Bitcoin Forum

Sold paper wallets without any bitcoins loaded on them.  He is claiming the items were just as described, even though I can prove none of these have any transaction history, using the public address.  3 others have posted negative feedback about this same item in the last day (he had 35 for sale).  Is now fighting the eBay dispute and keeps repeating "no returns accepted."  This does not give him the permission to make a fraudulent listing and keep the money.  the return address on the package was listed as:

Timothy Trickett
6516 Friars Rd Apt 201
San Diego, CA 92108

Although I can see that the package originated in Massachusetts.  He also tried to get me to send $7500 outside of eBay, through google wallet.  This money would have not been protected.  BEWARE!!!  I have filed complaints through eBay, paypal, and the internet complaint center.  I see others have already posted on here about his fraud.

Google wallet money is just as well protected as paypal money, just FYI. That's still not saying much.

Sorry you got ripped off  >:(

good to know for the future, but still very frustrating situation.  I really hope eBay recognizes this guy is a scam artist and refund everyone their money.  He had 35 for sale and I got a screenshot of others leaving neg feedback before he made his feedback private.  As is eBay wont be able to see it.  He is a real scam artist.  >:(

Yes, I too bought into that scam action...
For those who have yet to start a dispute or get the items delivered - do not start a case at ebay until you take delivery - sign for the package.
They told me that if I refused delivery they will automatically find in favor of the seller - so don't do that!
They advised me to sign for it... open it and test the wallets - all of them and report back to them and appeal the already CLOSED CASES (in favor of the seller at the moment) - then they would see what they can do and perhaps by then their fraud team will have smelled a rat.  Hope they have their hooks into that bank account nice and deep.

if you btc wallet doesn't get nabbed you get scammed here and there... mugging on the net is total BS... what a complete loser!
I also mentioned that he tried to get me to deal w/ hi outside of ebay - hope the dude was listening b/c that is supposed to be a big neg w/ ebay yada yada... whatever.

I also mentioned that his feedback was coming in red hot negative on these items and there were forum posts about that user name being a scammer - they said they could care less about what people 'say'... ya ok whatever ebay - ALL of us are not trying to scam this sucker.

So what do we think these are - just unfunded and sealed bitcoin paper wallets that have never been loaded up?

Funny this guy has made his feedback private. He has even got more negitive feedbacks. I never buy from private feedback users with negatives. He must have just done this. He has also taken down all listings he had up. Mention in your claim he tried to get you to complete the purchase outside of Ebay. They hate that, and it's against the TOS. Hopefully he sent you the message in Ebay, and you can have them look it up.

http://i44.tinypic.com/wa106x.jpg

Yes these are paper wallets that have never been loaded.  You can check the transaction history on blockchain.info, all of mine have 0 transaction history.  So basically he sold worthless pieces of paper with no value, and thinks that because he put "no returns" in the item description that he is getting away with it.  Everyone should note that these items violated the eBay item location misrepresentation policy in their dispute:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/item-location.html

They were listed as San Diego, CA, but my packages originated in Townsend, MA.

Also report this to the internet crime complaint center, and private message me with contact info if you would like me to include you as a witness/victim in my police report.  I called the Fitchburg, MA police (where it appears he lives) but they said I have to go through the police in my town, and they will contact the Fitchburg police if necessary.

Damn OP that sucks. Stay away from ebay and paypal when dealing with btc, the two just don't mix

I always video me unboxed and testing everything I buy on ebay. So many scammers on there!

Ebay even banned me leaving negative feedback although I had video evidence for every dispute!

I rarely buy on eBay now. Only sell, and I video everything working before it goes out too!  :D

First rule of bitcoin.   Don't buy off eBay
 ::)

Got one case settled, hoping the others will be closed soon cause they are all the same item.  I am still collecting names and contact info if you want me to pass that on to police.  I know some got scammed outside of eBay and may not be protected.  Please PM me if you want me to include your name as a witness/victim of this fraud/scam artist/thief.  I'm not letting this guy get away with this.  Everyone just needs to post all evidence TO eBay/PayPal, and DONT OPEN the wallets. 

Exactly, why would you buy off ebay?
Are you even allowed to sell bitcoins off ebay?  Paypal should freeze trick's account :P

why would you trust someone named Trick ?

