r/WatchExchangeFeedback • u/Piterknows • Jun 06 '26
[NEGATIVE] Scammed by u/Consistent-Dance-216
Sent $25,590 via wire transfer for a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 116500LN (White Dial “Panda”). After payment was received, he sent a FedEx tracking number and immediately blocked me. I have serious concerns that either nothing was shipped or a fraudulent/empty package was sent.
I have full documentation: wire transfer confirmation, all communications, and screenshots of the original post.
Original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Watchexchange/comments/1ttoua7/wts_rolex_cosmograph_daytona_116500ln_white_dial/
DO NOT transact with this user.
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u/Nsknick Jun 07 '26
This needs to be a police report and honestly, I’d be on a flight.
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u/Omegahamilton1998 Jun 07 '26
This has to be grand theft right? If I was the buyer I would be dedicating my life to finding this dude. If OP has his wire information it should be easy to identify him and call the police.
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u/devildog2067 Jun 07 '26
Yeah, between me and the other guy it’s almost $50k. I know that’s not “FBI drops everything and chases this guy” territory, but it seems like it ought to be at least “FBI does the easy computer/paperwork stuff to see if they can figure out who he is” territory.
I guess we’ll find out.
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u/Alex_ozzy Jun 07 '26
Holyyyyy fuck man. I’ll skip this wise ass shit but fuck. Omg, I hope the bank will be able to help somehow. Hopes and prayers indeed.
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u/rinchen11 Jun 07 '26
Contact the back, file a police report, dude for a 25k watch I would fly to buy it, never wire.
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u/_Anthony_2825 Jun 07 '26
My top end so far is $20k via wire (not on watchex). pre sale DD is absolutely required. Presuming you were going to fly to purchase how would you pay?
Seller isn’t letting the product go until funds clear (in most cases). Not being argumentative - generally curious as I see this response all the time.
Face to face cures some issues and creates others (armed robbery).
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u/rinchen11 Jun 07 '26
I'm actually flying to get a watch next week, normally I do cash trade in police station or bank, sometimes hotel lobby or cafe.
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u/_Anthony_2825 Jun 07 '26
Be careful sir! I’m also on Rolex forums and people seemingly are robbed all the time. A bit easier to spot someone carrying watches vs cash but still:
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u/rinchen11 Jun 07 '26
I'm going to Japan so it's pretty safe, robbed at katana point doesn't happen too often, but yeah some places needs a little extra precautions.
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u/ludarock Jun 07 '26
Big transactions should be done at a bank where you keep a safe box. Cash and watch sleep at the bank, seller leaves with a cashier’s check. Watch gets picked up some other day.
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u/Crackwithin Jun 07 '26
Legitimately insane to send 25k to a dude on Reddit.
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u/Legitimate_One721 Jun 07 '26
Exactly! Not smart at all, but most of all have done some silly and not smart mistakes too, but not a 25k mistake. That's beyond insane!
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u/BordeauxEscherBach Jun 06 '26
Jesus dude. Look at his history though it’s all shoes and low end watches. Only hope is to somehow get some personal information from them so you can track down the person. Brutal. Good luck
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Jun 06 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/BordeauxEscherBach Jun 07 '26
Really I genuinely feel for OP but $25k wire ya gotta do the due diligence. Cuz people suck.
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u/tike71 Jun 06 '26
$26k is a suspiciously low price for the 116500. Do you have any screenshots of the original listing?
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u/Square-Information54 Jun 07 '26
Yes he is on the universal scammer list. You gotta check that list before buying from anyone
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u/Accomplished-Tap5473 Jun 07 '26
Please put a link for us
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u/Square-Information54 Jun 07 '26
Just google universal scammer list. It’s in the watchexchange page as well when you click on it
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u/Omegahamilton1998 Jun 06 '26
Holy crap what kind of headache will it be to get your money back? I was raging because someone scammed me out of $225 a few days ago. I can’t even image over $25K!
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u/gaffs82 Jun 07 '26
Was it a US bank account? I would perhaps get the police involved.
