Might Have Been Scammed with Gift Cards on Classifieds (User: I Like Deals)

vee_el on 17/05/2024 - 14:37
Last edited 20/05/2024 - 16:12 by 1 other user

Has anyone dealt with "I like deals"?

I purchased ebay gift cards off them and payID'd them last night. Apparently they said it didn't go through straight away and that it might take up to 24 hours because new user.

I've been messaging him today but no responses. A bit worried because it wasn't a small amount.

They've been a member since 2022 so not necessarily a new ozbargain user. They've posted a couple deals as well.

Just seeking advice as to what to do. Should I just call my bank right now?

Site Discussion

Comments

  • lovesabargain77 on 17/05/2024 - 14:44

    At how much of a discount were they selling the gift cards for?

  • vee_el on 17/05/2024 - 14:47

    10%

  • spackbace on 17/05/2024 - 14:52
    +9

    Apparently they said it didn't go through straight away and that it might take up to 24 hours because new user.

    This is true, the bank can place a security hold on the transfer. They may be working today, hence no replies to your messages…

    • vee_el on 17/05/2024 - 14:53

      But it's not pending on my account. Its been processed

      • Muzeeb on 17/05/2024 - 15:04
        +5

        Thats because the money has been taken out of your account. The bank is investing your money in the overnight money market before they decide when to give it to the seller.

      • brendanm on 17/05/2024 - 18:56
        +4

        Is this your first ever bank transfer?

        • vee_el on 17/05/2024 - 22:29

          First to this person ye

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 17/05/2024 - 14:52
    +7

    @Muzeeb @mapax

    Jimothy Wongingtons on 17/05/2024 - 14:52 (Collapsed - Offtopic. Show)
  • leopafe on 17/05/2024 - 15:01

    Call your bank as it has happened to me before. The transaction shows as processed but it is being held by the bank (apparently I was supposed to have received a SMS about it, but didn't).

  • vee_el on 17/05/2024 - 15:02

    Ive purchased gift cards before on classifieds with no issues. Should i give them the benefit of the doubt and just wait more or contact my bank to see what can be done. Just dont want to leave it too late.

  • DingoBilly on 17/05/2024 - 15:02

    I'd give it more than 12 hours myself…

    Could just be at work or busy with family stuff. Some people just check Ozbargain once a day in the evening. I'd probably wait until Monday and if there's no reply/nothing has happened I'd look to report/cancel etc., but it's way too early at this stage.

  • onetwothreefour on 17/05/2024 - 15:13
    +1

    @I like deals

  • freefall101 on 17/05/2024 - 15:15
    +1

    If it was user ilikedeals then it's kind of ironic, they were in a scam a few years ago - https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/518777?page=1#comment

    But they registered in 2012, not 2022.

    • scotty on 17/05/2024 - 15:42
      +3

      Maybe it's this user?

      payID'd them last night

      @OP — So it's not even 24 hours. Please refrain from calling something/someone "scam" when the fund might still be held up by the bank(s).

      • vee_el on 17/05/2024 - 15:46
        +1

        Yep i said might have been scammed. I dont like to call people names too. But i called the PayID number and he picked up i told him i was the guy that bought the gift cards and he hung up. Now i can't get through. So things dont look promising

        • jv on 17/05/2024 - 15:55
          +6

          i told him i was the guy that bought the gift cards and he hung up. Now i can't get through. So things dont look promising

          😲

          Call your bank now !!!

          • vee_el on 17/05/2024 - 16:05

            @jv: Ye I have. They have lodged a recover and trace but she said it is probably unlikely I'll get the money back if it's a scam. The transfer has already been processed

      • vee_el on 17/05/2024 - 15:47
        +1

        Yes that is the user "I Like Deals"

  • Iwantthebestprice on 17/05/2024 - 15:29
    +4

    I only buy gift cards off users with a +4 year tenure. I also don’t send random people my money for anything less then 15% discount..

    Even for a $5000 purchase, 10% is only $500 savings, but you’re risking $4500!!!

  • randomusername2017 on 17/05/2024 - 15:59
    +5

    🍿🍿🍿🍿

  • Wiadro on 17/05/2024 - 19:49
    -3

    is pop corn cheap these days?

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 17/05/2024 - 22:05
    +2

    Guess I made the right decision to avoid

    Received for their birthday yesterday….tried to sell on FB for a couple of days….

