Thanks for the heads up Dave.
Would it be feasible to restrict new members from sending private messages until they've made a few posts? Inconvenient for genuine new members though.
Thanks for the heads up Dave.
Would it be feasible to restrict new members from sending private messages until they've made a few posts? Inconvenient for genuine new members though.
Not a good idea. There are many who come here just to find specific things and if you bar them from contacting someone directly about the only thing they are interested in they'll simply go away, and probably annoyed af at that. That and the fact that posting here is a crapshoot at best...If you enjoy getting slapped once because your n00b post didn't meet someone else's ambiguous definition of whatever that thread's rules are, you're gonna be ecstatic having that happen multiple times just to be able to contact someone. They'd give up before getting the chance to message someone they might need an answer from right away (from my own experience being a 2-week old 9T owner with an issue preventing me from riding my new bike and came here for the answer).
Locking everyone down because one or two people fell for a scam is actually a horrific approach to me, especially from a site that boasts to be "the premiere community" for fellow BMW R9T riders. That would be like shutting down your Gmail ability to send messages because my grandmother fell for the "your computer is infected, please send $$$ for us to fix it" scam.
I do not think this is possible at present, the forum is still actively under development by the site admins.....
I honestly think that if members take prudent steps to protect themselves and carefully consider any contact from another member before entering into any transaction, successful scams on this forum won't be a big issue. The forum can only do so much to protect members, members themselves have also to do their part.
There are other changes in the pipeline, please stay tuned for further announcements...
Admin edit 14/5/23 - a recent and welcome development is that members now have to have made 10 posts on the forum before Private Conversation (PM) messaging access is granted.
I do not think this is possible at present, the forum is still actively under development by the site admins.....
I honestly think that if members take prudent steps to protect themselves and carefully consider any contact from another member before entering into any transaction, successful scams on this forum won't be a big issue. The forum can only do so much to protect members, members themselves have also to do their part.
There are other changes in the pipeline, please stay tuned for further announcements...
I am a noob on this site but have been on other MC specific boards like ADV for 15-years or so. During that time I have bought and sold a lot of parts, gear and a bike or three. As in life it is up to a user to do their due diligence on the item and seller. If something doesn’t look right or is too good to be true than it probably is. I will normally google their screen name, email address and etc as many people use the same across different boards.
I will normally not us PayPal Friends and Family as it affords you no protection if the deal goes sideways.
Scammers gonna Scam, don’t rely or expect the board to protect you!!
Keep on your guard! Two scamming attempts similar to the one described above reported over the last day. Be very wary! Both members reported the issue (before any sale was started) and the scammer has been banned.
If you have any suspicions at all about any unusual marketplace activity please do not go ahead with any transaction but reach out to a a Moderator and we will investigate. Better safe than sorry!
Don’t know whether it’s good or bad to be able to say this, but, in 11 years of participating in forums (4 motorcycle and several others of different interests) this is only the 2nd time I’ve heard of people being the victim of attempted or actual scamming attempts.
None has happened to me. I once advertised an optical device and said it had a scratch on the body...How bad is the scratch? Asked a potential buyer. Very subjective the severity of a scratch! Sent the £650 device to the guy and told him to pay for it if he wanted it, if not, to return it on his own £.
The money came.
Ken.
Yes it is very unfortunate that these criminals (for that is what they are) try to prey on the decent folk of this forum. I wonder how they sleep at night...
Please keep alert, everyone. There has in the last day been another scamming attempt aimed at two forum members. Thankfully both were wise to it and reported the activity. The scammer has been banned by a member of the moderator team.
ADMIN EDIT - The IP address is NOT banned as it is not unique in itself and other innocent people could get caught up in it. The username (and I think email address) is added to a database used to alert moderator teams when combinations of email addresses, IP addresses and usernames appear as new users on the forum.
There is only so much that the forum can do to protect it's members. In the end it is up to the member to perform due diligence on any transaction. As it clearly says in the marketplace guidelines/rules, members use the forum marketplace at their own risk.
Update, 2 further suspected scammers identified by an alert forum member today. Both scammers have been immediately banned. Please keep alert everyone!
Hey Dave, is it possible that ALL those scams AND scammers are the same guy just signing up again and again under different names ..... it’s not that difficult to get his physical address if you ask the right people, a GPS location does the trick, the country and address are then pretty easy .... I know in the USA there is a police division in most major cities whose single focus is cyber crime. If the posts are originating in the states they will track him down raid his location prosecute and jail them, even under age juveniles get jailed. I think everyone posting about this has the right idea ... if you want to do a deal get as much verifiable personal Information as it takes to make you confident enough to take a chance. No matter what you do its always going to be chancy with a stranger. Be suspicious .... then take your chances. Good-Luck .....Blitz
Embarrassingly this happened to me a few weels ago.
I lost $140 for a Rizoma screen using the method Dave described in his first post.
I'm very angry and embarrased at the same time.
I have supplied Dave with the relevant information.
Whenever I've posted a WTB ad, I've been hit by numerous messages from scammers. Perhaps someone can tweak a setting and not allow private messages unless someone has made at least a single post (or 10 or whatever).
