Something fishy going on?
Discussion
Hi,
This is probably going to be a long story but I think someone is trying to scam me.
I bought my self a expensive watch online about three weeks (approx 3rd April) a go from a private seller. I done all the checks and even got them to take the back off so I could post various pictures on specialist forums to confirm it was OK. Everything came back OK and I got all the pics I needed. Paid via PayPal and received the watch on time and as described.
However just after I had purchased mine I noticed a duplicated advert on one of the forums, same watch but another location in the country. I emailed the seller and asked if he actually had the watch and if it was for sale. His words were 'sale in progress', next day I emailed again and asked what was happening and he told me it was sold and had just sent it to Canada (4th April). Strange considering I now had the watch. In the end I left it and presumed he was a scam.
Shortly after this I received an email off the same guy saying his watch had been stolen and I was now in possession of it, apparently it was stolen whilst in transit with Parcelforce. Strange..
I asked him for crime number, proof, name/address, Parcelforce number (ref number as I presume they were notified), after numerous attempts he would tell me nothing.
The only was he could prove it was his was by saying there was a scratch on it, well that is useless as I posted lots of high resolution pics which showed everything. PLus it's a vintage model so not new.
I got the admin on the forum involved, they asked me for proof in various ways which I done and then asked the other guy. Again he had nothing and was banned. His last words to me were 'You will never believe this watch is mine so just leave it OK'. Surely if someone had your stolen watch you would have proof, crime numbers and would try a lot harder.
Everything settled down until yesterday when I got a call from the police. Apparently the same guy had been in touch with the same info and the police believe him. This is an old rare vintage watch and this guy did not even know the year of it, It is actually printed in the serial number on the back! He had no knowledge of the watch considering what it was, a real collectors piece.
I REALLY think the guy I bought it from has something to do with this. I think he is working with a friend down south and he had the watch so has some details on it which might seem legit.
It appears the watch was sent on the 31st March (Even though he was selling it on 2/3 April). It was apparently going to Canada so went to a central UK hub with parcel-force and apparently went missing it seems convenient that the parcel-force international depot is in the same city as the guy I bought it from. Maybe he works there and has taken the watch, sold it to me and then his friend is trying to claim it back as stolen.
Nothing makes sense at all. I have quizzed the guy I bought it from and the 'original' owner and both are very vague on the watch.
Sorry if this is confusing to read but it's a real ball ache and I think I am in the process of being scammed. what do you think, any advice?
This is probably going to be a long story but I think someone is trying to scam me.
I bought my self a expensive watch online about three weeks (approx 3rd April) a go from a private seller. I done all the checks and even got them to take the back off so I could post various pictures on specialist forums to confirm it was OK. Everything came back OK and I got all the pics I needed. Paid via PayPal and received the watch on time and as described.
However just after I had purchased mine I noticed a duplicated advert on one of the forums, same watch but another location in the country. I emailed the seller and asked if he actually had the watch and if it was for sale. His words were 'sale in progress', next day I emailed again and asked what was happening and he told me it was sold and had just sent it to Canada (4th April). Strange considering I now had the watch. In the end I left it and presumed he was a scam.
Shortly after this I received an email off the same guy saying his watch had been stolen and I was now in possession of it, apparently it was stolen whilst in transit with Parcelforce. Strange..
I asked him for crime number, proof, name/address, Parcelforce number (ref number as I presume they were notified), after numerous attempts he would tell me nothing.
The only was he could prove it was his was by saying there was a scratch on it, well that is useless as I posted lots of high resolution pics which showed everything. PLus it's a vintage model so not new.
I got the admin on the forum involved, they asked me for proof in various ways which I done and then asked the other guy. Again he had nothing and was banned. His last words to me were 'You will never believe this watch is mine so just leave it OK'. Surely if someone had your stolen watch you would have proof, crime numbers and would try a lot harder.
