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I want to warn CAGs about video game related fraud on half.com, ebay, and amazon.com that has drastically increased in the past 1-2 months. NOTE: This is primarly for half.com, but these addresses may be used on amazon.com and ebay.com as well.

They only buy video games and have hit me 5 times in the past 1-2 months.

They must be hijacking ebay IDS and changing the shipping addresses. This time they made a mistake, because they reused one of the addresses and I new it sounded familiar.

Ebay seems unwilling to fix the problem and the USPS will not handle it because they need to hear from the person whos identity has been stolen.

Here's what happens:

You get an email from half saying your item sold. You ship your item to the address half provided. A week later half tells you 'the purchase was made with unauthorized funds. Don't ship the item'. Now that they have successfully ordered 1 item, they hit you several more times with different IDs. I've been hit 5 times with their 6th attempt today. If someone makes regular sales, it may be difficult to weed out these buyers.


What to look for:

They typically order on Monday/Tuesday because the item has to be shipped by Thursday/Friday. That way they get the item before half/ebay contacts the seller.

The address tends to be in CA, so give them special attention.

Look for a recent feedback on the ebay ID within the last few days. Notice they have made several purchases all on half.com on the same day. Here is an example of one of the IDs they have used: http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAP...ab=AllFeedback

How to protect yourself:

Send an email through the half.com system and verify the mailing address.

Send with delivery confirmation so when half asks for proof it was shipped, you have it.

Keep a log of the addresses you ship to so you can flag the ones where fraud is committed.

Here is a list of addresses where they have the items shipped. If anyone else has the same problem it would be nice to compile a list (here) we can reference to avoid shipping items to these 'buyers'.

Thanks to FatBoyInside for updating the list! (yet again!)

Confirmed SCAM addresses on Half.com / eBay / Amazon (sellers beware!) [ UPDATED 8/23/10 ]

Buyer ID: thagr81_us + other aliases
Shipping Address:
AUTUMN NEWTON
44714 Fenhold St
Lancaster, CA 93535
or
7934 Woodman Ave #15
Panorama City, CA 91402

Buyer ID: dhua4976 / pleasurechest714 / 93.5suprat / 99turbogs + other hacked accts
Shipping Address:
DENNIS DWYER / D DWYER / MILUSKA PEREZ / ANA SMITH / GREG WILLIAMSON
11024 Balboa Blvd #323
Granada Hills, CA 91344
or
7122 Mammoth Ave
Van Nuys, CA 91405
or
2004 14th Street Ct W
Palmetto, FL 34221

Buyer ID(s): Many aliases & hacked accts...just DON'T SHIP to
Shipping Address:
CRYSTAL TURNER / C TURNER / C Y TURNER
13554 Cantlay St APT 4
Van Nuys, CA 91405
or
14728 Gilmore St #7
Van Nuys, CA 91411

Buyer ID: 94-sup
Shipping Address:
BRYAN MORRIS
1570 Fourth street
Lewisport, KY 42351

Buyer ID(s): skeller968 / tinblessing8 / aznbruin / creep86er / turbotalonpsi / ctgeorge99 / alvaa01 / carlachicago / dyh888 / starpumaa
Shipping Address:
TAMMY ROY / T EDWARDS / JECK MAIN / JEN PEACE / K WEBB
618 Pear Street
Carterville, IL 62918
or
6277 4th Street
Benton, IL 62812

Buyer ID: suprafly01 / parkballer54 + other hacked accts
Shipping Address:
J GARCIA / J LEON / JULIO LEON
2565 Ohio Ave
South Gate, CA 90280

Buyer ID: psychox
Shipping Address:
PIPER HOLLOWAY
4413 FM 16 W
Tyler, TX 75706

Buyer ID: HitGaming / videogamesupply
Shipping Address:
SARAH ALLEN
6780 Russellville Rd
Hopskinville, KY 42240-8940

Buyer ID: deal-dude
Shipping Address:
SHAWN COWGER
3051 N Timberfalls PL
Meridian, ID 83646-4508

Buyer ID: cynbar768849
Shipping Address:
CYNTHIA BARNETT
9401 S. Van Ness Avenue
Inglewood, CA 90305

ONEAL HAMILTON
1050 N Summit Ave #4
Pasadena, CA 91103

Buyer ID: tonybestbuy
Shipping Address:
ANTHONY VECCHIO
P.O. Box 1643
La Fayette GA 30728
or
1401 N. Main St.
La Fayette, GA 30728-6435

Buyer ID: Distribution-MM enregistre / bernylesalopard (choiceofgamers@gmail.com)
Shipping Address:
MATHIEU BENOIT
224 Galipeau
Saint-jean-sur-richelieu QC
J3B8K3 Canada

