[HCARC] Fwd: [QTH.com Classifieds] Ham Radio Scam alert

[W4wj at aol.com]

An FYI for everyone from Scott, KA9FOX
 
 
  
____________________________________
 From: ka9fox at qth.com
To: classifieds5 at qth.com
Sent: 10/9/2012 5:39:09  P.M. Central Daylight Time
Subj: [QTH.com Classifieds] Ham Radio Scam  alert


Dear QTH.com Ham Radio Classifieds user:   



We've seen an alarming increase in the number of scammers utilizing ham  
radio classified ads to scam hams.  I wanted to take this opportunity to  
explain what some of these scammers are doing, in hopes it will better protect  
you from them, when you are selling equipment on the QTH.com Classifieds at 
_http://swap.qth.com_ (http://swap.qth.com/) .


About 100,000 ads are placed each year in the QTH.com Classifieds, and only 
a  tiny, tiny fraction wind up being fraudulent.  I do not want to scare 
you  into thinking that it is unsafe to trade online.  Rather, I simply want  
to arm you with knowledge, so that you will be able to sniff out the bad 
guys,  and stay safe.  


Common scammer traits:


1) They will use some else's callsign, and they will create an email  
address that contains that callsign, usually with a free email provider like  
gmail, yahoo, ymail, hotmail, etc.  Recently, they have even taken to  breaking 
into ham's profiles at QRZ.com and changing the email address there,  so 
that when you check to see if they match the ham's profile, they do!


2) They predominantly post "For Sale" ads, with prices that are a little  
too good to be true.


3) They will use pictures of equipment they have found on the Internet  
(they don't really own the equipment).


4) They seem to like payments via Western Union (no protection for the  
buyer), but will also use PayPal (hoping to drain their account before the  
buyer realizes they have been scammed).


5) They seem to know ham radio jargon.  For all we know, these  scammers 
are hams, but we can't be sure.


6) They are sophisticated enough to use "proxy servers" so their IP  
address cannot be easily detected.  This makes it difficult for us to  block the 
scammers.  We are constantly tweaking our filters to block  these guys when 
possible, but it is a constant cat and mouse game.


What can you do to protect yourself?


* Ask for a phone number and call the person before agreeing on any deal.  
This is probably the #1 way to expose the rats.  


* Ask for a photo of the equipment WITH THEIR QSL CARD IN THE PICTURE.  
Unless they are very good at photo editing, you should be able confirm  that 
they actually own the equipment this way.


* Check to see if the email address they used matches what is listed for  
that person on their QRZ.com profile.  It could be a red flag if there is  a 
mismatch.  However, if it DOES MATCH, that is not a guarantee that the  
seller is not a scammer (again, we are seeing some of these scammers manage to  
edit QRZ.com profiles to get their bogus email listed)


* Be especially cautious of dealing with foreign hams.  Not all  foreign 
hams are scammers, of course!  Just be extra careful!!    Recently, the 
scammers have almost always been using US Callsigns  though.


* Never use Western Union.  Be very cautious of using Money Orders  and 
Cashier's Checks.  PayPal and Credit Cards seem to be the best  option, as far 
as having any buyer protection.  Money Orders &  Cashier's Checks are 
perfectly acceptable if you are absolutely sure who you  are dealing with.


* Read all of my "Safe Trading Tips" at  
_http://chat.qth.com/viewtopic.php?t=12_ (http://chat.qth.com/viewtopic.php?t=12)  


If you have any questions, feel free to contact me directly at 
_ka9fox at qth.com_ (mailto:ka9fox at qth.com) .



73 - Scott KA9FOX
QTH.com Ham Radio Classifieds
_http://swap.qth.com_ (http://swap.qth.com/) 



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