BEWARE Of SOSINSURR: Paid but didn't receive my putter...(Merged)

[Poor Posture]

Got ripped off on the same BST for $210. Probably just hire a local lawyer and let them deal with local law enforcement. Will cost me more than $210 but don't really care.

[Medic]

Things that seem really odd to me.....
[list=1]
[*]Funds going into PP aren't available immediately. You have to request a check or have them transferred. Both take time. The OP paid for his item on August 2. The date of the check is August 3. Who the hell writes a check before the funds are even truly available?
[*]Friend or not, if I just got scammed (or obviously involved with one), I would involve law enforcement. Fraud has long arms and the coach may find himself explaining his actions to a higher authority. He made no mention of having called the law or seeking any recourse against the supposed friend who scammed him.
[*]It seems that his biggest concern, from his post, is the potential of people here contacting his employer. Why? If he is truly innocent why would it concern him that his employer may find out that he was scammed/duped by a "friend"?
[*]Ok, say you are going to allow someone to use your PP account to make some sales. Who would do this without knowing the entire deal? I would ask to see the items being sold.
[*]Just how was the address for each customer going to be shared in this so-called agreement with the actual seller? That comes to the email address tied into the PP address. Was this "coach" going to let him know when funds came in and the verified addresses? Or perhaps he shared his password too?
[*]What about the PP fees? Who covered those? With that amount of money it would have been substantial.
[*]Why would he allow this so-called "friend" use his PP account? What excuse is reasonable enough to justify this? Why can his "friend" not open up his own account? All you need is an email address and a physical address to which a check can be mailed.
[/list]
Sorry, call me skeptical, but there is far more to this than is being presented by this so-called other victim. Guilt by association in my book. Perhaps it is my background or something. But I believe the "coach" knows a lot more or is perhaps the scammer himself trying to avoid trouble with the law. Correct me if I am wrong but over a certain amount in this arena is a felony is it not?

PP will side with the victims. But what the "coach" might not have counted on is that PP will then possibly go after the people who pulled this one off. Civil or criminal may be coming their way.

[tcq42]

[quote name='Lord Helmet' timestamp='1440122344' post='12180342'][quote name='tcq42' timestamp='1440121806' post='12180302'][quote name='Arizonalefty59' timestamp='1440121235' post='12180234'][quote name='KjBowen' timestamp='1440116159' post='12179708']
My question is.. The claim was the guys who's PayPal was used was not a golfer. But you joined golfwrx.. Made a name and spent 24 hours before coming to the thread.. Who alerted you to the thread?
[/quote]
I think you are on to something, KJ!!![/quote]

He was aware the scam happened on GolfWRX under the name "sosinsurr". Doesn't seem that odd to me that he'd sign up and do a search for "sosinsurr".

Man, I'm one of they guys that got scammed but I feel like I've been defending Coach for the last couple days. I think I believe him. He tried to help out a friend and got screwed. Now he's reacting how I would if I was in his position.[/quote]

Wish you nothing but the best, but...

Fool me once shame on you....Fool me twice.....[/quote]

Fool me twice??? I don't think me (or anyone else) is dropping the PP claim.

[Titleist_242]

So what it boils down to if story is true, is that the guy that doesn't even own a PayPal account knows the ins and outs better than the owner of the acct. deserve to be scammed imo

PayPal is no different from a bank, would you give an acquaintance your bank login info and account numbers????

[tcq42]

Everyone brings up some good points. I'm leaning towards believing Coach but not saying it's 100%. It's just my opinion as I don't plan on dropping the claim. It will be interesting to see if he pays the guy back who gifted the money (if PP doesn't honor it anyway).

[Medic]

[quote name='tcq42' timestamp='1440124931' post='12180612']
Everyone brings up some good points. I'm leaning towards believing Coach but not saying it's 100%. It's just my opinion as I don't plan on dropping the claim. It will be interesting to see if he pays the guy back who gifted the money (if PP doesn't honor it anyway).
[/quote]

Dead on buddy. DO NOT drop the claim! Unless I am mistaken, if you drop it you cannot reopen it. (Not 100% sure but thought I read that here at one time in another thread on scammers)

As for the guy who "gifted" his funds, he broke the BST rules and PP won't help him. But that won't stop him from going after the "coach" since it was his PP account.