    • vee_el on 17/05/2024 - 22:14
      +1

      Lucky! You're more vigilant than me. I failed to notice they havent posted anything in 2 years. Just saw that they were a member since 2022 and thought it was all good

      • jv on 17/05/2024 - 22:26
        +1

        Just saw that they were a member since 2022

        Could be a hijacked account as happens on Facebook.

        • vee_el on 17/05/2024 - 22:27

          Ye seems like it

          • WoodYouLikeSomeCash on 17/05/2024 - 22:43

            @vee_el: Isn’t 2FA mandatory now so should’ve somewhat mitigated against that?

            For the future there could be some type of security lock for accounts inactive for X amount of time that prevents them from posting in classifieds for a period of time after being active again.

            • bamzero on 18/05/2024 - 12:23

              @WoodYouLikeSomeCash: Only as good as the second factor. If they've got access to that (ie email) wouldn't be hard to get in to OzBargain

              • WoodYouLikeSomeCash on 18/05/2024 - 12:56

                @bamzero: At least some type of security lock could help mitigate this. As this specific user mentioned in the post hasn’t been active for 2 years.

  • solidussnake on 18/05/2024 - 07:11
    +1

    Why wouldnt you wait for TCN 10% GCs, you took the risk and looks like it didnt pay off, my condolences

    • buderim11 on 18/05/2024 - 07:22
      +1

      How often do TCN have 10% off ?

    • vee_el on 18/05/2024 - 17:40

      Ye I stuffed up this time

  • Bruceflix on 18/05/2024 - 15:35

    How much meth does $630 buy?

    • Muzeeb on 18/05/2024 - 16:40
      +1

      About 3-7 days worth depending on the user.

  • BrunoBear on 18/05/2024 - 17:18

    The Ad lists JB Hifi gift cards but your post says you were trying to buy ebay?

    • vee_el on 18/05/2024 - 17:28

      I have an ad wanting ebay gift cards and he pmd me

  • randomusername2017 on 18/05/2024 - 19:53

    No happy ending 🤔

  • WoodYouLikeSomeCash on 18/05/2024 - 23:09
    +1

    OP did you end up sorting it out?

  • docbj on 19/05/2024 - 14:11

    I think I got scammed by him too.
    Offered 10% discount on a $500 HN GC. Got his paiyid which was a mobile number, but gave me the same story of will take 24 hours. Never had that issue, so tried to cancel the transaction but had gone through already from my bank. SMSed and call him. No answer.
    That was 16th around 1930.
    First time i have been scammed too

  • docbj on 19/05/2024 - 14:22

    I have submitted info to the police as well as my bank. It is not looking good.

  • docbj on 19/05/2024 - 14:24

    My bank found out it was CBA. I gave that info to cops as well

  • try2bhelpful on 19/05/2024 - 20:03
    +2

    I feel sorry for the OP but we keep hearing this story. I feel nervous enough about gift cards, given companies that fold and won’t honour cards, let alone buying off some random on social media.

    I hope they sort it out for you.

  • I Smell Pennies on 19/05/2024 - 22:17

    So sorry to hear OP :(

    Keep us updated please. I hope you get your money back OP! You too @docbj.

  • vee_el on 19/05/2024 - 22:42
    +2

    Ye so the update is that I never received the gift cards. Have let the police and my bank know now. Investigation is now underway. If I somehow get my money back I will update but it's a low chance I've been told.

    I don't know if the mods need to do anything about his account or if they can help in any way. I'm happy to provide any additional info if need be. If anyone else has been scammed by this guy, please reach out to me.

    But ye, stuffed up this time. Expensive lesson

    • SnoozeAndLose on 19/05/2024 - 23:00

      Since I got spammed for $180 here, I never ever buy or sell gift card here.

      Lesson learnt , karma will get to him.

  • docbj on 20/05/2024 - 09:27
    +5

    I am going to reveal more info as he is definitely a scammer. He blocked my nymber.

    He goes by C. Tang
    Mobile no. 0467605286

    We need to make sure he does not open other accounts and take other for a ride.
    This is now a police matter, but other honest members of ozbargain community need to be protected from him.

    • MBix on 20/05/2024 - 09:36
      +1

      I hope that you and OP can somehow have a chat so that the police might be able to combine both cases

    • bamzero on 20/05/2024 - 10:37

      @vee_el Just curious, same details?

