[armyadarkness]

The scams are continuing, now more than ever before. These young kids don't want to work, and they have the tools and technology to beat you, from anywhere in the world. Couple that with the lack of understanding that most Americans over the age of 50 have regarding the internet, and it's like shooting fish in a barrel.

Things to note:

• Scammers are ALMOST ALWAYS new members, but regardless of how old they are, you can vet them here! Click on any members name and their biography will open. Once you do, click on "LATEST ACTIVITY" and it'll show you what they've been up to on our forum (see example below). If they're any sort of legitimate member, theyll have a visible history of what they've been reading or posting. And if their activity is empty, then you can bet thaey're not here for any good reason.
• Trust no one, who hasnt established themselves here. Scammers are smart and they do this 24/7, which means they evolve at light speed. They "try" to scam people all day, every day, so they learn real quick; "what works, what almost worked, and what didnt work".
• Look for unusual circumstances! Avatars with girls, and even "premium memberships" are both age old tactics for a scammer! I've been noticing that the number of "Women" in here has increased, proportionately with the scammers. DON"T BE A SUCKER! Scammers know that posting as a girl, in an all male forum, will attract a lot more friends. And unfortunately, most men will let their guard down too easily for a female. So... you've gone your whole life barely ever meeting a female GTO owner, don't believe that they're all magically appearing now. Sure, engage, be helpful, be yourself... but don't buy parts until the person establishes themselves!!!!!
• Same goes for Premium Memberships. Those don't dictate that you're "good"! If a scammer thinks they can beat you for a $3000 part, a $20 membership is a no-brainer.
• ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS DO YOUR BUSINESS OVER THE PHONE, BY VOICE. Scammers will NEVER want to talk on the phone. Most are foreigners or men posing as women, so they cannot talk on the phone. They will give a million reasons for this, but none are legitimate. The bottom line is, they're making their identity on an iphone, and they need to scam you through test or email. So when you're doing business on the internet, always insist on a phone call. If they refuse, then pass on the deal.

My recent experience... I'm selling a 5th wheel travel trailer on the internet. A woman emails me, gives me her phone number, and asks for me to text her. I call her and get voicemail.

She reaches out again and explains that they lost everything in a fire and are desperate... please text her. I again call and tell her "sorry for your loss, I'm in the same boat and need to all but give the thing away, so please call". She does not call.

Because through texting, they can mask their gender, ethnicity, geography, and intentions. They can also mask their number very easily, so you caller ID may show up as Jane Smith from Idaho, but it's more likely Osama from Bangladesh.

All legitimate sellers will be willing to talk and know the history of their parts and the GTO. This is why whenever new members come in, it's important to vet them. Remember, they're evolving, so any foreigner can google the GTO and learn all about it... but he won't likely have any personal stories about one that his dad owned, etc.

How to see what people are up to:

 

[67ventwindow]

Like you said they are lazy. They also are doing this on multiple sites . So they use the same username in some cases, So pamelo8915 you google the usename and google show five new users on five sites with in the same hour.

 

[Duff]

My thought is, IF you buy a part from an unknown person, have them ship it COD. I was a UPS delivery man for about 22 years, it was against policy, but if asked, I'd carefully open the package to let the paying customer examine the contents.

 

[PMD4me]

Thanks for posting that info.
I had a similar experience where it went bad for the scammer due to a little old fashioned detective work on my behalf.
There's a certain place for these sidewinding p o s's.

 

[kobold]

@armyadarkness: ....All legitimate sellers will be willing to talk and know the history of their parts and the GTO .....

For me, here in germany (my english is not the best one, and when someone speaks with dialect or fast, I couldn't understand all...) it's better to write, so I hope you understand.
But you are right, normally it's better to speak direct with the seller / buyer.

 

[armyadarkness]

@armyadarkness: ....All legitimate sellers will be willing to talk and know the history of their parts and the GTO .....