I personally don't believe the story. I don't have a dog in the hunt either (hate to mimic another member's saying but it applies so well) but I have a LOT of life experiences that have left me less trusting of people under circumstances such as this. The good news for you is that PP will side with you and you will get a full refund. I really hope that somehow the authorities become involved to thoroughly investigate the whole matter. Would really love to see whoever the scammer(s) are pay not just monies back but with some jail time. Internet fraud perhaps?

[Syncmastr]

The thing is what does posting here accomplish? Why "clear your name" to a bunch of strangers that you will never meet or have to deal with in the first place? It doesn't change a thing, PP will still file the claim and he still has to go after the original scammer. On top of that, nothing in that post is proof of anything. I could make that same exact post, with a fake check pic and all in less than 10 minutes.

The only thing that would actually help his case would be to out the real scammer. Keep in mind this guy doesn't seem shy about posting his own info at all. I'm assuming that is his home address on the check, he also posted his telephone number. Yet we get no info about the scammer other than a name that matches a few thousand people in this country.

Basically, you can't prove you didn't do this yourself, it's not possible no matter how much info you give us. You can only prove that this scammer exists and you are already going after him.

[Mitchell]

So the "Coach" allegedly got scammed by an acquaintance and then chooses to post his personal information on a website where anyone could access same, further risking compromising security of identity? Either still a stunningly naive individual or this whole story is lacking in truth! Guess time will tell as situation develops.

[Titleist_242]

[quote name='Syncmastr' timestamp='1440125703' post='12180672']
The thing is what does posting here accomplish? Why "clear your name" to a bunch of strangers that you will never meet or have to deal with in the first place? It doesn't change a thing, PP will still file the claim and he still has to go after the original scammer. On top of that, nothing in that post is proof of anything. I could make that same exact post, with a fake check pic and all in less than 10 minutes.

The only thing that would actually help his case would be to out the real scammer. Keep in mind this guy doesn't seem shy about posting his own info at all. I'm assuming that is his home address on the check, he also posted his telephone number. Yet we get no info about the scammer other than a name that matches a few thousand people in this country.

Basically, you can't prove you didn't do this yourself, it's not possible no matter how much info you give us. You can only prove that this scammer exists and you are already going after him.
[/quote]

Posting here prevents people calling his employer and career possibly in jeopardy.

Oh how I love the possibility of real life consequences in this internet game where everyone thinks accountability is forgotten.

[Medic]

[quote name='Titleist_242' timestamp='1440126824' post='12180760']
[quote name='Syncmastr' timestamp='1440125703' post='12180672']
The thing is what does posting here accomplish? Why "clear your name" to a bunch of strangers that you will never meet or have to deal with in the first place? It doesn't change a thing, PP will still file the claim and he still has to go after the original scammer. On top of that, nothing in that post is proof of anything. I could make that same exact post, with a fake check pic and all in less than 10 minutes.

The only thing that would actually help his case would be to out the real scammer. Keep in mind this guy doesn't seem shy about posting his own info at all. I'm assuming that is his home address on the check, he also posted his telephone number. Yet we get no info about the scammer other than a name that matches a few thousand people in this country.

Basically, you can't prove you didn't do this yourself, it's not possible no matter how much info you give us. You can only prove that this scammer exists and you are already going after him.
[/quote]

Posting here prevents people calling his employer and career possibly in jeopardy.

Oh how I love the possibility of real life consequences in this internet game where everyone thinks accountability is forgotten.
[/quote]

More precisely, he hopes that posting here prevents people from calling his employer and possibly putting his job in jeopardy.

If I were one of the guys taken by the scammer there would definitely be as much consequence as I could insure.

