QUOTE(julius @ Oct 23 2005, 04:59 PM)

:augen41: picture is worth a thousand words! :augen41: good lord...
United States Postal Service money order is the ONLY way to NOT get ripped off. USPS Postal Inspectors treat any scam the same ... the value does not matter. Most scammers are aware of the serious consequences for messing with "Uncle Sam"! If you have ANY doubts about the validity of the person you're buying from insist on paying them by USPS money order. If they make excuses as to why they can't be paid that way ... walk ... no run away! It may be a lengthy process , but, in the end you will get satisfaction. How do I know this? My cousin bought a $200.00 dollar auto part off Ebay and paid the seller by USPS money order. The part never arrived. Ebay has NO teeth. He filed a complaint in Ohio (where he resides) with the USPS. Eventually, he was required to attend court in Mich. where the scammer lived and had fleeced over 100 people on Ebay (using various names). NO ONE in the justice system had taken ANY action, only compiled complaints ... until this one. All of a sudden, not only did the scammer face prosecution for the USPS fraud, but miraculuosly, they tapped on the others that were filed! Part of his lengthy sentence was restitution in his plea bargain! Guess who got paid immediately? Yes, my cousin. He was even given travel money to attend court. My cousin is rather stubborn and did it more for the principle that anything else. If it only stopped one of these scammers from from doing this to someone else, then he figured it was worth it.
Keep in mind ... nothing beats good ole common sense. If it seems to good to be true ... it probably is!