Boards member is scamming us out of a grand

eth0_

jimi_t wrote:

Welll...basically...

The guards said that there was nothing they could do and that the main course of action was to go to the Ombudsman of consumer affairs. The guard wasnt quite sure the best action to take but said it would take weeks or months for the gardai to do anything. He said he would put the details on the system but that he wouldnt hold out much hope. He also said the banks are very slow to give them any info.

Ah aren't the Guards a bunch of ignorant eejits. What has this got to do with the Ombudsman of consumer affairs? This scammer isn't a shop, he's one guy who's allegedly defrauded several people out of a lot of money.

If all those who've been allegedly defrauded club together and contact the police i'm sure they'll do something. They are probably more likely to do something about defrauding citizens out of 1500 euro rather than one person having 175 euro stolen from them.

6th

krazy_8s wrote:

Unless you or other users went and tried to deal off thread?

I want an answer to this question.

stevejazzx

eth0_ wrote:

Ah aren't the Guards a bunch of ignorant eejits. What has this got to do with the Ombudsman of consumer affairs? This scammer isn't a shop, he's one guy who's allegedly defrauded several people out of a lot of money.

If all those who've been allegedly defrauded club together and contact the police i'm sure they'll do something. They are probably more likely to do something about defrauding citizens out of 1500 euro rather than one person having 175 euro stolen from them.

Yeah thats right just rang head office and they said it is definitely a garda matter, that all the parties should choose a garda station and present themselves and all the evidence, i.e bank transfer records etc. and maybe the transcript from the original thread and that the Gardai would be obliged by law to look into the matter.



Garda Headquarters telephone number is 01 - 6660000


If you know the five digit extension number of the person/section that you are contacting, then you can dial directly by prefixing this with '66'

---

The Telephone number for Harcourt Square is 01 - 4755555.


The following Sections are located there :
Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation

If you bothered to look at the original thread.Jimi_t was the one on the thread who was offered them.the others could have been doing off thread dealing though but jimi_t was legit.

So you've had zero contact with him since transferring the money?

I'd be a little careful here, about 2 years ago i bought a data cable off someone on an English forum, he e-mailed me upon reciept of the funds and said he would send it on monday (it was a friday), I expected him to e-mail when he had sent it, but nothing came. I waited a week, and nothing arrived, so i sent him an e-mail, and another, and another...

7 weeks later...

His wife phones me, and says she's really sorry for the delay, but that her husband was in a car accident and he was in traction in the hospital so he had no access to his computer. He asked her to check his e-mails and she found about 15 from me.

4 days later i had my cable.


Sometimes, people going missing for a legitimate reason.

(PS i know that the wife calling was telling the truth, as about 3 months later, her husband was back posting on the electronics board, he posted up a global apology and then uploaded some pictures of his written-off car)

adrian522

What happened was that I (and presumably others) put a message saying that if the offers above fall through I will take the tickets. Subsequent to this I received a PM from the seller saying the others had fallen through and did I want a ticket. As far as I know this is legit, or perhaps the seller should make the offer on the thread? I'm unsure what the procedure is though I certainly did not PM the seller off thread if that is what is being suggested.

stevejazzx

Deleted User wrote:

If you bothered to look at the original thread.Jimi_t was the one on the thread who was offered them.the others could have been doing off thread dealing though but jimi_t was legit.

eh am I missing something?

jimi t look s like was fourth in line, and has only one post in the thread so would of had deal off thread to conclude sale? No? Apologies if I'm missing something ....

1.Static M.e
2.TGC
3.Jayhaitch
4.jimi_t

looks like most (if not all) dealt off thread to conclude sales


Author

Static M.e.
Registered User


Registered: February 2002
Posts: 920 Comment Date: 20-7-2006 08:59


Ill take one please


I can meet you on Saturday or Sunday in Athlone, will be driving through



TGC
Registered User

Registered: July 2006
Location: Dublin
Posts: 4 Comment Date: 20-7-2006 09:10


I'll take the other two and pay for postage.


I'll PM your details now.



