For Sale : $2200 - Swarovski ATX 95 Angled Spotting Scope with 30-70x Eyepiece in Box

[WAB]

Question to the moderators and AH members: Given how easy it appears to be for a scammer to post a classified on this forum and steal money from a member, should there not be a requirement for a seller to be vetted and approved before being allowed to post a classified?

Perhaps one process could be that a person wanting to post a classified has to submit a "request to sell" that goes out to the members that provides certain information about the seller (not the product), and then at least one other long-standing or well-known member has to send the moderators an approval, vouching for the seller...only then would the seller be allowed to post to the classifieds. Whatever we come up with, it seems to me that we need to do better to protect our own.

Personally I think it’s too much to ask of the moderators. Perhaps a set of guidelines for buyers? This one had a lot of red flags. We need to help folks recognize them.

 

[rookhawk]

Question to the moderators and AH members: Given how easy it appears to be for a scammer to post a classified on this forum and steal money from a member, should there not be a requirement for a seller to be vetted and approved before being allowed to post a classified?

Perhaps one process could be that a person wanting to post a classified has to submit a "request to sell" that goes out to the members that provides certain information about the seller (not the product), and then at least one other long-standing or well-known member has to send the moderators an approval, vouching for the seller...only then would the seller be allowed to post to the classifieds. Whatever we come up with, it seems to me that we need to do better to protect our own.

Scammers are cheap. they will never pay a penny to perpetrate a scam. If AH required an initial silver sponsorship to be a seller, the fraud would dry up quickly.

As to hijacked accounts, it’s a real thing. I’ve asked AH several times if they could enable multi-factor authentication, a technology that eliminates account hijacking because it requires a PIN or SMS text to your phone to log in. Unless a scammer steals your user ID, password, AND your phone, you’re good.

 

[Wyfox]

A paywall will help but not eliminate scammers. Another forum I'm on does a paywall for classifieds, scammers will use stolen paypal accounts/credit cards or just pony up the money to make money on high dollar items.

As a buyer you need to do due diligence and vet the seller ie; facetime, google meet, phone call, more specific pics, etc.

Trust your gut, if it sounds to good to be true it is. No one is going to sell a new 4k spotting scope for 2k then he happens to have two when another member missed out???

Use reverse image search, look at user posting history and feedback. Hennie had a 300prc listed, Using reverse image search I found that rifle was on 3 other forums for 2k more by another username in another state and listed as sold before it was ever listed here.