Help needed - hit by con artist - a sad day !

[militaria.no]

I think the time has come for an own section in the Community Forums part of this forum. We have Collections Display Forum – we need:

Collections for Sale Forum
- this is where you can post pictures of expensive militaria items or collections you have been offered. Maybe other waf-members recognize these as belonging to themselves or someone else.

Here we can drop by and see if we recognise anything suspicious. Most collectors are active on Internet and recognize pictures and items we have seen. If someone gets an offer too good to be true a Collections for Sale Forum here on WAF might prevent many frauds.

Like if Douglas had posted these pictures in a Forum like this I would have recognized them right away! Hey, the pictures belong to norsk41elev in Norway!!!!!

[petopoint]

Bitten

A discouraging tale indeed. As far as the KC is concerned, whether it was $370 or $3700 it's all profit for this thief. He will crop up again and using another alias attempt to scam another unfortunate. His greed may be his downfall if we diligently keep an eye out for other "deals" and then string him along until he could be traced and dealt with by Interpol. Hope you nail this scamsucker.

[juoneen]

BBBBRRRTTTTT!!!!! bbbbrrrtttt!!!!!! bbbrrRRTTTT!!!!

I still believe unless the forum sets up representatives in all countries through honest members who are well known, and those go betweens act as the middle men, not only holding the money for the seller, and making sure the buyers come in person with the items within three days , and do the transfer in person for a fee to both sides involved,OR... NEVER buy or sell, outside your own country.

I have suggested this over and over on deaf ears, and if you like supporting the rest of the worlds bums, its time to put a stop to all deals international without setting up a bonded network .

To pay in anybody elses name but the seller will not protect you if you use pay pal.That is an old trick and right away you should have realized that is NO NO!! I suggest the collectors from that country know who the seller is, and you know greece is broke , and so are most of its citizens .(not to mention romania, cz especially,eastern bloc countries, and more who have found greedy idiots who think they are really going to get something for very little from someone who doesn't know what they have(they have nothing). WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE.

Even good buyers and sellers across the waters suddenly dissappear when the right big deal finally presents itself, and they need to buy something to add to their own collections at your expense . SO do not sell or buy from the waf or any other forums it is a conflict of interest. So forget e stand and hunt the woodwork rich in your own back yard , and stop being lazy(the US is the best place in the world to hunt ) ?

This suggestion to involve police from other countries is ludicrous, as THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN PRIOR TO DOING THE DEAL ... scammers know it costs more to try and recover 5G's if you are not a citizen of that countryand dont expect internet police as they are virtually non existant cause it always is.

I dont care what the foreigners collectors say about their honesty, It is YOUR responsibility to remember if it seems too good to be true, it is.If a network cannot be set up by bonded members who are honest, let them find their items where they live. Now will you believe me that strangers who you think are your friends here are nothing but strangers(friends are people you would risk you life for not acquaintances who still are strangers) . Its time to take the hit, and unless you have the bucks and hire an international investigator to drop in and see the seller in person, you are out the money and the same creeps will do it again and again a few here, a few there as the chumps surface with their greed not only as sellers , but as buyers. Now go ahead and lets see who dislikes my idea, as the ones who would disagree are highly suspect as supporters of the crooks . Honest folks will agree, and back off all together and this includes selling to international dealersalso. Make them fly to your country in person and make your prices 1/2 times higher or forget them too. Names not mentioned to protect the innocent not referring to anyone who frequents here or buys and sells on the waf (disclaimer).

[norsk41elv]

I had innocently posted many of the Luft awards that belong to norsk41evl on the appropriate forum section and no pictures were recconaized as belonging to him ( all good - 1 is fake) .
Regards Douglas

It was a pity I did not see this thread, then you would have been warned!
However - it is not true that one of them is a copy (all are original)

Regards
JT

[Douglas 5]

Sorry for posting your awards - Jo'rn :... it might not be your award , not all the pictures I got are yours ??
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...39#post5598139

Regards, Douglas

[Hank C.]

I still believe unless the forum sets up representatives in all countries through honest members who are well known, and those go betweens act as the middle men, not only holding the money for the seller, and making sure the buyers come in person with the items within three days , and do the transfer in person for a fee to both sides involved,OR... NEVER buy or sell, outside your own country. ...edit...

Dude, who has the time to do all that? It's a nice idea, but unless buyers/sellers get a professional escrow service involved, that's never going to happen. Most of us barely have time for our jobs/families/etc. as is. I can't even imagine being a go-between for a huge collection and tens of thousands of dollars. And you think the forum should do it? Or be responsible for it?