This "coach" facilitated the scam. As I said before guilt by association. The guy driving the getaway car, even without holding a weapon, still gets as much time as the guys who went into the bank. If "coach" doesn't refund the gifted monies I have a feeling his life will get a lot more complicated.

[chocolate_rehab]

[quote name='Medic' timestamp='1440123846' post='12180496']
Things that seem really odd to me.....Funds going into PP aren't available immediately. You have to request a check or have them transferred. Both take time. The OP paid for his item on August 2. The date of the check is August 3. Who the hell writes a check before the funds are even truly available?[/quote]

Not to mention that check's month date was clearly changed from 7 (July) to 8 (August). Fishy.

[swizbeatz]

[quote name='chocolate_rehab' timestamp='1440130103' post='12180954']
[quote name='Medic' timestamp='1440123846' post='12180496']
Things that seem really odd to me.....Funds going into PP aren't available immediately. You have to request a check or have them transferred. Both take time. The OP paid for his item on August 2. The date of the check is August 3. Who the hell writes a check before the funds are even truly available?[/quote]

Not to mention that check's month date was clearly changed from 7 (July) to 8 (August). Fishy.
[/quote]

Dude, what a catch, I was too busy making popcorn. 100% that's a 7 changed to an 8.

[tcq42]

[quote name='chocolate_rehab' timestamp='1440130103' post='12180954'][quote name='Medic' timestamp='1440123846' post='12180496']
Things that seem really odd to me.....Funds going into PP aren't available immediately. You have to request a check or have them transferred. Both take time. The OP paid for his item on August 2. The date of the check is August 3. Who the hell writes a check before the funds are even truly available?[/quote]

Not to mention that check's month date was clearly changed from 7 (July) to 8 (August). Fishy.[/quote]

But if it was all made up and the check is fake, do you think he'd post the obviously corrected check? Wouldn't you just re-write the check?

[One_Putt_Blunder]

Before everyone continues on the witch hunt of calling this guy Chris's work etc, consider this what if he is telling the truth and a bunch of angry wrxers ends up costing this guy his job? Paypal is going to refund the buyers money so the WRX'ers who got scammed will be indemnified. IMO best solution is notify paypal (already done) and local authorities if need be and let them sort out the mess.

Yes it sucks wrxers got scammed, but they have paypal to protect them provided they did not gift etc. If what this guy Chris is saying is true he really is the one that got hosed over here by his buddy. His Paypal is $1800 in the hole and he prob has very little odds of getting that $1800 back from his so called buddy Dustin. Harassing Chris at his work is not the solution to any of this.

If you follow the money what incentive does Chris have to post his crazy story about his Dustin taking advantage of his paypal to clear himself unless it is true?
He takes 1800 from wrx members
Wrx members file paypal disputes
Paypal sides with the wrx members taking the 1800 back from him
So if somehow Chris's story is a lie and it really is SOSINSURR (Dustin) he just ends up at a net zero, so why go through the trouble of creating this story to clear his name?

Edit: if this all still sounds crazy to those rightfully pissed off at this scam just ask Chris to post a screen shot of the check posting to his account that should clear up any doubts

[Kratus977]

[quote name='swizbeatz' timestamp='1440130452' post='12180970']
[quote name='chocolate_rehab' timestamp='1440130103' post='12180954']
[quote name='Medic' timestamp='1440123846' post='12180496']
Things that seem really odd to me.....Funds going into PP aren't available immediately. You have to request a check or have them transferred. Both take time. The OP paid for his item on August 2. The date of the check is August 3. Who the hell writes a check before the funds are even truly available?[/quote]

Not to mention that check's month date was clearly changed from 7 (July) to 8 (August). Fishy.
[/quote]

Dude, what a catch, I was too busy making popcorn. 100% that's a 7 changed to an 8.
[/quote]

I was so looking forward to post this when I was looking at the check. Obviously beat me to it. The 8 in the date and the 8 in $1,800 clearly don't match... Definitely changed 7 to 8.

