Calvin Ainsworth & Jared Ainsworth scammers

[Haizum74]

Not surprised in the slightest that the fraudster has an account he's using at Natwest.

Their security when opening new accounts is laughable and their Fraud Team are a bunch of monkeys. You can open an online account with them using only a name and address and they'll give you a £50 overdraft you can use immediatly!

I've just spent 10 months getting two fraudulent accounts opened in my name closed and it took numerous letters and a couple of "the Banking Ombudsman is going to here about this" calls to get the matter sorted.

Just one point which I would imagine you have done already but you can only complain to the Ombudsman after you have sent in a complaint with the bank and they have 'resolved' it and you are still unhappy with the outcome.

 

[rick19011]

Have they caught him yet?
Most scammers make a living doing this and get rich quick and rarely get caught,
I hope this person gets caught.

 

[PAPPACLART]

what about people who havent got £50 and are looking to shop to save money?

I thought this was a forum, a community not just some place someone can just sign up to scam somebody...oops I mean sell/buy something then bugger off without a further contribution!! How many members do you see where there first post is to sell something?

I suggest new members go to eBay, or to the many other places online to buy something or at least CONTRIBUTE here first before taking advantage of all of AVF's fruits.

That is just bad forum etiquette.

 

[PAPPACLART]

How many of those scammed are following the rules or other suggested non rules?

phoning the person to talk to them
asking for pictures of ALL sides of the item
even asking for something to be put in the picture, (if its small or they have a laptop get a picture of the thread)

and the list goes on.



The 50 post rule.

Would I join a forum and post 50 messages and pay a fee just to buy one item I had tried searching out using google? No not a chance


Would I post 50 messages if I just liked reading the forums and sometimes posting maybe 1 message every 3 years? no not a chance

I could go on but its pointless and im sure you feel the same.

Again it is a suggestion, what works on another forum may not work here etc. I am sure there are simple measure that can be adopted which will not annoy members. he 50 post count could be just for sellers and not buyers etc

As an example, the subscription if one was introduced could be for a small fee annually, but gives you the right to be a seller on AVF etc as well as other benefits.

Below is an example of a silver subscription is about £12 annually, which is no big deal. It does not have to be £12 it can be less, of course that is up to AVF.

(************************************************)
TLZone Silver Subscriber
THANK YOU for considering a subscription to TLZone!

This subscription level gives you the following benefits:

• Increases your Private Message storage capability to 150 Messages (Inbox and Outbox together)
• Gives you the ability to search your PM's by keyword or member name or both
• Allows the user to attach up 100MB worth of files to posts in the form of pictures or files
• Provides the choice of an ad free skin for viewing of the forums WITHOUT seeing advertisements
• Provides access to the Marketplace BUY and SELL forums for starting a thread
• Gives a 2x post count multiplier for all TLZone raffles!!

*This is an auto-renewing subscription. If you do not want the subscription to automatically renew at the end of the paid period you MUST CANCEL THE SUBSCRIPTION WITHIN YOUR PAYPAL ACCOUNT

 

[namuk]

PAPPACLART Send Stuart Wright 50 Quid if that makes you fell better

 

[j0hn]

I thought this was a forum, a community not just some place someone can just sign up to scam somebody...oops I mean sell/buy something then bugger off without a further contribution!! How many members do you see where there first post is to sell something?

I suggest new members go to eBay, or to the many other places online to buy something or at least CONTRIBUTE here first before taking advantage of all of AVF's fruits.

That is just bad forum etiquette.

you are entitled your opinion on how people should or should not use the forum. Of course you must accept not everyone is prepared to follow your standards. Unless you embrace dictatorships?

 

[j0hn]

Again it is a suggestion, what works on another forum may not work here etc. I am sure there are simple measure that can be adopted which will not annoy members. he 50 post count could be just for sellers and not buyers etc

As an example, the subscription if one was introduced could be for a small fee annually, but gives you the right to be a seller on AVF etc as well as other benefits.

Below is an example of a silver subscription is about £12 annually, which is no big deal. It does not have to be £12 it can be less, of course that is up to AVF.

(************************************************)
TLZone Silver Subscriber
THANK YOU for considering a subscription to TLZone!

This subscription level gives you the following benefits:

• Increases your Private Message storage capability to 150 Messages (Inbox and Outbox together)
• Gives you the ability to search your PM's by keyword or member name or both
• Allows the user to attach up 100MB worth of files to posts in the form of pictures or files
• Provides the choice of an ad free skin for viewing of the forums WITHOUT seeing advertisements
• Provides access to the Marketplace BUY and SELL forums for starting a thread
• Gives a 2x post count multiplier for all TLZone raffles!!

