On Monday, Aug. 6 I found a mini excavator on Craigslist. I e-mailed the seller, Chase Patterson. On Monday, Aug. 13 I was contacted via e-mail by Chase to tell me the excavator was still for sale. He sent a link with pictures and a good description. He said he needed the funds for his daughter’s wedding. He told me that I needed to go through onlinesalesplace.net to purchase the item.
I was skeptical at first but my confidence grew as a I researched OSP and found many good testimonials about the good service and dealings from other people. These were web sites other than OSP’s web pages. I was finally convinced that this was legitimate when I read a positive report from the Better Business Bureau. I also received several positive correspondences with Chase Patterson and Ann Zellman at OSP. Being convinced, I had my bank wire $5,000 to Barclay’s Bank in London.
Then I received confirmation of payment and shipping was to be on Monday, Aug. 20. After not receiving shipment, I e-mailed OSP two times and my second e-mail was returned undeliverable. And, I found their web site was no longer available. I realized I was scammed out of $5,000 when I started reading similar stories on scambook.
I have contacted the FBI and they said to file a complaint at www.ic3. Gov and also was told to call my local police department to file a complaint. I have also contacted Craig’s List and eBay.in addition, I will contact the Better Business Bureau. I wonder how many people were taken by the same scam and I hope others find this information helpful.
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