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I bit Locked

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  • Member since
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  • From: Vancouver Island, BC
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I bit
Posted by selector on Sunday, March 20, 2011 2:36 PM

After I deleted the thread, I felt sorry the Czech guy and offered to help.  He only needed $400 seed money in an account I opened for him.  He already placed his first order, and managed to use up all the money.  Weird, eh?

I am a bit miffed, though...he still hasn't thanked me.

Crandell the Wiser   Geeked

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Posted by Forty Niner on Sunday, March 20, 2011 2:53 PM

Oh, that was nice of you, but wait, "such a deal I have for you".........;-]

Mark

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Posted by last mountain & eastern hogger on Sunday, March 20, 2011 3:07 PM

Whistling

Why do I not believe you Crandall ???

Johnboy out.......................................Mischief

from Saskatchewan, in the Great White North.. 

We have met the enemy,  and he is us............ (Pogo)

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Posted by galaxy on Sunday, March 20, 2011 3:54 PM

Did you sell him a bridge too, crandell?

I have some swamp land he might want to drain and build a house on if he wants to come here to teh USA.

-G .

Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.

 HO and N Scale.

After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.

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Posted by Hamltnblue on Sunday, March 20, 2011 4:02 PM

Maybe you could have asked him to wire you a couple of hundred of bucks to open the account for him.

Springfield PA

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Posted by cowman on Sunday, March 20, 2011 4:04 PM

Thought it was the first day of April, not the first day of spring, that we were suppose to hear such things.

Sounds like you didn't check on your Czech before sending him a check.

That's bad!

Richard

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Posted by hon30critter on Sunday, March 20, 2011 8:37 PM

Crandell

The intrusion into our very friendly environment by an obvious scam artist ( that term is an insult to every true artist in the world) bothered me greatly. Are we not safe from these nasty people anywhere?

Then to be called onto the carpet for taking a shot at the "person who made the post" ( insert any appropriate terminology you like for the word 'person'!) because you bothered to add a little humour to the situation. Well, that is just not right IMHO. I think you are doing a great job as a moderator. Thank you for your work.

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

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Posted by wholeman on Sunday, March 20, 2011 9:00 PM

Crandell,

Does he have a friend who is a Nigerian Prince?

Will

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Posted by Medina1128 on Sunday, March 20, 2011 11:11 PM

wholeman

Crandell,

Does he have a friend who is a Nigerian Prince?

I'm a Nigerian prince. I just live in Missouri for the time being. Crandell, I hope you gave this Czech modeler's thread the heave ho it deserved.

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Posted by selector on Sunday, March 20, 2011 11:27 PM

Thanks, Dave.  I didn't think a pedagocical device, called a 'tie-back', would hurt, and if I could make it lighthearted at the same time to double up on the retentive effect, it would be even better.  Not all viewers approve of my methods, clearly.

Marlon, yes, when it became abundantly clear that people were increasingly uneasy, and were no longer interested in continuing to humour the poster, it was time to nip it.  I figured that it didn't need any more dignification, but at the same time, it would not have been seen by everyone.  Also, there is the problem that several members received unwanted PM's from the outset.  So, I launched this thread to serve as a reminder that there are people out there who are looking to advance themselves at our expense.

This brings up an admin problem: why is it that newcomers who are automatically under moderation can still initiate conversations with members in good standing to send them unsolicited requests...such as scams? 

Crandell

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Posted by Forty Niner on Monday, March 21, 2011 7:13 AM

selector

Thanks, Dave.  I didn't think a pedagocical device, called a 'tie-back', would hurt, and if I could make it lighthearted at the same time to double up on the retentive effect, it would be even better.  Not all viewers approve of my methods, clearly.

Marlon, yes, when it became abundantly clear that people were increasingly uneasy, and were no longer interested in continuing to humour the poster, it was time to nip it.  I figured that it didn't need any more dignification, but at the same time, it would not have been seen by everyone.  Also, there is the problem that several members received unwanted PM's from the outset.  So, I launched this thread to serve as a reminder that there are people out there who are looking to advance themselves at our expense.

This brings up an admin problem: why is it that newcomers who are automatically under moderation can still initiate conversations with members in good standing to send them unsolicited requests...such as scams? 

Crandell

Let me add to that question by asking "why is it that scumbum outfits can send you renewal notices for NR or any other magazine when they have absolutely nothing to do with the magazine in question"?

Of all of the useless laws that Congress manages to pass each year they apparently aren't concerned about protecting the consumer very much.

Personally I must have received at least a half a dozen of these solicitations in the last 3-4 years, all from the same outfit. When you take them to the Post office they just roll their eyes at you, when you take them to the local Attorney General's office you get told "they can't do everthing" and besides "it's legal", sort of......

So I wonder how much they actually "scam" people for and get away with it?

I realize this borders on "politics" but it directly affects Model Railroad subscribers as well, my thoughts, your decision..........

Mark

WGAS

P.S. I'm with you on this one Crandell.................. 

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Posted by HaroldA on Monday, March 21, 2011 7:46 AM

Crandall - Do you need a reality 'Czech?'  LOL

Seriously, scamming on the internet is an everyday issue.  I have received emails that are obvious scams and others that appeared to have come from totally legitimate sites but upon very close examination they were also scams.  About a year ago, my Facebook page was hacked along with an old address book I had when I used AOL and needless to say there were some rather unflattering messages were sent out under my name.

My advice to everyone is that if it sounds too good be true, it probably is.  Also, this post on our site is just an example of the lengths some hackers will go to in order to extort money.  Thankfully most people don't fall for these scams, but the scammers will continue to probe until they find a victim.