*This is an auto-renewing subscription. If you do not want the subscription to automatically renew at the end of the paid period you MUST CANCEL THE SUBSCRIPTION WITHIN YOUR PAYPAL ACCOUNT

Yes then everything has to go through administration and records kept and updated and these can be stolen and used and sold abroad etc etc and its just a plain waste of time. If it makes you feel any better you can send me £50 and I'll personally vet any sales or purchases you make in the future.

 

[UrbanT]

As has been mentioned before, if the trading advice that is printed in every classified thread is followed, the chances of being caught with fraud are very low. The system is already in place to reduce the risk of fraud to members, but its up to members whether they wish to utilise that system when dealing with other members.

As an example, probably in 80% of disputes we are asked for help in obtaining an address. Logically why would anyone pay away potentially hundreds of pounds without even basic information? But it happens every day, but only becomes a problem when the deal turns sour.

This is a fantastic and friendly community, but you still don't know the person you are dealing with and caution should always be taken. If a member is in any doubt about a transaction, walk away. The mods would much rather deal with a concerned member before money is paid away, rather than a very upset member after the money is paid away.

 

[Pecker]

UT, you are of course right.

There's no such thing as a fool-proof system, and you can get ripped off in a high street store.

Let's get things in perspective here. There are over 163,000 completed trades in the archives section, and only 309 in the disputed trades area.

That's a success rate of 99.8%, which isn't bad going in anyone's book.

Steve W

 

[Stuart]

UT, you are of course right.

There's no such thing as a fool-proof system, and you can get ripped off in a high street store.

Let's get things in perspective here. There are over 163,000 completed trades in the archives section, and only 309 in the disputed trades area.

That's a success rate of 99.8%, which isn't bad going in anyone's book.

Steve W

Don't forget that once disputes get resolved the thread moves to archive, so the number of bad trades is higher, but it is still a very low percentage.

I would say that in 9 out of 10 disputes I have to deal with the buyer hasn't followed our guidelines and got even simple things like address and phone number. Just imagine how low the percentage of bad trades could be if they were followed.

 

[Pecker]

Don't forget that once disputes get resolved the thread moves to archive, so the number of bad trades is higher, but it is still a very low percentage.

I would say that in 9 out of 10 disputes the buyer hasn't followed our guidelines and got even simple things like address and phone number. Just imagine how low the percentage of bad trades could be if they were followed.

Thanks for the clarification.



Steve W

 

[Daniel SL]

hi pappaclart.

i also used to frequent the TLZone when i had my TLR... never got, nor scammed anyone on there ever.

most i spent on there was £400 though.

(************************************************)
TLZone Silver Subscriber
THANK YOU for considering a subscription to TLZone!

This subscription level gives you the following benefits:

• Increases your Private Message storage capability to 150 Messages (Inbox and Outbox together)
• Gives you the ability to search your PM's by keyword or member name or both
• Allows the user to attach up 100MB worth of files to posts in the form of pictures or files
• Provides the choice of an ad free skin for viewing of the forums WITHOUT seeing advertisements
• Provides access to the Marketplace BUY and SELL forums for starting a thread
• Gives a 2x post count multiplier for all TLZone raffles!!

*This is an auto-renewing subscription. If you do not want the subscription to automatically renew at the end of the paid period you MUST CANCEL THE SUBSCRIPTION WITHIN YOUR PAYPAL ACCOUNT

 

[tvbox]

I must say it is not very nice masking as a perfect existing member- just a simple dot and the buyer could sue the real one but he didn't do anything.

Also, most of the accounts came from "Staffs council" but there were a few others. Could there be more people involved?

Have these accounts been banned or are you guys still looking into them? Did he provide any addresses?

 

[PAPPACLART]

you are entitled your opinion on how people should or should not use the forum. Of course you must accept not everyone is prepared to follow your standards. Unless you embrace dictatorships?

Dictatorship would be the answer. Seriously, I don't expect people to adhere to what I say, though I am sure that a compromise could be met that would ensure that far less members are left out of pocket, and also that the members that contribute here (knowledge) would benefit the most from cheap discounted goods up for sale rather then a non member who signs up to the forum just to buy something because he/she stumbled upon what he/she was looking for while googling.

Yes then everything has to go through administration and records kept and updated and these can be stolen and used and sold abroad etc etc and its just a plain waste of time. If it makes you feel any better you can send me £50 and I'll personally vet any sales or purchases you make in the future.

