Indeed this was one of my worst memory of internet trading for more than 13 years. In this case, I was conned RM4000...
It happened in year 2006 January when I had a phone deal over internet with a guy with nickname Xavier2226 who called me that he had a SonyEricssons phone for RM450. The phone at that time was still a hot selling product and it was at least RM500 cheaper. After a few phone calls and sms, I agreed to bank in to the guy's account at Maybank. The account number is 101552042961 and the person name is Lee Fook Yoong who stayed in 24 Jalan perwira, taman century 80250 Johor baru. I did not suspect anything as this was not my first deal over the net for phone, laptop, gadget etc. and the amount involved only RM450. And so I was careless in this case and I am the one to be blamed for the loss of money.
Next day, I called him and he said he had post the phone with poslaju and so I asked for the tracking number. He gave me a number which did not exist and so he explained that it could be wrong address or wrong tracking number. So he would be responsible to chase the parcel to KL poslaju to stop the delivery and he would personally deliver to me at Ipoh all the way from Johor to Ipoh. At this point of time, I sensed something wrong and had made the worst expectation of a conned case with no delivery of parcel. However, the whole Friday he had been sms me to confirm that he was on the bus with the phone and would be arriving at Ipoh at midnight. Wow...this is the only response I cheered myself at that time. Then at midnight around 2am, he rang me and mentioned that he arrived at Medan Gopeng and asked me to come collect the phone. And so I went as I had nothing to afraid of now after making the worst case expectation.
To my surprise, he was really at the bus station and he passed me the phone... Wow! what a good seller and I started to have some trust on this guy after some further chats at the nearby McD. We chit chat for nearly half hour and I left him waiting for the next bus at 6am to Johor.
Then, next few days, I added him to the MSN and had some regular conversions on phone deal etc. I had bought another SE K750i from him and he delivered that as well in poslaju. No more personal delivery.
After this two successful transactions, I had another four phones orders to him amounted to RM4000 (K800i, Dopod 838pro, N80, W610i). He sent me a couples of the photo of the phones and claimed he would be sending these phones separately. The N80 and W610i were on his hand and so they will be shipped from Johor. K800i was on his partner friend in KL and he will need to cross over to Singapore for the Dopod 838 pro. All these orders had been booked and I already had buyers on them with profit margin around RM1k.
Three days later, phones did not arrive and his phone rang but without replied. Then next day, he called me claiming that again the K800i had been delivered to wrongly to Kelantan and it was all the fault of his partner friend in KL who was using the phones to show off to his girl friends. And so he went down to KL to have a fight with his partner friend and again needed to travel to Kelantan to take back the phone.
Wow... ok ok... another great story. then two days later, no phone calls can reach him and he had totally vanished. I had asked some of my fellow net friends and they said seeing him online with another account and they even informed me that this guy had some con cases before and he was notorious for cheating....Wow... This was really my first heart loss after had been using the net transactions and deals for years. And I was cheated...for RM4k.
I should have checked his details from the net. A google search with his name had returned with report of his con case. I was being stupid for not checking this person. There was nothing else I could do except report the case to police. And that was another story with the police report...And after almost two years, there is no police follow up informing of the case update. Unlike to my experience in US that a police report over a phone call only will also catch attention of the police investigation till bring the case to court. Our police is really great. I had personnally lodged the report at noon and at where also I saw the police officers playing solitaire.. Wow...no wonder there is no further investigation except as only a file with open case with dusts covered on top.. and what more astonishing was that... at exit of the police station while claiming back my IC, a police at the guard house had asked me that why there was no "duit kopi" as it was almost CNY...
After a few months, I received an email from this bastard and he claimed that he was inside the jail or lock up and he would be returning the RM4k to me... but he never did.
This is a true story and I really disappointed with our police forces working attitude and crime prevention or investigation. A check on the net transaction detailed out so many similar or identical conned case but our police force is not taking actions on this "small or tiny" criminal and so had really promoted the internet crime. Be it involved small amount of money, it is still a crime needs to be handled. After all... I was also being "adviced" to forget about this case during reporting the case to police and teased that why I chose to make deal over the internet.
That was the story in 2006 and I still have faith on internet transaction but in a more careful manner; but I have absolutely no faith to the police for investigation and follow up of the reported crime.
So, be more careful over internet deal! There will be nobody can help except onself. Police?? forget it...They play solitaire!