Jayhaitch
Registered User

Registered: July 2006
Posts: 2 Comment Date: 20-7-2006 09:12


I'll take one or all 3
Can meet in Dublin



Jayhaitch
Registered User

Registered: July 2006
Posts: 2 Comment Date: 20-7-2006 09:14


apologies. will pay postage



electrixx
Registered User

Registered: July 2006
Posts: 0 Comment Date: 20-7-2006 09:18


I'll take one & will pay postage if they fall through.. thanks



Optikus
Registered User


Registered: August 2004
Location: Online
Posts: 1372 Comment Date: 20-7-2006 09:30


Provisionaly Sold to static, TCG and Jayhaitch... just waiting on payment, if none is recieved by mon then Jay and electrixx can have the rest.



jimi_t
Registered User

Registered: August 2004
Location: The right side of the D6/D4 border
Posts: 798 Comment Date: 20-7-2006 09:31


I'll take as many as are left - can pay by whatever you want. Could pay by 6pm this evening via Paypal if needed



Optikus
Registered User


Registered: August 2004
Location: Online
Posts: 1372 Comment Date: 20-7-2006 09:33


Offer noted Jimi, but i don't have paypal, would have to be meet up or bank transferr.



caitcait
Registered User

Registered: July 2006
Posts: 0 Comment Date: 20-7-2006 10:22


I'll take two adn could meet in Athlone at some stage, if they are still available?



adrian522
Registered User

Registered: January 2006
Posts: 68 Comment Date: 20-7-2006 10:59


Hi,
I'll take one if any are still availalbe...Can Bank Transfer the Cash..



Bacchus
Registered User


Registered: February 2003
Location: Cork
Posts: 584 Comment Date: 20-7-2006 11:31


Hey, I'm from Athone.
I'll take 1 (or 2) if you still have any left.


Thanks,
Bacchus



rosie_and_jim
Registered User

Registered: July 2006
Posts: 0 Comment Date: 20-7-2006 11:50


I'll take both if you're still looking to sell - money can be in your account today!



Redshift
Moderator


Registered: February 2002
Posts: 1389 Comment Date: 31-7-2006 19:16


Optikus; Please respond to my PM urgenty and contact your buyers.



TGC
Registered User

Registered: July 2006
Location: Dublin
Posts: 4 Comment Date: 1-8-2006 09:20


REPLY TO MY PM.

6th

I'm imaging alot of off thread dealing so ban them all.

stevejazzx

On thread off thread doesn't matter anyway some of them were newbies so....
The important is that they get their money back and that optikus gets caught if he has defrauded them

stevejazzx

6th wrote:

I'm imaging alot of off thread dealing so ban them all.

ban for being defrauded?
*does basil fawlty impression*This is exactly how nazi germany started....

fade2black

6th wrote:

I want an answer to this question.

What has any of this got to do with you?

Gillo

stevejazzx wrote:

Just checked and and pyro was logged in yesterday
Should a mod pm him?, shame to have to get involved but I imagaine if optikus has been over at his house (as per thread) and pyro knows him then that s the best looking remedy thus far.

Can Pyro be left out of this? Ok He seems to know or did know Optikus, but thats about it, I can see him getting dragged down unfairly, in this when he's not even involved.

Let a mod pm me, and then lets leave it at that.

stevejazzx

It should go through the garda now and agree pyro should be involved as litlle as possible.

damnyanks

I wouldn't let him off the hook so quickly by doing this through boards. Goto the police, the guy will do it again otherwise.

6th

fade2black wrote:

What has any of this got to do with you?

Its on a public forum, if it was for people to give opinions then it should be sorted out in private.

As it is i feel sorry for those ripped off (if thats whats happened) but i they broke boards rules in doing so should the fact that they may have been defrauded stop them from getting the same punishment many others have gotten?

fade2black

6th wrote:

Its on a public forum, if it was for people to give opinions then it should be sorted out in private.

As it is i feel sorry for those ripped off (if thats whats happened) but i they broke boards rules in doing so should the fact that they may have been defrauded stop them from getting the same punishment many others have gotten?

You're demanding answers to questions that are simply nothing to do with you. This is why these forums have moderators.

6th

I'm demanding nothing.

---

I really hope there is a reasonable explaination for the sellers actions, but until we hear from him we wont know. I've only bought for cash on here but i'd have probably trusted him too.

Vexorg

Comon, lets keep this friendly, lets focus on whats is important here and not what mistakes may or may not have been made.

If you must criticise, at the very least be constructive about it.

Vex.

