Hacked Account

John Phillips said:
Once again, 100% my fault for sending F&F . That being said, I would like to suggest that we require timestamp pictures with any sale or trade item. What’s the downside?
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Reddit KS has been doing this for years. Works like a charm. Helps also to have something like username with the date written in the photo in pen, and something identifiable a seller will put in every photo. Some people use a special coin, etc. I use my hand as it bears a unique tattoo
 
John Phillips said:
You write your username, the date and the knife/item you’re selling on a piece of paper and take a picture of that with the knife. This shows the item is in the poster’s possession. I understand this isn’t foolproof but it is a way prevents scammers from stealing other people’s pictures and posting them as their own. Just another way to make it harder for scammers, not foolproof but it would only help, in my opinion. I don’t see the downside of writing your username, date and item on a piece of paper and including it with your other pictures when offering something for sale or trade.
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Years ago, in a different forum, in a different world.... I'd have people write my name, show the item and draw a quick silly picture. Like a tiger wearing a top hat or something like that, outside the box/abstract.

I gave them only a couple mins. if they said no...... No problem, no deal.

I don't do internet money anymore only USPO money orders. I wonder if its safer?

these scammers/hacks rely on quick impulsive buying. Too good to be true sales. Waiting a week or two for mail, ruins that rush. ;)
 
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LunaticK3nnels said:
Reddit KS has been doing this for years. Works like a charm. Helps also to have something like username with the date written in the photo in pen, and something identifiable a seller will put in every photo. Some people use a special coin, etc. I use my hand as it bears a unique tattoo
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This. This needs to be normalized here. Someone said something about saving sellers time/effort. Asking someone to write a name and date on a piece of paper is such a trivial act that goes a long way. Sometimes I see listings with one small pic of the knife and the description is just "great condition". It wouldn't take much more moderation if they allowed members to comment more freely on the exchange. If we start asking for things like timestamps, more details, and pics/video we can make it the norm here.
 
Crag the Brewer said:
I don't do internet money anymore only USPO money orders. I wonder if its safer?
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It is.
First, they want electronic funds, preferably those not intended for sales (the platforms for cash exchanges between friends)
USPS money orders take time. More importantly, they require a name and address backed by an ID...and using a government agency to commit fraud means federal charges.
Today's world is rushed & everybody wants instant gratification. Sometimes slowing things down is the right choice.

*Edited to add - just noticed that this discussion is still in the Exchange. I guess I expected it to be in the GBU thread - I'll self report
 
On another unrelated forum I use it’s a requirement that you hand write your username and the date in the same photo as the item.
Before buying, if I didn’t know the person or anything seemed off I’d ask for very specific photos that would need to be taken and sent to me in addition to what had already been provided. Scammers rely on impulse buyers, unfortunately the nature of knife collecting lends itself to making quick decisions at times - it shouldn’t.

The other thing is that the forum could just say G&S only when using PayPal. I’d never sent money F&F prior to coming here, it still makes me uneasy unless it’s someone I know.
 
The IRS has relaxed the $600 reporting requirement 2 years in a row. F&F in no way benefits the buyer. As already suggested, there's no reason the seller can't send a photo with their name written down and some other object to show they at least have the knife in their possession. Could it be faked? Sure. But right now, the people being ripped off are doing F&F and not requiring additional photo verification.
 
I called PayPal and of course since it was a F&F transaction, they couldn't do anything, but they did say a complaint can be filed on the Internet Crime Complaint Center (web address: IC3.GOV) site to at least report the person.

Now that I have had time to think about it, when I was making the F&F payment, I noticed there was a $4.99 fee attached, that should have sounded a alarm as it was a fee for a international transaction and the supposed seller was in the USA.
 
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This is a real shame because the real MikeKu825 was a very nice guy. He was a fellow CPK forumite about 4 or so years back and he was always very pleasant. His jam back when was the Carothers EDC pattern which he was trying to grab as many as possible and we had some friendly banter during those slower days on Nathan's subform before it became the powerhouse which it has become recently. Last I had heard was that he had moved and perhaps had also moved on from the hobby or perhaps not as much into CPKs. When I saw his "appearance" in this past week or so offering folders and such, I was intrigued and wanted to PM him to chat but I didn't. Now I am glad that I did not do so because I am sure that this scammer who had hacked MikeKu's account could've potentially exploited me for my concern for an ole friend!