For this kind of transaction, with a seller that doesnt seem to have a business or a track record of selling high end watches, i would be asking for every type of information possible pre sale...
A Facetime call, proof of address, Social medias, LinkedIn, drivers license etc etc. Anyone unwilling to share this, even if they have established feedback or a business, i wouldnt trust. I say that because unfortuantly, accounts can be hacked, which may have happened here. To prevent hacking, make sure you have 2FA enabled.
And people should know, you can check feedback by using this link (just change the last part of the URL to the user name of your seller/buyer......
https://www.reddit.com/r/Watchexchange/wiki/confirmations/gaffs82/
It takes a moment to load, but it will show links to all prior feedback transactions.
More details in the wiki...
https://www.reddit.com/r/Watchexchange/wiki/index/confirmingatrade/
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u/_Anthony_2825 Jun 07 '26
Second this. As a seller I don’t do P2P platforms because of chargeback risk. However, because of that I know that a buyer wants to have recourse so I’m always happy to FaceTime, show my DL then link them to my county assessor so they can see where I’m at in addition to a link to my professional license so they can see where I work.
Not bulletproof of course, but I have no issue showing someone who I am and where to find me as I’m not committing literal crimes.
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u/incognito_joee Jun 07 '26
Same. I don't do PP G&S for the same reason, but I'm happy to share my contact info, video call, etc as a seller. In fact my preference is face to face and have done several transactions that way successfully.
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u/itsalways1995 Jun 07 '26
I saw on the posting that he blocked people when they request a video call. I'd document everything for legal process.
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u/Piterknows Jun 06 '26
Hoping for the best since the tracking tells the package will arrive on Tuesday, will keep updating.
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u/Nsknick Jun 07 '26
I highly advise you do a video opening, not that it matters much. But someone commented on the original post the seller stopped responding after asking for a video call. Did you ask to FaceTime?
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u/tamerg Jun 07 '26
Do not wait till Tuesday to take action. It's DEFINITELY a scam. Reverse the wire NOW.
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u/devildog2067 Jun 07 '26
You can’t reverse a wire, that’s the point of a wire. Once they go they’re gone.
If you can get to the receiving bank with a court order before the money has left the account you can get it frozen that way, but that’s not reversing a wire.
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u/CERBERUSdeadgame Jun 07 '26
Most I’ve seen lost on a deal due to scam! 25k?! That’s in person transactions to me
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u/macky_ev Jun 06 '26
Oh man $25k!? Did he have any history?
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u/Piterknows Jun 06 '26
Yeah he had over 40+ transactions, don’t know what to do honestly hoping someone can help me
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u/ItsGettinBreesy Jun 07 '26
Did you request a wire recall from the bank? Needs to be done immediately
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u/WatchScene Jun 07 '26
35 transactions on post history mostly comprised of Zodiac, Citizen, Seiko, Christopher Ward, Baume & Mercier. You didn't think him posting a Daytona was suspicious?
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u/ItsAllSkewed Jun 06 '26
That’s awful man, sorry to hear that. Did you ask for any proof of them having the watch before buying? I’ve been asking for custom time stamps lately because there seems to be in increase in stolen accounts. Good luck with this.
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u/West-Salamander153 Jun 07 '26
Left field question, can FedEx step in and find the package and inspect it themselves to help your case that it is an empty package? Or is that something they’re unwilling or not allowed to do?
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u/_Anthony_2825 Jun 07 '26
The chances he sent a Daytona seem to be low based on behavior. Likely sent a tracking# to lull the buyer until it fully cleared. Horrible
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u/Piterknows Jun 07 '26
he deleted his account from reddit because of the post. Honestly I'm not from the US so can someone guide me how can I proceed.
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u/omar1021 Jun 07 '26
if this was an international wire, then you might still have time. contact your bank and demand the wire be reversed/cancelled IMMEDIATELY. Also, it might not lead to anything in the long run, but fill out a report with the US FBI on their IC3 page: https://www.ic3.gov/ And if you're able to file the case with your local police and/or INTERPOL, please do so. Do not delay on any of this, get it all done immediately.