Check if you have the one pictured in the item description.  He definitely said "that one is not the one you will recieve."  Anyway, I just reported it to my local police dept.  They said anyone else contact info is irrelevant for my case, since I live in Maine.  He recommended anyone scammed by this guy to go to their local police dept and report this info.  They said they will pass the info to a detective.  If they see you have enough info (proof you bought them, item description saying it would include "1 (one) bitcoin", proof of payment through PayPal or credit card and proof they contain 0 balance) they can send it to the attorney generals office, who would handle it.  They told me anything over $1,000 in Maine is a felony.  So if they see enough proof and think it could be easily prosecutable, they will probably take you seriously.  I know I have enough proof to get this guy.  Anyway, they also said if there is enough info the FBI could handle it if they get a bunch of cases against this guy.  They don't care about weather this occurred in different states, they will just prosecute this guy.  So I am thinking if every person scammed reports this guy it shouldn't be hard to get this guy.  We know exactly who he is and his address, it's not gonna be hard for them to track this guy down.  They said its hard to prosecute internet cases when its someone outside of the country scamming.  Anyway, his return address from PayPal is 11 Bennett Rd, Fitchburg, MA 01420.  I would def. suggest reporting it, and if anything scare this guy into returning the money.

Can't you find his home address when using eBay? (Been a long time). What's his email?

what happened in the dispute?
if you haven't received what you ordered you should definitely get the money back from eBay because  if he can't prove you got what you ordered it usually goes to the profit of the buyer..

His home address is:

Timothy Trickett
11 Bennett Rd
Fitchburg, MA 01420

His email address from eBay and Paypal are: tjt506@gmail.com, and tim.trickett2@gmail.com.

I got one dispute resolved (I paid with Bill Me Later and they were somehow able to settle it on the phone.)  The other ones are still under review.  The problem is this guy knows that eBay/PayPal buy protection does not cover "intangible goods."  He clearly planned to sell these all along knowing they had 0 balance, but then argue that the balance is intangible, and the paper wallets are just as described.  He is a real scumbag.  Anyway, reporting this to your local police is the first step, because I am not sure if eBay is going to settle these in my favor.  Apparently eBay doesn't care that fraud is involved, they just say that these aren't covered by their buyer protection.  And if you paid with a credit card through PayPal, do a dispute with them if PayPal can't settle it.

All of these can be proven without a doubt to never have been loaded with any bitcoins.  This is no different than if he sold gift cards loaded with no value, that makes it easier for the police/detective to understand if they don't know what a bitcoin is.  So I would encourage all of you to see your local police dept and make an official report.  This guy isn't trying to take the money and run.  He thinks he found a loophole to steal money through eBay, so he is fighting this hard.

We know his address, name, and eBay will give registration info/social sec. number to a detective in an official investigation.  I am getting my money back one way or another.  And like I said theft over $1000 in the state of Maine is a felony, so this guy is acting pretty stupid if he continues to play games.  I think if everyone reports him, and all reports show without a doubt he is scamming people, it will get attention drawn to him.  I am confident we will get our money back, and hopefully get this guy in more trouble with felony charges.

www.linkedin.com/pub/tim-trickett/11/594/370

This is his linked in profile, I know its his because he viewed my linked in profile 2 days ago.  So this is definitely the Tim Trickett we are looking for.  Shame if he had a felony theft charge he wouldn't be able to own that gun in his picture!

So i just made the phone call after filing the case. 4 days ago and called today 10 mins ago from writing this post.
Diana a very pleasant ebay rep. handled my case. She assured me that she will escalate the case tomorrow and will call me back to issue a shipment label and when "the junk" reaches him my money would be refunded.

This all happened 10 mins ago. Ebay sent me two emails saying that case is escalated by "Seller" and like a minute ago i received another email stating my refund is on my way.


I just said two things;

I am not concerned that the item is fake or not, i want my money back as ebay guarantees now.
And if be it i am willing to prove that the item is counterfeit/fake/ fraudulent.

After 5 mins i got my money back.

I've seen this thread and the other one like it in the scams forum. I'm just wanted to give out some advice: Don't talk about this in an open forum. Be 100% sure you have the right person. Why does this matter? Because if you are wrong you will get into a lot of trouble. From an outside source not affected by this it looks to me like a case of stolen identity and by adding to it you are only making things worse for the real person affected by this. Vigilante justice and investigating things yourself isn't going to do anything for you but possible get you into trouble especially if you have the wrong person. If you filed a police report then let them do their job. Also, with eBay and PayPal.. let them do their job as well. It seems like everyone will get their money back too. That's just my $0.02.   Source: Professional Experience.

Why did you buy this off ebay in the first place? If you don't want to use exchanges then try bitcoin OTC. Just make sure you use WOT as there are plenty of scammers too.

Really?

Don't deal with Ebay/Paypal for bitcoins. You WILL get scammed

There are so many scams on Ebay now, I spend mos my time on there reporting them!

