Scam sellers

It's getting a bit ridiculous now!
A few items off my Wants now being offered for sale by scam sellers every day.
Sometimes you just see a fair price and 100% Seller and go for it instinctively. Obviously best to hold off on payment until you review in more detail. Some probably don't do that.

How are these people getting hold of dormant s which they then reactivate?

Needs to be an easier way to report these people to Discogs.

N.Soul
It's getting a bit ridiculous now!

https://www.discogs.sie.com/forum/thread/977935

A typical discussion inside weekly meeting of an online payment company:

Complaints department rep: "There's increasing reports of hacked s being used in some online marketplaces and goods not being received. Should we be looking into this and
take steps to stop it happening?"

Management (to s): "Is this affecting our receipt of fees and bottom line?"

s: "Claims don't happen over night and I suspect not all are even reported. If anything, it's probably increasing our revenue. "

Management: "Well, as long as we're benefiting from this situation, let's leave it as it is."

N.Soul
How are these people getting hold of dormant s which they then reactivate?

There's zero security measures that prevent brute-force attacks on discogs s.

spinauctions.com.
Well, as long as we're benefiting from this situation

FWIW, I don't think discogs benefits at all from any of these...the typical scam is seller pretends paypal isn't working and then dupes the buyer into paying outside of discogs via F&F.

DarreLP
spinauctions.com.Well, as long as we're benefiting from this situation

FWIW, I don't think discogs benefits at all from any of these...the typical scam is seller pretends paypal isn't working and then dupes the buyer into paying outside of discogs via F&F.

He’s pretending to be PayPal, not Discogs I believe

N.Soul
How are these people getting hold of dormant s which they then reactivate?

Many people stupidly use identical s for multiple different online services.

Hack one of them, and you essentially hack them all.

https://www.techadvisor.com/article/739827/56-of-consumers-use-the-same-s-for-online-s.html

AmazingDiscoveries
N.SoulIt's getting a bit ridiculous now!
https://www.discogs.sie.com/forum/thread/977935

That thread was closed.

DarreLP
spinauctions.com.Well, as long as we're benefiting from this situation

FWIW, I don't think discogs benefits at all from any of these...the typical scam is seller pretends paypal isn't working and then dupes the buyer into paying outside of discogs via F&F.

That’s exactly what they do. Sometimes it’s fun to let them think they are really baiting you and seeing their pathetic attempts to have you pay them by Venmo.

https://www.discogs.sie.com/seller/Misskathleen/profile

Ol’ Miss Kathleen has some wonderful rare items for cheap.

And I just bought one of those cheap records from MissKathleen. We'll see what happens!

13_ccous
Ol’ Miss Kathleen has some wonderful rare items for cheap.

And free shipping to New Zealand! Wow, what a deal!

Kilovolt_Records
And I just bought one of those cheap records from MissKathleen. We'll see what happens!

You won’t be receiving any records.

13_ccous
TheRecoriumAnd I just bought one of those cheap records from MissKathleen. We'll see what happens!
You won’t be receiving any records.

By the looks of the lowest prices paid on many of these records and being bought today, it looks like a lot of people are in the same boat as me.

Kilovolt_Records

By the looks of the lowest prices paid on many of these records and being bought today, it looks like a lot of people are in the same boat as me.

that boat is sinking fast my friend

I fell for it, then quickly recognized my idiocy.

Couldn't there be a quicker way to shut down obvious scammers? It seems the 4-day period no-response rule gives scammers a rather large time window to harvest victims.

edit: gone already

Seller in question just ed yesterday and all this already? Wow.

Another one - Rockdad111
https://www.discogs.sie.com//Rockdad111

Just listed 15 or so old faithfuls, too good to be true prices and €14 shopping worldwide, any format, any quantity.

13_ccous
massenmediumN.SoulIt's getting a bit ridiculous now!
https://www.discogs.sie.com/forum/thread/977935

That thread was closed.

Yeah, &this one will be locked at the beginning of next week too, ... unfortunately! &then, the next will be opened :(, or :)? &Eva-N'escal seems to be the neighbour from Lawler-John!

SweatyFlapFlap
Just listed 15 or so old faithfuls, too good to be true prices and €14 shopping worldwide, any format, any quantity.

