BAD TRADE WITH, "Castillo Pelegrin" Scammer! BEWARE!
Ad type
BAD TRADE WITH
Description
My first ever attempt at purchasing some cocoons ended up being a scam... Trying not to let this discourage me from pursuing this new hobby. Hopefully what I learned can help out other freshly eclosed lepidoptera enthusiasts. :(
They went by Castillo Pelegrin and used the email address castilloap87@gmail.com and claimed to be in Nixa, MO in the US.
Other addresses given by them that you should be vigilant about:
tariasa@outlook.com
jacobletiwa@yahoo.com
tymu9@yahoo.com
What they did was agree to use FedEx as a shipping method, but after the payment was received they told me that option was too expensive so they shipped via "International Express" (http://international-expres.com/), which I'd never heard of before. I didn't think too much of it, since I'd gotten a tracking number. I think I was riding on the excitement of getting cocoons and got a little too trusting LOL. :')
But when it came time to deliver my package, I got suspicious because International Express sent me an email (which I didn't see because it went to spam, which is a great sign) asking to confirm my address and provide my phone number.
Then pretty much right after, Castillo claimed IE had phoned them and said they required a fee before they'd deliver.
Sure enough, I got a REALLY suspicious looking email shortly after asking for a "refundable" 49$ CAD in order to get my package. I'll attach that email here. Of course, the fee was to be made payable to a named person in Cameroon. :/
When I refused to pay the fee and started asking for really simple confirmation information, they got agitated and started yelling at me in all caps LOL.
Needless to say, the cocoons never existed and I lost nearly 200 USD (a lot more in my currency...)
Anyway, here are some things you can do to protect yourself!
- Ask for photos of the moths/butterflies/pupae/eggs/etc. Maybe even ask them to have a piece of paper with their email address written on it in the photo, or something!
- Ask for a photo of the shipping receipt. A lovely lady I bought from gave me my tracking number this way!
- Don't agree to use Friends & Family. I know a lot of sellers will probably ask for F&F to protect themselves from a malicious buyer doing a chargeback, but it's actually against PayPal T.O.S. I'm a freelance artist and have probably sent out close to 100 PayPal invoices and have never had anyone do a chargeback. I know it's not fair that trusting in someone having good intentions has to go mostly one way, and I hope that sellers are treated well!
If anyone wants more info about this scam for whatever reason, I have PDFs of full email correspondence with both the seller and "International Express", and screenshots of their website in case it gets taken down.
My email address is: keysheemoofins@gmail.com
Take care! And good luck to everyone! Let's learn from bad experiences and not let them stop us from doing what brings us joy. :)
They went by Castillo Pelegrin and used the email address castilloap87@gmail.com and claimed to be in Nixa, MO in the US.
Other addresses given by them that you should be vigilant about:
tariasa@outlook.com
jacobletiwa@yahoo.com
tymu9@yahoo.com
What they did was agree to use FedEx as a shipping method, but after the payment was received they told me that option was too expensive so they shipped via "International Express" (http://international-expres.com/), which I'd never heard of before. I didn't think too much of it, since I'd gotten a tracking number. I think I was riding on the excitement of getting cocoons and got a little too trusting LOL. :')
But when it came time to deliver my package, I got suspicious because International Express sent me an email (which I didn't see because it went to spam, which is a great sign) asking to confirm my address and provide my phone number.
Then pretty much right after, Castillo claimed IE had phoned them and said they required a fee before they'd deliver.
Sure enough, I got a REALLY suspicious looking email shortly after asking for a "refundable" 49$ CAD in order to get my package. I'll attach that email here. Of course, the fee was to be made payable to a named person in Cameroon. :/
When I refused to pay the fee and started asking for really simple confirmation information, they got agitated and started yelling at me in all caps LOL.
Needless to say, the cocoons never existed and I lost nearly 200 USD (a lot more in my currency...)
Anyway, here are some things you can do to protect yourself!
- Ask for photos of the moths/butterflies/pupae/eggs/etc. Maybe even ask them to have a piece of paper with their email address written on it in the photo, or something!
- Ask for a photo of the shipping receipt. A lovely lady I bought from gave me my tracking number this way!
- Don't agree to use Friends & Family. I know a lot of sellers will probably ask for F&F to protect themselves from a malicious buyer doing a chargeback, but it's actually against PayPal T.O.S. I'm a freelance artist and have probably sent out close to 100 PayPal invoices and have never had anyone do a chargeback. I know it's not fair that trusting in someone having good intentions has to go mostly one way, and I hope that sellers are treated well!
If anyone wants more info about this scam for whatever reason, I have PDFs of full email correspondence with both the seller and "International Express", and screenshots of their website in case it gets taken down.
My email address is: keysheemoofins@gmail.com
Take care! And good luck to everyone! Let's learn from bad experiences and not let them stop us from doing what brings us joy. :)
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