Beware of Forum member Christian Amenero he is a Thief!

Beware of Marketplace Scammer Christian Amenero, he is a Thief!

In good faith I sold an off brand fuel controller to fellow member, Christian Amenero. He said he had already paid via PayPal Friends and Family, so I shipped the item to him in Lake Elsinore, CA. because he wanted it for the weekend. Long story short he never did make the payment and even tried to scam me out of more money to free up the original cost because (he said) PayPal had made an error.

Fortunately the item wasn't worth much and it had been sitting on a shelf in my garage for a couple of years.

My bad for trusting even members of this forum.

CAVEAT EMPTOR fellow BMW riders.

Did you not confirm payment before shipping, through your PayPal account? Also, for next time, I'd never use Friends and Family for online sales/purchases.

He seems to be well discussed in this recent thread- https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?100159-Suspected-Scam-Attempt-On-The-MarketPlace

OM

...and here is the perps shipping address if anyone is ever in the Lake Elsinore, CA. area.

Christian Amenero
45022 Bronze Star Road
Lake Elsinore, CA. 92532

enzo500 said:

My bad for trusting even members of this forum.

.

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He's not a MOA member, he's a scammer.
The Fleamarket is visible to anyone, not just MOA members.
He's on the scammer list but I noticed a couple days ago that list is not showing on the Fleamarket page.
I would report him to the office to let them know he's still active.

Law enforcement?

I know a little about how different law enforcement agencies prioritize incidents due to crime rate/calls for service, staffing, and other criterion.
Even though that shipping address could be a mail center etc., you might get lucky that a detective already is looking at the perp due to many offenses. Gather what you can from what is on marketplace and Google what the law enforcement agency of jurisdiction is for that address. Call them and see if they will let you talk to a fraud/cybercrime type detective. Maybe he was stupid and used his home address. Maybe your part is on it's way elsewhere.
I once was informed by a sharp shop keeper that a young woman tried to use my credit card number she apparently got off the dark web to buy designer sunglasses or something. The shopkeeper was able to get a college campus address from the perp on the east coast where the shop was located and found me on the web after declining the sale. I called a local detective there and explained that I suffered no loss but the stupid college kid was going to get herself in trouble if she kept it up. He said in a wonderful Boston kind of accent, "Ok I'll go rattle her cage".
You may get zero service or you may get some help thwarting this guy. Did you Google maps the address to see if it is a residence or a storefront?

I understand he is going to have a vender stall at the rally. He'll be selling used parts and gear......

The Fleamarket being visible to anyone, meaning everyone, might be a bad idea. Don't we have enough members to sell, and buy from other members? Failing that we could always go outside.

E.

enzo500 said:

...and here is the perps shipping address if anyone is ever in the Lake Elsinore, CA. area.

Christian Amenero
45022 Bronze Star Road
Lake Elsinore, CA. 92532

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He tried to scam me as well with a different address in the same city. I doubt he lives at any of them. A little research indicated that they redirect the shipments with the new address being unknown to the shipper. The reason for wanting overnight shipping is that it makes it near impossible to recover the package. They then deny receipt of the shipments and start the refund part of the scam.

Thanks much for posting this as Christian contacted me re a Roadcrafter I have for sale in the Fleamarket. I will avoid him.

He tried to scam me for a jacket I'm selling but I knew from his first email (without even looking at the aforementioned thread) that he was a crook. His email referenced my "item" for sale, not the jacket. Recognizing the scam - it was the second time somebody tried to scam me for it through our site - I played along. The next email asked me what my best price with overnight shipping would be but did not give a ZIP code. I asked for a ZIP code and got an address so I made up a number. I forget what he replied next, but my response was that I knew he's a scammer and that I got tired of playing the game. He got indignant in his reply, stating he was not a scammer and that if I didn't want to sell it I should just say so.

I let the first scam go on longer. It started exactly the same way (these guys all use the same playbook and have no imagination) but I let it go farther. This time the scammer asked the price and my address - clearly stated in the ad - and it was a dead giveaway. He told me he was having a problem with his PayPal account and if I would accept a cashier's check. "Sure, no problem." Then another email from him saying that he was out of town and his his secretary made out the check for $3000 instead of $300 and asking me to send the jacket and $2700 when the "check" cleared. No problem. Sure enough, a FedEx package arrived the next day. This had gone on long enough so I refused the package and sent hime a note telling him he was a crook.

MOA really ought to close the Marketplace to members only.

MOA really ought to close the Marketplace to members only

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An easy qualification would be to ask them who they are on THIS forum. Even if they have no interest in the forum, by being a member, they have access.
If they claim some BS excuse, the rest of the transaction may be.
OM

Me Too

He also contacted me about an item I have for sale.....I ignored him.

He tried getting me a couple weeks ago. It the second time someone for the same part.

Omega Man said:

Even if they have no interest in the forum, by being a member, they have access.

OM

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Don't forget non MOA members have access to the Marketplace.

This is from the Home Page.

"Please be aware that non-members can browse the Marketplace and use the Contact button in an ad to email a member. Internet fraud is always of a concern and we remind everyone to use every caution when sending or receiving funds. "

Lee said:

Don't forget non MOA members have access to the Marketplace.

This is from the Home Page.

"Please be aware that non-members can browse the Marketplace and use the Contact button in an ad to email a member. Internet fraud is always of a concern and we remind everyone to use every caution when sending or receiving funds. "

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My response was to this-

MOA really ought to close the Marketplace to members only

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and to all the others that want to only deal with MOA members.

OM

Blow the perp in:

FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center IC3

https://www.ic3.gov/

Harry

Someone needs to do what they did on a Harley group I am on. Some one scammed a regular out of a few hundred dollars. The seller mentioned it on the group, wondering what to do. Someone asked where the buyer lived. Someone else mentioned they lived in the area and would be contacting the seller off the forum. A few days later the seller got back for a update. The guy that lived in the area contacted the seller and got the address and info of the buyer. Then he went and asked 4-5 of the scruffiest biker types he could find to help. They went over to the buyer's home, knocked on the door and confirmed who he was. They told him they were there to collect for the seller, and he had a choice, money or blood. They got the cash and forwarded it to the seller.

PoorUB said:

Someone needs to do what they did on a Harley group I am on. Some one scammed a regular out of a few hundred dollars. The seller mentioned it on the group, wondering what to do. Someone asked where the buyer lived. Someone else mentioned they lived in the area and would be contacting the seller off the forum. A few days later the seller got back for a update. The guy that lived in the area contacted the seller and got the address and info of the buyer. Then he went and asked 4-5 of the scruffiest biker types he could find to help. They went over to the buyer's home, knocked on the door and confirmed who he was. They told him they were there to collect for the seller, and he had a choice, money or blood. They got the cash and forwarded it to the seller.

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There's a good chance the scammer doesn't live in the US. If he lives in the US he probably doesn't live or know who lives at the address he gave.
They usually are not interested in getting a product for free, they're after cash.

Yep overseas

I sold and bought a lot of music gear on Craigslist, (give me your local phone number in my geographic region and I will tell you where to bring the cash and check my gear) and a trusted website of same gear users where everyone had ratings and everyone knew without clear lack of history that they were taking a chance with someone. Better plan for marketplaces.