I wasn’t sure if this was appropriate for this forum but you guys may have become aware of how god damn bad the scam ads have become. On ikitesurf I could found only 5 real ads out of the first 5 most recent pages of posted ads (75 total).
It used to be that only a few ads were scams - but now the majority (>90%) of current listings are fake ads. The scam ads follow a consistent formula so they are easily spotted, but the easiest telltale the ad is a scam is to click on neighboring ads looking for the same user name posting ads from different locations all over US. The same username can be seen posting ads from FL, ID, MN , CT !
Ikitesurf is being targeted by organized scammers and I could see it happening elsewhere too.
Some tips::
1 use buyer protection ( but they can still ship you a box with a rock in it to claim they shipped you a product)
2. Ask for some proof of ownership - a video call or ask them to take a pic of the gear showing something unique ( e.g. your name written on the paper).
Good luck buying gear out there!
Scammers taking advantage of supply chain shortages
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