[Mitchell]

Following up on One Putt Blunder's statement, members should let appropriate agencies with jurisdiction/authority over such matters do jobs they are tasked to complete. I completely understand frustration, however, sound judgement should be employed before taking any steps that could have civil and/or criminal repercussions.

[cehb]

[quote name='One_Putt_Blunder' timestamp='1440132014' post='12181052']
Yes it sucks wrxers got scammed, but they have paypal to protect them provided they did not gift etc. If what this guy Chris is saying is true he really is the one that got hosed over here by his buddy. His Paypal is $1800 in the hole and he prob has very little odds of getting that $1800 back from his so called buddy Dustin. Harassing Chris at his work is not the solution to any of this.
[/quote]

I agree, the investigation (and subsequent penalties if appropriate) should be handled by the relevant authorities and Paypal but IMO there's about as much chance of this story being true as there is of me winning the Masters next year.

[One_Putt_Blunder]

[quote name='cehb' timestamp='1440134208' post='12181122']
[quote name='One_Putt_Blunder' timestamp='1440132014' post='12181052']
Yes it sucks wrxers got scammed, but they have paypal to protect them provided they did not gift etc. If what this guy Chris is saying is true he really is the one that got hosed over here by his buddy. His Paypal is $1800 in the hole and he prob has very little odds of getting that $1800 back from his so called buddy Dustin. Harassing Chris at his work is not the solution to any of this.
[/quote]

I agree, the investigation (and subsequent penalties if appropriate) should be handled by the relevant authorities and Paypal but IMO there's about as much chance of this story being true as there is of me winning the Masters next year.
[/quote]

IDK man "Chris" may be guilty of being gullible here but if I were in his shoes I would have posted pretty much the same response in hopes of holding off an angry mob from harassing my workplace. Again I look at the trail of money and try to decide what possible reason would he have to come on here and defend himself as a middleman in this transaction if he was really Dustin. Even if this is an elaborate web of lies it still does not add up a a logical one to me.

Re the check it was the beginning of the month who hasnt screwed up writing a check at one point or another? I would still feel better if I could see the screen shot of it clearing the account but so far I fall on the side of its just so crazy it is probably the true story.

[KjBowen]

I am very surprised there are not any mods in the thread requesting some more info.. WRX people being taken for almost 2k is significant.

[KjBowen]

[quote name='One_Putt_Blunder' timestamp='1440132014' post='12181052']
Before everyone continues on the witch hunt of calling this guy Chris's work etc, consider this what if he is telling the truth and a bunch of angry wrxers ends up costing this guy his job? Paypal is going to refund the buyers money so the WRX'ers who got scammed will be indemnified. IMO best solution is notify paypal (already done) and local authorities if need be and let them sort out the mess.

Yes it sucks wrxers got scammed, but they have paypal to protect them provided they did not gift etc. If what this guy Chris is saying is true he really is the one that got hosed over here by his buddy. His Paypal is $1800 in the hole and he prob has very little odds of getting that $1800 back from his so called buddy Dustin. Harassing Chris at his work is not the solution to any of this.

If you follow the money what incentive does Chris have to post his crazy story about his Dustin taking advantage of his paypal to clear himself unless it is true?
He takes 1800 from wrx members
Wrx members file paypal disputes
Paypal sides with the wrx members taking the 1800 back from him
So if somehow Chris's story is a lie and it really is SOSINSURR (Dustin) he just ends up at a net zero, so why go through the trouble of creating this story to clear his name?

Edit: if this all still sounds crazy to those rightfully pissed off at this scam just ask Chris to post a screen shot of the check posting to his account that should clear up any doubts
[/quote]
He does not end up with a net zero.

This is a possible and more likely scenario

1. Person posts ad.. Lists items for sale
2. Sells all the items
3. Withdraws all the money
4. Wrx file claim
5. PayPal takes money back giving him a negative balance
6. Person still has the cash and is free to open another PayPal account as it is not very difficult.

