Avoiding Scammers

Losing money to a scammer is painful and something we would like to help Mountain Project community members to avoid. Here are some tips to protect yourself:

1. Check account history - Vetting buyers/sellers is crucial. Accounts that are new or have limited activity on the site are frequently used in scams. Research photos in posts that may have been copied from elsewhere.
2. Avoid high-risk payment methods - Do not use PayPal "gift" payments, wire transfers, Western Union, etc. Use PayPal credit card payments, or other systems that protect you from fraud.
3. Pay attention to behavioral cues - Sellers that are rushing the transaction, that refuse reasonable requests to build confidence (e.g. photo of gear with a piece of paper including the seller's information), or that refer you to a different email address may not be legitimate. Better to get beat to a deal than to fall victim to a scam.
4. Report suspicious behavior - Flag posts in the forum from suspected scammers so we can investigate and quickly act on suspicious accounts. You can also report suspicious activity by contacting us directly.

Sharing names and email addresses of bad actors in the forum is well-intentioned but not particularly effective, as scammers can change these details easily and may even impersonate legitimate users who then receive the brunt of the community's response. Posts that identify individuals may be removed by moderators and should not be recreated. We welcome any tips of your own in this thread.

Though by no means foolproof, I appreciate when buyers post a follow up note on my threads of "good seller" or "received gear exactly as described," something to that effect. I try my best to do the same for people I buy from, as a means of providing historical vetting as to a sellers reputation. Absent this sort of history, I'm typically going to spend the extra 2-3% for venmo/paypal coverage.

Here is a link to the thread that Bruno started a couple months ago (MP Moderators note my comment on 12/3/22 saying we should have a sticky thread, glad it finally happened). Lots of good information about scammers' strategies and a couple of accounts to watch out for that have a particular technique

"Known" scam accounts:

• Sony Stitt
• J S (account deactivated)
• Diego Tavarez

You already know who they are.  Avoid them. . .

Another sign: User's email and PayPal don't match up. Ie. "Send your payment to my best friend's PayPal and I'll ship you the goods." Anyone who can't set up their own PP or Venmo is by definition an unreliable seller. 

We welcome any tips of your own in this thread.

How about you MP Moderators take a bit of responsibility and impose some rules??  

It's a free for all now.  

Anybody can post and anybody can reply to posts.  Anybody can send a PM.  Many other sites require active membership for a certain period of time, minimum numbers of posts in other areas of their website before allowing access to their For Sale section or even account verification linked to mainstream payment methods.

It might also be nice to mimic Facebook and other sites that require things such as a time period limit on bumping or ---GASP--- requiring people who have more than one thing to list them in THE SAME POST!

We kinda are getting to a tipping point with safety AND usability here.

Personal gripe as a seller are the folks who agree to buy and then crawfish out of the deal.  Believe it or not that is also fraud!  Linking payment might be nice.

Bottom line is that I am pretty disappointed in the stewardship here, pretty damn lazy and careless.

As for your "suggestions" they do seem to squarely place the blame on those who got ripped off.  And not on the folks (mods) representing MP and its parent entity who are letting the fraudsters in here!

To throw in another perspective, I have probably done around 50 transactions on this site, both buying and selling, with 100% success.  Most people here are honest and just trying to do right by each other.  I appreciate the low bar to enter the market as a seller, with more requirements I couldn't be bothered.

coldfinger wrote:

Bottom line is that I am pretty disappointed in the stewardship here, pretty damn lazy and careless.

Like the National Park Service says: your safety is your responsibility.

Given everything that really needs doing on the site, if there's a resource limit, then it shouldn't be expended on protecting people from themselves. It's pretty easy to vet the scam sites and sellers if you get away from the tunnel vision of trying to save $20.

Kyle Edmondson wrote:

To throw in another perspective, I have probably done around 50 transactions on this site, both buying and selling, with 100% success.  Most people here are honest and just trying to do right by each other.  I appreciate the low bar to enter the market as a seller, with more requirements I couldn't be bothered.