I need to bump this, got scammed. and it's bad

I think it's the same guy, which is how I ended up here.

Was it through eBay or elsewhere?  I think most of us who got scammed through eBay had luck getting our money back.  I can help you out with any information I have on him if you want.  Feel free to PM me if you want.

I'm pretty sure there is zero chance I'm getting my money back.

He used Et/sy, and "sold" me a miner. WTF can you do, do we even have his real details?

Can the person who said they have more info get in touch please, I can't private message.

I feel sick

I think he's posted in this thread btw, or another one, what was actually about himself

Jcoin, can you give any more info, I want to PM you but I don't have enough posts.

feel free to email me.  kendostick89@yahoo.com
This is what I know:

His home address is:

Timothy Trickett
11 Bennett Rd
Fitchburg, MA 01420

One of my eBay items had to be returned for a refund, and this was the return address, although the original package return address said San Diego, CA.

His email address from eBay and Paypal are: tjt506@gmail.com, and tim.trickett2@gmail.com.

This is potentially his linked in profile:
www.linkedin.com/pub/tim-trickett-sr/11/594/370
If its not his then some other guy by the same exact name and from Mass. viewed my profile.

I've never used etsy so I don't know how their return process works.  If your out a lot of money go report it to your local police.  They told me to come down to the station since it was over $1000 and that is a felony in Maine.  File a report with the internet crime complaint center and give all the info you can.

What makes you think hes posted on here?

Ive emailed you, and I'm from the UK.

Should I let him know I'm onto him.

I'm thinking about posting his blockchain address and info on reddit, although not sure what this can do.

Can a mod get in touch or something please, I have an important piece of info which you may be able to help out with, enable my PMs.

I got scammed for over $7k btw, pretty much all the money I have, when it looks too good to be true............... and here we are

Can a mod get intouch please.

I don't see how people can on one hand claim that BTC is the wave of the future & on the other that the average person who isn't a computer expert can't participate via normal, relatively secure money-moving internet transactions to obtain it without expecting to get scammed.

Found this thread after searching and being scammed. I see there is a username that posted here in this thread named btcbuyer99. I am wondering if it is the same person that was scamming on etsy or if it's being used as a stolen identity.

I'm not sure how this is the same guy that is referenced in the eBay scam that this thread is about so I really can't speak to that. I do know the person that scammed me on etsy was using btcbuyer99@gmail for the registered email (that's how I landed in this thread). Could it be the same person? Yes. Could it be a different person? Yes. There is no real way to tell that. You could ask a mod to see what email is attached to btcbuyer99. If its the gmail then it's probably him. If not then I would say no.

What I do know is the person from etsy that scammed me was located in Germany. I called him and the number was a land line in germany. He answered and we spoke for a few minutes. He had a heavy german accent and I could hear a tv in the background also in german. Also, a germany ip address. If I had to bet the eBay guy and the etsy guy are the same, I would say no. Could it be possible this person has stolen some identities and is running both scams, yes that's possible. (the phone number is now disconnected).

I looked at the suspected eBay guy and I would say that he isn't the guy we are looking for. If you follow that guys trail, I don't think he would run scams on eBay. Probably a case of stolen identity.

We aren't going to get our money back since this was done in a foreign country. I spoke with etsy and there isn't anything they can do about it. I filed a police report and was told they would be in contact.

I can't believe I was this stupid. I guess it's a life lesson.

Self note made.

There is also a btcbuyer99 on localbitcoins.com. He has an active trade for selling bitcoins in Germany with cash in the mail. That looks like it is our guy! I don't know what we can do with them being in Germany, but it looks like he's trying to sell our bitcoins now.

I don't know if this has anything to do with the OP's guy, but this is the etsy guy for sure. Son of a bitch!?!?!?!?

Jcoin200- Do you think our etsy guy could be your guy? Maybe using a stolen identity/eBay of your guy?

Pepsiplusconkers- Do you have any more info about this you can share here? I think I've found our guy. I'm sure of it!!

This is the post that is in question. This persons username is the same as the email for the etsy scammer. If I had to guess I would say they are not the same person. The poster of this message is giving good advice to say the least. My guess would be our etsy scammer has taken control of this posters email or more likely, cloned it: btcbuyer99@yahoo versus btcbuyer99@gmail. This is a tactic scammers use to throw you off the trail.

I am certain the btcbuyer99 on localbitcoins.com is our guy. In germany, german accent, german tv in the background, selling bitcoins in germany, it has to be him!! I wonder if interpol or something could do anything about this.