As I understand things, this is being looked at by the forum developers. I agree this would be a great help. The Moderator team has asked for this before. I will request a status update from the Site Admins.
Admin edit 14/5/23 - Members now have to have complete 10 posts before Private Conversation access is enabled.
Thanks a lot Dave, when I reach 30 post I will be attempting to sell some extra parts that came with my Racer.
I will not be using them but hopefully I can find someone that will.
Just stopping by to keep you all appraised. There are still scam attempts happening in the Want To Buy forum sections (same general method as described in the OP). Please stay cautious and vigilant! All scammers discovered have been banned. Also don't drop your guard on the other Marketplace sections. So far no scams or scam attempts reported there, but there is always a first time.
Further update just to keep you all informed. Got the first report of an attempted scam happening outside of the Want To Buy forum section. Effectively an opportunistic type of move targeted at members discussing a product. Same approach - scammer contacts member via Private Conversation advising that a relative of theirs has what the member is looking for and giving an email address to contact the "seller". Obviously the seller is bogus and any money sent would be lost forever. The forum member reporting this did NOT get stung, he was wise to it and reported the attempt. The scammer was immediately banned.
Stay safe folks. Remember please report anything suspicious anywhere on the forum, we would far rather investigate a false alarm than risk a member being ripped-off.
Yes, as a new member it is annoying (this is not a rant). I bought an R9T and needed some answers where this forum was helpful. A couple of months has passed and I've decided to move a couple of accessories the bike came with that I will not be using.
My question is: what is to stop me from putting a full stop in 10 different post replies, then scamming someone? Are you relying on the laziness of the scammer?
Yes, this post will add to my total so I can post a couple of for sale ads, however I will attempt a full stop in a few posts to bump the numbers
Not trying to get banned, just observing what appears to be a strange rule.
Posting meaningless text to get your post count up without interacting in the thread discussions is considered spamming.
You will get banned for that!
Also please note that "fast posting" (just posting to reach the minimum) can be seen as spamming and could get you flagged by moderators.
Don't want to get banned?, then get involved in the nineT community regularly. It won't take too long to get your post count up, and gain you some credibility!
I've found the moderators on this forum (and the Honda VFR forum I'm still on) to be friendly and fair. It helps that most of the forum members are pretty well-behaved, but when a mod does have to step into a thread it's usually appropriate and is done tactfully. I can't say what the private messages from the mods are like since I've never fun too afoul of the rules, but I suspect they'd be very much like the public nudges and rebukes.
As for boosting post counts just to be eligible to sell stuff on the forum, my personal opinion is I'd be wary of buying anything from someone who just joined very recently, has few if any meaningful posts, and is selling a few things - especially expensive things - providing little information about the items and using stock photos. It's "buyer beware," the same caution we exercise on eBay. That being said, my experiences buying parts and accessories on the forum have been great!
I never like adding to this thread as it invariably means someone else has fallen foul of, or had contact with a scammer. The most recent scam tactic is a variation on the one described in my original post. The common factor, though, is that the member is invited by private conversation to take the transaction off-site (outside the forum). The member then pays for the non-existent item(s) and the seller disappears.
However there was a new and significant variation in the tactic so I'm going to give you a summary of what the scam process was.
Unlike previous scamming behaviour, this scam tactic originated outside the Want To Buy marketplace section (still in the marketplace, though) and involved a low post count member (scammer) contacting the target member by private conversation advising that another member (legitimately selling a product) was not on the forum anymore, but could be reached at a certain external email address. An email dialogue would then continue outside of the forum. Photos were supplied (harvested from elsewhere) to make the sale look genuine and the transaction was completed. Once the scammer had the money, they disappeared.
Can I please strongly reiterate that members use the forum marketplace AT YOUR OWN RISK (the forum will not be held responsible for negative outcomes) and we recommend that members taking part in forum-based transactions take strong and robust measures to protect their money or items they are selling. Look carefully at the seller/buying member and conduct thorough due-diligence. Examples of what you might ask yourself (this is not a thorough list) might be... Do they seem legitimate? What is their post history like (if any)? Are their posts actually about the R nineT, or does the member appear to just be posting generic replies to get their post count up a bit? Have they been a member for long? If you are in doubt or anything makes you think twice, think very carefully before you proceed any further, and if still in any doubt consider withdrawing from the transaction. If you are completing the transaction, please consider using protected payment methods in case the transaction goes bad, and additionally consider insuring your sale item if you are selling it to another individual. More guidance is provided in sticky threads at the top of each marketplace section.
Ultimately it is your money and your articles that are at risk. Please be careful!
Hi all, I’d like to add a warning about the R NineT UK and Ireland group on Facebook. I posted that I need a left hand grip assembly for my 2017 Roadster and someone called Robert Owen said that he had one. He was also selling a tank so seemed ok. I sent him the money via PayPal but he disappeared when I asked him for the tracking info.
Thanks for posting and sorry to hear you fell foul of a scammer on Facebook. Sadly these low-lives are everywhere on the internet. Hopefully Paypal will refund you.