Warning Fraudulent Buyer! Beware

I just wanted you guys to beware of the following buyer.
She purched a one of a kind outfit from my company in an Ebay auction, made payment via Paypal that very night and we sent the outfit the following day.

Now, more than two weeks later, we received an email from Paypal stateing that the credit card holder who's account she used on Paypal has requested a "chargeback". Meaning the funds from that transaction in our account ($72.00) is now on hold until Paypal can resolve the issue with the credit card company and we may never see it again.
Now we arecurrently out both an original outfit and the money from the sale.

Just before this incident happened, she had written us again requesting another special order. I'm very glad I did not ship that yet as I doubt we will be working with her again.
I have personally written to her requesting that she please resolve this with whomever she must to clear the funds.
She has yet to reply, though before this happened she was emailing regularly and was very pleasent.

Her name is Christin Marrou and she purchased the outfit on Ebay under the name "favoritesadstory" which is no longer a registered account with Ebay(the account had only been active since April 2, 2005 and had 11 feedback rating). She used the email address "[email protected]" for the first transaction on Ebay and "[email protected]" for the recent emails, but it is the same girl and the same mailing address for both accounts.

This is just to warn you guys who make clothing or sell dollie items on Ebay.
I would be very weary of this buyer.
If things miraculously change direction and we clear this up overnight, I will certainly let you all know. But as that is unlikely, I wouldn't want anyone else to be out of the money for their hard work.

Has anyone else dealt with this buyer before? Is this a habit of hers?

 

Arghh!! You see! This is why I am glad to have this forum to keep others aware of these sorts of people.
I am a very honest and fair guy and it really baffles me to know that there are people out there who would knowingly cheat others out of money and their items.
How can she sleep at night????

I hope that everytime she uses one of our stolen outfits she gets a nasty twist in her stomach.

Oh yes! Her mailing address is below, in case she decides to use another name and ship to the same address.

Christin Marrou
4515 Gardendale
Apt 2703
San Antonio TX, 78240

OH YES! and she's doing it AGAIN!
From our Ebay search on her NEW email address:

She has a brand new email address and Ebay account with feedback of '0" and ready to steal yet again!
I'm writing Ebay today.

 

Can you believe that all Ebay will say is that you aren't allowed to post people's personal information?
They don't seem overly concerned that she's doing anything wrong.

 

I'm actualy considering that option seeing as I sent the very same thing I posted here to a couple of the sellers she bought from on Ebay and this is what I got back from one of them:

$680!!?? This girl is a SERIOUS problem.
All I can do now to warn potential future victims of her fraud is to tell people to be aware of that mailing address and the new email she is using on that Ebay account.
It seems she just makes a new hotmail account with each new Ebay account.

She did leave feedback which is proof of delivery on my end and as well, Paypal sent her address in the official payment notification.
I just think this should be an issue between the girl and the credit card company or Paypal...or Ebay. The money should not be coming out of seller's pockets.

 

Thank you so much for moving this thread.

I just received this email from yet another seller she stiffed:

Too bad I was too late to warn them.

 

The seller has every right NOT to sell to a buyer they have been warned about.
That could be taken up with Ebay.

 

I wrote to her directly telling her that Ebay, several doll forums and all of her past sellers are aware of her new account and that we are all very disappointed that someone can outright steal from so many trusting and honest people.
I have halted all sales with her and will double check all dealings on Ebay from now on.

Live and learn.

 

Today I got an email from Paypal saying they have taken the money from our account because we didn't include the tracking information for the package, which we do have at home and will provide them with as soon as we can get to the information.
But the money has already been taken from our account and get this!!!...

They even had the nerve to charge us an EXTRA $10.00 for the transaction fee!!!!
I am SO upset right now.

 

We just filed a complaint against her with the Internet Fraud authorities.
We made mention that she now has a new Ebay account under the very same name and address and that we feel it is Ebay's responsibility to keep her from opening new accounts with the intent of fraudulent buying.
It seems she has done this to several sellers.
They have written us with losses much higher than ours. i feel for them as well.

