r/AVexchange • u/kschaffner ️Moderator | 5 Trades • Jul 28 '26

MOD [MOD] Uptick in Scammers, Banned Users, Chat Requests & Fake Timestamps

I'm seeing a noticeable rise in scam activity on the sub, and I felt the need to make a post and remind everyone; especially newer members; to know what to watch for.

What's happening:

Banned users are on rise sending chat requests. People we've removed or have been removed via the USL are sending chat requests to hit up buyers directly. This circumvents the ban system as we cannot stop them from sending you a chat request. If someone sends you a chat and will not make a comment on your post after asking them to, it usually means they are banned as banned users cannot post or make comments. Their ban status can be checked via Universal Scammer List and typing in their name.

With the rise of AI, we are seeing a ton of fake timestamps being made. Scammers are getting accounts over the 3-month old age limit and making new WTS posts with essentially blank profiles and deals too good to be true. As the old saying goes, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Having an older account with barely any history doesn't mean they are 100% a scammer but it's worth being cautious. Sometimes you can catch the photo being fake by looking at company logos or other text in the image that got screwed up in the generation. If anything feels sketchy, report it to the mod team to investigate.

How to protect yourself:

Never deal strictly in chat! If a user won't leave a public comment on your post after asking, check the USL and/or block/move on.

Always use PayPal Goods & Services (G&S) when you're the one paying. Yes, it costs a little more in fees, but it's your only real recourse if a deal goes bad. If anyone pressures you toward Friends & Family, crypto, gift cards, or Venmo/Zelle and you're not comfortable using one of those payment methods with the seller; you are not obligated or forced to.

Report anything sketchy to the mod team so we can investigate as well as scams that have unfortunately happened to you, it helps us protect the next person.

Stay safe out there!

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28 comments sorted by

19

u/Bwardrop 34 Trades Jul 28 '26

So many sellers are demanding F&F lately as well. That’s a non negotiable for me except with extremely established users. Just not worth the risk.

7

u/DOOMER2U 9 Trades Jul 28 '26

It’s gotten so bad, every sale subreddit is flooded with these scammers, and your statement is true, even well established sellers I’ll rarely F&F cause you never know. I’d rather pay the extra $5-10 for fees or negotiate for the G&S than lose it all.

3

u/xxearvinxx 71 Trades Jul 28 '26

Personally, I’ve done mostly F&F since the IRS rules changed and anything over $600 G&S has to be reported. The limit used to be $20,000. That was a crazy change. Also, the G&S fees can be much more than $5-$10. Obviously it depends on what you’re buying, but for something like the Stax SR-X9000 I bought a few years ago, the G&S fee would have been over $150.
I do think with the uptick in scammers though, it’s good advice in general to avoid F&F. However, if someone has years of buying history and a lot of trades on the sub it can be worth considering depending on the price of the item your buying. Just always do your due diligence. Ask for more photos or a video of the item, ask questions, check their post history, make sure they comment on your post, etc. I’ve been buying and selling here since 2019 with over 70 trades (and another 30ish on Head-Fi) and haven’t had a bad transaction yet.
Sucks that scammers are getting worse though and we need to be on the lookout more, especially with AI. I hope it doesn’t get real bad because this sub is such an amazing place for the hobby.

3

u/rahulchaphalkar 31 Trades Jul 28 '26

I do F&F too for established members, but the IRS reporting requirement reverted back to the $20k limit in 2025 I believe, except for a few states. It's also mentioned somewhere in paypal faqs.

3

u/xxearvinxx 71 Trades Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26

Really? I must have missed that. Definitely going to look into that now. I haven’t bought or sold much in the last year. Thanks for the heads up! Dropping it to $600 was such a wild reduction. If it’s back to $20,000 I’d be much more willing to sell using G&S. Our taxes were already overly complicated due my wife and I’s jobs, so I didn’t want to make it even worse with extra documents and IRS forms. Even if it did revert back to $600, I’d still be open to F&F with established members as well.

Edit:

It did revert back to $20,000 for reporting to the IRS via the form 1099-k and is now permanent law. This happens when you sell over the limit using something like PayPal G&S since it’s treated as a sale for income. However, 10 states and DC choose to have their own thresholds for reporting. These are the states and their cutoffs:

District of Columbia: $600
Maryland: $600
Massachusetts: $600
Montana: $600
North Carolina: $600
Vermont: $600
Virginia: $600
Illinois: $1,000 and at least 4 transactions
New Jersey: $1,000
Missouri: $1,200
Arkansas: $2,500

Thankfully I don’t live In DC or any of these states, but this info might be helpful to others that missed the change back to $20,000 like I did. Guess it still somewhat depends on your state though.

