how a "burner" screwed me out of $800

[andy]

Smart scammers don't use real names, they use throw-away cell phones purchased for cash, and don't route any of the money through bank accounts, so there is not much you can probably do to find this person.

However posting the alias they are using to rip off BM attendees just to warn others, since scammers often use the same name or email address for at least a short time, doesn't strike me as a violation of TOS and might be helpful to other burners.

[GiantPamda]

Yes...those and various other red flags have been pointed out to me. Oh well. Hindsight 20/20, live & learn, and various other applicable cliches.

[junglesmacks]

There is a STICKY post on the top telling you how to verify the identity and serial numbers of the tickets through the BMORG. Do it!!!!!!

Paypal provides refunds. I know many of you don't have a paypal account set up, but DO it.

Waitwaitwait WAIT.

Paypal does NOT provide a refund of funds guaranteed. No way no how. They attempt to recover the funds, but if the money has already been drained from the recipient bank account, you are SOL. Paypal is a false sense of security that can work sometimes.. but for sure not all. Don't depend on it.

Quick story: I had a "business" that was going to print me up $4000 worth of goods for my business. Had a legit looking website and all. He said that his credit card processing was acting up, so he wanted me to send him 50% deposit via PayPal. I'm like PayPal.. yeah.. I'm covered. It's cool.

Yeah right. 2 months later, no guy.. no product. PayPal sent a few letters saying that they were attempting to recover, but were unable. Long story short.. I lost $2k.

DO NOT TRUST PAYPAL AS A FOOLPROOF INSURANCE ON YOUR $$

..it's not.

[jkisha]

Ya, I have some PayPal horror stories too. Rarely use them anymore.

JK

[AntiM]

Good to know!

[My_little_ego]

The same woman contacted me through craigslist and wanted $1000 for four tickets. The checker at Walmart talked me out of it and I am so grateful to her. She said her daughter was scammer by this woman also. Victoria even said how nice it would be to meet us on the playa some time and asked if we would send pictures. Also she said she was in Washington then Boston, then New York (where she wanted the money sent) I didn't go through with it but a lot of my fellow burner have been scammed by her. Now I flag all her posts. Good luck to you all and F**k that B***h!

[junglesmacks]

Ya, I have some PayPal horror stories too. Rarely use them anymore.

JK

lol.. they work well as a basic Ebay funds transfer service. I use the hell out of them. They've saved my ass a bunch of times when I get something that wasn't as described and even the other way when I sold something that was perfect and someone tried to make a fraudulent claim when they broke my item and then tried to claim it. For Ebay purchases, you have way more insurance.. (because Ebay bought PayPal a while back)

Also, most constant Ebay sellers/users are legit and don't want to mess up their account history with PayPal.. so everything goes well. I've actually never had an issue yet in my 500+ transactions through Ebay with PayPal.

BUT.. for random transactions outside of Ebay.. just be careful. Like I said, it's not a 100% guaranteed insurance on your money. Just.. buyer beware. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. We should all know this by now..

[GiantPamda]

The most fun part about this thread is when I let my newly developed Internet paranoia take hold and start imagining that you are all Victoria all the time.

[weather man]

There was a listing for a pair on Reno CL for $210 over the weekend. Here is the response I received:

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you, hectic week!

I live in Melbourne, FL and am looking to sell these. Obviously not being local makes it a pain in the rear, so why not try craigslist. Anyway we can't make it due to work commitments that conflict now so I am looking to sell these rather quickly. I'm asking what I paid, no more, no less. I got these through work so I got a good deal.

If you would like to buy these I would like to use western union, its fast, easy, and secure as long as we exchange enough info so we know who each other are, and you send to me here in the US, not some foreign country, and I do insist on talking on the phone as well. Obviously you would get all my info, and vice-a-versa. I'm just a phan trying to do this quick and easy, nothing more.

Anyway, if your interested let me know and shoot me your cell # and Ill call to touch base and go over any details or questions. You can of course email me any questions you have as well.

Look forward to talking
Jim

NEVER, EVER, EVER send $ via Western Union unless it's to a friend or relative that you speak to on a regular basis.