We have her contact information via Ebay and will file with all the appropriate agencies.
At this point it is not about the money, but the protection of other sellers like us.
People like her NEED to be STOPPED and it takes all who have been shafted to step up to make a difference.

 

Oh yes! And if anyone on DoA knows of this girl from other forums (she has a BJD) please warn sellers there as well.

And here are pictures of the outfit she stole.
If anyone sees her selling it or posting pictures of her doll wearing it, know that it was stolen
.

 

Exactly! What goes around, comes around I say.
Most all of the people I have sold to have been an absolute dream.
The BJD community seems to be for the most part a very honest and sweet natured crowd.
It's a shame that a few bad folks have to ruin it for everyone else.

Good luck with your new business!

 

Wow...
That is just scary.
I know many trans-people who have claimed to be "intersexed" as an explination for their gender confusion, so that doesn't surprise me.
As well, I have come across several people in similar forums/websites who are just a few tacks short of a box and many people are unclear with their backgrounds and personal information as it is very easy to lie on the web.
But for them to outwardly admit they stole from ANYONE, big or small company, is just wrong.
It upsets me that this person, whomever they are, seems so unremorseful about taking from people who work very hard to make and sell in this community.
They had been very sweet and respectful in emails until I confrunted them with the fraud issue and chargeback causing a balance due.
Now they just don't reply back at all.

All I can say now is that Ebay, Paypal, all the sellers they purchased from before and the Internet Fraud authorities have been notified and are aware that they have a habit of doing this, so it is only a matter of time before they are caught.

I would hate to be them.I am very sorry to hear that this happened to you.
It is bad enough that we lost money and an outfit I worked very hard on, but even worse for you who invested your time and emotion.

 

Cancan~
If you want to join the list of sellers this buyer has frauded/stolen from in some way, please PM me.
I am compileing a list of sellers who she/he has stolen from to give to their local Texas police department.
The most sellers she/he has done this to, the faster they move and the more they can do to stop them and others like them.

So far I know about:
$680.00 stolen computer
$82.00 for the stolen outfit from us
2 DoA members with stolen items (total amount currently unknown)
Several Ebay member sellers with stolen items (total amount currently unknown)
If she/he hits $1000, it's grand theft.

 

Well, I think if everyone sends as much information as they can to me:
ie. new user names he/she uses on both Ebay and Paypal,
email addresses, transaction numbers from Ebay sales to them etc, i can bring this to the local police AND if you all write Ebay and Paypal etc. they will see that several members are complaining of similar issues and something will have to be done by these companies as well.

We will stop him/her, but we need to ALL gather our information and be persistant.

 

Thank you so much for all your help guys and gals.
I will be taking this information to my local police tonight and will let you know what they feel is best to do from there.

 

Just to be thorough, if you guys decide to write ebay and paypal etc, be sure to give them ALL the names and email addresses this person has been using so they can see the connection.
Often Ebay will do nothing if they can not prove you have delt with this person personally. They all need to know it is the same buyer and that they are using the same mailing information.
We WILL stop them, but we need to go about it the right way.
Consider all money lost at this point, but at least we can stop them from doing it to others.
Glad we saved your doll Maz

 

I dont ever believe those are photos of him on Vampfreaks.
First off, he lists he is from FallRiver, Mass. which is very close to where I used to live in Boston, Mass.
Mass is no where near Texas.
Second, if he uses that many different names, screen names and email addresses, I bet he uses photos of other people as well.
He is obviously very troubled and needs help.

I spoke to the Los Angeles police department tonight and they are going to look into it.
I will let you guys all know what comes of it every step of the way.
It really saddens me that this person is ruining the reputation of both gothic folks and BJD lovers like this.
I used to be into the gothic thing myself, hell I made clothes for some of the biggest gothic rock bands to date. but I would never do anything like they have.

 

Believe me...Mass is not any 'cooler' than Texas. LOL
I could see it if he put Hollywood or even New York.

He's really odd in the head dear.

 

Wow! Good email from Ebay, at least they are doing something now.

I'll keep you guys updated when I speak to the police again.