Sorry - this is off-topic for this thread. I guess we could discuss in collector community forum.

Douglas, my sympathies to you. This one was far beyond the usual "stolen pictures" con. I hope there's some sort of relief or repayment down the road. For the rest of us, it's that much more of a lesson in "be careful".

best
Hank

[Douglas 5]

I had posted some of the stolen pictures a week before I paid . As Matthieu mentioned earlier a picture marking is a good idea and worth taking a serious look at . If I had seen this mark on any of the pictures I would have dropped him instantly ... as they were not 'new / recent pictures' he was taking for me .
Pictures should have a personal and or a forum display watermark ... so one knows if these were lifted somewhere . This type of mark would help guide you quickly to the correct place , saving valuable time looking for them . I spent probably close to 50 hours comparing grouping and searching for the same pictures .
How can we improve our chances to fight crime and protect ourselves . I see this as something we and the forum can work on . Watermarking . ... a few do it already . .. and I am not sure what is involved here - or if you need software for it ..

To the moderators/ owners of the forum : the question I place ; Can we make picture watermarking (Forum ID ) automaticly added to any picture that anyone down loads to show on the forum . Anyone lifting a picture - it is permanent . The owner still has the unmarked original .
Note the 100s of pictures I got ... not one watermark !!
We cannot stop crime ... but lets try and make it harder for them !

Regards, Douglas

[Tony T-S]

Douglas I'm not sure all pictures can be immediately watermarked because Members can only post via a hosting site. I would imagine that the photos of Association members can be however.

My sympathies to you, I hope this gets sorted. It is my greatest fear.

[all1knew]

Douglas,

How much are you out total?

I've got $50.00 of it for you.

If I ever feel something fishy is going on I always ask for photos of the item in question on a recent and dated newspaper to help determine if they have it in hand. Just food for thought, and in no way am I trying to rub salt in the wounds.

William Kramer

[Franco]

Collectors should never buy anything from Romania.I was nearly scamed with an ss helmet listed on an on-line auction site.When I tried to send an e-mail to the address in Romania it was returned undelivered.I reported it and three lots from the seller were removed.

[Matthieu]

Douglas,
If I ever feel something fishy is going on I always ask for photos of the item in question on a recent and dated newspaper to help determine if they have it in hand. Just food for thought, and in no way am I trying to rub salt in the wounds.

Good idea .... I have done similar in the past .... or photo next to their passport .

[Dennis J]

Sad story

All of these pictures are from my collection here in Norway.
I have not posted any of these items for sale, so you are clearly exposed to a fraud ! I still have the whole collection.

I hope you are able to track this scumbag !!

Regards
JT

I had it happen to me 10 years ago when I started using the internet.I posted some pics of rare helmets and saw them later for sale on the internet.That's why I don't share many pics. now unless I know you real well.


Dennis J

[Flemming]

If you cannot get the money back from your bank, saying that you have putted the money in the wrong account?

.

It if works like in Denmark, then this wont work. If you do a bank transfer, and accidently type the wrong account number, then you Can consinder the money lost.
The Reciever is Not obligated to send the money back to you, and the bank May Not take the money either.

@Dauglas
I really feel sorry for you, I really hope you will get your money back, one way or another.

Best regards
Flemming

[Douglas 5]

Dear members:

Over the last 24 hours the response has been surprising and my wife Elizabeth and I would like to express our sincere gratitude heart felt thanks for the many replies and even financial support that has been offered .

God bless: D&E

[ValhallaMilitaria]

I doubt that he is laughing, his kind seldom do as that would indicate at least a modicum of humanity. A souless parasite stealing the 'smart' way on the internet where he not only 'feels' safe but most likely is safe....stories like this really piss me off....
I hope this does work out for you.
Eric

Yes Samo ... a most elaborate scam not even going into decusion details , we talked about banks and the econmy where he was forced to leave Greece to find work in Romania ... etc and where he could not talk for 2 days as his best friend had been killed in a car accident . We sent a condolence card electronicly as most would do .... /// ... he is probably still laughing about that one .
Yes the wife and I realize the cost that can occure may end up more than the lost amount .
Filing a complaint here may have only little effect . Unless he travels to BC - then he may be arrested for fraud ?? A report by us would have to be filed in Romania in person or lawyer . Not sure how things would work . Proof that he never owner the awards , meaning the original owner has to go there or be represented by a lawyer ... and so on , ... and yes lots involved .

Douglas