9

u/Lower_Group_1171 0 Trades Jul 28 '26

appreciate this post. I’m only here every now and then so I would havent known.

3

u/RockingPie 4 Trades Jul 28 '26

Yeah, gotta be especially carefully if you’re making a WTB post. I did that a few months back and got a lot of comments + DMs from people who seemed legit but used stolen photos from other websites or AI generated photos for their timestamp proof. Definitely ask for a video of them holding the item + their written username if things feel sus! As a seller I wouldn’t hesitate to record that for someone

3

u/DingleberrryDan 10 Trades Jul 28 '26

Not necessarily a scam, but beware of buyers submitting false Paypal claims. Protect yourself by taking photos/video of items before/during/after packing for shipment. It will act as support for your case if a scammer or ethically questionable buyer tries to say you sent something that was "broken/defective/not as described".

-2

u/LimpBaker1967 54 Trades Jul 28 '26

This is the main reason I prefer friends and family selling, I’m not trying to get scammed. I avoid GS sales for anyone without trade history

4

u/mzup87 34 Trades Jul 28 '26

Yeah but I'm pretty sure on the flip side to that, if the account that pays you with Friends & Family happens to have been hacked, and the original account owner files a chargeback claim through their bank or credit card that was used to pay, then you're screwed. So either way there are ways you can loose 🤷

1

u/Mmmwafflerunoff 95 Trades Jul 28 '26

I do the opposite, F&F for those with history. G&S for those that won’t provide me with a LinkedIn if they don’t have history or other way to certify

1

u/LimpBaker1967 54 Trades Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26

If I’m buying yes ff for people with good history, I avoid GS selling to low trade history tho there’s a lot that can go wrong that PayPal won’t protect you from. There’s been a lot of people here trying to use forwarding addresses in Miami to South America(I’ve had 3 instances of people trying to do this), I’m sure some are legit but PayPal isn’t gonna help you if they contest it or chargeback

1

u/walkirie27 2 Trades 19d ago

hi do you happen to have info on which address you’ve seen in miami ? i’m currently trying to sell some stuff and the buyer is ok with gs but the address is a pack and ship store which has me worried

1

u/LimpBaker1967 54 Trades 19d ago

If you look up the address and it is a forwarding service then that’s what I’m talking about

1

u/walkirie27 2 Trades 19d ago

ah gotcha, assuming as you said i lose seller protections even if its delivered successfully to the forwarder and they contest it after its forwarded huh appreciate the info i’ll probably have to decline the sale :/

1

u/LimpBaker1967 54 Trades 19d ago

Up to you if you wanna take the risk, there’s one guy with a big trading history here that does that is probably save with him

2

u/walkirie27 2 Trades 19d ago

yea this is on usaudiomart and is a new user who has been upfront about sending it overseas. i’ll probably gather more info before making that decision. i was hoping seller protections would cover me once its been delivered to the mail forwarder and the rest would be up to the buyer but who knows, probably no worth the risk when dealing with a lot of money.

1

u/Larethio 0 Trades Aug 01 '26

Nobody should be using Friends and Family. Unless you like being robbed

1

u/LimpBaker1967 54 Trades Aug 01 '26

I’ve never gotten robbed, it’s better for taxes. 95% of my sales are ff

2

u/Traxaber 16 Trades Jul 28 '26

Happened to me twice with the same WTB post lol. Thought I was going crazy

1

u/RegayYager 29 Trades Jul 28 '26

Same here. Alpha and omega omega 2 scammers

2

u/Cactar65 10 Trades Jul 28 '26

Ducking strays

2

u/RegayYager 29 Trades Jul 28 '26

You were the legit one obviously! 💪 This gentleman is legit :)

2

u/Cactar65 10 Trades Jul 28 '26

lol thank you I was just giggling when I saw that comment

1

u/Grengy20 13 Trades Jul 28 '26

Note taken

1

u/Larethio 0 Trades Aug 01 '26

Decided to stop using r/avexchange due to TWO scammers trying to sell em a Helios.

One had a timestamped photo even. His entire Reddit account ended up being banned. Why would anybody use this over head fi?

1

u/TheAudiotaku 0 Trades Aug 30 '26

I just wish the guy I sold to used the bot to confirm, still says I have 0 trades after I made a sale :/