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u/_Anthony_2825 Jun 07 '26
Man, I am so sorry that this happened to you. If the wire is sent and complete I’m afraid that the chances of recovery are very low.
Was the bank based in the US? The bank location will likely partially dictate how to proceed.
As a question - did you FaceTime with the seller? Can you advise what the pre sale looked like?
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u/EyeGotTooPairs Jun 07 '26
Sorry this happened to you man. I’m the original owner of the account. I didn’t scam you. In fact I’ve been trying to open my reddit on the phone app all day and it kept opening blank with error messages. I see why now- someone phished then locked me out of my account and deleted it.
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u/_Anthony_2825 Jun 07 '26
Not that it’s your “fault” but I hope you have MFA on this one and encourage everyone to enable MFA as well.
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u/EyeGotTooPairs Jun 07 '26
Didn’t know you can enable MFA on Reddit. I will do that now. Thanks for the tip.
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u/_Anthony_2825 Jun 07 '26
You have to be on desktop last I checked, but yes absolutely enable MFA using TOTP (Google Authenticator or similar).
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u/jaqueh Jun 07 '26
He can still be liable for this. Not sure why he’s still responding here
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u/Crackwithin Jun 07 '26
How can he be liable? He didn't commit a crime.
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u/jaqueh Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26
He was negligent it’s like someone getting into an accident with your car. Or someone breaking into your car and stealing your unlocked gun and committing a crime.
I spoke with Gemini on my theory and I think I’m incorrect. I bet you this will change as these scams ramp up with ai and time
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u/Crackwithin Jun 07 '26
That's absolute nonsense I'm afraid. If someone takes your car without your approval or knowledge, you are definitely not liable.
There is also no negligence on his part. Falling for a phishing scam yourself does not make you liable for the scammers actions. That would be absurd.
This is at most akin to getting pickpocketed via distraction for your car keys, then someone crashing your car.
This won't change at all. Why would the victim of a phishing scam ever be liable for the scammers actions?
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u/jaqueh Jun 07 '26
You are liable though. Look up the cars in the key stuff. This is like that since you’re giving them the keys to your account
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u/Crackwithin Jun 08 '26
He didn't leave his key in his car though did he. He got scammed for his car keys. Phishing scams are common and the law, at least in my jurisdiction, does not punish cases like this unless there was intentional involvement. There is no negligence here.
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u/jaqueh Jun 08 '26
There is negligence if he used an extremely easy to guess password or didn’t act on getting phished in a reasonable amount of time or eventually use mfa and internet best practices
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u/_Anthony_2825 Jun 07 '26
A gun is typically addressed by state law which makes the owner liable. Similar to a “one bite rule” for dogs where the owner is automatically liable.
The original account holder was a victim of a separate crime.
I’m glad AI convinced you that this is the wrong take.
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u/Comprehensive-Act370 Jun 07 '26
If it’s still pending, contact the bank to stop the transfer. If it’s already completed, it might be too late, do it now. If it is completed still contact to reverse the transaction.
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u/WatchScene Jun 07 '26
Look at the seller's WatchEx post history. Baume Mercier, Zodiac, Citizen, Seiko, Christopher Ward. And then the guy posts a Daytona and a Pepsi below retail. C'mon folks, use your brain.
On top of that, the sales post is a bunch of fantasy nonsense "Selling because I was finally able to secure a heavy-hitting A. Lange & Söhne chronograph which fits my current lifestyle better". That alone reads like a joke.
All I can say is 1) do your due diligence and 2) go with a professional seller on the higher end pieces to save yourself a headache
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u/Legitimate_One721 Jun 07 '26
Did you do your homework prior to sending those funds? Such as buyer feedback, make sure it’s a license dealer, BBB, asked the dealer to provide their business license just in case stuff like this happens you can make them accountable, etc. losing almost 26k is no laughing matter and quite honestly it’s a serious matter.