For me, here in germany (my english is not the best one, and when someone speaks with dialect or fast, I couldn't understand all...) it's better to write, so I hope you understand.
But you are right, normally it's better to speak direct with the seller / buyer.

That's a very valid point! I never looked at it from that perspective... fortunately, most of us wont be shipping any GTO parts out of the country.

Ive never had anyone tell me they needed to use text to translate, but now I now to watch out for it.

 

[kobold]

...so, I'm lucky that I only need "Le Mans" parts...

 

[armyadarkness]

...so, I'm lucky that I only need "Le Mans" parts...

I guess that depends on your perspective... Lemans parts are a Hell of a lot rarer than GTO parts, and you're in Germany! Most folks wouldnt call that lucky! Im glad you made it work for you!

 

[kobold]

....yes, I know, and I collected some rare parts ( taillights, etc) for spare.
I never wanted a car like a camaro, corvette, firebird, mustang, which you see often at german meetings / conventions.

 

[armyadarkness]

I never wanted a car like a camaro, corvette, firebird, mustang

We all feel the same way.

 

[Joes1966GTO]

SUPER good information, Jimmy! Thanks as always. I hadn't seen any scammers on this forum yet, but they are all over Instagram like leeches. Every day I must get at least 5 "follows" from a young busty girl, looking for "true love" and am constantly being followed by new "car parts" people, showing less-than-legit parts for sale (pics poached from Ebay and others). Fortunately, if you look, some will have their "country of origin" available in the "about this member" section. Most of the "local GTO parts" are based in CAMEROON! Wow, I'll bet that the shipping is going to be expensive! Buyer beware!!!

 

[Noangelbuddy]

@armyadarkness: ....All legitimate sellers will be willing to talk and know the history of their parts and the GTO .....

For me, here in germany (my english is not the best one, and when someone speaks with dialect or fast, I couldn't understand all...) it's better to write, so I hope you understand.
But you are right, normally it's better to speak direct with the seller / buyer.

Your English is better than our German. I worked with several Engineers from Siemens in Munich in the mid 80’s.Some of them spoke English so well, I thought they were Americans from Boeing. It seemed like everyone under 40 could speak and understand English. Remember that a person who speaks three languages is tri-lingual, two languages is bi-lingual and one language? Probably an American.

 

[armyadarkness]

Every day I must get at least 5 "follows" from a young busty girl, looking for "true love"

You should always forward those to me for a thorough inspection. Infact, I can use that little fiber optic camera that @Baaad65 has for looking in your sparkplug hole.

 

[armyadarkness]

Your English is better than our German. I worked with several Engineers from Siemens in Munich in the mid 80’s.Some of them spoke English so well, I thought they were Americans from Boeing. It seemed like everyone under 40 could speak and understand English. Remember that a person who speaks three languages is tri-lingual, two languages is bi-lingual and one language? Probably an American.

Yes... I have many foreign friends and they all speak English, as well as their native tongue. This year we hired a ton of Spanish girls, and Ive already warned them not to sing Feliz Navidad at the Christmas party.

 

[Baaad65]

You should always forward those to me for a thorough inspection. Infact, I can use that little fiber optic camera that @Baaad65 has for looking in your sparkplug hole.

Ha ha but wash it when you're done ! Ya I was hoping you were posting the pix of the young busty girl stalking you not the car parts

 

[armyadarkness]

But aside from that, I encourage them to do all kinds of other stuff with their foreign tongue.

 

[armyadarkness]

Ha ha but wash it when you're done ! Ya I was hoping you were posting the pix of the young busty girl stalking you not the car parts

Last week I was talking about all of the Pontiac GTO's in I Dream of Jeannie... Todays episode was Farrah Fawcettes debut! Learn something new every day.