Jayhaitch

I'm one of the people who paid for two tickets and not received any.(Feeling INCREDIBLY stupid by the way)
The seller told me that the first guy fell through and a second ticket was available.

I'm under the impression that other people were told the same thing by PM and as such there no off thread activity as the seller said if anything fell through he would go in order

fade2black

6th wrote:

I want an answer to this question.

Sounds a lot like a demand to me.

Anyway...apologies to OP...hope you get a successful outcome to all of this

jimi_t

Jayhaitch wrote:

I'm one of the people who paid for two tickets and not received any.(Feeling INCREDIBLY stupid by the way)
The seller told me that the first guy fell through and a second ticket was available.

I'm under the impression that other people were told the same thing by PM and as such there no off thread activity as the seller said if anything fell through he would go in order

Well I said I'd take all he had left but that I'd prefer to pay via paypal (as he said on the thread) - a straight up, on-thread offer. I PMd him saying that I could probably get a bank transfer together but that it would take a day or two - and I assured him that I had cash waiting and had a decent trading record on boards [sic]. He PMd me back saying that that was fine. It wasn't exactly off-thread but I suppose the confirmation could have been clearer on-thread.

A quasi-infringement of the charter really isn't the issue, however. The issue is a serious case of pre-meditated fraud against boards members.

Thanks for all the suggestions and support so far guys

Longfield

Longfield wrote:

For real life stuff contact the real life mods - aka the Gardai.

*My mum'd be so proud

Cuddlesworth

Tbh I asked about the off thread dealing and was right, did none of you find it odd that the Op never posted publicy saying that the buyer pulled out and hes selling to the next in line? If he contacted through pm rather than the thread, thats off thread dealing and you responding to it without publicly stating it. Thats what caused this mess. This is one of the reasons why the rule is there.

If you had stuck to charter rules, odds are you would still have your money. I hope its a lesson learned. As for the first 2 posters, you stood no chance.

I'm sorry that he screwed you, and having put upwards of 600euro into people's accounts on boards myself I hope this never happens to me. And I have also bought off Opticus in the past. Please keep us informed as to how the authourites handle this, as I genuinley want to know.

adrian522

I went to the athorities last Friday saying this had happened to four people (I didnt know about the other two then) I had everyones real name and contact number and the exact sequence of events but the Garda just didnt want to know. Perhaps would be better gong straight to Fraud or Computer crime?

WizZard

krazy_8s wrote:

If you had stuck to charter rules, odds are you would still have your money. I hope its a lesson learned.

I agree with this. One of the reasons that rule is there (in my experience) is to prevent this kind of thing.
It still doesn't excuse this problem, but it shows how a little bit of prudence could go a long way.

Stephen

*applause*

This has just got interesting again!:)

Tar.Aldarion

Good work fuzzbot. Stamp out scammers. Loving the sig btw.

okidoki987

At last a possible result for the buyers.

The Hill Billy

Well done FuzzyLogic!
Someone buy that boardie a beer.

WizZard

Congrats for getting the address, however Willow Park is a huge area in Athlone and most of it is rented out to students as college accommodation. So I wouldn't go breaking out the champagne yet...
You'd need a street name at least to narrow it down.

Sleepy

I can't believe the cops won't do anything about this...

The Sweeper

Or the small claims court.

Dark Hair

With the greatest respect to all involved I think this thread should be linked in the Adverts charter at the spot where it mentions "No Off Thread Dealing" (Or should that be "we advise no off thread dealing"?)

Also in this case it should be treated in an ebay manner...... Off thread wheeling and dealing = Off site wheeling and dealing.

As much as scammer are detested it is buyer beware, ever more so in this electronic white light age.

Cy Kotic

Sleepy wrote:

I can't believe the cops won't do anything about this...

I can. A lot of people think if something illegal happens or they have a problem they can just go to the Guards and they will sort it out. I had this naive view of the system once myself. I never had any dealings with the guards or needed them untill something happened a few years ago. I won't go in to the details, but it was a very serious incident which went on over a period of time. Basically, they only went through the motions of dealing with the situation. Eventually somebody close to me ended up being killed. Unless you have some influence or power, just forget it, your're on your own. Nobody wants to know, especially the guards. As it happens the person who murdered my friend is walking the streets now after serving about 5 years. So don't be so naive as to think the guards give a **** about some mickey mouse scam.

