Be wary of potential scammers

I think it's a little too drastic to say that spammers are "taking over" the forum. I cruise the forum at least a couple times everyday and yes, there are spammers and scammers, but not to the degree of taking over. I report them immediately and find they'e removed quickly.

Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly Grove near the Beverly Center
8 tenor cutaway ukes, 4 acoustic bass ukes, 12 solid body bass ukes, 16 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 40)
•Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
•Member The CC Strummers: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers
 
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Well that would be a matter entirely for you. I’d suggest that with 8 billion people on the planet a real non-scammer-type person like me will occasionally do something perfectly innocently which you or another person finds odd.

If something I actually said causes you any concern of course I’d be happy to explain but it didn’t strike me as something capable of arousing suspicion.

Cheers.

PS - ukuleles!! 😉
Thanks for mentioning ukuleles! Do you have an interest in them? If so, a new member introduction section post would help us to know you better and shift the discussion to our common interests (ukes, not spammers). Welcome!
 
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Thank you. That's very kind of you. Yes I do have an interest and I'll certainly consider doing that in due course.

In the meantime if I feel I can add something to a thread (or have a question) I'll definitely comment/ask but as you can imagine at the very beginning there's far more to read than there is to say. Which is probably as it should be. :)
 
everyone reading this board was a new member w/ 0 posts once.
This is so dumb. You can’t even try to stop a SECOND member from being scammed out of $1000+ (rhiggie got scammed, no chance of venmo giving his money back) without being flamed

Everyone wants to fight each other, that’s the problem when WE ARE TRYING TO HELP OUT ONE ANOTHER!!! There’s bigger fish to fry. It feels like I am truly living the movie Idiocracy in living color.

Last time I ever try and help out UU with a word of caution. Not once was this a war against new users - yall’ just made it that because you’re anonymous keyboard warriors with nothing better to do with your time. Get an additional hobby (do you even care about playing ukulele!?)…it’s pathetic and not the Aloha spirit this forum was built upon. Have fun perpetuating theft nerds, good day… mods please clean this thread up as you see fit
 
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I think it's a little too drastic to say that spammers are "taking over" the forum. I'm cruise the forum at least a couple times everyday and yes, there are spammers and scammers, but not to the degree of taking over. I report them immediately and finds they'e removed quickly.

Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly Grove near the Beverly Center
8 tenor cutaway ukes, 4 acoustic bass ukes, 12 solid body bass ukes, 16 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 40)
•Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
•Member The CC Strummers: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers
Don’t give it the benefit of the doubt and just let it keep happening when a change in the sign up/selling process/lack of moderators could easily reduce this problem. The more people that actually care about this will actually effect a positive change. Or you could just remain passive until it happpens to you or your friend….
 
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This is so dumb. You can’t even try to stop a SECOND member from being scammed out of $1000+ (rhiggie got scammed, no chance of venmo giving his money back) without being flamed! F this place..

Everyone wants to fight in this country, that’s the problem when WE ARE TRYING TO HELP OUT ONE ANOTHER!!! There’s bigger fish to fry that want us divided and our power/numbers diminished. It feels like I am truly living the movie Idiocracy in living color.

Last time I ever try and help out UU with a word of caution. Not once was this a war against new users - yall’ just made it that because you’re anonymous keyboard warriors with nothing better to do with your time. Get an additional hobby (do you even care about playing ukulele!?)…it’s pathetic and not the Aloha spirit this forum was built upon. Have fun perpetuating theft nerds, good day… mods please clean this thread up as you see fit
i think the substance and intent of your original post is very worthwhile and appreciated.
i'm not sure why you chose to quote my contribution to the discussion.
i was not 'flaming' you, i was trying to mitigate the grossly unfair
perception that a new member must, by default, be a subject of suspicion.
forums don't survive w/out new members. at least one new member in the course
of this thread alone could not be blamed for having nothing more to do w/ this place.

edit to add: in my first post on this thread i too, as you have, lamented
the lack of moderator presence on the forum, and which has been an issue
now for not just a short while, but years, and which has in my view contributed
to the problems of spam and scammers we see more often now.
 
i think the substance and intent of your original post is very worthwhile and appreciated.
i'm not sure why you chose to quote my contribution to the discussion.
i was not 'flaming' you, i was trying to mitigate the grossly unfair
perception that a new member must, by default, be a subject of suspicion.
forums don't survive w/out new members. at least one new member in the course
of this thread alone could not be blamed for having nothing more to do w/ this place.

edit to add: in my first post on this thread i too, as you have, lamented
the lack of moderator presence on the forum, and which has been an issue
now for not just a short while, but years, and which has in my view contributed
to the problems of spam and scammers we see more often now.

I appreciate that, I get it. My post wasn’t directed ALL towards you - there have been several posts saying less then “thanks for the heads up” and want to go on some crusade about new users and dilute this thread. Read the first post, never did I say new user = bad man.