It was implemented on TLzone very quickly and without any problems. Vbulletin supports a subcription system so it could be introduced here without a problem. To date, (and it has been a few years) no members have had there details stolen on TLzone.net and sold etc.

To say that it is a waste of time is wrong. We have practically Zero fraud, the forum benefits financially. Members have monthly raffles where they can win stuff, like motorcycle helmets/gloves/boots etc. Subscribers have many more features attached to the account as highlighted previously.<o></o>

Again though, it may not be the answer for AVF and it's members to have a subscription system but personally I don't think it is acceptable to have any amount of fraud taking place in any community, and although only a small amount vs. the sheer amount of trades, it is still too much and could be allot less if small measures were to be put in place.




(*EDIT*)

I do not know what is up with the text

[from admin - you pasted in a bunch of XML and then failed to preview your post or bother editing the XML back out.]

Edit

I don't know how all the XML found it's way, and I tried to go back to sort it out but it looked like a mess when I tried to edit and fix. So no I did not 'not bother' Thanks for fixing it

 

[UrbanT]

Are you talking about TL Zone, the bike forum?

 

[tvbox]

Phone number, (which I don't want to publish yet,

Why not? He deserves his phone number being publicy displayed after all the bad they've done.

 

[UrbanT]

Why not? He deserves his phone number being publicy displayed after all the bad they've done.

Trust me, the investigation is well under way with the police, the banks fraud department and the forums moderators. Nothing will happen at this stage that will potentially jeopardise those investigations.

 

[PAPPACLART]

Are you talking about TL Zone, the bike forum?

Yes

 

[UrbanT]

Yes

I've visited a few times as an ex biker. The problem is your comparison is not really fair or valid. AVF have far more transactions in a single day than TLZ have had in 2 years. Also, there is a big difference in the type and value and portability of items for sale. Due to its sheer size and number of transactions offered in the classifieds, as well as the hundred's of thousand of existing members plus hundreds of new members registering each day, the system used by TLZ would offer no more protection than is already offered by members following common sense guidelines already stated.

 

[PAPPACLART]

I've visited a few times as an ex biker. The problem is your comparison is not really fair or valid. AVF have far more transactions in a single day than TLZ have had in 2 years. Also, there is a big difference in the type and value and portability of items for sale. Due to its sheer size and number of transactions offered in the classifieds, as well as the hundred's of thousand of existing members plus hundreds of new members registering each day, the system used by TLZ would offer no more protection than is already offered by members following common sense guidelines already stated.

Fair enough As I said, what i'm suggesting may not be the best for AVF but still stand by my opinion that other measure could be put in place along side what we already have to furhter minimise the risk to members.

 

[William YZF-R1]

Guidelines are already in place which were presumably innocently ignored.

There are always going to be people who circumvent weaknesses and obviously in this case they succeeded.

Guidelines were ignored yet AVF have stepped up to the plate and hopefully it will get sorted big time. Paypal for instance would have said tough -You broke the "rules".

For a while no doubt members will be very wary of accepting offers by PM rather than on thread, but this incident will pass into history and be forgotten until next time.

 

[W2S]

Hi All,

What would be nice is to have some sort of safe way to buy larger items from first time seller with no feed back or for anything over 400 or 500 pounds.

maybe money can be held by a trusted mod or setup an AVF account which members can send the money to and once items have been received and checked money is sent on to the seller.

AVF can charge a small fee from the transaction to cover costs and everyones happy

 

[Adam Shaw]

Hi All,

What would be nice is to have some sort of safe way to buy larger items from first time seller with no feed back or for anything over 400 or 500 pounds.

maybe money can be held by a trusted mod or setup an AVF account which members can send the money to and once items have been received and checked money is sent on to the seller.

AVF can charge a small fee from the transaction to cover costs and everyones happy

Escrow?

 

[skr1]

Escrow?

Yes they make a charge for the service I used them to purchase a projector from Japan it worked very well . They released the money once I received and inspected the goods. As the buyer I paid the costs. Worth it for an expensive Item. The money I saved buying it from Japan more than covered the costs at the time. skr1

 

[Ian J]

For a while no doubt members will be very wary of accepting offers by PM rather than on thread, but this incident will pass into history and be forgotten until next time.

I haven't read all of this thread as I was away on vacation when it blew up but surely when receiving offers by PM the sender will not appear as Ian J Super Moderator joined Aug 2001 post count 14,911 but as Ian J. New member joined November 2009 with a post count of 6