Yeah, I can see he's put a lot of thought into his Seller ; "Hallo! :)"

N.Soul
It's getting a bit ridiculous now!
A few items off my Wants now being offered for sale by scam sellers every day.
Sometimes you just see a fair price and 100% Seller and go for it instinctively. Obviously best to hold off on payment until you review in more detail. Some probably don't do that.

How are these people getting hold of dormant s which they then reactivate?

Needs to be an easier way to report these people to Discogs.

wearyofwokewussies
Seller in question just ed yesterday and all this already? Wow.

Not sure which seller you're talking about, but the thread is a general observation. There have been a large number of these, particularly since the beginning of the Ukraine war, which created an opportunity for scammers.

Metalman2
Many people stupidly use identical s for multiple different online services.

Hack one of them, and you essentially hack them all.

https://www.techadvisor.com/article/739827/56-of-consumers-use-the-same-s-for-online-s.html

Yes, but these scammers seem to find/use dormant s with (often) 100%. Not even easy to find the s, let alone hack the .
They have tightened up the auto-input of s now I believe but hasn't stopped the problem.
I wonder if the scammers are buying the s?

Maybe some clever programmer out there can help save the virtual world by creating an automated internet detection tool that diverts all scammers to Scamazon

Seller in question just ed yesterday and all this already? Wow.

N.Soul
N.SoulIt's getting a bit ridiculous now!
A few items off my Wants now being offered for sale by scam sellers every day.
Sometimes you just see a fair price and 100% Seller and go for it instinctively. Obviously best to hold off on payment until you review in more detail. Some probably don't do that.

How are these people getting hold of dormant s which they then reactivate?

Needs to be an easier way to report these people to Discogs.

lunarrSeller in question just ed yesterday and all this already? Wow.

Not sure which seller you're talking about, but the thread is a general observation. There have been a large number of these, particularly since the beginning of the Ukraine war, which created an opportunity for scammers.

Er..the seller that everyone in the above 7 or 8 posts are talking about--with the kind older lady avatar named Kathleen. Yea, that one. Thanx for explaining the thread to me also.

wearyofwokewussies
Er..the seller that everyone in the above 7 or 8 posts are talking about--with the kind older lady avatar named Kathleen.

-20 rating
- just when people thought it was safe to go back into the scam risk internet ... she looked so trust worthy especially with those glasses

Can anyone advise? Whats the best case type to choose when starting a dispute? I chose "item not received" but it's forcing me to wait a week before I can escalate to a claim. Is there a better case type to use? Is it better to call? Or use a different form on the PayPal website? What type of information does one need to include to get the correct result?

crmrecords
Can anyone advise? Whats the best case type to choose when starting a dispute? I chose "item not received" but it's forcing me to wait a week before I can escalate to a claim. Is there a better case type to use? Is it better to call? Or use a different form on the PayPal website? What type of information does one need to include to get the correct result?

You have to use that if it's the case. Otherwise you'll probably be required to return.
You can usually escalate after a few days, but it's fairly long-winded anyway.
You'll need the usual information, eg. dates, platform, order numbers, item description, etc.
Get them ready first as PayPal has a habit of timing out quickly.

Yet another - beast.hoven1

https://www.discogs.sie.com//beast.hoven1

Truly a beast of burden.

If you used PayPal then no problem, as long as you didn't go Friends and Family. File your claim.

I wish I knew the best way to file a complaint with PayPal. Their options do not include "fraud". I opened a case of type "did not receive item". I had to wait a week to escalate this to a dispute. Then it is making me wait another 10 days while PP reaches out to the seller. Has anyone figured out a better way?

N.Soul
It's getting a bit ridiculous now!
A few items off my Wants now being offered for sale by scam sellers every day.
Sometimes you just see a fair price and 100% Seller and go for it instinctively.

Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)

Safer to go for established 99.5%+ sellers with hundreds or thousands of

Another - miguelang33333

https://www.discogs.sie.com//miguelang33333

Come on Discogs do something about it, people are getting scammed left right and centre

SweatyFlapFlap
Another - miguelang33333

https://www.discogs.sie.com//miguelang33333

Come on Discogs do something about it, people are getting scammed left right and centre

Seller is 100%

Needs to be resolved for Discogs sake as much as anything.
Destroying confidence in the platform and making buyers super-cautious about buying.
Also making it very difficult for genuine new sellers to establish themselves.
PayPal offers some protection but it's a drawn out process and full of potential pitfalls.