Sorry, this isn’t what I signed up for either and I feel passionately about the direction this forum has gone almost getting scammed myself yesterday when I’ve never had that happen in over a decade of using this forum. Maybe I just won’t sign in anymore. Peace ✌️!
 
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i would like to see Ryan put out a call for moderators;
folks who have been here for sometime and w/ a
track record of fair and balanced contributions and
a regular and consistent presence on the boards.
i'm sure there are some people here who would be willing to do that.

i helped in that capacity for several years (2012-2014 ish) under
my old moniker of eugene ukulele. it's not an easy job, well, it wasn't then,
the lines are sometimes pretty fine, but a satisfying one in that you are
helping maintain the integrity of the site. to me, most of the issues that existed
back then are not so anymore - spam and scammers notwithstanding.

i think several extra hands on deck would take some of the pressure off
Ryan and Anaka.
 
Don’t give it the benefit of the doubt and just let it keep happening when a change in the sign up/selling process/lack of moderators could easily reduce this problem. The more people that actually care about this will actually effect a positive change. Or you could just remain passive until it happpens to you or your friend….
Where do you get the idea I'm passive, NOT! Seems you're over reacting even to my statement. You need to ease up a little, if you "care" so much and are so adamant, why the hell haven't you become a moderator? But obviously you're the kind who would rather deride everyone than step up to the plate. Have you ever sent in a Report? I have. You point to two incidents and say the forum is going to s***t, you are way off base. I, for one, would not be bothered at all that you never post again.
 
This devolved quickly. A week or so ago, I stepped into a similar (in tone) "discussion" when I probably should have let it go. While I was, in many ways, comfortable with that I said and stand by it, the wise thing to do, on a forum like this, is to let things go. I made that mistake. What I forgot, is that the forum provides me a tool that is super valuable when someone repeatedly is annoying to me (or whatever other adjective I wish to assign)--the ignore function. Perhaps other should do the same, once in a while.

In terms of the topic, I think this is one where there are multiple seemingly competing truths that have merit.. 1) there has been an increase in spammers and crooks (different group, perhaps). The crooks seem to have taken advantage of one person so far. 2) Given that, there is a desire to protect the community--this should be honored. 3) There is a seemingly competing desire to be welcoming. One way doing this is to be kind but to set firm boundaries regarding what you are comfortable with.

I would suggest that we can be both. I think there are ways of warning the community without reverting to potentially stereotyping others, and a way of protecting others by gently calling out problematic behavior. Its not an easy balance, and we all probably would do well giving each other grace here. Sorry if this sounds like I am being preachy...I am not good at such balances for sure, I am speaking to myself.
 
Crikey! This thread seems to have exploded somewhat. I certainly didn't mean to ignite a controversy but I did think it would be helpful to add some perspective. Hopefully this will add some more - you’ll have to take my word for it that I do it with the best of intentions.

As a new member interested in ukuleles (for you rainbow21 😉) one of the first places I looked was at the “for sale ads” and King David’s warning was one of the first posts I saw. It’s a perfectly sensible warning and more importantly very specific to scammers jumping on WTB ads to offer to relieve honest people of their money. He also pointed to the fact that there had already been victims. Absolutely nothing wrong with the warning. People will have different views of how prevalent scammers are based on their own experience but regardless King David’s warning was specific and valuable.

The reason I added to the thread was a) because it’s a subject I know a little about and b) to warn against taking the clear and specific warning King David made to extremes in relation to new members. A scammer can only scam someone by getting something valuable from them.

One of the first things I saw on this site was an ad for a uke I was interested in. As it happens I’d just spent the last few weeks agonising over a ukulele and eventually blown my budget and spent double what I intended on a very nice ukulele which is scheduled to arrive tomorrow – so the last thing I need or can afford is to buy another uke effectively tripling my spend.

Nevertheless there was the uke staring at me so – I’m sure you all know this feeling - so I inquired after it when my resistance crumbled (about 30 mins). The seller very politely replied that he/she wouldn’t entertain dealing with a new member because of all the scamming. I MAKE NO CRITICISM OF THE SELLER – BUT for my part I couldn’t make sense of the objection since in this case I would be handing over money and entirely trusting the seller to send me a ukulele as described. Not the other way round.

So it occurred to me that despite King David’s very clear and specific warning the injunction against scammers might be misinterpreted as a general warning against dealing with new members in situations of little or no risk or making people overly nervous. I would imagine the two ways in which a new member would build their reputation initially would be by making purchases rather than selling and getting to know other members by making lots of posts (although there would still be a leap of faith when buying from them) selling to them poses little to no risk except as I described.

rainbow21’s comment confirmed that I was right to think the general concern about scammers might be going a little far but King David certainly didn’t advise being suspicious of all new members in all circumstances and where people are being scammed of $1000 that is a real and serious issue.

Anyway I thought I’d add what I considered a sensible and helpful perspective and I hope it still is. There’s a risk buying from a new member, there’s little risk selling to one apart from shipping scams as I described and there’s certainly no risk from a new member posting a comment.