To add: The etsy guy was using the name John Adkins out of San Diego. Google does pull up a person by that name in that location, but I don't believe it's him. I believe our etsy scammer is using stolen identities and scamming with them. That is the most logical explanation here.

You sure?  eBay told you to test wallets? 

You called the guy??!?!

What did you purchase off him? What was his username on Etsy??
When did you pay and how did you pay?

Someone has already said, a package from the eBay guy came from within the USA. So it can't be a German running both scams.

I bought a KNC Miner a few days ago. I can't recall the username. I had Etsy disable my account. I paid with all of my Bitcoins I had. Lost them all to this guy. Stupid me deleted my wallet so I can't even see the transaction anymore to try and follow where they go. Hopefully you still have your address on hand.

I did call him. I wanted to talk on the phone to him. I didn't put 2 and 2 together until it was too late. I feel like such a moron here. I really do. I paid yesterday morning.

I think it's safe to say eBay guy and our Etsy guy are not the same person. You should start a new thread and post the info there. We don't want to mix these two together. I am sure there are others that were affected by this as well. We will want all our info in one place. I'm certain we are never going to get justice or see our funds again since this guy is in germany.

hes just mad his name is timothy

You can't remember the guys username who you bought off???? How much did you pay??

Yeh Timothy, pretty funny

whats the update ?

Made a new thread for the etsy guy here:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=356824

Nothing really to update

This guy doesn't think that Tim Trickett is the Etsy KNC Jupiter bitcoin miner scammer

Guys, this is good, I have something which is going to help us massively in getting this guy.

PM me for details.

Can someone link me to one of his listings, or are they private now? Are you sure he didn't just list a bitcoin paper wallet (with no funds on)? I've seen people on ebay buy Xbox one Boxes for £300 because they didn't read the listing properly.

Did anyone get their money back? It's always interesting to see how ebay/paypal deals with these cases. Usually they find in the buyers favour with anything to do with digital currencies.

https://i.imgur.com/nyEouSb.jpg

Clearly he state "1 (one) bitcoin" is included.  Obviously anyone who purchased these expected to get a bitcoin with the item.

Yeah, you're right. He also contradicts himself.

Did you get your money back?

Yes I did eventually, although some did not.  And yeah I later realized there is no reason he would need to withhold images of the real public codes that he was sending out for "security purposes".  Anyway, I learned eBay and Bitcoins DO NOT MIX!

It's a shame there's so many scammers using ebay/paypal. I bought all my first coins off there using both and had no problems, but now every other person who uses them seems to get scammed one way or another.

Hmmm interesting.  I was in contact with this guy as well.  Good thing BTC addresses and transactions are ALL PUBLIC INFO, making it rather easy to trace.  Also, it's easy to get records of what IP logged in to what email address and website.  That's partly how the FBI caught the silkroad guy.  All the info is there, it's just a matter of time.

I don't think this is a stolen identity case, it doesn't have the markings of a stolen identity.  Also, I can't find any trace of this German guy from the IP logs.  Can you give me the IP and phone number you called to verify? Perhaps you were dealing with someone else?  All the research I have points to the same person/persons. 

Feel free to pm me if you have any more info that you think may help this investigation.  I can't really reveal any more info here since there's a high possibility that the scammer himself is right here trying to give out misinformation.

Definitely not stolen identity.  This guy was ready and willing to message me all day and quote the eBay terms of service saying "the physical item were just as described."  He just wanted to play games and try to steal using an eBay loophole.  Hes not trying to hide his identity at all, just trying to use various sites to scam people. 

And yes there is solid evidence that btcbuyer99 is in fact this guy "Timothy Trickett."  Im not sure how to trace IP addresses but I know some people can.  If its coming out of Fitchburg, MA then its definitely the scammer.

That's suck. :(
Thanks for the report btw.

I've finally spoken to Etsy.

They have told me that no one else was scammed on Etsy which means 'coinuser12' is frauding.

Who would go through the trouble to make a fake account and spread fake information on a thread such as this???????? ???

I have dealt with Paypal and virtual currencies over the years (non bitcoin virtual currencies in games, ect) and I can tell you that Paypal takes a neutral stance with it in a lot of instances. Typically what they say is, they will take no action with regard to virtual / digital currency.

BUT, this is not set in stone. You need to harass them hard, let them know you're serious. Get your personal bank involved, threaten to reverse the funds transfer to Paypal if you paid with a CC or Debit card. If enough people are complaining, he'll get those funds frozen and likely will never get them out of Paypal beyond what he's already managed to pull out.

