[SFDXA] QTH.com Ham Radio Classifieds users

[Bill]

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/>