FS Account hacked, be smart

[Derick2k]

Because of tax implications in the US, and potential scammers.....I ask for F&F specifically....but I will also hand you my list of references, the list of other forums I'm on (I maintain the same ID everywhere), take detailed pictures, video of shit working with a date/name card, and answer anything and everything possible, while keeping communication steady on exactly when you get the tracking number.

Issues past that are sorted cleanly, and if the situation should get contentious, I keep logs, receipts, etc....and will ask for mediation from the forum, or a mutually accepted third party, without resorting to petty bullshit.

I've spent 10+ years in the hobby, sold tons of parts and cabs, and not had a single negative feedback, from either buyer or seller.

I also always try to give praise to good buyers and sellers where it's due.

That either counts for something, or you can buy from someone else...no sweat off my back.

That being said, I have absolutely pushed for G&S + Fees, or decided against a purchase, when the seller has zero feedback, is new, has poor communication, or no presence anywhere else, simply to protect myself.

Scammers suck....be careful....ask questions....anything too good to be true, usually is.

I only accept F&F unless the buyer literally has no other option.

If you're going to accept business payments and the pain associated with them, then that means full insurance on packages, with all the misery that brings for recipients (most EU will simply go elsewhere). You have to, to protect yourself from the postal system and buyers who have their PSU set to 12v, claim it didn't arrive even though tracking says it did, or stick boards in the dishwasher (all three genuinely happened to me).

I agree with both of you guys on all counts. I will only accept F&F, Venmo, Zelle, Cash or Trade. I am not giving Uncle Sam more $$$. I am not dealing with scenarios where someone decides that after having an item for almost 6 months of using it doesn't want it, breaks it, and decides to file a Paypal claim for the item being "defective" and yes I have had this happen to me.

With international shipments, I am no longer sending stuff out without full insurance and declared value because the buyer wants to avoid paying their country's import tax. When you request a lower declared value for customs and your package is lost, damaged, or stolen, you will not get anything beyond what you declared for customs, it doesn't matter if the package was insured for $100K, if you declare $50 you will get at most $50.

As far as scammers/thieves, the world will always have those. I am personally actively dealing with one scammer in this community who took me for $1600. I am not mad about the $$$. Plenty of people even in this community have asked me to give them something and even $$ to help them out and I have given what I could. But, I am truly fucking pissed off because of the lies/deceit, flagrant disrespect, lack of any morals/common decency, and outright thieving piece of shit that this person is. Yet, I wish him well. Scammers/thieves come in all shapes and sizes, all you can do is stay vigilant and try to protect yourself as best as possible. At the same time, we all take some risks, but such is the nature of the world.

I think the arcade hobby/community as a whole is pretty darn good, most of us all grew up with a love/passion for video games. In the end, I just want to tinker, play some games, make some good friends, and have some fun.

 

[XtraSmiley]

I completely agree with the F&F angle to protect the seller... that being said, if I pay via F&F I am ready to lose that money, every single time, period.

I also would not send F&F to someone who is qustionable or a deal that is too good to be true. Battle Garegga for $500? Battle Bakraid for $500? Come on...

Still, I'm not trying to rub salt in wounds here, these are fellow hobbyist that got ripped off. I feel anger for them.

I'm just vocalizing this for the future. Let's limit the chances of this happening again.

 

[meybarra]

This is probably stupid and way too complicated but would there be a way to introduce a system where the forum could verify paypal accounts and associate that account with users?

I think a quick and easy way to get this started is through the marketplace and feedback threads. Members already document and describe transactions on the forum. Let's start making a habit of posting the Paypal/Venmo/Zelle/etc account usernames we used for our transactions. I think both the buyer and seller should make posts on their sales and feedback threads with this information.

With both buyer and seller documenting transaction usernames, it might decrease the chance of losing the documented information or "poisoning the well" if one compromised account tampers with their old posts or begins to make false posts. If a member indicates a new transaction username, they buyer at least has a chance to identify the change and either back out or roll the dice with the transaction.

There could be potential issues if multiple accounts are compromised and start poisoning the well with false info. Additionally, new accounts created by scammers might do the same. Finally, established members might get disgruntled and post false information.

Despite the potential flaws with this method, members could at least search marketplace and feedback threads to make a more informed decision about their transactions.

If people think this is a good idea, maybe the mods can add this as a suggestion/recommendation in the marketplace rules post?

 

[benime]

Just for protocol, a vpn does actual jack shit in cases like this. Your traffic is basically always securely encrypted with httpS (unless you intentionally don't use it) so the owner of the WiFi has no clue what Data you send or receive from a server. All you’re doing by using a vpn in those cases is hiding with whom you communicate. Essentially the only time when https is not enough is when:

A. Your device has been compromised

or

B. It isn’t your device to begin with (don’t use work devices for private stuff, they can and doe break https security)

But in both cases using a vpn won’t save you either and honestly your fighting a lost battle regarding security then anyway.