Buyer ID: wwwsebcosebastien (wwwsebco@hotmail.com)
Shipping Address:
SEBASTIEN CORMIER
5940 rte 138 ouest
havre-saint-pierre QC
G0G 1P0 Canada

DENISE SHACHT
19 Brighton Ave APT D
Belleville, NJ 07109-4205

ADRIENNE DENESE
26 Carol Dr
Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632-2326



These were also reported, but they may have been isolated cases:

JOHN T. BOWMAN
724 Greentree Circle Apt. #202
Chesapeake, VA 23320

NINO CHIASIN
214 Franklin St APT 203
Bloomfield, NJ 07003-4888

Buyer ID: H7GRO10 / H7GRO7
Shipping Address:
JAMES PIATEK
301 Cheshire Dr APT 19
Knoxville, TN 37919-5804
or
ERIC TOCH
1132 E17th St
Long Beach, CA 90813

Buyer ID: vivianne kateregga (vivianne_kateregga@live.com)
Kyle Smetana
1691 Praireview Ln.
Greenfield, IN 46140-7542

Buyer ID(s): zdongtracz22 / wildcat33t
Shipping Address:
THERESA A. CANO
9001 N. 39th Dr.
Phoenix, AZ, 85051

NEIL GORDON
14 Bailey Dr. SW
Lilburn, GA 30047

Buyer ID: bestthings772
Shipping Address:
MICHAEL CURRIE
424 Pine Road
West Palm Beach, FL 33409

NICK V FLEMING
2320 Bank St
Bakersfield, CA 93304

JERMANE PINSON

Buyer ID: jifferz
Shipping Address: in CT

Shipping Address: ????
147-29-182nd Street
Springfield Gardens, New York 11413

Buyer ID: graphicbreakdown (insomniac11804@yahoo.com)
Shipping Address:
TIMOTHY WAPNER
5545 Pine Ave
Palmdale, CA 93551

Buyer ID: jebus101
Shipping Address:
TONIA CASSELLA
608 Route 9W
Glenmont, NY 12077

LAZARO MARTINEZ
3310 10th St
Spearfish, SD 57783


HALF.com's customer service number: 1-800-545-9857

thanks for the headsup bro, god i hate ebays new policies make it so friggiin impossibole to make a decent buck there anymore.

cheers,
Mike

Damn, that's actually a really cleaver method... I don't bother checking my account before I ship something when I sell on Half. I just ship using the info in the email.

I ALWAYS log in to PayPal and confirm funds and print a packing list. So much spam/phishing attempts out there -- never trust anything on the face value of an email. It's just common sense...

does this affect amazon? i notice you mentioned them but nothing specifically about amazon. Amazon doesn't use paypal or anything, and I take addresses directly from amazon's seller page.

So they charge you back after? or are you not withdrawing the money before you ship?

I always withdraw before shipping or wait for e-checks to clear...

thanks for the heads up, I only sell books on half.com but occasionally I'll sell a game or two on ebay. Usually I check ebay & paypal to see if the payment has been received to be safe. I'll be sure to keep an eye out for these suspicious bidders. I'm guessing they target Buy-it-Now auctions or auctions closing soon so they could get the game fast.

Originally Posted by syndicate701 I ALWAYS log in to PayPal and confirm funds and print a packing list. So much spam/phishing attempts out there -- never trust anything on the face value of an email. It's just common sense...

Note half.com works like amazon.com even though it is an ebay company. Funds do not go through paypal, they go directly to your linked bank account. Even if you transfer the funds, they can contact your bank and take the money back. I know some of this is common sense, but I am trying to teach other sellers how to protect themselves from this new scam.

Originally Posted by ninja dog So they charge you back after? or are you not withdrawing the money before you ship? I always withdraw before shipping or wait for e-checks to clear...

Half.com pays directly to a bank account, so they will take back the money/block the transfer if you do not have proof you shipped the item. So you will be out the item and not get any money either.


I need to clarify this is primarily on half.com, but these addresses may be used by the same scammers on ebay and amazon.

For ebay, you always have the paypal protection and can ship only to confirmed addresses with delivery confirmation.

As far as Amazon goes, I have been receiving an increasing number of orders that are placed, the item is shipped within 2 business days as amazon's TOS requires, then the buyer sends an email saying 'cancel'. The buyer files a claim, so you get a strike on amazon and they get their money back and they keep the item. The way to combat this is to ship with "tracking information." Delivery confirmation is not enough proof of delivery according to amazon. They need stop by stop tracking. Like UPS uses. I use signature confirmation for high end items and I use delivery confirmation on the USPS website and I also select the email activity and future activity boxes, so you have step by step tracking for amazon.