Everything settled down until yesterday when I got a call from the police. Apparently the same guy had been in touch with the same info and the police believe him. This is an old rare vintage watch and this guy did not even know the year of it, It is actually printed in the serial number on the back! He had no knowledge of the watch considering what it was, a real collectors piece.
I REALLY think the guy I bought it from has something to do with this. I think he is working with a friend down south and he had the watch so has some details on it which might seem legit.
It appears the watch was sent on the 31st March (Even though he was selling it on 2/3 April). It was apparently going to Canada so went to a central UK hub with parcel-force and apparently went missing it seems convenient that the parcel-force international depot is in the same city as the guy I bought it from. Maybe he works there and has taken the watch, sold it to me and then his friend is trying to claim it back as stolen.
Nothing makes sense at all. I have quizzed the guy I bought it from and the 'original' owner and both are very vague on the watch.
Sorry if this is confusing to read but it's a real ball ache and I think I am in the process of being scammed. what do you think, any advice?
Well I would have thought that if you wanted to claim something was yours you would have to have solid proof. as I said this watch is rare and old. There is many signs on this watch that are unique. Even the bloody serial numbers.
I also quizzed the guy about courier insurance. It has been stolen apparently. surely he can claim this back from Parcel-force or was he stupid enough to send it to Canada uninsured. He just wont answer anything. Now he was verified as a scammer on the forums I can not message him any more.
I also quizzed the guy about courier insurance. It has been stolen apparently. surely he can claim this back from Parcel-force or was he stupid enough to send it to Canada uninsured. He just wont answer anything. Now he was verified as a scammer on the forums I can not message him any more.
Yes.
Correct, all transactions are like that. However I have to backtrack and find out were the seller got it.
It just doesn't seem right. The guy down south gave up on the watch after about five emails and he knew nothing about it.
Maybe the guy I bought it from works at said depot and has taken it when it was coming through?
I have heard of this scam before..
I will have to see what the officer says on Saturday.
Correct, all transactions are like that. However I have to backtrack and find out were the seller got it.
It just doesn't seem right. The guy down south gave up on the watch after about five emails and he knew nothing about it.
Maybe the guy I bought it from works at said depot and has taken it when it was coming through?
I have heard of this scam before..
I will have to see what the officer says on Saturday.
Thanks for the advice/input everyone.
I have been busy since this afternoon and this is my first chance to get online.
When speaking with the police they know I am a genuine person. I presume they have checked emails or whatever with the seller and can see the amount of checks I carried out before buying.
As most people have said its basically a waiting game now.
Unless the 'owner' can prove he has really owned this watch then I am going to try my hardest to keep it. Telling the police that it has a scratch here or other pointless info is just not good enough.
After thinking about it again today I really do believe that this has been set up.
The 'owner' of this watch should know a lot more and things just dont add up. I see it as 50/50, I have to prove this is mine/genuine he has to do the same. I can easily do this.
I will keep everyone updated.
I have been busy since this afternoon and this is my first chance to get online.
When speaking with the police they know I am a genuine person. I presume they have checked emails or whatever with the seller and can see the amount of checks I carried out before buying.
As most people have said its basically a waiting game now.
Unless the 'owner' can prove he has really owned this watch then I am going to try my hardest to keep it. Telling the police that it has a scratch here or other pointless info is just not good enough.
After thinking about it again today I really do believe that this has been set up.
The 'owner' of this watch should know a lot more and things just dont add up. I see it as 50/50, I have to prove this is mine/genuine he has to do the same. I can easily do this.
I will keep everyone updated.
To simplify this confusing situation here is a brief run down in short form;
- I get offered the watch on 1st April and after a couple of days of re-search I buy it
- Shortly after buying the watch I notice an advert of someone else selling the same watch but other end of the country, clearly they did not own it as I had proof that my seller had it.
