robin is currently working on additional mechanisms to help prevent this from happening. Obviously, some of these scammers have been getting clever lately.

If you see a suspicious ad, please report it to one of the moderators or open a moderator feedback thread.

We don't like scammers any more than you do, and the sooner an ad gets reported, the sooner we can investigate and remove it.

Whenever I see an issue like that I report it the best way possible at the time. If I see a sale thread where people are saying it looks like a scammer I hit abuse report and say is was to bring it to attention it in case the thread was not seen by a moderator. If I see a mod is online posting I might send a PM but those are few. Stuff like that tends to disappear quick. They are on the ball catching so much more than we know.

you will never stop them, but as others have said, just report the thread and let the mods do their thing

Maybe let people validate who they really are, might help.

Wait... it does not help. Will only prevent pinball fans like me to post in the fun topics. I cannot even tell i like a pin, but people can scam and hate as long as they like.

Pathetic!

I always just report anything that looks sus so the Mods can sort it out as fast as they can.

Hopefully Robin can sort something out stop the scum!

Why is Plungemaster not yet Pinside verified?
He's been on here 4 yrs already.
Sorry if I'm bringing up a sore subject.

Another one that should be shut down - https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/for-sale-seawitch#post-3827620
Also for those that dont know (me) how do you open a moderator feedback thread?

Tar and feather?

Either click the "start a new topic" button at the top of the main forum page and select the "moderator feedback forum, or visit the moderator feedback forum directly:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/forum/moderator-feedback

Require a donation to pinside before selling is allowed. They will be gone!

I joined 4 years ago and lurked for 2 years. I have only started 7 posts in 6 years so I would still have ways to go to use the Market.

Coincidentally I bought parts from a trashed Xenon yesterday from a new user posting on Pinside. So there are opportunities lost by putting up a firewall. I did my own verification.

That said the possibility of an unsuspecting user here getting scammed means there should be some attempt to police the market better. Perhaps for new users making a listing fee would discourage the scammers. Though if the reward is high enough there will be some willing to gamble that fee or even use stolen credit cards to do so.

I agree the easiest and probably best solution is to require a minimum time of membership (3 mos) with a minimum number of posts (5 posts). Heck it would also prevent some of the semi scammers who only seem to post in marketplace and have bad reps when you dig deep and start getting info from other users who are more familiar with them. A continued presence and participation in these forums would indicate some engagement beyond using pinside as an EBay for pins

He said make 20 posts or responses, not create 20 topics. You have over 3000 so your qualified.

well I just got scammed by a verified new member, posted a want ad and he contacted me through pinside messages , I saw he was verified but did not notice he was new as I thought new members were flagged,uggg

I'd say making one or two "disappear" eternally will send a clear message to the other scum knocking on the doors with their "awesome offers",..... Have the Nigerian 419 scammers now found their way to the pinball branch ?

How much did they stick you for? Which machine were you buying. Sorry to hear

What about a pinsider that has been here for awhile, started posts, responded to posts, and even sold a pin or two through the Marketplace, but is in fact a crook? In my case, he cheated my wife out of several thousands of dollars on a pins for car work deal, and swindled me out of a pinball machine back in the day. He is still here, but I am hesitant to name him since I don't fully understand the "rules" here on Pinside....

That REALLY sucks. Did you report him to Robin? Maybe Robin can out the SOB.

Not sure how that works. Thankfully he can't sell locally since 300+ local SPG (Sacramento Pinball Group) members know the whole story!

You can identify the person's Pinside handle and tell us about the transaction, people do it rather frequently.

Thanks. I will consider that. He was supposedly our friend. When he had financial trouble and had to sell all his pins, we filled his house with a dozen of our pins. When his son needed a job, my wife hired him (big mistake). When his wife had back problems we loaned him 5k interest free to buy her a special bed. In hindsight I set myself up as a sucker, and then he moved in for the kill.
After laying low for several years, he showed up at the last PAGG this year. He walked right passed me, my wife, and my 89 yr old father who was attending his first pinball show ever! My wife just about fainted, and I thought it was best we just leave right then so there wouldn't be any trouble. All the organizers are friends of ours, so we didn't want to make a scene.

Ok. On a lighter note!
My dad came on Friday instead of Saturday like I told him. He was supposed to show up for the GREAT Sparky's bbq. He mentioned that he had enjoyed a tri-tip sandwich while waiting for us. He had sat down at a picnic table with two guys. He asked the one across from him if he owned any pins. His friend replies "he makes pins" !

So that is how my dad met Jersy Jack....

You should put this pinsiders name out there so others on the do not get screwed. Passing this type of info is one of the ways we can help protect the pin community as a whole here.

I'd say a small donation and before a post is made, the moderator will tell them to go into a specific menu screen and snap a picturs of the game one that screen

It would be a lot more work for the mods, but you could do it like they do on swappa.com. You have to submit your ad to a mod for approval, and you have to include a picture of the item for sale with a piece of paper with your user name on it. In the case of a pinball machine, I would want at least three original pictures, each with the user name written on a piece of paper take with the picture. The mods would then approve the ad. Once you have completed two successful transactions with known pinsiders (donations optional), then you can post for sale ads without review. This may not completely eliminate the fraudulent ads, but it will at least discourage them.

That makes it more difficult for first-time members who just want to sell a game.

It also doesn't stop scammers from responding to existing ads, which is the bigger problem right now.