SCAM ALERT

[Vette Guy]

Fortunately, we in the ZR-1 Community are very trusting of one another. While we span 17 countries, we are still a small community, and reputations matter.

Unfortunately, there are those who have taken advantage of this community's good will, as well as the trustfulness of similar communities.

Based upon user feedback, the common theme is contact via private message regarding parts for sale by a Forum user. This Forum user (NOT a REGISTERED MEMBER of the ZR-1 Net Registry), may contact you via PRIVATE MESSAGE that he/she or a friend has the parts you are looking for and here is his/her contact email as well as phone number. You may research the Forum user who contacted you, and they may have made a few posts that seem legitimate - typically a new user who has made a few posts within the past few days.

Upon contacting the Forum user or the person they referred you to, they provide photos and are vaguely familiar with the items you are looking for. My presumption is that they've done some research in anticipation of your concerns - likely from spending time researching the item on our forum.

i.e: Hello mate, my frinned John has XXXXX available for sale pm the gmail below to get one from him. XXXXXX@gmail.com.

If asked, typically there is a backstory as to why the items are for sale - someone passed away; professional with no time to deal with items; getting too old and can't enjoy these items anymore (even one who claimed to be a retired, disabled (one-legged) preacher, as was told to me by a member). By providing you with an actual phone number (presumably a burner phone), you may feel some level of trust in the matter and proceed with the purchase. The items for sale range from a few hundred dollars in value to an actual Corvette. All seemingly are really good deals, but not so cheap that your gut tells you something is wrong.

BOTTOMLINE: Buyer Beware.

- If an item for sale is available, it will likely be posted for sale on the forum vs. only offered to you via Private Message at a great deal.
- Take note to new Forum members, as well as if the seller or facilitator is only a user of the Forum, vs. Member. We designate those who are members, as well as long-time members of the ZR-1 Net Registry below their screen name. In our community, reputation is everything.
- Always use PayPal with buyer protection, and not send payment via "Friends and Family". For larger purchases, such as a ZR-1, never blindly wire transfer money, unless using a reputable dealership such as Conte's Classics.
- We can not take action on users who provided you with the contact of a friend of theirs, from whom you were scammed.

We've provided guidance in our Forum Rules for your safety, which every user agreed to when creating an account: http://www.zr1.net/forum/showthread.php?t=31982

Should you have any suspicious dealings with another user on this Forum, please report it to the Forum Administrator at: forum@zr1netregistry.com.

[Drbobfzr1]

pretty simple.....get a phone number and talk...get a feel for the person ask for pictures ....its REALLY easy to sport a scam when you have a phone number with a live person on the other end...

[Vette Guy]

Exactly what I stated is that you can not trust talking to a person and looking at photos. 2 of our members were scammed by a person on a phone who sent photos. Reputation is everything, as is not sending payment via PayPal friends and family. Make sure there's a way to get your payment back if items are not delivered. Lastly, if a deal seems too good to be true, it likely is.

Mark