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Posted By: Hardy's Garage Bowser 318 Visi Gauge - Tue Dec 20 2022 08:59 PM
I have been looking for the referenced item for a year and have had no luck. Yesterday I received a response to my wanted post from Adam Johnson in Texas. Adam, who joined Oldgas on 12/15/2022, indicated that Chris Richard had what I was looking for and he gave me an email address. I reached out to Chris, who lives in St. James, Missouri, and he sent me a picture of a nice Bowser 318 visi gauge. We agreed to a purchase price and Chris, whose language is not English, asked that I pay using PayPal friends and family or a postal money order. This would supposedly speed up our transaction. Chris wants my payment sent to his wife, Karen Musson, as he may not be at home. Google Maps shows that Karen lives in a trailer park located at 14840 State Route B#25 which clearly is not the location of the pictured visi gauge. I hesitate to pay by either of the requested methods as neither of them afford me some protect in case this deal goes sour.

Do any Oldgas members live near St. James or have any thoughts as to how I might proceed?

Thanks

Marshall
Posted By: yeley101 Re: Bowser 318 Visi Gauge - Tue Dec 20 2022 10:41 PM
Marshall, I received a private message from the same guy regarding my last "wanted ad" stating that his friend Chris has the Wayne valve I was looking for. This was just 2 days ago. Something did not feel right to me, so I didn't even respond. After reading your story, I would recommend NOT proceeding. Too many scammers out there! Eric
Posted By: Esso74 Re: Bowser 318 Visi Gauge - Tue Dec 20 2022 10:48 PM
Avoid it totally my friend !!!! If it smell fishy and feels fishy. It’s fishy ! Run away as fast as you can ! Well never mind that part .your not gonna run very fast . You driveway away Marshall lmao !!! Have a Merry Christmas !!!!
Posted By: Oldgas Moderator Re: Bowser 318 Visi Gauge - Tue Dec 20 2022 10:54 PM
I just sent "Hardy's Garage" a Private Message.

The new member "Johnson" has contacted a bunch of members who have posted "Want To Buy Petroliana" messages, claiming to have what they want.

If you have received such an offer from Johnson, let me know or post here.

Postal Money Orders, Wire Transfer, Money Cards and Paypal Friends & Family should only be used between people who you know well and trust completely. Use with strangers is usually not refundable.
Posted By: Hardy's Garage Re: Bowser 318 Visi Gauge - Wed Dec 21 2022 12:34 AM
I just confirmed that both Adam and Chris live in Houston. So much for me finding the visi gauge I need. Go with your gut feeling!!
Posted By: ALSS72 Re: Bowser 318 Visi Gauge - Wed Dec 21 2022 12:38 AM
Very sad that people have to stoop so low .we all have been taken advantage of at some point in our lives.,glad that you didn't send any funds to this creep.
Merry Christmas Marshall
Posted By: 1PetroFan Re: Bowser 318 Visi Gauge - Wed Dec 21 2022 02:07 AM
He answered my Want to Buy ad as well, wanted me to give him an offer including freight. Brady
Posted By: UpnorthNeil Re: Bowser 318 Visi Gauge - Wed Dec 21 2022 03:26 PM
People like this renew many of our hopes that there really is a day of reckoning. I am hopeful that his membership here on OG will be terminated and he/she will be in search of a new platform to continue this criminal activity. Any of of legitimate TX OG members have a law enforcement contact in Houston? They may not be able to do much with this particular incident, but I am sure they would be able to create a report outlining the details of this potential theft. Once in the data bases, you never know what could happen down the road. Merry Christmas OG
Posted By: Hardy's Garage Re: Bowser 318 Visi Gauge - Fri Jan 13 2023 12:53 AM
I thought I would play along with this individual and told him that I sent the money to his wife. He got back to me, said his wife never received my payment, and that I was not being honest with him. I indicated that I would send someone over to her location and pick the gauge up. Amazingly he then indicated that he had the gauge in Houston where my brothers family happens to live. I then asked for a photo of him with the gauge and I would have someone drop off cash and he wouldn't have to ship anything. Kind of strange because I haven't heard anything from in in more that a week. So much for his scam!
Posted By: Craig Osbeck Re: Bowser 318 Visi Gauge - Mon Jan 16 2023 12:18 AM
Funny, had someone do the same to me only to ask me many times what is it worth to me, never what he wanted. There is something to be watching for here.
Posted By: Jolly-John Re: Bowser 318 Visi Gauge - Mon Jan 16 2023 01:34 AM
Typical scam, as also seen on the AACA old car forums. However, with the AACA forums, a new member can't send PM's early in their membership (they can only receive them). So, the scammer has to actually post on a guy's wanted item ad, indicating they have the part being sought. This means the possible fraud attempt is there for all other forum members to see. When in doubt about one of these guys on the AACA forums, all you have to do is check their posting history. If you see a new forum member answering all sorts of different parts-wanted ads (from Buicks to Fords to Studebakers), you pretty much can figure out they're a crook. This also makes it much easier to turn an offender into one of the forum's moderators quickly for review. Then, if warranted, the offender can b thrown off very early on, thus lessoning the chance he's going to rip someone off.

The AACA forum system also has a "report" button on every posting. If something is suspicious, you push the report button, and enter a short message that goes directly to a forum moderator. John
Posted By: mattthegasman Re: Bowser 318 Visi Gauge - Mon Jan 16 2023 12:45 PM
I had the same thing happened to me with. In a wanted add regarding a visi gauge, quickly got to the point where I didn’t feel comfortable, so I just quit responding.

Attached picture 2CB742C6-9626-4A72-AE82-CDE4EC4D0097.png
Posted By: Hardy's Garage Re: Bowser 318 Visi Gauge - Mon Jan 16 2023 02:06 PM
Matt,

Samr two crooks based out of Houston.

Good to see you didn't fall for it.

Marshall
Posted By: canadianoilguy Re: Bowser 318 Visi Gauge - Mon May 15 2023 03:05 PM
ok, just sent an email smile
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