What should I do?

[bigeasy_uk]

What should I do? - ebay scammer

me and about 10 other people have been ripped off by a user on ebay, he was claiming to be selling some rare/sealed/prototype games. they were never sent out, this was around 3 weeks ago. paypal will not cover the whole amount owed to everyone either! After doing a little digging (and hacking into his email account) I've managed to find his home address!
So now i have a list of all the users he ripped off, their names, email addresses, how much they paid and where they are from. should i go to the police with all the information i have, or should i knock on his door and go the vigilante route? I would go to the police straight away if i thought they weren't a bunch of muppets, but i think it could be a long winded process and probably not get my cash back. on the other hand, i'm a fairly large chap and could just frog march him to a bank to get the money back. what should i do?

 

[Rs2k_Rider]

as you know, you have two routes you could follow,

going to his house, he could claim you have robbed him... and would have cctv from the bank/street which wouldnt look too good.
going to the police, ok they are prats at times.. but this would be classed as "obtaining funds by decpetion" which they treat as a very serious offence ! they will pass it to the relevent police station for where he lives and they will follow it up asap i expect.

 

[ice2004]

How would you explain hacking into his email account to the police? Just go to his house and demand your money back, if he's not got it then ask him for his TV or something of a value more than you paid so you don't lose money when you sell it.

Also id take all proof you have regarding this situation with you incase he phoned the police. At least then you could justify your actions.

 

[bigeasy_uk]

I don't think he would go to the police, he would be facing a lot of counts of obtaining by deception or even fraud. I just want was is mine, and hopefully help the other people who have been scammed as well. I'm just not sure if the police can get my money back, whereas i know i can. has anyone from dw been in this situation?

 

[manutd4life]

take a couple og heavies with you mate, that seems to work, but is it really worth it, you dont no the background of this person. he could be dangerous or he could no a lot of dangerous people. if i was you id ask around to see what people think of him and what they no about him. in the long run is it worth gettin in lotsa bother. i.e. violence for a bit of money. you have to be careful these days mate.

 

[bigeasy_uk]

I'm a fairly big guy (6'6" 22 stone) and i'll be taking my brother with me, he's small but pretty tough. we can both handle ourselves. he owes almost £3000 that i know of, so it's a fair bit of cash.

 

[manutd4life]

well mate if iwas you and your size i would go round and demand my money back, 3 grand is a lot,but its really up to youmate, good luck lol

 

[The Dentist]

Personally i would never involve the police in these kind of things. ebay and paypal are d1cks. 3k is a lot of money. i'd get some compensation (preferably 2 knees)

 

[bigeasy_uk]

cheers for the support devil666, although i must point out he only owes me 250, he owes the rest to the other people he has scammed in the last few weeks, i'm trying to get the money back for them as well as myself (plus i've got a giant loathing for scammers)

 

[The Dentist]

cheers for the support devil666, although i must point out he only owes me 250, he owes the rest to the other people he has scammed in the last few weeks, i'm trying to get the money back for them as well as myself (plus i've got a giant loathing for scammers)

just remember next time dont get scammed lol. be vigilant.

PS: i would NEVER condone voilence. have a sit with him with a nice cup of tea and discuss it like adults :Cheers:

 

[janobi]

If you have his address, I am sure you could get his phone number too. Give him a little call, and advise him that you know who he is, and where he is, and if this isnt sorted in a satisfactory manner, then it will be taken further. Although this could be misconstrude as a threat, it would be a better option at first than turning up on his door, and demanding your cash.

As for paypal, they are dicks. I got my paypal locked, cos some idiot said I ripped him off 12 quid. As I didnt send via recorded delivery, they sided with him, although I could prove he had received the goods.

 

[Spikeman]

one thing that is a cert - paypal & ebay will not back you up.

They will as far as their policy states but I had a case of concert tickets that were non-existant. Luckilly I found out before the due date and contacted the seller supposedly a women (that turned out to be a bloke).

In the end Paypal paid a portion and said that they will take steps to recover the remainder but they haven't.

I wonder if they do claim the whol amount back though? I mean do they keep the rest for themselves?

 

[wizbit77]

Not to pee on your chips. But is there anything that proves the address and other details that you have are acutally belonging to the scammer. I feel it a bit daft if the guy planned a scam and gave all his own details... I'd make sure it's the right people that your visiting before you go in all gung ho. It could be just another poor unsuspecting innocent.
Wizbit
P.s. I agree in principle to your actions. The police are a nice thought but in all the incidents I've had dealings with them I have spent a load of my own time used up my holidays from work sitting in police stations and been basically told - sorry but erm we can't do anymore.