One other thing which I would suggest, which is in contradiction to "saving" money by paying via F&F on PayPal, is to use your credit card as opposed to you debit card / bank account to pay for the transaction whereby the seller insists on F&F AND you also feel that you MUST have that knife! This way, it will set you back an additional 3.49% plus the $.49, the exact opposite of what the seller would net in a G&S payment but that credit card charge will offer you somewhat of a better protection that PP telling you there is not much that they can do. PP will not stand up for you when you knowingly have decided to short them.
 
Yea I called my credit card they said I had to deal with PayPal. Oh well just makes the value of the knives I own go up even more, with risks of being scammed.

Yea positive feedback would have been nice wouldn’t it of lol

On a side note I don’t blame Blade forums whatsoever. I knew the risks involved, and will still continue to be part of the forums.
 
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Casinostocks said:
This is a real shame because the real MikeKu825 was a very nice guy. He was a fellow CPK forumite about 4 or so years back and he was always very pleasant. His jam back when was the Carothers EDC pattern which he was trying to grab as many as possible and we had some friendly banter during those slower days on Nathan's subform before it became the powerhouse which it has become recently. Last I had heard was that he had moved and perhaps had also moved on from the hobby or perhaps not as much into CPKs. When I saw his "appearance" in this past week or so offering folders and such, I was intrigued and wanted to PM him to chat but I didn't. Now I am glad that I did not do so because I am sure that this scammer who had hacked MikeKu's account could've potentially exploited me for my concern for an ole friend!

One other thing which I would suggest, which is in contradiction to "saving" money by paying via F&F on PayPal, is to use your credit card as opposed to you debit card / bank account to pay for the transaction whereby the seller insists on F&F AND you also feel that you MUST have that knife! This way, it will set you back an additional 3.49% plus the $.49, the exact opposite of what the seller would net in a G&S payment but that credit card charge will offer you somewhat of a better protection that PP telling you there is not much that they can do. PP will not stand up for you when you knowingly have decided to short them.
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I contacted PayPal knowing that they weren’t going to try and get any money back for me but rather to try and get them to shut down the rip off guy. They told me to contact my bank and make a report so they could work with them to try and get my money back. When I contacted my bank, they said since they were only transferring funds that I had authorized to PayPal, there is nothing that they could do. My point is I don’t think that it matters if your PayPal account is tied to your checking, debit or credit card, the bank is not going to help. It is not the same as if I had made a direct purchase with a credit card.
 
I wryly accept my fate. I've been on eBay since 1998...started selling PC's online when I was in-between jobs and now sell all kinds of things including high value items (expensive watches, expensive camera gear, etc). I was on Audiogon forever ago, Gunbroker for 15+ years, Calguns 10+ years. I've bought and sold $M's of expensive items relating to expensive hobbies. I have NEVER been scammed a single time...until now. My guard dropped. I have bought/sold...mainly bought...>$15k worth of knives here in the few months I've been on the site. I was simply complacent with the decent feedback of a 10y.o. member. I didn't realize that this type of hacking was prevalent here, but there should have been no reason for me to assume otherwise.

PayPal is not seller OR buyer friendly frankly. They got worse when eBay bought them. There is a security flaw that SELLERS should be aware of. I have a designated bank account with PayPal. I transfer money into it when I make a purchase. If I send funds through PayPal, the funds generally don't leave my bank account until the next day, but it's sometimes the following day. If I buy from you in the morning and you ship out same day, the way I would if I was selling to you, I could simply withdraw the money the day we commence the sale (or never put it in my account to begin with) and you won't know until the next day...even if you do an "instant" PayPal transfer. By then, you will have already shipped out your item. To make matters worse, I have a back-up Visa debit card that's linked to my PayPal account. That debit card draws off the same checking account that is my designated PayPal account. If I send a payment through PayPal and have insufficient funds, it "bounces" the next day (sometimes the following day), then PayPal tries to charge the back-up Visa, which of course also bounces since it's the same account. But this process adds an additional day. So there can be up to 2-3 days after I send you payment via PayPal before you realize my payment is NSF. By then, most items are shipped. PayPal will do absolutely nothing to assist...they will not take a loss.

This information is simply to educate sellers on something relating to PayPal that they may not be aware of. If the admins feel this is revealing some sort of secret sauce to bad guys who apparently ARE on this forum, please delete this post. I do feel like an idiot, and I'm definitely not pleased to lose $904.99 (also kicking myself about the obvious $4.99 red flag). Hopefully this experience will help another.
 
Sorry you guys got screwed. Ill do my part and no longer offer FF on any of my sales.

As for security I have always used a cut out like jdben92883 jdben92883 , an online checking account not tied to any of my real finances. I transfer in or out depending on buying of selling .

Again sorry guys, lets do better as a community to stop this.

Clay
 
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