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Michael Brookes - Scammer Alert

Nagraboy

Ausculta fili
Anyone receiving replies to their Wanted ads, be aware of someone calling themselves Michael Brookes. I’ve just lost £900 after he replied to my Croft 25R wanted ad on Hifiwigwam. Seems this person has a long history of scamming hifi forums. He asked for payment to be sent to the account of a Sarah Brookes, who he claimed is his wife. Just warning people here to not send any funds to this person. He even produced an image of a Croft 25R with the day’s date and Hifiwigwam written on a piece of paper next to the amp, as asked for.
 
A friend of mine was scammed at the weekend for a £400 deposit on a top end Canon camera, he replied to a thread on a nature reserve site, seems to be rife everywhere, can't be too careful, thanks for the heads up.
 
Better still cash on collection, be it at the sellers house or halfway meet-up.
That is not safe either, aranging to be anywhere you have not been before with several hundred pounds in your pocket is asking to be mugged!
Meet up to see the goods by all means then pay with your mobile via Paypal to the sellers verified email/ paypal account,
still not the best but at least you have some proof of payment.
 
With a half way meet up you also risk arriving home with an item that doesn't work or you just became a receiver of stolen goods.

I’ve got a lot more doubts over buying kit from forums after this. It’s always gone so well in the past when buying from regulars and friends who tend to turn out to be very trustworthy. Just have to be more wary of unknowns in future.
 
Very sorry to learn what has happened here Nagraboy.

I’ve got a lot more doubts over buying kit from forums after this. It’s always gone so well in the past when buying from regulars and friends who tend to turn out to be very trustworthy. Just have to be more wary of unknowns in future.
 
The 50 posts plus 3 month membership system we use here is pretty robust IMO, the problems only come if people deal with users with less than that. Review all the posts, view them as a CV. Don’t like the look, then bail. Even then some basic background checks are essential, e.g. always check where you are sending something on Google Earth etc.
 
Replying to rubycat and Gerrard 124 above. I have driven dozens of times to fellow Pink fishies to pick up various bits of kit and also several halfway meets (most recently to collect a naim HicapDr) and have never had a problem. Indeed it usually involves a beer and a demonstration (for a home pick-up). A scammer is hardly likely to let you do either. For anything over a couple of hundred ££ I personally use this method.
Agree with Tony L check a seller's history on here first too.
 
That’s really gutting mate.
At least we have the sellers feedback thread here.
I am still wary though as accounts can get hacked.
 
Assume you’ve reported it to action fraud? Is it’s any consolation, I was scammed 3 years ago for £6k by an incredibly elaborate fraud involving fake courier company websites (Pacefast Logistics) and a fake seller by the name of Ephrain Isaac. Videos were sent showing him having lunch with his kids and demonstrating the amp. When I said I wasn’t comfortable sending the whole amount he agreed to 50% up front and 50 on delivery. He then said his wife was very worried about that and he could only do the whole lot up front. Dockets showing the boxes being dropped at the courier and tracking info by text / email until on the day of delivery I get one saying your package is held in customs (in Istanbul) because the vendor hasn’t paid taxes. To release the package you need to arrange for a further 1.5k to be wired to this account. At that moment I knew. It was very slick but absolutely devastating for me. I hope you get your money back.
 


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