- I quizzed the second seller who said the watch sale was in progress on the 3rd. I email on the 4th for an update and it has apparently sold that day. Just to clarify the dates between sellers matches my correspondence. On the 3rd I said I would buy it but needed some hours to move money around. On the 4th I paid. This makes me think the sellers are linked also. I emailed from different account names as it was on a different website so there would be no obvious connection.
- My watch shows up fine and as described.
- A few days later I get an email off the second seller stating I have his watch and it was stolen in transit
- After a few emails he will not give any details, crime number etc and HE CHOOSES to leave the watch, who would just leave there watch if it was stolen!?
- Fast forward to yesterday, I get a call from the police saying this guy down south has been in touch and trying to claim it is his. He sends them pics of my watch and basically says it is his watch as he can verify where the scratches are. The pics I posted online were high-res, he could easily see scratches on the watch from them.
I would also like to add this new info, see what you think;
I managed to speak with a buyer who apparently bought the watch from the second/false seller, this is the guy in Canada. He sent me tracking info showing that a parcel was sent to him on the 28th March, this should have been the watch but it was stopped down south in the depot. Why would the second seller tell me the watch is for sale even though he apparently posted it four days earlier. Maybe he stopped it and sold it to me as it would be easier to pull off a scam in the UK rather than between countries?
- I get offered the watch on 1st April and after a couple of days of re-search I buy it
- Shortly after buying the watch I notice an advert of someone else selling the same watch but other end of the country, clearly they did not own it as I had proof that my seller had it.
- I quizzed the second seller who said the watch sale was in progress on the 3rd. I email on the 4th for an update and it has apparently sold that day. Just to clarify the dates between sellers matches my correspondence. On the 3rd I said I would buy it but needed some hours to move money around. On the 4th I paid. This makes me think the sellers are linked also. I emailed from different account names as it was on a different website so there would be no obvious connection.
- My watch shows up fine and as described.
- A few days later I get an email off the second seller stating I have his watch and it was stolen in transit
- After a few emails he will not give any details, crime number etc and HE CHOOSES to leave the watch, who would just leave there watch if it was stolen!?
- Fast forward to yesterday, I get a call from the police saying this guy down south has been in touch and trying to claim it is his. He sends them pics of my watch and basically says it is his watch as he can verify where the scratches are. The pics I posted online were high-res, he could easily see scratches on the watch from them.
I would also like to add this new info, see what you think;
I managed to speak with a buyer who apparently bought the watch from the second/false seller, this is the guy in Canada. He sent me tracking info showing that a parcel was sent to him on the 28th March, this should have been the watch but it was stopped down south in the depot. Why would the second seller tell me the watch is for sale even though he apparently posted it four days earlier. Maybe he stopped it and sold it to me as it would be easier to pull off a scam in the UK rather than between countries?
It was definitely the police. I made sure I got the full name, badge number etc. Double checked by calling 101 to confirm.
As I said it's quite a rare watch and number matched.
I also posted detailed pics of the movement online so you could see every mechanism in detail. Even the very small part number were visible. From an outsider POI it would appear to be his watch as he probably has a list of number which match!
Second seller was only a username on a forum and that was different.
As I said it's quite a rare watch and number matched.
I also posted detailed pics of the movement online so you could see every mechanism in detail. Even the very small part number were visible. From an outsider POI it would appear to be his watch as he probably has a list of number which match!
Second seller was only a username on a forum and that was different.
I am going to bring this back from the dead thanks to Jaldi who mentioned it in another thread.
After the first phone call from the police I never heard anything from them again. I tried calling a couple of times but the officer in charge was either off or had not started his shift yet so I dropped it and can only presume they did the same aswell.
Sorry for not updating the thread everyone, no idea why I didn't and thanks for all your help.
After the first phone call from the police I never heard anything from them again. I tried calling a couple of times but the officer in charge was either off or had not started his shift yet so I dropped it and can only presume they did the same aswell.
Sorry for not updating the thread everyone, no idea why I didn't and thanks for all your help.
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