 

[Baaad65]

Last week I was talking about all of the Pontiac GTO's in I Dream of Jeannie... Todays episode was Farrah Fawcettes debut! Learn something new every day.
View attachment 159497
View attachment 159498

Holy crap could you imagine Farrah and Barbra on the same set....bet there were a lot of guys running around with untucked shirts especially Major Wood 🤪

 

[Joes1966GTO]

You should always forward those to me for a thorough inspection. Infact, I can use that little fiber optic camera that @Baaad65 has for looking in your sparkplug hole.

Sorry Jimmy........no can do. They PROMISED me that I was "the only one for them"......and that we were "soulmates." In fact, one has this cute little nickname she calls me. She keeps referring to me as "Her big bald Polish ATM." Isn't that CUTE? She's a keeper. Now I have to go now.........apparently her dead mother needs money for another operation or something like that and I need to send her $500 bucks.

 

[Noangelbuddy]

Yes... I have many foreign friends and they all speak English, as well as their native tongue. This year we hired a ton of Spanish girls, and Ive already warned them not to sing Feliz Navidad at the Christmas party.

Army,
I respect your technical inputs, but I wonder if a smart, hot hooker could scam you? 😜. Appreciate your tips on fending them off regardless.

The scams are continuing, now more than ever before. These young kids don't want to work, and they have the tools and technology to beat you, from anywhere in the world. Couple that with the lack of understanding that most Americans over the age of 50 have regarding the internet, and it's like shooting fish in a barrel.

Things to note:

• Scammers are ALMOST ALWAYS new members, but regardless of how old they are, you can vet them here! Click on any members name and their biography will open. Once you do, click on "LATEST ACTIVITY" and it'll show you what they've been up to on our forum (see example below). If they're any sort of legitimate member, theyll have a visible history of what they've been reading or posting. And if their activity is empty, then you can bet thaey're not here for any good reason.
• Trust no one, who hasnt established themselves here. Scammers are smart and they do this 24/7, which means they evolve at light speed. They "try" to scam people all day, every day, so they learn real quick; "what works, what almost worked, and what didnt work".
• Look for unusual circumstances! Avatars with girls, and even "premium memberships" are both age old tactics for a scammer! I've been noticing that the number of "Women" in here has increased, proportionately with the scammers. DON"T BE A SUCKER! Scammers know that posting as a girl, in an all male forum, will attract a lot more friends. And unfortunately, most men will let their guard down too easily for a female. So... you've gone your whole life barely ever meeting a female GTO owner, don't believe that they're all magically appearing now. Sure, engage, be helpful, be yourself... but don't buy parts until the person establishes themselves!!!!!
• Same goes for Premium Memberships. Those don't dictate that you're "good"! If a scammer thinks they can beat you for a $3000 part, a $20 membership is a no-brainer.
• ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS DO YOUR BUSINESS OVER THE PHONE, BY VOICE. Scammers will NEVER want to talk on the phone. Most are foreigners or men posing as women, so they cannot talk on the phone. They will give a million reasons for this, but none are legitimate. The bottom line is, they're making their identity on an iphone, and they need to scam you through test or email. So when you're doing business on the internet, always insist on a phone call. If they refuse, then pass on the deal.

My recent experience... I'm selling a 5th wheel travel trailer on the internet. A woman emails me, gives me her phone number, and asks for me to text her. I call her and get voicemail.

She reaches out again and explains that they lost everything in a fire and are desperate... please text her. I again call and tell her "sorry for your loss, I'm in the same boat and need to all but give the thing away, so please call". She does not call.

Because through texting, they can mask their gender, ethnicity, geography, and intentions. They can also mask their number very easily, so you caller ID may show up as Jane Smith from Idaho, but it's more likely Osama from Bangladesh.

All legitimate sellers will be willing to talk and know the history of their parts and the GTO. This is why whenever new members come in, it's important to vet them. Remember, they're evolving, so any foreigner can google the GTO and learn all about it... but he won't likely have any personal stories about one that his dad owned, etc.

How to see what people are up to:

View attachment 159448