N.Soul
Needs to be resolved for Discogs sake as much as anything.
Destroying confidence in the platform and making buyers super-cautious about buying.
Also making it very difficult for genuine new sellers to establish themselves.
PayPal offers some protection but it's a drawn out process and full of potential pitfalls.

Buy from established reliable sellers - check their s inc neutrals

Avoid the Riskdogs

Not good. They should not be on here but on Scamogs

Looks like another one just arrived...

Darmklacht

arctikdeth
discogs - better close this guy down, before he really gets away with what he is doing.

Give them a neg rating so others question ordering

https://www.discogs.sie.com//countrymikesfinds - this one is not as obvious, but it is a scammer

I would concur with the suspicion about Darmklacht....

Issue not sorted

deltic37
Just to confirm Darmklacht was another scam / fake seller....

Scamogs alert !

deltic37
Just to confirm Darmklacht was another scam / fake seller....

I called him out in the comment sections of the releases he was trying to bait with and then he placed 29 orders only to drop me negative s as a retaliation. Moreover he threatened me in the messages.

It's been the forth(!) scammer only this week that I encountered. And it's probably always the same guy(s).
Why is Discogs so toothless against them? They're risking their reputation more and more.
Why don't they just block the IP addresses these people use and make it end?

dmp
deltic37Just to confirm Darmklacht was another scam / fake seller....
I called him out in the comment sections of the releases he was trying to bait with and then he placed 29 orders only to drop me negative s as a retaliation. Moreover he threatened me in the messages.

It's been the forth(!) scammer only this week that I encountered. And it's probably always the same guy(s).
Why is Discogs so toothless against them? They're risking their reputation more and more.
Why don't the just block the IP address these people use and make it end?

Scamogs alert !

SpareGrooves
Seller is 100%

And yet their 's been suspended

SpareGrooves
Buy from established reliable sellers - check their s inc neutrals

Unfortunately this is no longer good advice

TopVine24 ... new scam by the same person
both have/had identical listings

Mark.drouz are two new s created today just for faking positive seller s

Mark Drouz seems to be a real asshole. I mean, he's complaining that "the delivery time is very long", yet he received his record exactly one minute after placing the order! How many seconds is this guy prepared to wait, exactly?!

He did own a nice ice cream place though. https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/mark-toneys-up-sale-after-20521816

wrongek
Mark Drouz seems to be a real asshole. I mean, he's complaining that "the delivery time is very long", yet he received his record exactly one minute after placing the order! How many seconds is this guy prepared to wait, exactly?!

A bit less time than an ice cream melts and gets eaten away - this is not Meltogs

mimmo77 ... another hacked . Also listing the True Image record.

Really popular items for baiting are LZ II RLs, the first two Sabbath albums on Vertigo (very first presses) and Metallica RtL on Megaforce. I see new scammers almost daily now offering these items

[ [ deleted ] ]

panda_paige ... same as above mentioned s

_Rocking_
It's my first time buying from this web. Is there a way to make sure that I'm purchasing an item in good conditions? What happens if it's a scam?

Make yourself familiar with Goldmine Standards at first, then think about which gradings are acceptable for you. Most listings here are graded correctly after all. In the rare case one isn't you can make a claim but have to argue it. Not every misgrading would be a scam.

lisat9705 ... same as above mentioned s

_Rocking_
It's my first time buying from this web. Is there a way to make sure that I'm purchasing an item in good conditions? What happens if it's a scam?

If you approach online buying under this prism maybe you should reconsider buying online. For some people it works only if they have the record in their hands, inspect it carefully and then put their hand in their pocket and pay for it.

Another

Mikel_80

Hmmmm. Someone ought to change the thread title to something like....oh, I don't know....how about "List all of your confirmed/suspected/possible/new/returning etc. scammers here". Could be beneficial. Just an idea.

SweatyFlapFlap
Another

miguelang33333

You listed him 12 days ago. 100% FB still stands and is selling-just not to USA. What exactly is the problem here?

wearyofwokewussies
QuacksterAnother

miguelang33333

You listed him 12 days ago. 100% FB still stands and is selling-just not to USA. What exactly is the problem here?

Selling what? The last for that glowing 100% was in 2020. Do you think they've been ticking along with no sales for two years? The was even suspended after I posted but has been reactivated recently. The 13 item Inventory was all listed today.