VPN’s have use cases, for example getting past Geo-blocking or hiding your activity from the State and other big players (regarding with “whom” you communicate) but the so called security they try to sell you in those countless YouTube ads is total bogus.

Not to get too off topic, but you can still get plenty of information about what a person is doing just by looking at their web traffic, even if you aren't decrypting it. And unless you're using DNS over HTTPS, again, plenty of info to be gathered there, too.

And although you may be connected via HTTPS, sites may still serve you part of the page via HTTP.

Anyway, nobody is saying VPN is the end all be all, but it's not a bad idea when using public wifi.

 

[astro_zombie138]

I think a quick and easy way to get this started is through the marketplace and feedback threads. Members already document and describe transactions on the forum. Let's start making a habit of posting the Paypal/Venmo/Zelle/etc account usernames we used for our transactions. I think both the buyer and seller should make posts on their sales and feedback threads with this information.

With both buyer and seller documenting transaction usernames, it might decrease the chance of losing the documented information or "poisoning the well" if one compromised account tampers with their old posts or begins to make false posts. If a member indicates a new transaction username, they buyer at least has a chance to identify the change and either back out or roll the dice with the transaction.

There could be potential issues if multiple accounts are compromised and start poisoning the well with false info. Additionally, new accounts created by scammers might do the same. Finally, established members might get disgruntled and post false information.

Despite the potential flaws with this method, members could at least search marketplace and feedback threads to make a more informed decision about their transactions.

If people think this is a good idea, maybe the mods can add this as a suggestion/recommendation in the marketplace rules post?

I think you're on the same page as me but I don't think it would be good for anyone to access that information other than the mods. What I was suggesting is more like the mods have a secret database and you can type in a user and what paypal account is given to you for payment and it checks if they are the same. Just an association with no real info accessible to the users here.

If you submit to the database you get a verified "check, gold star, barcode tattoo "whatever on your profile.

 

[djsheep]

Also worth noting not to share any sensitive information over DM like bank details, addresses, phone number, dick pics, cave serial numbers, etc.

The forum has disabled the ability for users to delete or edit info on private messages. An oversight which could give hackers an extra way to abuse compromised accounts, by gathering intel from conversation history and possibly extra points of entry to other places, opening the floodgates for more severe identity theft.

For people you already know here, it’s wise to build relationships with them over email, IM, social media, etc. — All my closest friends on here we communicate via other means already.

Anyhows, food for thought.

 

[astro_zombie138]

Also worth noting not to share any sensitive information over DM like bank details, addresses, phone number, dick pics, cave serial numbers, etc.

The forum has disabled the ability for users to delete or edit info on private messages. An oversight which could give hackers an extra way to abuse compromised accounts, by gathering intel from conversation history and possibly extra points of entry to other places, opening the floodgates for more severe identity theft.

For people you already know here, it’s wise to build relationships with them over email, IM, social media, etc. — All my closest friends on here we communicate via other means already.

Anyhows, food for thought.

If you use Paypal you can message people you've done transactions with. Could be a viable way to share shipping info instead of through the forum. Shoot that's exactly how I got a hold of Darksoft when shit hit the fan.

 

[djsheep]

Also wanted to say that I have dealt with both @astro_zombie138 and @statix138 numerous times. This unfortunate incident shouldn’t be a gateway to lose support and trust in either of those two going forward.

It’s just a very unfortunate wake up call / general internetz security PSA… I just wanted to give my strongest feedbacks for them both. It could have happened to any of us really. Give those guys sales threads some love today if you’re hunting their wares.

 

[Arthrimus]

@astro_zombie138 @statix138, you guys wouldn't happen to be on a Misfits themed fan website that got hacked would you? I can't help but notice you both have Crimson Ghost profile pics and 138 in your usernames.

 

[kazuo]

I don't think you guys should overindex on the misfits icons. It is highly unlikely they both came from the same source.

Regarding reasons for using F&F... 100% agree on trying to avoid issues with dishonest buyers and issues where something stops working in transit. This is the main reason I use it; I'm personally less concerned about tax implications (I don't mind paying taxes, and you're only paying on the gains anyway, of which I personally tend to make very little of when I move on from things).

Lastly, 100% agree w/ sheep on private info in PM... take it to email whenever possible, but bear in mind that email is also questionably insecure (but perhaps moreso than the typical forum db). This is not the fault of the admins, but rather the authors/maintainers of the forum software. And a big -1 to posting people's PayPal info in public threads - please don't do this. Perhaps paypal.me URLs are fine, provided the other party agrees, but big no on email addresses.

