was.

He then informed me of liabilities you face if you deposit a bogus check. I told him he could keep the check and pursue prosecution of the scammer if he wished. He told me that since the $ amount was below $2000, they don't bother...and the scammers know that. They aim below that amount.

Be careful

There are a few red flags that I know of that warn when something isn't legit.

1) They mention that their shipping agent will come by and pick up the horn.
2) The check is for an amount higher than your asking price. And they request that you deposit the check and withdraw the difference to give to the shipping agent.
3) The initial email mentions that they are interested in your 'item'
4) The interested buyer is currently out of the country and that they definitely want to buy. No haggling. They want to do the deal immediately.

I did a little research and can't find anything to support the claim that a depositor of a bad check faces criminal liability.  On the face of it, that seems a silly claim - criminal liability requires intent, and the depositor was acting in good faith with no intent to defraud.

I have deposited checks that turned out to be bad.  The only thing that happened to me was I was assessed a $15 fee for a returned check.