A repository of links that are considered SCAMS on scuba diving equipment sales in order to help or alert other divers of possible fraudulent dealings. A place where SB users can search for (like phone numbers reported as robot-calls scams) information on reported "fraudulent" business. (i.e.; scubaprosale.com)
Suggestion SCAMS on scuba diving equipment
- Thread starter Jake 10
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
FWIW, scuba isn't the only world this happens in. I reload pistol ammunition, and the number of fraudulent sites out there pretending to sell components is absolutely mind boggling. As someone said above, it's a game of whack-a-mole to suppress them.
Purchasing firearms or related items is more complicated than purchasing SCUBA gear because it's a much more regulated industry - there are items regulated by state as well as federally; (yes I'm deliberately leaving out international regulations).
What's worked well for us are threads about GOOD sites/shops.
Purchasing firearms or related items is more complicated than purchasing SCUBA gear because it's a much more regulated industry - there are items regulated by state as well as federally; (yes I'm deliberately leaving out international regulations).
What's worked well for us are threads about GOOD sites/shops.
There is quite a bit of scamming on both the part of the seller and the buyer and from a private and retail sales standpoint.
When we list an item on ScubaBoard, we will not sell to someone with a credit card if we do not already know them or they do not come in person to the shop. If they want it, they have to zelle. They can check us out if they want. If they don't want to zelle, they're not going to get it. Here's why.
We had a person contact us by email to purchase some equipment. The first flag was they wanted to have it shipped to a different address than listed for the credit card. The card went thru without problem, so we shipped the item. A few weeks later, the same person wanted to buy some additional items. The name on the card was the same, but the card was different. The card address was also different, but the shipping address was the same. When questioned, the individual said he was on a remote project assignment and that the small purchase was on his personal card, but the larger purchase was on his company card because his limit was not that high. Once again, the charge went thru without any issue.
About a week later after the second order, our credit card company informed us that the first purchase was being reversed as the card holder said the purchase was fraudulent. This was about five weeks after the first purchase. Another week later, the charges for the other package was reversed as well.
As it turns out, the first shipping address was a pack and ship place that forwarded his packages to another pack and ship place in California that then sent everything to Singapore. Apparently, this scammer had been doing this for months, perhaps years. He had accumulated a significant number of fraudulent packages from all over the US during this cycle.
Fortunately, we were able to get back our gear. Unfortunately, the California pack and ship place refused to open up the big box to just send our packages back. So, we had to pay to have this gigantic box of everyone's packages who had been scammed by this individual back to us. I then had to spend a lot of time over the next few weeks contacting everyone who had been scammed and arranging to have tens of thousands of dollars of packages shipped back to them. While most of the people who were scammed got their packages back, some people just refused to take their packages back. I suspect they thought, I was running some sort of scam on them over their scammed packages.
The most bizarre part of this story is that the individual contacted the first pack and ship place and the owner said that she no longer had his items. When he found that out, he tried to tell us that he wanted to return the items to us and receive a refund presumedly to a real credit card. I asked him how he could return the items to us, because I already had them back in my possession. Scammers have incredible gall. I suppose it is an occupational requirement.
In a second, equally bizarre situation, we had an individual come in with about $20,000 worth of dive gear that they wanted to sell. The claim was that the guy's daughter's boyfriend died in a car accident. The daughter just wanted to get rid of the gear. My initial thought was that the gear was stolen. My first clue was that the gear owner's name was in a dry suit. And I knew him. I hadn't heard that he died in a car accident. Since I didn't want the guy to leave with all the stolen gear, I offered him $200. I figured that I could survive if I never got it back and in the mean time, the gear would be safe. The guy accepted the offer and there was a big mound of dive gear in the middle of the shop. I forced the person to provide ID for the bill of sale.
I tried to contact the owner and eventually was able to have him contact me, by asking GUE for help getting a hold of him. When I finally got his cell number, the conversation went something like this.
Hey, E...... do you know were your dive gear is? He replied, yes, its in my storage locker in Houston. I responded back, no its not, its in the dive shop here, come and get it.
E.... decided to press charges on the suspect, so the police impounded the dive gear. They missed some of it so I just had E...... come back again get what was left.
As a condition of the conviction, the judge was forcing the thief to pay me back the $200. However, E.... later just gave me back the $200 anyway. He also brought donuts.
Its absurd that some people actually make a living doing this.
When we list an item on ScubaBoard, we will not sell to someone with a credit card if we do not already know them or they do not come in person to the shop. If they want it, they have to zelle. They can check us out if they want. If they don't want to zelle, they're not going to get it. Here's why.
We had a person contact us by email to purchase some equipment. The first flag was they wanted to have it shipped to a different address than listed for the credit card. The card went thru without problem, so we shipped the item. A few weeks later, the same person wanted to buy some additional items. The name on the card was the same, but the card was different. The card address was also different, but the shipping address was the same. When questioned, the individual said he was on a remote project assignment and that the small purchase was on his personal card, but the larger purchase was on his company card because his limit was not that high. Once again, the charge went thru without any issue.
About a week later after the second order, our credit card company informed us that the first purchase was being reversed as the card holder said the purchase was fraudulent. This was about five weeks after the first purchase. Another week later, the charges for the other package was reversed as well.
As it turns out, the first shipping address was a pack and ship place that forwarded his packages to another pack and ship place in California that then sent everything to Singapore. Apparently, this scammer had been doing this for months, perhaps years. He had accumulated a significant number of fraudulent packages from all over the US during this cycle.
Fortunately, we were able to get back our gear. Unfortunately, the California pack and ship place refused to open up the big box to just send our packages back. So, we had to pay to have this gigantic box of everyone's packages who had been scammed by this individual back to us. I then had to spend a lot of time over the next few weeks contacting everyone who had been scammed and arranging to have tens of thousands of dollars of packages shipped back to them. While most of the people who were scammed got their packages back, some people just refused to take their packages back. I suspect they thought, I was running some sort of scam on them over their scammed packages.
The most bizarre part of this story is that the individual contacted the first pack and ship place and the owner said that she no longer had his items. When he found that out, he tried to tell us that he wanted to return the items to us and receive a refund presumedly to a real credit card. I asked him how he could return the items to us, because I already had them back in my possession. Scammers have incredible gall. I suppose it is an occupational requirement.
In a second, equally bizarre situation, we had an individual come in with about $20,000 worth of dive gear that they wanted to sell. The claim was that the guy's daughter's boyfriend died in a car accident. The daughter just wanted to get rid of the gear. My initial thought was that the gear was stolen. My first clue was that the gear owner's name was in a dry suit. And I knew him. I hadn't heard that he died in a car accident. Since I didn't want the guy to leave with all the stolen gear, I offered him $200. I figured that I could survive if I never got it back and in the mean time, the gear would be safe. The guy accepted the offer and there was a big mound of dive gear in the middle of the shop. I forced the person to provide ID for the bill of sale.
I tried to contact the owner and eventually was able to have him contact me, by asking GUE for help getting a hold of him. When I finally got his cell number, the conversation went something like this.
Hey, E...... do you know were your dive gear is? He replied, yes, its in my storage locker in Houston. I responded back, no its not, its in the dive shop here, come and get it.
E.... decided to press charges on the suspect, so the police impounded the dive gear. They missed some of it so I just had E...... come back again get what was left.
As a condition of the conviction, the judge was forcing the thief to pay me back the $200. However, E.... later just gave me back the $200 anyway. He also brought donuts.
Its absurd that some people actually make a living doing this.
- Messages
- 5,760
- Reaction score
- 5,111
- # of dives
- 2500 - 4999
here's exactly what they need
Similar threads
