Fraud Alert! Need help!

[Stony]

Well, I have been a victim of fraud by someone that was supposedly selling the following A-2 on London's Craigslist. It is a really nice A-2 and the price was good, so I ignored all the warning signs and went through with the money transfer. I feel really stupid that I ignored those warning signs. I have contacted the London police and had a lawyer in Ireland verify that the seller's address was indeed false. The person living at that address is not the seller.This lawyer also told me that any further legal action would undoubtably cost more than what I paid for the jacket and nothing may ever become of their investigation or any legal action that may insue. I transferred the funds to Abby Bank in London and I had it verified by my bank.

The pictures of the A-2, as you can see, look like they were taken in a private residence, not at a show or a museum, etc. I would like anyone that sees this A-2 for sale elsewhere to please contact me as I have already paid for it. If you see this A-2 for sale on Craigslist, please beware as it may be another fraud. However, if you pick it up in person, it may turn out to be a ligit transaction as the seller has already gotten my money.

Here is a list of information that may help anyone to recognize another fraud or help me to recover my funds or A-2. Through several emails it seems that the seller knew a fair amount about flight jackets, so they might be known in the collector world by someone.

1) A-2 was advertised on London's Craigslist by a person called Ian
2) Ian corresponded with me from this email address: [email protected]
3) Ian had me transfer the funds to Abby Bank in London under the account name of Gavin Zafiu
4) The seller gave their home address in Unst, Shetland

If anyone needs anymore information, I would be glad to provide it. I have the original photos and the extentions for those photos may provide some additional information to someone that was really savy in that subject.

Again, any help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you
Stony

 

[m444uk]

Only 700 people live on Unst !
The most remote part of the UK.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unst

 

[Stony]

Only 700 people live on Unst !
The most remote part of the UK.

Yep, found that out. The Unst police also said there is no one with that name on the island.

 

[better duck]

Bummer, Stony.
I'll keep a look out, in my modest perusing of e-bay and the like.

 

[havocpaul]

I never heard of Craigslist before. If the money went to an Abbey account surely that bank and yours can reveal the account holder, Abbey as a name are only a UK operation (although part of the Santander group). I haven't seen that particular jacket around the collecting circles here in London before but of course will keep a look out.

 

[greyhound52]

Stony,
Seen that exact A2 on ebay twice with the same photos. I even bid on it once and it went for over 1800 if I remember correctly. I think the seller used those photos and then put them on the list.

 

[TankBuster]

I thought that one looked familiar! I remember it from Ebay as well. Bummer Stony!!! I hope they somehow catch this guy.

 

[Roughwear]

I remember the Ebay listing too. Looks like the "seller" stole the pics for fraudulent purposes. :twisted:

 

[Stony]

I remember the Ebay listing too. Looks like the "seller" sole the pics for fraudulent purposes.

If that's the case, and it seems so, maybe Ebay needs to incorporate some sort of block so that pictures cannot be stolen. My question is, if it was listed on London's Craigslist and someone local wanted to buy it, then the seller would have to come up with some sort of excuse like "sorry, it sold already".

As for the Abby Bank account, they don't have to give up any information because of privacy laws and my bank can't do anything either because of that. The owner of the account has to authorize the release of any funds or information and we know that is not going to happen without a court order.

My initial email to the London police was answered and they asked for the details of the fraud and I sent it to them. They have not answered as of yet and it's been about three weeks. I will continue to pester them until they do answer.

Any suggestions as to how to proceed is appreciated.

Thank you
Stony

 

[havocpaul]

I wouldn't hold out too much hope that the Met Police will give it much time, I know a few people over the years who have tried involving them but got little response, I guess they see the amounts as too little although to the victims it can be a great deal of money to lose. I agree that eBay should address the stolen/borrowed photo problem, maybe a eBay watermark that would appear on any pic downloaded to the site might be a start. I sincerely hope this piece of scum is found and dealt with accordingly!

 

[havocpaul]

I have just had a thought...often when dealers or individuals have items stolen etc they get some help publicising it from British magazines such as Armourer...
http://beaumontpublishing.co.uk/

or Military Illustrated....
http://www.adhpublishing.com/mi/index.htm


I would e-mail them and see if they would be able to print a photo of the jacket and details of the fraud; the collecting fraternity is not too large that someone may know of the fraudster, especially as he must have some knowledge of flight jackets and may have done a similar stunt before. Worth a try?