I'm with you on that, Kyle. I've both bought and sold a lot of stuff here. Never had a problem, though I did walk away from a few things that didn't pass the smell test. I also use PayPal Buyer Protection every time, which goes a long way. 

Kyle Edmondson wrote:

To throw in another perspective, I have probably done around 50 transactions on this site, both buying and selling, with 100% success.  Most people here are honest and just trying to do right by each other.  I appreciate the low bar to enter the market as a seller, with more requirements I couldn't be bothered.

Agreed. I like that it’s simple like Craigslist.

I say this as someone who was scammed. Fortunately I got my money back from PayPal but it’s on me for being careless. 

Doctor Drake wrote:

Here is a link to the thread that Bruno started a couple months ago (MP Moderators note my comment on 12/3/22 saying we should have a sticky thread, glad it finally happened). Lots of good information about scammers' strategies and a couple of accounts to watch out for that have a particular technique

"Known" scam accounts:

• Sony Stitt
• J S (account deactivated)
• Diego Tavarez

It would be wise to include user account ids because names are not unique in mountain project.

J S wrote:

It would be wise to include user account ids because names are not unique in mountain project.

Sorry buddy, all it takes is one bad J S ....you're outta here 

Stefanos Apostle wrote:

Sorry buddy, all it takes is one bad J S ....you're outta here 

Bobo Bob lives!!!!

J S wrote:

Bobo Bob lives!!!!

Oh no, I got scammed and I didn't even know it....

J S wrote:

Bobo Bob lives!!!!

Doxxed! How is the climbing down in Cuba, Tupac? I hear the limestone is drippy.

J S wrote:

It would be wise to include user account ids because names are not unique in mountain project.

Of course, great point, and no offense intended ;)

I did note that the particular account that shares the name with yours has already been deactivated. I didn’t have direct links to the others.

But yes, if anyone has direct links or account IDs, they should be shared. 

Andrew Rice wrote:

Another sign: User's email and PayPal don't match up. Ie. "Send your payment to my best friend's PayPal and I'll ship you the goods." Anyone who can't set up their own PP or Venmo is by definition an unreliable seller. 

Not always true. I had a hack on my Venmo and debit card a few years ago that resulted in me being “frozen” from being able to utilize Venmo and PayPal’s services. Despite tons of time trying to dispute this, I’m still unable to use those services which makes it very difficult to buy and sell in the online marketplace. Though I let folks know that I’m not able to use PayPal or Venmo, I still offer Zelle, Apple Pay, or cash if local. 

Matthew Baker wrote:

Not always true. I had a hack on my Venmo and debit card a few years ago that resulted in me being “frozen” from being able to utilize Venmo and PayPal’s services. Despite tons of time trying to dispute this, I’m still unable to use those services which makes it very difficult to buy and sell in the online marketplace. Though I let folks know that I’m not able to use PayPal or Venmo, I still offer Zelle, Apple Pay, or cash if local. 

True enough. But a very rare exception. Also, seems like you have two perfect well-functioning and credible services still available. 

Hi all, not sure if anyone has purchased from this new website, but prices seem too good to be true, and their contact page pops up an “error 404”

https://www.activeandadventurous.com/

I got a reply recently to a for sale forum that sent me an email. The account was brand new. They sent me photos of a bag that I found online on a gear review site. 

I asked them for other photos, none showed up. The account that sent me the email was deactivated. 

If someone sends you the email of daviesmaclean(at)aol(dot)Com beware. 

Be careful out there y'all

Edit: I asked for a recent photo and they edited in a sign with the date on it. It was one of the photos they already sent me... You can't make this up

What to do after one has reached out to a seller several times by phone and email and doesn't respond to either. He misrepresented the item he was selling ,took the money and ran. He advertised the item as being a pair of Scarpa 6000's size 44 but sends a pair of 46s. In my eyes this is theft. How does one recup ones loses in this case ?  

I hate to call the seller out in public yet in the mean time l don't want others to get ripped off either.