    • WoodYouLikeSomeCash on 20/05/2024 - 12:15

      Here are the details that come up when running a search for that number.

      Appears to have multiple Facebook accounts. Could indicate they may be scamming on FB marketplace as well.

      • bamzero on 20/05/2024 - 12:52

        Where was that info from?

        The FB phone hint doesn't match the mobile number though.

    • theh3ro on 20/05/2024 - 15:25

      He scammed me as well for QFF points. Transferred the money, never sent the points across. Pity as I have made a few transactions here on OzB and now wont be as comfortable!

      Here are the details of the person I transferred to. He responded saying money hasn't cleared etc, now his phone is conveniently "switched off".

      Van Guyn Tran
      0434 062 611

      • Moderatorscrimshaw on 20/05/2024 - 16:25

        Just an FYI,

        Van is Axlerod

        Tang is I like Deals.

        These 2 cases are not connected to each other and involve completely different persons.

        • vee_el on 20/05/2024 - 16:39
          +1

          For what it's worth Axlerod messaged me yesterday asking if I was still looking for ebay gift cards. And I was surprised to find his account has been deactivated today. Luckily I didn't make the same mistake twice.

          • Moderatorscrimshaw on 20/05/2024 - 16:46

            @vee_el: I believe that's just related to how sellers search for potential customers, they click on many user profiles and read their past comments to see what they have been trying to purchase, before they send you a PM.

            It just so happens that the 2 fraudsters have exactly the same type of thing to sell and since you were interested in GC you were PM'ed by both of them.

            • vee_el on 20/05/2024 - 17:00

              @scrimshaw: Yep well I did post an ad in the classifieds wanting buy discounted ebay gift cards. They might not even had had any ebay gift cards to sell in the first place tbh

      • bamzero on 20/05/2024 - 17:37

        Yeh diff scammers, or bank accts at least.

        BTW, Macquarie does withhold for 24 hours as well I've found out. I did a small transfer few weeks ago to a St George account (my own, but a first time payment) and it didn't appear until 24 hours. The amount was small too, under $10.

        So it seems Mac is sometimes doing this stupid "helping to stop getting scammed" delays too (which seemingly just enable more scammers to get away with it). It's the first time I've seen it though, have done others to new accounts and went immediately.

      • bamzero on 20/05/2024 - 17:40

        @WoodYouLikeSomeCash Any info you can find on this one?

  • garetz on 20/05/2024 - 10:12
    +5

    I do not understand why people think its a good risk to potentially get a small discount like 5-10%, but risk losing 90% to a scammer.

    Even if you gamble and are right 90% of the time, that other 10% costs you any savings you might of made for all the other times combined.

    There is some kind of logical fallacy at work here. It astounds me how trusting people are to give their money to a nameless faceless person on the internet, the only thing you know for certain is this person has the internet and can post on ozbargain.

    • randomusername2017 on 20/05/2024 - 10:58

      Even more so with the frequent tcn/supermarket discounted cards and readily available 3-5% discount from other platforms.

      I'm guilty of selling but would never contemplate buying.

      • garetz on 20/05/2024 - 15:48

        I would rather pay that extra 5-10% for the peace of mind you know exactly what you are getting for your money.

  • WoodYouLikeSomeCash on 20/05/2024 - 11:58

    Probably be worth placing the user in the penalty box in case they try to post on classifieds again and someone who hasn’t seen this post does business with them.

  • Moderatorscrimshaw on 20/05/2024 - 15:53

    We have recently investigated user "I like deals" and found that it is a ghost account, of a user who has in the past created many accounts. They disabled their oldest / original account on their own accord on 26/04/2024.

    One of their newer accounts is https://www.ozbargain.com.au/user/504126

    The only account we are aware of that has committed financial fraud is I Like Deals (due to this forum thread)

    There are no previously reported history of fraud or scams on their other accounts.

    We'll wait for the police to contact us and see what happens from there.

    • spackbace on 20/05/2024 - 16:15
      +6

      Yeesh

      Well I for one say well done to the mods for acting on the circumstances anyway.

      Shame that yours and scotty's comments can't be voted on otherwise I'm sure there'd be many upvotes

    • I Smell Pennies on 21/05/2024 - 09:43

      Good work mods.

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