Relatedly, would there be any possibility of allowing users to delete PM convos? (@Darksoft?). I'd personally prefer not to have a bunch of PII just lingering in people's inboxes if possible.

 

[Mitsurugi-w]

Well currently you can leave a conversation and it will disappear from your box but won't be deleted unless all parties leave the convo.

 

[astro_zombie138]

@astro_zombie138 @statix138, you guys wouldn't happen to be on a Misfits themed fan website that got hacked would you? I can't help but notice you both have Crimson Ghost profile pics and 138 in your usernames.

Personally, I am not a part of any themed fan club or visit any themed fan site or anything like that.

 

[thereal_statix138]

Personally, I am not a part of any themed fan club or visit any themed fan site or anything like that.

Me either. I guess Glenn Danzig is mad at us.

 

[astro_zombie138]

Me either. I guess Glenn Danzig is mad at us.

I think he's mad at everybody man.

 

[Plymelk]

...

Regarding reasons for using F&F... 100% agree on trying to avoid issues with dishonest buyers and issues where something stops working in transit. This is the main reason I use it; I'm personally less concerned about tax implications (I don't mind paying taxes, and you're only paying on the gains anyway, of which I personally tend to make very little of when I move on from things).
...

This is true regarding the capital gains, the problem is that if you do not have a disclosure filed with the IRS substantiating your acquisition cost (i.e., the price you paid to initially acquire the asset) then you could be deemed to have acquired it for zero. Further capital gains have different liabilities depending on how long the asset was held (less than 1 year vs. longer). So for instance, if you bought a board for 600 initially and sold that same board later that same year for 1,000 you have a short term capital gain of 400, and would be taxed at your federal income tax rate, which is higher than the long-term capital gains tax rate. If the IRS disregards your acquisition cost by not disclosing the original acquisition then you have a short term gain of 1,000 instead of 400. I guess the IRS will look for Form 8949 filings for each time you buy a new board? I honestly don't know, but I see why folks are going to pivot to G&S or some other payment system to avoid this compliance.

As an aside, it sucks that you guys were targeted in a scam in this community. Even our little pocket of the world isnt exempt from assholes it seems.

 

[Monstermug]

Ive changed passwords and added 2 point verification. Not that i can be bothered to spend a whole day finding and packaging stuff to sell. Dont mind making someones day by selling them something they been looking for a while though. But some very good points said in this thread.

 

[gamezer0]

Would it make sense (and be technically possible) to show some type of badge for users using 2-step authentication? Not that it'll 100% solve the problem, but will give a bit of extra reassurance that you're talking to the person you're supposed to be talking to?

 

[twistedsymphony]

Would it make sense (and be technically possible) to show some type of badge for users using 2-step authentication? Not that it'll 100% solve the problem, but will give a bit of extra reassurance that you're talking to the person you're supposed to be talking to?

unfortunately this would also lead to providing an indicator to hackers as to who is NOT using it and would be good targets for compromise.

 

[Joko3]

This is true regarding the capital gains, the problem is that if you do not have a disclosure filed with the IRS substantiating your acquisition cost (i.e., the price you paid to initially acquire the asset) then you could be deemed to have acquired it for zero. Further capital gains have different liabilities depending on how long the asset was held (less than 1 year vs. longer). So for instance, if you bought a board for 600 initially and sold that same board later that same year for 1,000 you have a short term capital gain of 400, and would be taxed at your federal income tax rate, which is higher than the long-term capital gains tax rate. If the IRS disregards your acquisition cost by not disclosing the original acquisition then you have a short term gain of 1,000 instead of 400. I guess the IRS will look for Form 8949 filings for each time you buy a new board? I honestly don't know, but I see why folks are going to pivot to G&S or some other payment system to avoid this compliance.

As an aside, it sucks that you guys were targeted in a scam in this community. Even our little pocket of the world isnt exempt from assholes it seems.

I don't know about everyone else, but I most certainly don't have the receipts for game stuff I bought 10+ years ago lol.

This kind of situation will make taxes fun:
Say my mom sells a now in style again dinner table set on Craigslist for $650 that she bought in 1980 for an original price of $500. Does she have to adjust the original 1980 $500 price to 2024's money ($1849)? I mean, she most certainly doesn't make an actual $150 profit on it. Does the IRS expect her to keep the receipt for 44 years? The whole thing is a mess and $600 is much too low considering how much everything costs these days.

If I sell anything locally when I go back home I'm going back to the good old cash deal in the parking lot. If it's something of value, many police departments have an area at their station for just this these days. If they can't meet me there then I'd probably not want to deal with them anyway.

 

[Enskynet]

To all: @ArcSys101 PM me Thursday and i bought him an object (A yoke and Rings). The same day the accounts were hacked...

I think i was scammed too... Since i paid, no more answer at my PM for the tracking number.

Hope he is just busy.
Be careful