I tell you what - you buy something from them and we'll see how you get on.

Scratch that, I've just tried to buy something from them myself and got this message from PayPal before I even got to the payment screen:

"This transaction has been declined
in order to comply with
international regulations"

Yet more:

u=philly_buster

No activity since 2019
List of high value items at very low prices
All listed within last 2 days
Same shipping rate worldwide

SweatyFlapFlap
List of high value items at very low prices
All listed within last 2 dayse

Yep, it's even almost an identical stock.

I'm just amazed how many s he seems to be hacking into.
All this could madness be stopped today if Discogs only implemented a two-factor-authentication. At least for inactive s. Also stronger rules would help a lot.

dmp
All this could madness be stopped today if Discogs only implemented a two-factor-authentication. At least for inactive s. Also stronger rules would help a lot.

They did introduce 2FA for a while, then removed it right?

SweatyFlapFlap
They did introduce 2FA for a while, then removed it right?

No, I think it's just optional and some people don't like the way it's implemented.

Two more
u=Aiden-Stewar , 6 neg. today, 1 fake pos. a week ago. ed week ago too.
u=EdwardLokins , w/ almost the same inventory, no fb yet, ed yesterday

dunforthemoment
QuacksterThey did introduce 2FA for a while, then removed it right?

No, I think it's just optional and some people don't like the way it's implemented.

Ah cool, thanks. Gonna set mine up now.

Another potential Sarayke - was seller about 22 items 20 of which were over £400, single low shipping rate from a seller who has not sold anything for years. I asked for images of one of the records as I was interested, no reply and within 48hrs Sarayke no longer has any records listed for sale... I am sorry to say Discogs is becoming riddled with them which surely must be in part because of poor security controls... Ebay has its' faults but at least they make an effort and communicate with s when challenged or issues are highlighted to them, Discogs must know about these issues/scammers but seem to do, or do not have the capacity, nothing... :-)

I'm seeing scam s almost daily now, discogs really should do something about it. I usually place an order without paying for it, then leave a negative as a warning to others. I've done that five times now and received several messages from scammed people afterwards. This is my default answer, feel free to do the same and help to keep discogs a clean marketplace:

Hello
Due to several messages heres my answer, I will not start any discussion afterwards as this would exceed my time.

Recently there are fake profiles popping up trying to get money with fake sales. They will not send you a record, but maybe a fake tracking code. This time, they sold lots of records at a low price (around 20$), maybe hoping people will just agree losing this small amount of money. But don't!

What you can do: open a claim on paypal, its easy. As there will be many other claims against them, you will get your money back, maybe within a week. Don't accept the money to be lost, because this will make them come again and again with fake profiles. If they get 100$ out of it, it might be a lot of money depending where the live.

How do you recognize fake profiles: I've seen five so far. Four were created the same day (you can see when look at their profile). They have no yet. They sell records at a low price, hoping people can't resist and act quickly. No/low shipping costs. But one profile was 10 years old and had some , probably it was hacked. So they might change their strategy in the future. Just be suspicious if an offer looks too good and doesn't come from someone with reputation.

What I do: I just place an order (without sending any money!) and leave a negative as a warning to others. Since there is no function to report sellers this is the only way I see to prevent that bullshit. If you're interested in keeping discogs a clean marketplace, I suggest you do the same.

Already received messages from Discogs, which proofed I was right about all (!) previous cases.

Good luck and have fun.
Best, S

sheberin
I've done that five times now and received several messages from scammed people afterwards.

I’ve been doing the same! Sad how easy it is for scammers to hijack s right now. Discogs has no answer. Hopefully no one is sending them money by bank transfer.

another has just appeared with half price andromeda lp, Dr. Z etc

buddysrecords
another has just appeared with half price andromeda lp, Dr. Z etc

I noticed that too, unfortunately another hacked (possibly) old seller with previous of 100% (over 100 positive). Now 5 negs within a day. Now empty inventory.
Was selling these for example (half price incl. shipping) :(
https://www.discogs.sie.com/release/1079795-Pearl-Jam-Oct-22-2003-Benaroya-Hall?ev=item-vc