*** ALSO.. IF THIS STORY ENDS UP BEING TRUE.. MODS SHOULD PIN THIS THREAD AND CHANGE THE TITLE TO "READ THIS THREAD BEFORE YOU POST A NEGATIVE THREAD ABOUT A BST TRANSACTION" I AM BEING SERIOUS.. THIS IS INSANE IF TRUE ***

[12aces]

So he can't be real close with this "Dustin" character. He's certainly not friends with him on Facebook. Good luck guys, hope you get your money back

[Albatross85]

I think you guys are grasping a little bit on the date thing, i mess up writing dates all the time. That's nothing too alarming imo.

My question is this though, when my bank processes checks i've written there are always stamps and/or markings on the face of the check to indicate its been processed. The picture the guy posted shows no such thing. Am i off base here? Don't all banks do this?

[KYMAR]

I used to be able to see checks ive written online with no stampings or marks from the bank yet applied. Physical Cancelled checks,sure. But if thats a screen shot or print off of a scanned check, I'd expect it to look just like this one.

[Albatross85]

[quote name='KYMAR' timestamp='1440158537' post='12181710']
I used to be able to see checks ive written online with no stampings or marks from the bank yet applied. Physical Cancelled checks,sure. But if thats a screen shot or print off of a scanned check, I'd expect it to look just like this one.
[/quote]Good to know, my banks still stamps mine before they scan it so i assumed all banks did. Carry on

[Titleist_242]

[quote name='KjBowen' timestamp='1440148097' post='12181372']
[quote name='One_Putt_Blunder' timestamp='1440132014' post='12181052']
Before everyone continues on the witch hunt of calling this guy Chris's work etc, consider this what if he is telling the truth and a bunch of angry wrxers ends up costing this guy his job? Paypal is going to refund the buyers money so the WRX'ers who got scammed will be indemnified. IMO best solution is notify paypal (already done) and local authorities if need be and let them sort out the mess.

Yes it sucks wrxers got scammed, but they have paypal to protect them provided they did not gift etc. If what this guy Chris is saying is true he really is the one that got hosed over here by his buddy. His Paypal is $1800 in the hole and he prob has very little odds of getting that $1800 back from his so called buddy Dustin. Harassing Chris at his work is not the solution to any of this.

If you follow the money what incentive does Chris have to post his crazy story about his Dustin taking advantage of his paypal to clear himself unless it is true?
He takes 1800 from wrx members
Wrx members file paypal disputes
Paypal sides with the wrx members taking the 1800 back from him
So if somehow Chris's story is a lie and it really is SOSINSURR (Dustin) he just ends up at a net zero, so why go through the trouble of creating this story to clear his name?

Edit: if this all still sounds crazy to those rightfully pissed off at this scam just ask Chris to post a screen shot of the check posting to his account that should clear up any doubts
[/quote]
He does not end up with a net zero.

This is a possible and more likely scenario

1. Person posts ad.. Lists items for sale
2. Sells all the items
3. Withdraws all the money
4. Wrx file claim
5. PayPal takes money back giving him a negative balance
6. Person still has the cash and is free to open another PayPal account as it is not very difficult.

*** ALSO.. IF THIS STORY ENDS UP BEING TRUE.. MODS SHOULD PIN THIS THREAD AND CHANGE THE TITLE TO "READ THIS THREAD BEFORE YOU POST A NEGATIVE THREAD ABOUT A BST TRANSACTION" I AM BEING SERIOUS.. THIS IS INSANE IF TRUE ***
[/quote]

I don't get it why should people have to read this thread to report a bad transaction??? Every bad sale has its own circumstances, why would reading this thread help... No chance this gets pinned

[KYMAR]

[quote name='Albatross85' timestamp='1440158654' post='12181712']
[quote name='KYMAR' timestamp='1440158537' post='12181710']
I used to be able to see checks ive written online with no stampings or marks from the bank yet applied. Physical Cancelled checks,sure. But if thats a screen shot or print off of a scanned check, I'd expect it to look just like this one.
[/quote]Good to know, my banks still stamps mine before they scan it so i assumed all banks did. Carry on
[/quote]

That could have all changed, i write so few checks these days.