I hope that’s of some help. Sorry for going on and I certainly didn’t mean to get anyone’s back up. I genuinely believe that as people it helps to understand different perspectives and as a community everyone should be looking out for each other. The original warning is a valuable one but we should also be sensible in assessing risk.

Best wishes – and thanks for all the contributions. It’s a great forum.
 
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In another forum that I participate in, they have a post minimum (100) coupled with a minimum membership period in order to access the marketplace. It works well for them. Another option is to only let contributing members sell in the marketplace. Again, these are options rather than suggestions on my part.

As a new member, I have been made to feel welcome and valued in this forum and I am grateful for this. I was also able to buy a uke via the marketplace, and I felt fortunate to be able to do so.
 
Well said Richtn. It seems that this thread has generated some crossed wires. Thanks to King David for alerting us. It would be dreadful if scammers undermined our community here.

I have bought a number of high end ukes on this site, from different countries and have always been rewarded with good dealings. I do now ask to Zoom to hear the instrument, which is a help, as is the paypal method. I haven't sold anything though, UAS is too strong!!

I think I might to post some WTB's and do a little fishing! I wonder what would be a good bait? Making it tedious here for scammers could be fun. But I'd hate to get a bad name and miss my next aquisition.
 
In another forum that I participate in, they have a post minimum (100) coupled with a minimum membership period in order to access the marketplace. It works well for them. Another option is to only let contributing members sell in the marketplace. Again, these are options rather than suggestions on my part.

As a new member, I have been made to feel welcome and valued in this forum and I am grateful for this. I was also able to buy a uke via the marketplace, and I felt fortunate to be able to do so.
That's (a 100 post minimum) not entirely unreasonable but it's a bit blunt.

The main risk is from buying from a new member. Not selling to them.

Selling to a new member really isn't all that risky - and is a useful service to new members (for example people buying their first ukulele and getting a better one than they could afford new from a source which is likely to have taken care of it) so ideally a post minimum would take account of that difference between selling and buying. The point I was making is that talk of scammers may be making some overly nervous of new members generally.
 
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When I was looking for a Blackbird Farallon a few months ago, the scam mentioned here was attempted on me (a referral from a new member vouching for another new member who had just what I was looking for). Fortunately, I was already in discussion with a known member and did that deal. Honestly, were it not for the warning here (after the fact, in my case), I probably would not have realized it was a scam. So, I do find the warning helpful.
 
When I was looking for a Blackbird Farallon a few months ago, the scam mentioned here was attempted on me (a referral from a new member vouching for another new member who had just what I was looking for). Fortunately, I was already in discussion with a known member and did that deal. Honestly, were it not for the warning here (after the fact, in my case), I probably would not have realized it was a scam. So, I do find the warning helpful.
Nice of you to layout the scheme method of that particular scam. That may save somebody grief in the future.
 
When I was looking for a Blackbird Farallon a few months ago, the scam mentioned here was attempted on me (a referral from a new member vouching for another new member who had just what I was looking for). Fortunately, I was already in discussion with a known member and did that deal. Honestly, were it not for the warning here (after the fact, in my case), I probably would not have realized it was a scam. So, I do find the warning helpful.

This happened to me a few days ago as well. And it was the second time it's happened to me in 2022. I don't spend nearly as much time on the forum as I once did, and it's pretty rare that I post, but I do think this message/warning needs to get out there. When I first joined the forum back in 2016, i'd never been part of a forum, and I was pretty innocent and trusting. Thankfully I have only had very positive interactions here other than the recent scam attempts responding to my Want to Buy post. Cheers and wellness to all ~
 
Scammers/spammers are taking over this forum. Be wary of responses from new users if you made a wanted/looking for thread.

I recently bumped my old thread WANTED: all black Pono TE-B tenor electric. It is a rare uke Pono only made a few of them.
I got a rather suspicious PM from a new user:

Preacher1010

New member​

Yesterday at 10:39 AM
I purchased some items from Harding918 some days ago and all black Pono TE-B tenor electric is among the items he showed me that he wanted to part out with. Maybe you should text him to know if it is still available.. Here's his email rileywilson039@gmail.com

There is no UU member Harding918. Also look how they described the uke im looking for word for word awkwardly. And they “purchased some items”. Items??? It’s a uke forum. I would ban this account before they scam any one for real, they almost got me (not really but I did shoot a quick email before I thought more about it). I let the mod Anaka know as they look to have been online this month.

Some tips to avoid being scammed:
Ask for pictures, be wary of other images being lifted from the internet. Ask for a current proof picture: have them write the current date and their email address on a piece of paper and wedge it diagonally through AND under a couple of the four strings so they can’t counterfeit it. Google the email address they give you and if it ends up on a forum scam list like stopforumspam.com it is a scam.
I had the same experience today, my radar went up when I saw no member mike34 in the forum. Also, the pics they sent were from reverb… close call.
 
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