[AndyR83]

Around the middle of August, I was contacted by E90post user driftbrick744. He offered to sell me a painted m3 rep front bumper for my E92. We negotiated back and forth on the price a bit, and arrived at $500. Per his request, I sent the money as a "gift" on paypal to avoid fees.

For the next few weeks, I contacted him asking for updates and for a tracking number. He was never able to provide one. Two of the times I spoke to him he told me he was on a business trip, and one time he said he was on a family trip. All three times he assured me he had sent the item, and would provide me with a tracking number upon getting back home from his trip.

Three weeks passed, and no bumper showed up. I did a little research, including google searching his paypal email address. I was horrified to find this thread on a Volvo forum, which spanned 10 pages and recounted tales of his scams going back several years. Realizing only then that I was up against an experienced scammer, I contacted him once again and demanded a tracking number within 48 hours. Not surprisingly, the 2 days passed and I didn't hear a word. I texted him again asking him to call me, and was told he was "at the hospital with a family emergency."

I made a post on the other forum, indicating that I had been scammed by him as well. Many users contacted me, offering their support. Clearly this got his attention, as he then called me offering to refund my money. He told me "UPS must have messed up" with the bumper delivery, so he was just going to refund my $500. Sure, that's believable, but I digress...

He told me "money is tight" and he couldn't give back the whole $500. He asked if I would let him split it into two payments... then asked if he could do three... then four. I decided four checks for $125 was better than losing my entire $500, so I told him this would be ok.

An envelope arrived in the mail a few days later containing four post-dated checks for $125. But.... they weren't signed. I contacted him again to tell him abut this and he proceeded to send me a photo of his signature on a piece of paper telling me "sign it this way."

At this point, I called the police and the bank. Since the money had been sent as a gift on paypal, I couldn't get it back through them. The police asked me to break off all communication with him, provide copies of all text messages and emails, and get in touch with the bank. The bank conducted their own investigation and determined that this constitutes fraud. They were consequently able to reverse the charge this afternoon, resulting in my $500 being returned to my account.

driftbrick744 aka Ian Haan aka Volvo940tuner has been ripping people off for years. He has walked off with thousands of dollars from many innocent victims. Don't be the next one. If you ever see him selling something (or he wants to buy something from you) run for the hills. He's a scammer, pure and simple. I attempted to contact some of the mods/admins on this website to make them aware, but none of them replied to me. All I can say is watch your back! He's a criminal, and he will rob you blind if you fall victim to one of his schemes.

[BrazilianBimmer]

Thank you. Do you happen to have a picture of this lying scamming bastard!?

[divisionbell77]

Originally Posted by AndyR83

At this point, I called the police and the bank. Since the money had been sent as a gift on paypal, I couldn't get it back through them. The police asked me to break off all communication with him, provide copies of all text messages and emails, and get in touch with the bank. The bank conducted their own investigation and determined that this constitutes fraud. They were consequently able to reverse the charge this afternoon, resulting in my $500 being returned to my account.

Smartest thing to do. they will get him sooner or later. Might not be your case that nabs him, but one in the future or all of them together ends up getting these tools.

Originally Posted by AndyR83

He told me "money is tight" and he couldn't give back the whole $500. He asked if I would let him split it into two payments... then asked if he could do three... then four. I decided four checks for $125 was better than losing my entire $500, so I told him this would be ok.

An envelope arrived in the mail a few days later containing four post-dated checks for $125. But.... they weren't signed. I contacted him again to tell him abut this and he proceeded to send me a photo of his signature on a piece of paper telling me "sign it this way."

Bad thing to do. not sure your laws, but in Ohio if someone makes a payment on a personal debt, there is nothing legally you can do to get the rest. Just an FYI. Best thing that may have happened was him not signing them.

[divisionbell77]

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=748554

Boom. Have someone here meet up with him.

[AndyR83]

Nah, I have no interest in meeting up with him, threatening him, or harassing him. I'm not seeking vengeance, I just want to help make sure nobody else gets ripped off.

[WesleyC]

When doing business online, always research who you are selling to/buying from.