Gillo

FuzzyLogic wrote:

Since your complaints aren't really getting you results, I'm going to offer an alternate route to getting your tickets/money.

FuzzyLogic that's way out of order, whatever the Optikus has or hasn't done, posting his personnal details here or anywhere else is not on.
Yes, I know I am gonna get abuse for that but someone had to point it out.

gillo

gillo wrote:

FuzzyLogic that's way out of order, whatever the Optikus has or hasn't done, posting his personnal details here or anywhere else is not on.
Yes, I know I am gonna get abuse for that but someone had to point it out.

OPTIKUS brought this on himself.

Amz

Deleted User wrote:

OPTIKUS brought this on himself.

The off thread dealing didn't contribute to this situation at all then?

Hobbes

Dark Hair wrote:

With the greatest respect to all involved I think this thread should be linked in the Adverts charter at the spot where it mentions "No Off Thread Dealing" (Or should that be "we advise no off thread dealing"?)

It certainly should be put up as the dangers of off-thread dealing.

In future if someone says the other person has cancelled they should say this publically. That way the other person has a chance to point out the scam.

If the police won't do anything, what about a solicitor?

Cuddlesworth

I would put money on the fact that 1 or 2 of the users paid more then the 181euro advertised as well. Opticus took advantage of a situation that would not have arose had the users kept it on thread.

Now heres a question?

How many users/victoms did he scam?
How much did each victom pay?
How many of them can see how responding to pms about tickets that are on sale publicly was the worst possible thing they could have done?

Even one quick public post from a victom stating did the others really drop out and why, would have stopped this thing dead in its tracks.

Yes optikus screwed the system and took peoples money, but everybody besides the first 2 posters abused the rules and are now suffering for it.

adrian522

How many users/victims did he scam? - 4
How much did each victim pay? 3 paid for 2 tickets (362) 1 paid for 1 ticket (181).
How many of them can see how responding to pms about tickets that are on sale publicly was the worst possible thing they could have done? Thats not actually what happened if you look at the thread again. The same thing happened to people who dealt on thread. everybody replied to the ticket offer on thread. Then were contacted afterwards by PM. As far as I am aware that is the correct procedure. Perhaps we should have walked away at that point but that did not happen as we really wanted to go to this gig. I wouldsuggest that most people would have done the same.

I dont see how any of this is "abusing the rules" as you put it.

stevenmu

Deleted User wrote:

OPTIKUS brought this on himself.

Yes, and he has been found guilty in the court of public opinion, how could that possibly make a mistake.

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

I'm reasonably sure i'm being stupid here, but, if someone essentially robs money off you, as is being alleged in this thread; how can the gardai ignore the issue?

If you track down the guy, it'll be a fairly simple and straightforward small claims court case providing you can get a definite link between the poster and the actual real-life person.

dermot_sheehan

Small Claims court only works when you are a consumer and the person is a business selling goods or services in the course of trade.

What you would need to do is go to the district court (since the claim is for less then €6,350). The problem is proving that the OPTIKUS is the person who's name and address was mentioned above. If satisfactory proof of this was obtained legitamitley then you can issue a summons for breach of contract and have it served upon him directly.

If not however the logical course would to take proceedings against his bank and seek an order of discovery to divulge who the account owner is. and then serve the summons upon him.

If he contests the claim, you go in front of a district court judge who hears the case. If he agrees with your side he can award damages and costs. If this person then refuses to payup the judgement you can apply for a writ of garnishee to have any debts owed to him by third parties handed over to you (such as bank balances or wages from employer), can have a judgement mortgage registered against any real property, and can have a writ of fiori facas (not sure if spelling right) which would direct the county sheriff to seize the debtor's personal property and sell it off.

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

gabhain7 wrote:

Small Claims court only works when you are a consumer and the person is a business selling goods or services in the course of trade.

I stand corrected. It was against a business that i went to the small claims court in the past.

bounty

which sort code and account number did you pay into?

Gillo

bounty wrote:

which sort code and account number did you pay into?

Don't even think of answering that.

bounty

whats the sort code then, at least?

Gillo

His name, address, number and image had allready been posted. There is absolutley no justiifcation to post anything more especially his bank details.

Tar.Aldarion

A sort code, is not a personal detail.