It could also be that the guy makes copies of checks he writes for his own records. Thats not unusual.

[Not Far From Par]

I was involved in this as well. ...
I too sent payment for the Napa. ..
Just got off the phone with PP CS & had to scream to get anything done. ..
Had to get a manager on the phone to get them to look at the case. ..
Made decision on the spot & refunded my money within a few minutes. ..
I filed a case VERY early in the transaction, partly because of the fishy excuses, and mostly because I've been in a FOUL mood the last couple of weeks. . Lol

[Lord Helmet]

Am I the only one who doesnt believe the sob story posted by the guy? Call me cynical.

I work in investigations so I tend to be a bit jaded......

[JaNelson38]

[quote name='Masterblaster42' timestamp='1440110481' post='12179126']
Alright, I know this won't carry much weight with you guys in here. But I am the owner of the PayPal account in question here. My name is indeed Chris Ferrier. The individual who sold these items is named Dustin Caldwell. I am not here to ask for forgiveness on the monies owed, these will be repaid by me after I recover the money from him.

For those that don't know, here is how the whole thing went down. Dustin (sosinsurr) "sold" items to I believe six individual buyers off of here. He asked if he could have the monies from those accounts sent to my PayPal. I have known him long enough that I felt safe enough to do so. All told, about $1800 came in for these items. I don't know a thing about the whereabouts of these items, if there ever were items, whatever. What's important is that I withdrew these monies to my checking account and wrote him a check, which is attached to this message.
And now I have a negative $1800 balance on MY PayPal that I let this guy use, because you have all rightfully reversed the charges.
So, there's where im at. My email is coachferrier at Hotmail dot com. If you check, that is not the email he contacted you from. In addition, my phone number is three 6 zero 5 six 1 one 3 six 1 and I'm happy to speak to any of the people in this thread. I ask that you not contact my employer,as some of you have implied, as that is wholly unnecessary and quite a bit immature.
Thanks for your time.
Chris Ferrier
[/quote]

So lemme get this straight...a guy you know wants to sell some golf stuff on a website, wants the funds sent to your PayPal in exchange for a check, and you just blindly do it? Without knowing what the items were, whether they existed or not, etc?

Bullsh*t.

Those who were affected - get the local authorities involved. The only way to stop scamming like this is to get people like this arrested. Based on what I briefly read regarding Washington law, the amount of money stolen and changed hands ($1800) is a felony there. Thankfully the legitimate BST community here is strong and will stand up to this kind of garbage to help those affected. By him listing his address and phone number, and the name of the other party involved, the hard part is over. I find it hilarious that people trying to track him down are called by him "immature" when he was just part of a scam to swindle thousands of dollars from people here on WRX.

The sad part is that it appears from what previous posters had said that this person/these people responsible work in education.

[Medic]

[quote name='Lord Helmet' timestamp='1440167322' post='12182384']
Am I the only one who doesnt believe the sob story posted by the guy? Call me cynical.

I work in investigations so I tend to be a bit jaded......
[/quote]

Nope, I don't believe him at all - you aren't alone. Too many things don't fit. And the excuses are too convenient. I think he got worried when people here tracked him (and his employer down) and he is trying to do a little damage control.

Why don't I believe him? Because I don't see any way under the sun that everything, as he described it, is possible. As I said before call me skeptical but......

And I too believe the local law enforcement agency should be notified. With that amount of money it's a felony. And, while I am not an attorney, it would seem to me to be a case of fraud. Pretty serious stuff - yet another reason the "coach" is backtracking because he knows this is going to get real for him.

But I do love how he called it "immature" to contact his employer. No. Immature (and naive) is:

1. Allowing oneself to become involved in such a scam.

or

2. Thinking that you can get away with such a scam.