I try to avoid doing business with members who have 0 feedback. If I see that a member has lots of good feedback, I feel much better, but I always do a quick search of the person's name/email/phone number to see if any red flags come up. Also, never use paypal gift. The extra 3% that you have to pay is worth the satisfaction of knowing that if you get ripped off, paypal can refund your money.

I'm glad to hear that the bank sided with you.

Now, let's ban this guy. This community has no room for scammers!

[N55]

Thanks for the heads up. Glad you got your money back from that bastard.

[JoeyBananaz18]

Wow that sucks but I'm glad it all worked out in the end.

[persian54]

Originally Posted by Wes.

Also, never use paypal gift. The extra 3% that you have to pay is worth the satisfaction of knowing that if you get ripped off, paypal can refund your money.

I have to disagree with this.

I have sent a over $3000 through a paypal gift with no issues buying something off a member on here. I've done this on a more than regular basis for items worth small amounts to some items worth quite a bit.

Then again, these are members who have had a lot of feedback (not as many as me though), thousands of posts (not as many as me though lol), and pretty well known for the most part (not as me though haha).

It's all who you're doing business with.

But yes, do not do a gift if the seller has low feedback/little to no rep.

Glad you got your money back from the bank!!

Andy, shoot me a text when you see this post. I'd text you, but it's 3AM your time lol

[WesleyC]

Originally Posted by persian54

I have to disagree with this.

I have sent a over $3000 through a paypal gift with no issues buying something off a member on here. I've done this on a more than regular basis for items worth small amounts to some items worth quite a bit.

Then again, these are members who have had a lot of feedback (not as many as me though), thousands of posts (not as many as me though lol), and pretty well known for the most part (not as me though haha).

It's all who you're doing business with.

But yes, do not do a gift if the seller has low feedback/little to no rep.

Glad you got your money back from the bank!

Andy, shoot me a text when you see this post. I'd text you, but it's 3AM your time lol

So you're basically agreeing with me lol. I may use PayPal gift, but only if the person is reputable.

[persian54]

Originally Posted by Wes.

So you're basically agreeing with me lol. I may use PayPal gift, but only if the person is reputable.

well you said "never"

[Slow_335i]

What a pos

[OECMG]

Amazing such scammers exist.

[AndyR83]

The scary part is how extremely believable this guy is. He almost talked me into buying a carbon fiber lip to go with it, for an extra chunk of change. He knew how to talk the talk, offer up details, and really make it sound good. That's why I was willing to send the money to him as a gift. He's an expert scammer, and he really knows how to make it sound believable.

[tigermack]

Why is he still here?!

http://www.e90post.com/forums/member.php?u=159266

[AndyR83]

Who knows? I reported this to a site admin and never got a reply. Guess they don't mind scammers ripping off their forum members.

[DC_Oldboy]

Wow he should be banned...

[EYE4SPEED]

PP now limits the gifts at $500 - you need to do multiple transactions for high priced items.

Gifting is a good way to avoid fees - ONLY if there is a bunch of feedback and you have talked to the person. This doesn't guarantee anything, but much higher probability of successful transaction. Not such a big deal on low priced items, but on some really expensive items this can add up to $100's of dollars in fees.

Glad the OP got his money back, but PP fees are getting silly.

[Dark_Knight_335]

Sorry for your bad experience Andy
It's idiots like this that give folks like me a bad name. I have had plenty of folks gift me money for goods I provided as a personal seller on here- never a problem. I would rather pocket the money that stupid PayPal skims off for whatever- anyone who isn't a full fledged business will agree

[AndyR83]

The reason these people are able to get away with it is because so many reputable sellers are out there on forums like this that consumers get used to being able to trust people. It sucks that they take advantage of that

[Phantom 335i]

Originally Posted by EYE4SPEED

PP now limits the gifts at $500 - you need to do multiple transactions for high priced items.

Gifting is a good way to avoid fees - ONLY if there is a bunch of feedback and you have talked to the person. This doesn't guarantee anything, but much higher probability of successful transaction. Not such a big deal on low priced items, but on some really expensive items this can add up to $100's of dollars in fees.

Glad the OP got his money back, but PP fees are getting silly.

Hmmm I Just gifted over 800 in a single transaction. so I dont think they have capped the gifts at $500

[uberbeast21]

well screw that guy, just a pathetic way to live your life scamming others