[gerlachedNloaded]

or to any "Phans" who somehow get BM tix throught "work".
yeah.

[BurNER4life]

After getting fucked I have been given a ticket for 225. Thank you to the people who have PM'ed me about this asshole I'll be following up shortly with more info. To anyone who had a laugh at my or any other victims expense Fuck you, but I'll defend to the death your right to laugh. With my early arrival pass and my ticket, next stop is the greatest place on earth. I am fortunate this year ( being unemployed) to be able to BURN so greatly, but i recognize it could have just as easily went bad fast. Learned a lesson for sure. I'm bumping this thread so anybody who, getting close to the burn, has a thought about desperately acquiring a ticket. Think twice, make sure its legit, and read the plethora of information on tickets. In trying to burn cheap it could end up costing you more. There, I'm done with that. Moving on to the BRC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh so happy.

[bongoking]

Yeah I was almosted scammed by her.. to i wanted to pick up the tickets but she said she was moving and had no time to meet me and wanted to do it thru the mail. i figured she was scamming. i am in BC and she said she was in kelowna.... She offered the tickets, i said I wanted tickets for lower than 300 she said "name your price" I said 225...she said... "how about 200 and 75 for weed" (i was only buying 2 so...bad math) and then i asked where she was..in vanouver?"" and she said no okanagan and I said "funny i am in okanagan too, where at i can pick it up" she said a place 2 hours away from where i was.. I said i didn't care i would drive 2 hours to pick them up in person... she said she was too busy and would rather do it in the mail than to meet in person... (my warning flags went up then)... then i asked for the verification codes and she said tomorrow... and I never heard from her again. I got her email and a name..(probably fake..but she still goes on the email (i see her via gmail green light chat thingy)) anyways she is twisted and should def be caught. I will help in any way. What can be done??

Sorry you guys got scammed... :( I so feel ya! think positive you'll make it if you need to.

[LindseyRaeFace]

How have people been dealing with purchasing will-call tickets on these forums? Is just the name and the confirmation number from the e-mail sufficient for the Burning Man peeps to check it out? I don't see very much info on getting will-calls, but I did read something about completing a name-transfer form.

Anyone who has any tips at all - much much appreciated!

We made a trade with a girl out of state, she filled out the form, sent a copy of her ID and credit card in with it. They changed the name. I emailed BM from their website to verify there was a ticket in our name and it went through. I am far too trusting to make a ticket deal off Cragislist. The only responses we've gotten off there have been shady and/or flakey.

Some guy named Evan Watson emails me saying he can get us in, but we'd have to meet him up there. Then doesnt asnwer phone calls or get back to you. Fuck that, I am not driving 12 hours on some flakes word.

Sorry you got scammed, glad y ou learned the lesson on a few hundred and not later in life and a few thousand. Its so hard to trust anyone anymore unless you are in person. At least that way you can catch their vibe and have the cash/tickets in hand.

Good luck, hope you get there <3

[AntiM]

Smart scammers don't use real names, they use throw-away cell phones purchased for cash, and don't route any of the money through bank accounts, so there is not much you can probably do to find this person.

However posting the alias they are using to rip off BM attendees just to warn others, since scammers often use the same name or email address for at least a short time, doesn't strike me as a violation of TOS and might be helpful to other burners.

You can post the names, but I cannot let the email addresses in. You can share the addy via PM as much as you like and encourage others to ask you for it. Sharing private info may not strike you as a violation of the TOS, but is surely strikes me as a moderator.

[AngelDanger]

This is just adding to the chorus, but this EXACT SAME THING happened to me three weeks ago. It was the same lady, Victoria Serppe, with the same first three numbers to her phone number, 646, probably the exact same email, and she was advertising 4 tickets on craigslist for $222 each.

She did the song and dance with me and I was naive enough and she was experienced. I only started the contact because she said over and over and over how she would not get the money I sent until I got my tickets, and she wanted to do anything that was easiest for me. She had a reasonable excuse for EVERY reason she couldn't get it from a bank account, or through paypal, and I underestimated her. Which hurts. A lot. A lot a lot. So I sent it through Western Union. I lost $888 dollars, and since she kindly said she would pay for the transfer fee of $75 bucks I even gave her a bit extra.

