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Help Me Flag White Van Scammers on Craigslist

post #1 of 28
10/30/10 at 4:27pm
Thread Starter 

Every time I see White Van scam speakers on craigslist I flag them, but I'm only one person and most of the general population (including craigslist readers) have no idea what White Van speakers are. So I wanted to try a little experiment to see if I can get the rest of you to help me get these ads taken down.

 

Here is a typical ad, for "Kirsch" speakers, so named in the hopes that unwary consumers will confuse the brand with "Klipsch:"

 

http://portland.craigslist.org/clc/ele/2033180976.html

 

If you feel like flagging it ... go ahead. Lets see how long the ad lasts.

 

Mods ... if this is the wrong forum for such a thread, please let me know.

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post #2 of 28
10/30/10 at 5:27pm

White Van means fake speakers correct? Who ever is dumb enough to buy speakers for that much money with out doing the research is an idiot.

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post #3 of 28
10/30/10 at 5:29pm
Geez, I already spend enough time nuking spammers around here.
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post #4 of 28
10/30/10 at 8:14pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Abovetheair View Post

White Van means fake speakers correct? Who ever is dumb enough to buy speakers for that much money with out doing the research is an idiot.



That's not a very empathetic attitude you got there. If this was your mother, or your kid brother, or someone like that getting scammed, would you still blame the victim?

 

As for someone being "dumb enough to buy speakers for that much money," scam speakers like these usually go for around $150. The scammer starts out asking for $300 then finds some pretext to lower the price to give the buyer a "really good deal." It's part of the scam. And while you or I would never fall for "Kirsh" someone who doesn't know that much about speakers in the first place might easily confuse them with "Klipsch"--again, part of the scam. I've seen scammers on craigslist post a link in their ad that goes to the manufacture of an actual high quality brand--so the victim thinks they're getting something else entirely.

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post #5 of 28
10/30/10 at 8:16pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Erik View Post

Geez, I already spend enough time nuking spammers around here.


I can see how that would take up a lot of your time, and I hate spammers too, but personally I think scammers rank a little higher than spammers on the ladder of ... uh, terrible people ...

 

Besides, how much time does it take to flag a scam ad? Five seconds, tops?

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post #6 of 28
10/30/10 at 8:19pm
Eh, I don't worry too much about the scammers. Any sane person would run a quick Google search on a purchase first these days. I can't imagine the fake brands withstanding that.
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post #7 of 28
10/30/10 at 8:51pm
Thread Starter 

Google won't always warn you. For instance, here is ANOTHER scam ad on craigslist:

 

http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/ele/2033984299.html

 

This one is for "audioline tower speakers." If you google "audioline tower speakers" you will get ZERO hits back warning you that this is a scam. In fact, when I first saw this ad, I wasn't a hundred percent sure myself that it was. But if you google "audioline tower speakers" AND "white van scam" THEN you'll get hits warning you to stay away from them.

 

In other words, you have to know about the white van scam to begin with, in order to know what to google sometimes. And lots of people DON'T know about it.

 

And, again, it takes less time to flag a scam ad than it does to read this post ... why not help keep some poor sucker from getting ripped off? Flag the ads I've linked to and do some stranger a favor.

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post #8 of 28
10/30/10 at 8:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by blinkstar View Post





That's not a very empathetic attitude you got there. If this was your mother, or your kid brother, or someone like that getting scammed, would you still blame the victim?

 

As for someone being "dumb enough to buy speakers for that much money," scam speakers like these usually go for around $150. The scammer starts out asking for $300 then finds some pretext to lower the price to give the buyer a "really good deal." It's part of the scam. And while you or I would never fall for "Kirsh" someone who doesn't know that much about speakers in the first place might easily confuse them with "Klipsch"--again, part of the scam. I've seen scammers on craigslist post a link in their ad that goes to the manufacture of an actual high quality brand--so the victim thinks they're getting something else entirely.



You might find more empathy around here if you pointed out headphone scams instead. That'll really get our blood boiling!

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post #9 of 28
10/30/10 at 9:18pm
Why would *anyone* buy something that gets zero hits on Google?

If I didn't turn up at least a manufacturer's site, that would be a dead giveaway of a scam.

Further, not every audio scam comes out of the back of a white van. biggrin.gif
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post #10 of 28
10/30/10 at 9:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Erik View Post

Further, not every audio scam comes out of the back of a white van. biggrin.gif


Nope. Sometimes you can even find such scams at the Bose store...

 

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post #11 of 28
10/30/10 at 10:51pm
Thread Starter 


 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Erik View Post

Why would *anyone* buy something that gets zero hits on Google?

If I didn't turn up at least a manufacturer's site, that would be a dead giveaway of a scam.

Further, not every audio scam comes out of the back of a white van. biggrin.gif


Sorry, I didn't make myself clear. I don't mean to say that it turns up zero "hits". I meant that it turns up zero "warnings." You were saying all a buyer has to do is google the name of the speakers to discover the scam. I'm saying that's not true.

 

As for a search not turning up "at least a manufacturer's site, being a "dead giveaway ..."

 

A lot of times, they DO turn up sites. Here's a site for you.

 

http://www.divincisound.com/about2.htm

 

Can I interest you in some fine "divinci" speakers? They have a really nice website. Must be legit ... right?

 

I have to say, I'm disappointed that it seems like none of you have flagged these ads, as they're both still up. I thought there would be at least some support for this. I know all of you are too savvy to fall for such a scam, but you must know some people who aren't as savvy ...


Edited by blinkstar - 10/30/10 at 10:59pm
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post #12 of 28
10/31/10 at 2:29am

if I flagged every audio product that isn't worth the money, I'd have a mob with torches and pitchforks at my door.

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post #13 of 28
10/31/10 at 6:10am

How is this scammer any different than the department stores?

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post #14 of 28
10/31/10 at 1:03pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moontan13 View Post

How is this scammer any different than the department stores?



There is a difference between something that works as intended, but is overpriced, and something that is completely fraudulent, and so poorly designed it can actually damage your amp/receiver, as has been reported with several of these white van speakers. They are designed to DECEIVE, with phony prices--$3000--printed directly on the BOX, fake websites, fake reviews, etc etc, and the cheapest possible components that aren't even wired correctly. It's like saying what is the difference between a department store that sells overpriced speakers, and someone who sells you a cardboard box designed to look like a speaker. Not sure I can explain it any better than that.

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post #15 of 28
11/1/10 at 11:12am

I would love to help you out dude but I have a life.

 

BTW agree with the Bose Store reference kingtz


Edited by ronnielee54 - 11/1/10 at 11:14am
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