Matthew Carter - Scammer

matt009au

matt009au

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Apr 23, 2009
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Just a warning about a scammer targetting people posting adds in the wanted section.

I posted an add in the wanted section looking for a Strider Tanto.

I was contacted via email by Matthew Carter (mattc1574@gmail.com) who had one for sale which had been returned by a previous buyer. Paypal F&F only as I was international. The price was good but believable.

I assumed that he was a gold member here as he was able to see the wanted to buy section and my add (maybe a mod can check to see if his email address is associated with an account?). But I asked what his user name was, to which he replied with the username of an upstanding member here.

So I paid the asking price and he provided the tracking details. The tracking didn't work, but I didn't think much of it as being in Australia often cheaper international shipping takes ages and isn't tracked.

After a month I emailed him again as the item hadn't arrived. No response.

I tried lodging a query with USPS, but as I am in Australia they said that the US seller would need to lodge any queries.

A few days later I emailed again. Again no response.

So I contacted him through BF using his provided user name. To my dismay, the user name did not belong to Matt Carter. The real user responded quickly, and unfortunately for me, knew nothing about the situation. He was very helpful, sympathetic and annoyed at the scammer for using his name in vain (so to speak).

Anyway at this point I've accepted my $$ are gone, but thought I would post a warning to others.

Matt
 
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Thanks mate, I've been lucky in all my collecting years, not having been outright scammed until this one (although have got a few lemons along the way).

The blade community as a whole is generally a great bunch of people and I have had nothing but top dealings. Probably lulled me into a false sense of security in some way. Shame that going forward I think I will be a bit more suspicious of folks.
 
matt009au said:
Thanks mate, I've been lucky in all my collecting years, not having been outright scammed until this one (although have got a few lemons along the way).

The blade community as a whole is generally a great bunch of people and I have had nothing but top dealings. Probably lulled me into a false sense of security in some way. Shame that going forward I think I will be a bit more suspicious of folks.
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Being you're one of the more highly respected member's here, it's a real bummer reading this, Matt.

Thank you for the heads up. :thumbsup:
 
It shouldn't be too difficult to follow the bread crumbs, and find this guy.
Let's assume he has access to the "WTB" forums, and the site as a whole.
If he/she is a semi bright individual then Tor would be the browser used to view here (or a vpn).

Point is... IF there is any logging done on this site it would be easy to narrow down who viewed your WTB post. I'd look for Tor first. Meaning a single user that has a different IP address or country of origin every time they logged on.
At least it's a beginning.
The Gmail account is also a bread crumb. Usually a DOB is the numbers. At least for most people.
Being he/she used the 'net" to commit this fraud... it's a federal offense.

Yes I know... The assumption is there are bigger fish to fry but who knows. This person is most likely a life long (1/05/74 ?? ) criminal, and may have enough skeletons to be worth looking into.
 
Why did you pay F&F? You know that is the first and biggest mistake anyone can make (international buyer or not), you gamble your money and throw your protection away immediately.
The second mistake is that the other party has about zero presence here. You didn't even get verification before sending money.
It may seem harsh, but you did everything precisely the way it should not be done, to the letter. It sucks that you got taken for your money, but that is why we tell the newbies here how to proceed when they ask, and we have countless discussions on similar situations or variations of the problem you are going through. I do hope the guy gets busted.
 
That sucks mate. Nonetheless I would raise it with PayPal as well. This may not get your $$s back (almost certainly wont) but at the least they may target his account. Any little way you can screw with him now is best.
 
RevDevil said:
Why did you pay F&F? You know that is the first and biggest mistake anyone can make (international buyer or not), you gamble your money and throw your protection away immediately.
The second mistake is that the other party has about zero presence here. You didn't even get verification before sending money.
It may seem harsh, but you did everything precisely the way it should not be done, to the letter. It sucks that you got taken for your money, but that is why we tell the newbies here how to proceed when they ask, and we have countless discussions on similar situations or variations of the problem you are going through. I do hope the guy gets busted.
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Yep guilty as charged!

My consumerist greed got the better of my common sense what can I say.
 
Thanks Andy,

I reported him around a week ago. They emailed saying they are investigating his account for fraud or some such legal stuff.

Not expecting any dosh back. But I guess if others have reported similar some action may be taken by paypal.
Andy the Aussie said:
That sucks mate. Nonetheless I would raise it with PayPal as well. This may not get your $$s back (almost certainly wont) but at the least they may target his account. Any little way you can screw with him now is best.
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Some evidences that can prove I'm not the scammer:
1. I'm Chinese, I never sell my knives out of China, many guys may know the strict law of China;
2. I never had a Strider SNG, I mainly collect Chris Reeve Knives, many guys in the Chris Reeve Knives sub-forum know about me and know my real name;
3. I'm not good at English, but the scammer was wrote to matt009au very fluently;
 
Andy the Aussie said:
That sucks mate. Nonetheless I would raise it with PayPal as well. This may not get your $$s back (almost certainly wont) but at the least they may target his account. Any little way you can screw with him now is best.
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This may well also close the OP's PP account.
F&F vs G&S = violation of use terms.

Catch 22 eh?

Quote:
"Some evidences that can prove I'm not the scammer:
1. I'm Chinese"

That's what they all say... :rolleyes:
Sorry for the levity guys. It's a terrible thing that punk did, on many levels
 
Zombie411 said:
This may well also close the OP's PP account.
F&F vs G&S = violation of use terms.
Click to expand...
....maybe maybe not... there have been cases here in thepast reported and no action being taken by PayPal against the person sending the $$s via F&F. One lone case I recall where PP found in their favour despite it being a violation. In effect the recipient is the one who normally takes the hit with fees so it could be argued they are more culpable. None the less I am not at all arguing the F&F route is not the wrong one to take.

When however did ebay/Paypal start holding your $$s for 21days after an ebay sale ?? I buy lots from that hellhole but rarely sell, probably have not sold a thing there in the last five years but just sold a knife and they are holding my $$ for 21days to help me build my reputation as a good seller.... LOL
 
Andy the Aussie said:
When however did ebay/Paypal start holding your $$s for 21days after an ebay sale ?? I buy lots from that hellhole but rarely sell, probably have not sold a thing there in the last five years but just sold a knife and they are holding my $$ for 21days to help me build my reputation as a good seller.... LOL
Click to expand...

There are a LOT of rules in the Terms Of Service that would shock most people.
PP can freeze you out of your own bank account in some instances...

I use PP for all my billing for services, and parts on work that I do. It's much easier than invoicing, accepting credit cards, and checks but I do not sell on line soo... I can feel your pain tho. :thumbsup:
 
The $ availability certainly does not cause me an issue, I can see how it could for some, especially when they also hold the postage costs back as well. In the case of someone NEEDING the $$s from the sale that too may be a stumbling block. Especially if it were international where the costs are just that much higher. Once you have X amount of feedback they release it straight away but I tend to buy more than I sell.... ;)
 
laizhekezhui has been an upstanding citizen for a long time- He is a member in other communities that I am a part of. Always very polite as well as a wealth of knowledge in CRK..Let me know if there is anything I can do Ju-
 
bhyde said:
laizhekezhui has been an upstanding citizen for a long time- He is a member in other communities that I am a part of. Always very polite as well as a wealth of knowledge in CRK..Let me know if there is anything I can do Ju-
Click to expand...

I might take the reference to Laiznekezhui out of the first post to avoid confusion.

He is most certainly not a scammer. But he is a top bloke.

Matt
 
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