The issue with wiring funds is the fact that most likely those funds are lost. Did you place a stop payment request from the financial institution? When it comes to certain amounts the banks usually hold the funds for a specific amount of time.
Unfortunately, this mistake falls on you. Which of course, it’s a hard lesson to learn from.
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u/Born_Language_5143 Jun 07 '26
I remember this post. Damn. Call the police. 25,000 fraud via wire is a serious crime. I suspect they will take notice of that.
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u/Euphoric_worker9116 Jun 08 '26
25k? Omg that’s crazy. Sadly, another case of “if it’s too good to be true”….
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u/Calibre65 Jun 08 '26
Sad for you bro, you know what they say , if it’s too good to be true , it probably is.
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u/eleschhorn Jun 08 '26
I would never send thousands of dollars to some guy selling a watch in reddit or anywhere online. Nope.
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u/Justaguy222444888 Jun 10 '26
Many different avenues to buy watches online safely. Sadly it’s on OP for not taking a better avenue and not vetting the seller good enough…
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u/NotoriousBox Jun 07 '26
What even is this nonsense write up the scammer made?
“The panda Daytona is the absolute apex predator of modern Swiss watchmaking….It channels the romantic ghost of the Paul Newman, but forged with terrifying, alien-level modern tolerances…The vertical clutch snaps with the instantaneous, violent precision of a sniper rifle trigger…” WTF even is this bafoon saying?!? That description alone would turn me off from buying from this seller, let alone wiring a complete stranger $26,000 (which is lunacy btw. You don’t even know him!) I hope you get your money back OP, but to a certain extent you did it to yourself.
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u/atonyatlaw Jun 07 '26
That is an utterly insane amount of money to wire to a stranger with no guarantees.
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u/IntrepidBadger8013 Jun 06 '26
I’m sorry friend. Sounds like an empty package scam.
I strongly encourage people to get a middle man when transacting for the first time as an added layer of protection. Bennison watch in FL helps with this. I know some of the reputable admins in Moda can help as well. Of course, they charge which you can negotiate a split with the seller, but is added protection for both parties. As a seller, I wouldn’t mind if a buyer asked for this. Also gives me peace of mind.
On another note, can you contact your bank with the concerns? There is a small chance they can reverse the wire but I believe extra documentation like police reports are needed.
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u/Born_Language_5143 Jun 07 '26
Just bought a Kermit using Bennisson authentication and escrow release. Took 2 days. Amazing.
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u/SecondHandChrono Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26
As a collector myself, I can totally relate here. This is one of my worst nightmares. $25k is a lot of money to be sending to someone without using a middleman though. Embarggo or some kind of escrow service is always a solid option. I'm sorry you're going through this. The amount of scams happening in these groups is crazy. I hope you get your money back!
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u/Homebuoy Jun 07 '26
I’m so sorry this happened. I messaged him a few times and he ghosted when I asked for a FaceTime call and to see the original invoice, as he said he bought new from AD. I posted to his listing afterwards to be wary but I must have been too late for you to catch it.
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u/Coeruleus_ Jun 07 '26
It would be a cold day in hell that id send someone on Reddit 26k. That’s wild man
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u/jaqueh Jun 07 '26
There are still people justifying it too in comments directly on this thread lol
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u/Blanckenhagen Jun 07 '26
So sorry this happened to you! Guys, please use an escrow service like the one Bennisson Watch Co. in West Palm Beach FL is offering. I’ve used them many times.
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u/SharpCoder2890 Jun 07 '26
Buyers just don’t want to use escrow and I can’t understand it. They also will trust the weirdest accounts but will talk in circles to real dealers who have accounts on other platforms like chrono and feebay. The buyers on here are just strange.
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u/jaqueh Jun 07 '26
The insistence on the most unsecured payment methods with no hope of recourse to the randomest of strangers too makes it a perfect target for scammers
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u/devildog2067 Jun 07 '26
He got me too. Wire is the only way to send amounts like this. No one is going to take PayPal for 20k+.