 

[Peter Graham]

Good luck Stony. Hopefully things will come good for you. Even if he stole the photos the bastard must have some knowledge of flight jackets. Spread the word far and wide and he may well be tracked down.

 

[Stony]

I wouldn't hold out too much hope that the Met Police will give it much time, I know a few people over the years who have tried involving them but got little response, I guess they see the amounts as too little although to the victims it can be a great deal of money to lose.

My wife, who is a court reporter, said I should file a lawsuit against this individual since I do have the name on the Abby account and the account number. However, if this arsehat is half smart, they would have closed down the account already. Worth a shot I guess.

I have just had a thought...often when dealers or individuals have items stolen etc they get some help publicising it from British magazines such as Armourer...
http://beaumontpublishing.co.uk/

or Military Illustrated....
http://www.adhpublishing.com/mi/index.htm


I would e-mail them and see if they would be able to print a photo of the jacket and details of the fraud; the collecting fraternity is not too large that someone may know of the fraudster, especially as he must have some knowledge of flight jackets and may have done a similar stunt before. Worth a try?
I have just had a thought...often when dealers or individuals have items stolen etc they get some help publicising it from British magazines such as Armourer...
http://beaumontpublishing.co.uk/

or Military Illustrated....
http://www.adhpublishing.com/mi/index.htm


I would e-mail them and see if they would be able to print a photo of the jacket and details of the fraud; the collecting fraternity is not too large that someone may know of the fraudster, especially as he must have some knowledge of flight jackets and may have done a similar stunt before. Worth a try?

Thanks for the links and the suggestion, I will contact those sites and see what can be done.

Even if he stole the photos the bastard must have some knowledge of flight jackets. Spread the word far and wide and he may well be tracked down.

That's a senario I'm hoping for Peter. People like that get greedy and that's when they get caught.


Thank you all for your suggestions.

Stony

 

[Sid-Vintage]

Ouch..... A Nigerian living in remote part of Scotland pastes a previous Ebay auction on Craigs List and someone actually sends him the $'? As far as the Met following up I'd say chances slim with such a small fry case. Be careful also if you get any Emails from a Nigerian Prince asking for credit card info in exchange for free money....

Sorry to hear the tale of woe but in this day and age you've got to be a bit wary.... Good luck.....

 

[m444uk]

Stony, I'm a bit confused. Why did you transfer money to someone in London with the Romanian sounding surname of Zafiu, when Ian gives his home address as Scotland ?
This Zafiu character doesn't have to live in the UK to have an active bank account in London, he may have transferred the money to another country outside of the EU.

 

[Stony]

Ouch..... A Nigerian living in remote part of Scotland pastes a previous Ebay auction on Craigs List and someone actually sends him the $'? As far as the Met following up I'd say chances slim with such a small fry case. Be careful also if you get any Emails from a Nigerian Prince asking for credit card info in exchange for free money....

Thanks for the sarcasm "hat".

 

[Stony]

Stony, I'm a bit confused. Why did you transfer money to someone in London with the Romanian sounding surname of Zafiu, when Ian gives his home address as Scotland ?

If you or Sid-vintage had read the original post, you would have seen where I couldn't believe I had fallen for this scam. That being said, if you don't have any positive input, I request that you don't have any at all.

Thank you
Stony

 

[Andrew]

Ouch..... A Nigerian living in remote part of Scotland pastes a previous Ebay auction on Craigs List and someone actually sends him the $'? ....... Be careful also if you get any Emails from a Nigerian Prince asking for credit card info in exchange for free money....
.....

Ok SV, i'm only going to score you a 2 on your second post here, must try harder....

Stony, whatever the circumstances it's an absolute bummer to lose any money to a thief. Good luck.

 

[Sid-Vintage]

Yeah sorry for coming over a bit harsh. Hope at least others can learn from your mistake. There are millions of similar scams out there you have to make sure you're covered if it's to good to be true walk away.... Good luck.

 

[ausreenactor]

Stony..

Trying something..Appealing to the seller's fraudulent nature. Bait is set..will see what pans out..

Couchy