Damn, this is never fun to read.  Hope your able to get some justice.  Always sucks when someone get taken for a large some of money, hope u find that jerk.

Bumped for stompix

Wow. This is the type of thing that will prevent BTC from gaining mainstream acceptance. Sorry that you guys lost your coins/money. I thought that ebay and paypal didn't allow BTC type transactions because this type of scam happens too often? I tried to buy a miner on ebay once and they cancelled it due to possible fraud. Turns out it was a legit auction.(I talked with the seller afterwards) I got my money back but would have liked to have had the miner!

After reading this I'm using an escrow service for future BTC purchases.

I hope you find a way to get your money back.

People are scammed out of everything in life by unscrupulous people. I don't see how this is any different.

OK? What's your point? ???

My point is scams wont "prevent BTC from gaining mainstream acceptance". People have been scamming since the dawn of man. People are being scammed daily with Paypal, but that doesn't seem to have stopped it from gaining mainstream acceptance. In fact, I'd say there's far more fraud committed with PP than there is BTC.

I agree 100%. With paypal, CC, banks, etc you at least have a chance (no matter how small) to get your money back. With BTC when it's gone, it's gone. The anonymity is both a blessing an a curse in some cases. It won't stop me from using BTC, but for some people not well versed in the idea of BTC, reading stories like these may be a huge turn-off.

The biggest problem that BTC faces as a currency is the anonimity aspect with regard to scammers. At least with Paypal, there's a paper trail. With BTC, the worst of society can blackmail, bribe and extort without much fear of repercussion.

This is why you continue to see the DDoS attacks, hacking and colluded pump and dumps. There's esentially no way, at this point, to stop the scum of society from preying on honest hard working folk.

What's clear here is that this eBay scam artist found a loophole and he feels it can quickly steal a large amount of cash and get away with it. Looks to me like he waited for the right moment and then pulled the trigger on his scam when he felt he was holding the optimal amount of 'chips'.

The sad thing I expect here is that paypal will likely wash their hands of the entire situation 'as is typical of paypal' and the guy will make off with what ever he was able to extract from his account.

It is very much a blessing and a curse, but with PP and CC and banks genuine people can get ripped off by fraudster buyers who do a charge-back and get their money returned. I think all systems need improving and tweaking.


There's a paper trail with BTC too via the blockchain.

Obviously both fiat and cryptos have their advantages and disadvantages. I'm sure there'll be more secure and user friendly wallets coming out in 2014. I'd like to see a wallet app that needs a fingerpint scan and pin before you can send money. I think that would cut down a lot of theft and reassure the general public.

You can get rid of a paper trail with BTC by laundering/washing it/tumbling it.

Doesn’t seem to be working very well for the Sheep marketplace robber haha  ;D

Haha, yeh, it might be a problem when you try and do it with over $100m!!!

Yup, he definitely got too greedy with that heist.

Right guys, time to get serious.

I've contacted this guy, and his family, and non of them are even replying, all going on to block me so I can't even send another message.
Looks to me like they could be just not saying a word because they know someone is in the deep stuff.

Any way, I think the best thing for us to do is contact the MA FBI office. This kid has scammed well over $30,000 I would imagine, from 6 or 7 different people, and he's also used a stolen credit card. If we all report it together, something might actually get done.  He's also attempted other scams, on both localbitcoins, and craigslist.

My email is adam_richmond64@hotmail.com

Give me all your info and I'll try calling them first. It's likely we all have to do it separately, but if we all call on the same day they might take more notice.  Even if there is only a small chance we can get this guy, we have to try. 

No then?

Try contact the members individually. You definitely should be able to press charges if you have his info.

Everyone who's been involved, please make a report on www.ic3.gov

Make sure you include, name, address, email, phone number of this guy

Second rule of bitcoin.
Don't buy without well recognized escow

This guy is now trying to hide his info:

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/tim-trickett-sr/11/594/370

He made his linked in profile info private, and has disabled his facebook.  Now I think He is legitimately scared because he saw on here that people were planning on contacting his work.  We have also confirmed he has been posting on this thread trying to misdirect us and make us think it was a "case of stolen identity."  He used "coinuser12" and "btcbuyer99" usernames on these threads.

I would say still report these thefts to your local PD/ic3.gov but I would say go ahead and contact his work too.  They have a "Code of Ethics" and I would say he has violated that pretty bad.

He's now deleted his eBay account if you haven't already noticed.

Bumppp

Guys, those of you who got scammed, can you confirm whether you got your money back or not?????

If you didn't there is a good chance you can get it back in a civil case, which is well worth pursuing.

I'll be buying people beers if I ever see my money again! ;D