SCAM !!!!! Gkskull and OldToyTrain

[tracstarr]

I was taken for $425. I should have known better and even said to my friends I was likely getting scammed. I got a private message from https://teamkitfox.com/Forums/members/10839-Gkskull telling me to contact someone with email oldtoytrain24@gmail.com. Don't do it!!!! I was provided lots of images of what I was looking for. I should have dug deeper so that's on me. After making a deal and sending money I got a USPS number. It was fake and I got ghosted after that.

I just found today 2 other sites where the same 2 (maybe 1) person did a similar scam. Another email involved is violahj470@gmail.com

Although I'm really ****ed off it's not going to break me - it's only going to make me embarrassed for a long while. Just want to keep anyone else from falling prey.

I did some digging and they are hiding behind a VPN with a high fraud score.

[avidflyer]

Bummer, seems like about half of the time I've posted a want add here, someone sends me messages like the one you got. I always want to talk to people if possible, after a bit of conversation, it's usually apparent if they are familiar with airplanes and the parts they are selling, or just pretending to be.

[Dave S]

Keith,

Sorry for the incident. It seems the general state of ethics is declining all the time. There are way too many liars, cheaters, thieves who are trolling for victims and the anonymity of electronic communication makes it real easy for the crooks.

Not a scientific analysis; but, from what I have seen, it appears that a WTB, and certainly unsolicited offers, attracts scammers more frequently than a FS ad in the classifieds.

I think the moderators have provided some guidance in the past and it is still solid advice and they certainly try to keep stuff as clean as possible. One item I always look at is how long a party has been a list member - although this doesn't allways mean a scammer since we all start with zero time at one point. Also looking at a member's posts and activity can be useful. Take a little time and investigate before getting involved in a "deal". Face to face transaction is always best but it is not possible all the time.

I try to make a point of trying to treat others the way I would like to be treated.

Never any guarantees; but, be careful out there.

[tracstarr]

I agree with you both. And normally I'm a very cautious person and do due diligence. But with all the right circumstances stacked up even the most cautious can still get caught up. For me it was the fact I was already upset that I didn't have the parts needed (thought I did) and then facing that anxiety of wanting to rectify things asap so I could get flying again. I've also always had great interactions with everyone here and just let my guard down. Looking back there's always red flags too.

[DesertFox4]

The violator has been banned.

[avidflyer]

I imagine the only way to get rid of these guys responding to WTB adds is for maybe new members first 10 posts or something like that having to go through the moderators before they show up for everyone else. That way they could get bumped off the site right away. Of course more work for moderators though. So far I haven't gotten bit by one of these guys but several have tried. JImChuk

[896tr]

I've been lucky, only scammed once. I had several things listed on e-Bay back in 2005 and some jerk in Texas set up 2 phony accounts and bid many times. When the
auction was over he ghosted me. I reported him to e-Bay and they investigated and told me they had no way to actually track him. There were three other bidders that quit budding because of the high bids. Now if a bidder has low or no feedback they have to call me before they can bid, it doesn't take long to know if they are a jerk or not.