Wow, I did a transaction through them in April for Oblivion:GOTY(PS3) to this address:

Crystal Turner 13554 Cantlay St APT 4 Van Nuys, CA 91405
I got the e-mail from half.com saying it was never received or something or rather and asked for the DC# and after I provided it, I haven't heard anything back. Thanks for getting this out to other people.

Seems like she is also selling her poems for - wait for it - 6.99 a pop.

What a bargain. With sales skills like this why did she have to resort to theft?

I have written some beautifully written Inspirational poems for: your Mother, your Mother-in-Law or for men, your Girlfriends...and for most, a couple of general poems, starting at $5.99 per poem in folder or in a frame. This is the first collection of many to come. I would like for you to come and check them out at: www.crystal-turner.com. Write down what poem, page number, on what kind of paper preferred and what color folder or frame you want...and press "ordercards@crystal-turner.com and place your order. Use the instructions on page 1 on how to make your payment...once your payment is received, depending on the method made, your order will go out with in 24 to 48 hours. Leave your comments or sign my Guestbook. Thank you for your support for us Single Mothers.

http://www.adpost.com/us/arts_crafts/3052/

Looks like the guestbook is down :(

To be fair she could be a pawn of a 508 scammer - who knows.

Get me all the SoCal addresses. I will pass them and the info on to my family and friends in the LAPD and some other agencies. Maybe even pay these guys a visit. The Panorma City and Van Nuys should be covered by LAPD, I don't think either of those are independent cities. Pasadena will have to be wilth Pasadena PD though.

If you get me all the pertinent information, I can pass it along to my LAPD contacts and see who it should go to, hopefully get a resolution moving faster, Slowdive.

Originally Posted by karkyco Get me all the SoCal addresses. I will pass them and the info on to my family and friends in the LAPD and some other agencies. Maybe even pay these guys a visit. The Panorma City and Van Nuys should be covered by LAPD, I don't think either of those are independent cities. Pasadena will have to be wilth Pasadena PD though. If you get me all the pertinent information, I can pass it along to my LAPD contacts and see who it should go to, hopefully get a resolution moving faster, Slowdive.

Is the bodybuilder in your avatar gonna go get them? :p


All jokes aside, I googled " Crystal Turned van nuys" and bunch of things popped up.

http://www.gobignetwork.com/profiles...al-Turner.aspx

This same thing happened to me. i sold bioshock for $40 and then 3 weeks after i shipped the item out to the O'neal hamilton, CA address, i was infomred by half.com of unauthorized funds. Now dumbass half.com wants proof of delivery which i can't provide b/c i just sent it out regular usps mail.

i responded to half.com that delivery was not a problem, but it was a problem stemming from unauthorized funds. I sent half.com 3 respones, and each time they replied with a generic e-mail saying that they need the delivery tracking info. Half.com just ignores everything i write in my e-mails. I can't even find a customer service person to talk to. This is ridiculous. I will no longer sell anything on half.com again.

I got screwed over by the very same Crystal Turner that is on your list. My problem was they waited almost two full months to file a claim, and I don't usually keep the delivery confirmation slips that long so I couldn't prove I had sent it.

Nice to know I'm not alone.

Something I've learned to do is always send a PM or something equivalent to the 'buyer' when sending games that includes the tracking number. Do I still have the slip from when I sent? Probably, but I was easily able to access the DC# from checking the interaction log from the transaction.

I got hit by the same person, but I kept the delivery confirmation number. Wow, it's amazing that so many CAGs got hit by this same guy/girl.

I wonder if someone should send them a package with a note scaring them.
Maybe if I get some time this weekend, I should go pay Crystal a visit. Claim I want my packages back.

OP, can you post a list of eBay usernames so that we can add them to our blocked bidders list?

Originally Posted by QiG Something I've learned to do is always send a PM or something equivalent to the 'buyer' when sending games that includes the tracking number. Do I still have the slip from when I sent? Probably, but I was easily able to access the DC# from checking the interaction log from the transaction.

I do this with customs label numbers for international shipments. Theres a place on Paypal to enter tracking info, which will send an email to the buyer to tell them it has shipped (handy, no more "have you shipped my item???" messages), and it sure beats trying to keep my paper receipts organized.

Here's the thing...next time any of us gets an order from these guys....we should send an empty package with delivery confirmation. Then we will be paid for sending nothing. haha.

fux those crooks. I lost $40 on my sale of bioshock. half.com just sent me an email saying they would deduct that from my bank account. What would happen if I just told my bank that it was not an authorized debit from my account?