Hello Everyone, just want to send a word of caution about BMW CCA wanted ads. I got scammed out of $200 thinking I was dealing with a legitimate BMW CCA member when I was looking for a NLA mud flap for my E30 325ix. Shame on me for not being more skeptical, but I figured I was dealing with a club member. The outside world can see the ads on this website and it opens us up to any kind of scam. To me it seems like the ads here should only be viewed by club members. By dealing with only other club members there is a level of respect and honesty that is not there when dealing with people you don't have any skin in the BMW CCA. There are so many options to place ads to the whole world that I don't see the added benefit for our club classifieds being posted there. It adds an unnecessary level of risk for when you are trying to buy or sell something. Fortunately for me it was just $200, but still it hurts, more emotionally than financially. I was dooped!!!
Wow, sorry to hear that happened to you. If you wouldn't mind sharing a few more details on what happened, it might be helpful in avoiding others falling for the scam. Did you send $ to someone who had posted an advertisement on the CCA website? If so, than outsiders can do more than just look at the ads.
I put a wanted ad on the BMW CCA website looking for mud flaps for my e30 325ix. These are no longer available. I got an email from a David Hardy in Kansas saying he had what I was looking for and sent me a picture. In the few email exchanges we had, I felt like I was dealing with an honest person. He did want me to send the money via Western Union, which I had never done before and did feel unsure of. In the past I have always paid by paypal. But I figured he was a club member and worth trusting. In retrospect I had blinders on because I was excited to find these mud flaps that I have been trying to find for some time now. I have never been scammed before, and I have bought numerous euro bmw items over ebay from Germany and the UK without a problem. So I guess I felt like this was true as well. The big difference here is I put out a wanted ad and was not responding to a for sale ad. This is the first wanted ad I have ever placed. So that could be the difference in my experience so far.
Making ads visible to only members will drastically cut down visibility since not everyone logs into the website. Like all websites that are visible to the public, there are more guests than registered viewers. Perhaps a better solution is to only rely on personal conversations through the forum providing only current members can reply? Oh wait... Email addresses are part of the ad. I believe we are revamping the classifieds and hiding email addresses to non-members has come up.
I just don't see the value of putting these ads out to guests. We have ebay and Craigslist for when we want to put it out to the world. Since I have gotten scammed I continue to get other emails. I have now taken down my ad. Has anyone else gotten unwanted emails from the BMW CCA ad or am I only one?
For all the ads placed, it's been a very isolated problem. It's unfortunate you have become a victim. There are many times where a buyer or seller has contacted me to verify whether someone is a member. Members also view the pages as a guest since they are not logged in. Not everyone read the log in instructions and if they don't have a correct email address on record, they can't get automated help. We help many members logging in on a daily basis over the phone. Restricting ads to members will greatly reduce the number of views. As I said previously we are looking into hiding contact information on website ads. Hopefully we can make it an option per ad but then you'd still be limiting exposure.
That sucks. Your story got me to thinking about my employer's (ebay) guidelines for avoiding scams. Sure enough: "Avoid using Western Union, MoneyGram, or other wire transfers."
I'd like to put in my $0.02 on this issue. I just listed my 750i for sale and have immediately received two scam emails about the car. Both were poorly written emails, asking the present condition, wanting to pay via PayPal and send someone to my house to pick it up. Dead giveaway. Unfortunately, until this is changed, I am going to have to avoid using the club site to list my cars (which should be a benefit). I don't want my personal information publicly available and my privacy compromised. Shoot, even Craigslist shields your private information from being publicly available. I'd rather have a smaller, concentrated, audience (isn't that why we ask more $ for our cars.... because fellow enthusiasts will appreciate the special care given to them?). If I want to hit everyone and their brother then I will list it on AutoTrader, Cars.com or Craigslist. Thanks for listening.
A club member who placed a WTB ad called me yesterday being contacted by someone. I was able to verify that the person offering an item wasn't a club member. Price seemed a little too good to be true too. We are looking at changing the classifieds within the next couple months and keeping contact info from the public at the seller's option.
NEVER deal with someone you don't know who wants you to pay by Western Union. It's the No. 1 RED FLAG for scammers worldwide.