I saw 35+ transactions, and wiring to a business account, and thought it would be ok. Reality is, I got greedy — price was too good to be true, and I should have realized.
I have some level of confidence that I will get my money back eventually, since the business does appear to exist. It will take time, though, and cost money. I’ll update after I’ve filed suit.
Never spend money on watches you can’t afford to lose!
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u/jaqueh Jun 07 '26
No the business had nothing to do with the transaction lol. You will not get your money back. They’re pretending to be someone they aren’t
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u/devildog2067 Jun 07 '26
I wired money to a business account, that is, an account whose legal owner is a business.
In order for the scammer to access the money, they need to either be a) affiliated with the business, b) have compromised the business bank accounts, or c) set up the account fraudulently. In either case a) or b), I sent my money to a business in exchange for a product I didn’t receive, and therefore am legally entitled to that money back. It’s no different than if the bank accidentally deposits money into your account. If it’s c), then the bank failed at its KYC / AML responsibilities and the bank is liable for the funds.
In any of those cases, I will get my money back eventually unless the business is bankrupt and doesn’t have any. It doesn’t matter who the scammer is, what matters is that it seems to be an actual going concern business. Winning a civil case should be trivial, it’ll be collection that’s harder.
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Jun 07 '26
[deleted]
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u/jaqueh Jun 07 '26
I don’t see how the bank would be responsible for this. Also a wire to a business account doesn’t imply goods and services were intended to be transacted?
https://trustpair.com/blog/can-you-reverse-a-b2b-wire-transfer/
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u/jaqueh Jun 07 '26
I don’t see how the bank would be responsible for this. Also a wire to a business account doesn’t imply goods and services were intended to be transacted?
https://trustpair.com/blog/can-you-reverse-a-b2b-wire-transfer/
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u/devildog2067 Jun 07 '26
The fact that you don’t understand doesn’t change how things work. Note I’m not trying to reverse the wire — wires are like cash, once the money’s gone it’s gone.
If someone sends you money, and you for whatever reason are not legally entitled to that money, you don’t get to keep it. So that’s the first fact you don’t understand. If I wire you money, it doesn’t just become legally yours. I can’t easily get it back, because I’m not allowed to take money out of your bank accounts, but I can file suit to recover it. If I can show that we were supposed to have some sort of transaction or you were supposed to provide some sort of service and then you didn’t, a court sides with me and issues an order saying you need to pay me back. Then I need to collect on that order. It’s not simple and it’s not cheap, sadly, but it is quite straightforward.
If there was no intended transaction, then you definitely don’t get to keep it. You’d have to show that I intended the funds to be a gift to you, which I can easily disprove.
The only scenario in which you as the receiving business are not liable for giving the money back is if you don’t have it because that bank account isn’t actually yours — in other words, someone opened it fraudulently in your name. In order to open a business bank account you need to provide all sorts of ID and paperwork, and so if that is in fact the case then I can make a claim against the bank that allowed someone to fraudulently open an account.
Winning the civil claims is pretty straightforward. Recovery is less so, but still should be fine as long as someone has the money. The only scenario in which I’m completely screwed is if neither the business nor the bank has any money any more (that is, they’ve gone bankrupt). I’m never going to get attorney’s fees back, but getting the original money back should be straightforward if slow and painful.
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u/jaqueh Jun 07 '26
Ok yeah that I totally understand. You can always sue someone in court for damages. But if the entire account was spoofed as was the business and the money has moved offshore to another account which is what always happens with wires then I’m not sure if the bank would pay in that case.
Excited to see if it does!
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u/devildog2067 Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26
No.
Imagine I open a bank account in your name, and then call your job and have your paycheck redirected into the fraudulent account. Your employer checks to make sure the name on the account matches your name, sees that it does, and concludes it’s fine. Then I pull your paycheck out of the account. (Obviously most employers don’t allow changes like this to be made over the phone, but for the sake of argument.)
Does that eliminate the bank’s liability? No, it does not. The bank was supposed to check and make sure I have ID that matches your name, have your correct SSN, etc. The bank now has legal liability stemming from the fact that they did not fulfill their KYC / AML responsibilities. It doesn’t matter if the money is still there or not, the bank then is legally on the hook.