I was getting tickets for my friends, but luckily I only used my own money so theirs wasn't touched. I just graduated from The Evergreen State College this summer and it was all the money I had, period. It is only because I promised my boyfriend I would go, and he would be so let down, that I am even trying.

I wanted to share because of well, the relevance, but also because I have felt so amazingly, traumatically stupid that I wouldn't share anywhere what had happened. I am barely telling my friends I even lost all my money. I have been scraping to go with just what I have gained in years past (this is my fourth year) and trying to find tickets again for my friends, who probably don't trust my judgment in the slightest and will just pay at an outlet (smart). I didn't even pursue it with authorities because I assumed I was too incapable of doing anything right after my incredible display of naivete.

I am glad you posted GiantPanda, because I would probably have tried to forget it forever otherwise. And maybe something will happen to this awful awful person this way. And everyone who sees this, just so you know, this could have been circumvented if I googled her name after I got it for the Western Union form, or her email. I did that three days after the tickets hadn't show up, and cried and cried when I saw all the posts about her scamming. If you follow through with pictures, conformation number and google check it's much harder to do what she does.

I apologize this is so long, but maybe I will see some of you kind and funny eplayans out there. Hope this helps someone.

-Claire

[Token]

I've said it before, I'll say it again.

File a police report. Its wire fraud, a serious felony. If enough people file reports, eventually some FBI intern will get the stack of reports and bust ass to prove themselves.

You won't get your money back, but you might just help get a lowlife pond scum fuckhead behind bars for at least a little while.

[swampdog]

Hey, Victoria Serppe is my neighbor! I bet I could arrange a sting on her with the local police that would get everybody's money back and then some. You just all need to send me a moneygram for $150 and I'll send you all of your money back plus pictures when the bust goes down.

Sorry. JOKING, I was JOKING for gods' sake! What, too soon? Stop crying!

(really - I do mean this to be funny and not evil. Hope it works for you)

[Token]

Swampdog is funny.

His real name is Mr. Jackson Ndogo, and he is a Nigerian prince.

He will happily send you a check for $2000 if you cash it and take whatever you lost from this scammer and send him the balance minus 10% for your trouble.

[swampdog]

Bet you didn't know I'm the only one who actually MADE MONEY by going up against a "Nigerian Prince" scam. I faked up some documentation that looked like I owned some land in Nigeria and sold it to him at an incredible discount. It wasn't much, but $1k here and $1k there and pretty soon you're talking real money. Not only that but I quadrupled my up front costs.

See, I can scam the scammers. I'm ninja. I'm da best. I've seen all these games, I've run some of them, and if anyone can squeeze them it's me.

So send me your $150 money gram and we'll nail this gal! Call now, operators are standing by! Let me know if you want to get in on any of my other scam-the-scammers operations - upfront costs of $100 to $1000 depending on how much you can afford to invest and how much you need returned. Some operations have returned 50% return on your money, some 2x, 3x, 5x, even 10x. I even nailed one guy for 15x total investment, all of which goes back to YOU, my investors. A few may not pan out, so be prepared to lose a few before your big jackpot, but in the long run it's practically guaranteed.

(it's scary how easy that was to write. Is it slightly convincing? )

[daNadaNa]

"miss spiritual"? ha! she told me she was in bc, as in canada. and i was like, uh, buh bye. i only do face to face, hard ticket in hand, thanks.

[Sail Man]

Swampdog is funny.

His real name is Mr. Jackson Ndogo, and he is a Nigerian prince.

He will happily send you a check for $2000 if you cash it and take whatever you lost from this scammer and send him the balance minus 10% for your trouble.

So, the funny man will be spanked at the MnG and we'll see if he is laughing then

[swampdog]

Sail Man - maybe I shouldn't bring my paddle then?

[gyre]

Don't just file a police report.

Somewhere is a list of all the agencies that deal with fraud.
File reports with every relevant agency and related group, the email security, paypal or whoever, everyone.
Out of state becomes a federal crime.
File the reports or don't complain next time.

This is very important.