Negative "PROCEED WITH CAUTION! I have reason to believe that this seller's has been hacked. I purchased a record from this seller, but when I tried to pay, PayPal declined the transaction "in order to comply with international regulations."
left on: Dec 19, 2022 10:16 AM"

i reported acouple of there items but discogs doesnt seem to move until theres a bunch of negative already there

fantasia_1 hacked

Already has a negative about being a scammer

If it's the same person hacking all these s, you can't fault their work ethic

buddysrecords
i reported acouple of there items but discogs doesnt seem to move until theres a bunch of negative already there

A week's gone. Still selling. 11 expensive releases, incl. TWO copies of mint/mint 1983 ABBA visitors cd for £150 and £250. And 1750€ Santana box set for 1/3 price, m/m, incl. shipping.
More neg. given, 8 in 3 days, all say the seller is scammer.
:/

https://www.discogs.sie.com//MrCott111

3 more for the list

why do they go for previously active, but now dormant s?

cariocafunk
why do they go for previously active, but now dormant s?

Because they 'inherit' what looks like an established with good rather than a brand new with none.

kjmahee
cariocafunkwhy do they go for previously active, but now dormant s?
Because they 'inherit' what looks like an established with good rather than a brand new with none.

why not currently active s? Because the is more likely to Discogs straight away?

cariocafunk
Because the is more likely to Discogs straight away?

You would imagine so. A selling that hasn't seen any action for 3 or so years is far less likely to have the original seller notice. There have been reports on here of current sellers having their hijacked but obviously they will be more motivated to get their back and so spoiling the fun.

Also s on dormant s are more likely to have been unchanged for a while. I assume that they are gaining access to these s mainly by trying s leaked from other sites.

Another one here: lospillus.esp
Several attempts to scam people (including me) in just a couple of days

AmazingDiscoveries
Also s on dormant s are more likely to have been unchanged for a while. I assume that they are gaining access to these s mainly by trying s leaked from other sites.

Yeah that's what I was figuring. I think it would help if Discogs forced a reset on all dormant s when a tries to access it again. Won't help if the hackers have access to the s main email, which is entirely possible, but it should cut down on these.

Other scammers are just opening s and hoping buyers will pay them via F&F/donations. Usually these scammers are set up in countries were PP doesn't accept G&S style payments. There should be a way for Discogs and PayPal to work together to ensure seller s ed on Discogs have a valid PayPal that can received goods and services payments. That way the fake Discogs address thing won't work so easily.

I get the Discogs is a bit like the wild wild west in ways and isn't set up to offer buyer protection like Amazon or eBay but, IMO, ensuring a safer marketplace is in their interest as it builds buyer confidence.

AmazingDiscoveries
Also s on dormant s are more likely to have been unchanged for a while.

Seems to be the case overall but I was almost tricked recently by an that had it last legit sale in mid November (smaller seller).

https://www.discogs.sie.com//MrCott111

3 more for the list

Third seller is still allowed to sell. 10 days ago noted in this thread.
https://www.discogs.sie.com/seller/MrCott111/profile?sort=price%2Cdesc
Edit: not anymore

13_ccous
Seems to be the case overall but I was almost tricked recently by an that had it last legit sale in mid November (smaller seller).

Sure. Someone asked *why* they tend to use dormant s, that doesn't mean they only use dormant s.

Is that a trick question?

"Dormant" means it's not in active use. The owner would have to close it.

Here’s a no doubter-

https://www.discogs.sie.com/seller/DarronBartoletti/profile

Jeez!! This is the first I've just jumped onto the forums to read and found this thread! I am a new seller here and came looking because I logged in today and I can't seem to find/see 'My Store' and was wondering if it's been hacked! Bloody hope not! Have submitted a ticket the Discogs so hopefully it will get sorted but I hope these scammers have't stolen my inventory of stock for sale (only small about 500+).
All seems awful and scary from the buying - which I am also buying too!
Can anyone still see my listings for sale or is it just me?

You've not got any for sale but your 'shop' page shows 504 as being for sale. If you have expired/relisted then this is a known bug. Go to your Shipping Policies page and toggle your policies off and back on (one may do it but might as well do all of them) and the items should appear.

OMG kjmahee you are a genius!!

Boogie_Bunny_Beats
OMG kjmahee you are a genius!!

I wish that were true! Just ing on what I've read elsewhere. Shouldn't have to do it (I did myself yesterday) but it does work.