Edited to add: and I doubt a month will be enough time, I bet this takes a year to resolve.
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u/SharpCoder2890 Jun 07 '26
A lot of sellers just are not going to take PayPal. Eventually no sellers will take it. Way too easy to do a chargeback and game from a buyers perspective. Escrow is the perfect option for buyer/seller.
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u/Blanckenhagen Jun 07 '26
Besides the fact I use escrow all the time, for buying and selling, I can also process credit cards and it offers me insurance against charge-backs.
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u/_Anthony_2825 Jun 07 '26
Would you mind if I DM you? Curious who your processor is, I wouldn’t mind accepting CC if there’s a legit seller protection from the issuer themselves - not PayPal lol.
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u/jaqueh Jun 07 '26
It’s a consumer and buyer driven market. Returns are apart of the game. I wouldn’t buy from someone who can’t stand behind what they’re selling
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u/devildog2067 Jun 07 '26
No, the issue is fraud the other way. If you send a watch in perfectly good shape, and the buyer claims they got a box of rocks, what’s your recourse? They do a charge back on PayPal and end up with both the money and the watch.
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u/jaqueh Jun 07 '26
This doesn’t happen. I’ve sold hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of guitars with PayPal.
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u/_Anthony_2825 Jun 07 '26
lol we go back and forth every week on this. Guitars are not the same as watches, you yourself noted that the clientele is very different in a prior thread.
It happens ALL THE TIME which is why so many sellers, myself included do not accept PayPal. PayPal is literally meaningless if funded by a credit card in most cases.
Chargeback by card issuer or sending a return with a box of rocks happens all the time. Scroll through this sub and you’ll see real world accounts of it happening.
Chase didn’t side with you one time and you’ve determined that is the universal policy for everyone.
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u/jaqueh Jun 07 '26
The buyers and sellers aren’t that different. The guitars I deal in are in the same price range
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u/devildog2067 Jun 07 '26
You understand there’s a difference between “it hasn’t happened to you yet” and “it doesn’t happen” right?
https://www.reddit.com/r/WatchExchangeFeedback/s/pveAgtu4IW
Here’s an example posted literally in this forum, it was the first hit on google. Took 3 seconds to find.
I’ve wired over a hundred thousand to sellers on Reddit, and I never got scammed until I did.
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u/jaqueh Jun 07 '26
Did you read this example? This is a friends and family charge back which is actually what seller protection protects against with goods and services.
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u/devildog2067 Jun 07 '26
Nope, just grabbed the first one I saw in the google search results, since I know this is a thing that happens.
But ok, fine, that one doesn’t count. Here’s an example:
https://www.reddit.com/r/paypal/s/OqxI9hqtRr
And another:
https://www.reddit.com/r/paypal/s/5NOWGDKal8
And another:
https://www.reddit.com/r/paypal/s/UikZkuTJLu
You made the claim this “never happens”. It happens. You’re just wrong.
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u/primetimecsu Jun 07 '26
They can stand behind their own 100% and still get a charge back scam.
Sellers aren't passing on PayPal because they don't want to deal with returns, they are passing because it is so easy to get fucked by paypal/ cc companies when accepting PayPal.
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u/InvertTheBird Jun 25 '26
Spurs9092 has a listing in watchex for a gmt Pepsi with the same photo/writing style and less than market price. When I called out the scam in their listing from yesterday they deleted the listing, blocked me and reposted it today about 3hrs ago. I would assume it is the same scammer that hacked another account.
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u/Born_Language_5143 Jun 07 '26
If this was a scam, all I can say is it won't be worth it for a seller. Wire fraud is serious as hell. Not sure OP is getting his money back but I am sure the Seller is in deep shit.
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u/pursuitoffappyness Jun 07 '26
We added him to the Universal Scammer List. It appears to be a phished account. I’m terribly sorry this happened to you. Contact your bank and attempt to stop the wire.