Finally, emails received asking for personal information should NEVER be opened.  Also, if someone receives an email from what might appear to be a legitimate site, read it carefully.  If there are misspelled words, fragmented sentences,  bad punctuation or even if the logo looks odd, it is undoubtedly a scam.  Most financial institutions, credit card sites, and business have information on how and where to report these emails which I what I do everytime I see something that looks suspicious. 

Thanks Crandall for helping us remain aware.  You are a wise man, indeed!!

There's never time to do it right, but always time to do it over.....

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Posted by PennCentral99 on Monday, March 21, 2011 8:24 AM

selector

After I deleted the thread, I felt sorry the Czech guy and offered to help.  He only needed $400 seed money in an account I opened for him.  He already placed his first order, and managed to use up all the money.  Weird, eh?

I am a bit miffed, though...he still hasn't thanked me.

Crandell the Wiser   Geeked

Surprise  If I would have known you were going to be so giving, I'd a put in my order!  That would have nearly covered 4 sound decoders, speakers and baffles or a really cool command station.  Of course, since I'm such a nice guy I would have picked up the remaining balance and shipping!  I would have stuffed your Thank You card with pics and a copy of the receipt, just to ease your conscience that the $$$ went to good use.  Wink  Laugh

selector

This brings up an admin problem: why is it that newcomers who are automatically under moderation can still initiate conversations with members in good standing to send them unsolicited requests...such as scams? 

Crandell

Sounds like IT needs to change some security settings.

Inspired by Addiction

See more on my YouTube Channel

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Posted by jwhitten on Monday, March 21, 2011 2:04 PM

 

I think it's good to know that this board has Czechs and balances.

John

Modeling the South Pennsylvania Railroad ("The Hilltop Route") in the late 50's
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Posted by yougottawanta on Monday, March 21, 2011 2:05 PM

selector

After I deleted the thread, I felt sorry the Czech guy and offered to help.  He only needed $400 seed money in an account I opened for him.  He already placed his first order, and managed to use up all the money.  Weird, eh?

I am a bit miffed, though...he still hasn't thanked me.

Crandell the Wiser   Geeked

One would be surprised at how many con artist are out there. Not so long ago while performing some work on a church a lady rolls up in a van with several kids inside and ask us for some money. She was out of gas , needed money to buy gas to get to her families house in the next state over. The lady showed us her gas gauge which indicated the van was empty. The pastors wife , warned us there was something wrong with this picture. Several other people working on the church project donated a few bucks to help the lady get some gas. With the words of caution from the pastors wife still in my mind I told the lady we would not give her money directly but would meet her at the nearest gas station and fill her tank . All of a sudden her attitude changed and she tried to get us to alter our plan to assist her.On the way to the gas station she stops and picks up a man who had been hiding on the corner of the church ! Any way to shorten the story when we filled her tank it only took a couple of dollars. They were trying to scam us.When I returned to the church and relayed the story to the pastors wife she was not surprised at all. She told us that they have this happen about three times a day. A quick way to tell if they are cons or not is they tell the people in need,  if they need money,  the church will pay them to clean, paint, mow etc... for money. 1% of the people asking for assistance take them up the rest have some where else they have to be. I learned a great lesson that day. You dont work , you dont eat .

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Posted by Forty Niner on Monday, March 21, 2011 2:17 PM

jwhitten

 

I think it's good to know that this board has Czechs and balances.

John

Can you hear me "groaning" from here in the midwest on this one??

Mark ;-]

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Posted by Coquihala and Rock Creek on Monday, March 21, 2011 2:21 PM

cowman

Thought it was the first day of April, not the first day of spring, that we were suppose to hear such things.

Sounds like you didn't check on your Czech before sending him a check.

That's bad!

Richard

Good point except that as Crandall is Canadian your third check should be cheque.  Smile

If you cannot fix it with a hammer;

You have an electrical problem!

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Posted by jwhitten on Monday, March 21, 2011 7:03 PM

 

I don't understand Crandell, here he is bragging about giving away money right after he bounced his Czech...

Laugh

John

Modeling the South Pennsylvania Railroad ("The Hilltop Route") in the late 50's
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Posted by Anonymous on Monday, March 21, 2011 7:18 PM

I don´t understand you, folks.

Where will this all end? The other day we were talking about shifty Poles, now it´s bouncing Czechs. Please bear in mind that there are non-native speakers visiting this forum.

Who? Me? No...

Laugh

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Posted by jwhitten on Monday, March 21, 2011 7:29 PM

Sir Madog

I don´t understand you, folks.

Where will this all end? The other day we were talking about shifty Poles, now it´s bouncing Czechs. Please bear in mind that there are non-native speakers visiting this forum.

Who? Me? No...

Laugh

 

I'm not sure that remark is German to the conversation...

 

John

Modeling the South Pennsylvania Railroad ("The Hilltop Route") in the late 50's
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Posted by rockythegoat on Monday, March 21, 2011 8:31 PM

I'm a Polish Prince.  Feel free to call me Bobby Vinton.  

President and CEO Lake Superior Railway & Navigation
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Posted by selector on Monday, March 21, 2011 10:27 PM

Thanks, everyone, for your good humour. Smile  I'll call this a closed thread now, but not without an expression of hope that none of you ever gets clobbered by one of these shysters.  I hate it that they kill all the trust and good will we should have for one another.  May they be roundly poxed.

And in the sad event that we are mistaken about the person, what more proof do we need about the damage the real cretins can do to society?

Crandell

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