 

So...as of today, the email addresses they have been using are:
[email protected]
[email protected]

The Ebay account names used are:
bitsybabydoll
favoritesadstory
xfrailbutterflyx

I would say it is safe to assume any name bidding on gothic/industrial/punker style dollfie clothing, goods or dolls that is in the same vain as the above should be researched before sending ANYTHING to them.
PLEASE beware of the mailing address and or account names above.

 

We can add another seller to the list.
and another $9.00 stolen.
This is begining to really add up.

Thank you to everyone who's giving their information to the cause.
We can assume none of us will get any money back, but stopping this buyer and possibly others like them will be a huge step in the right direction for keeping our community safe for sales and buying.

:grin:

 

I just got off the phone with a detective from the Los Angeles Police Dept's Computer Crimes unit.
His suggestion~
ALL of the sellers who have been ripped off by this buyer need to go to the following website and file a complaint. Be sure to be clear on what happend to you and include ALL of the information you can about the transaction.

http://www1.ifccfbi.gov/index.asp

Save ALL mailing receipts (if you still have them)
Save ALL emails between yourself and this user.
Save ALL Ebay/Paypal transactions regarding this user.
Provide any and all email addresses, account names and user names they used with you.


What will happen~
The Internet Fraud Complain Center is linked with the FBI.
The FBI will review the information provided by all of us and link the similarities.
From there they will contact the user's local police department in texas and take appropriate action.
The detective agreed that it is unlikely that any money will be recovered, but the person will be stopped.
Lord knows if he/she will see any jail time, but the scare might do them good.

PLEASE FILE THE COMPLAINT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
Internet fraud complaints have time limits and we do not want to lose the chance to add another name to the list.

Thanks guys and gals!
We can knock this user for good if we all ban together.
I can provide each of the sellers who were frauded with a copy of the other seller's information so that each of us has it, if that is ok with everyone else?

 

Good! Now if everyone does it, they will get on it faster.

As well, out of curiosity, I checked into their past purchases on Ebay under the first user name and OMFG:

Three dolls from Lemonday alone totaling over $1180
Ball Joint doll(like Dollfie)-Dollmore Boy - Calvin Item number: 5574841479
Ball Joint doll(like Dollfie)- Dollmore Girl - Asha Item number: 5574336593
Ball Joint doll(like Dollfie type) - Dollmore Doll Ray Item number: 5569497972

Not to mention the rest:
KK Workshop T-SHIRT NO.005 For Super Dollfie Girl Item number: 5574301160
KK Workshop SKIRT NO.003 FOR VOLKS SUPER DOLLFIE GIRL Item number: 5549628736
SONY VAIO PCV-RS720G DIGITAL STUDIO- 3GHz-SEALED Item number: 5179855070

THE most interesting of all items:
NIB PROF TELEPHONE PHONE VOICE CHANGER WHOLESALE PRICE Item number: 5765456631

TELEPHONE VOICE CHANGER...iiiiinteresting purchase. One may never truly know the name or gender of this person. They clearly have issues being themselves.

 

I just got yet another email from an Ebay seller then stole from.
I swear...the list goes on.

 

THANK GAWD you both did not send to this person. I would be heartbroken if you lost that beautiful doll to them.
I suggest you both spread the word.
Thank you SO much for letting us know they changed names yet again.

 

I would contact Ebay and let them know you have a fraudulent buyer on your auction and do not wish to risk sending item.
As this person is already under investigation, I would imagine Ebay would understand.

As well, they just tried to purchase the following items with their new account.
Thank GAWD they didn't send this doll yet! $1,185.00 AI Custom House boy!!!
This person is unbelieveable!!!

 

Ebay wrote me tonight and said they would like any/all of the sellers I know of to write Ebay directly and let them know all of the details regarding the transaction where you lost your item.
The more that write, the more Ebay will be aware that this user is now on a new account.

 

Very good advice indeed.
I took it one step further and warned several sellers who had expensive gothic themed dolls or clothing up for auction seeing as the gothic ones are the items this user goes for most often.

I swear, it really burns me that they keep on trying, but even more so that they would attempt to steal $1,185.00 doll. I hope their karma burries them.