| Hi!
My name is Mark Martinez (aka Mark Gabor) and I live in Warren, Ohio, a suburb of Youngstown. I also go by the names Mark (and Victor) Garcia, Mark Gabor, Mark Danderas, Antonio Martinez, Mark Cabuz, Mark Banderas, Mark Banders, Mark Salemi and sometimes just "Mark from Warren, Ohio." I steal your cigars and money for a living. That's right, I will offer you the moon, maybe even send you a free cigar or two to gain your trust, but I will rip you off and love every minute of it. If you catch me, I will threaten you and act all crazy to try and scare you off. I will tell you that you cannot call the police because you sent me Cuban cigars or you tried to buy them from me. I will taunt you and go on to rip off more people knowing that I have bluffed you into "chalking it up" and moving on. I have a pretty simple MO - using an AOL account (I've used Todd1TK3@aol.com, TTheMan36@aol.com, FuenteMan123@aol.com, and Pepe100841@aol.com most recently) I stalk the Internet cigar boards like Cigar Family, JRBB and Yahoo! and offer to buy or sell cigars to people. They either send me money (cash or Money Order) or cigars, I bluff them into sending first telling them I've been ripped off too many times or that I've already sent the cigars, check, or Money Order. I can really be quite insistent! I can even fool you with tracking numbers that look legit (but aren't) or by giving a hometown other than Warren, Ohio (but the shipping address gives it away!) Here is the great part...I do this to a whole bunch of people at once and keep ALL the cigars and ALL the money for MYSELF! When people catch on and the the word gets out that I am ripping off people I simply delete the AOL account and disappear for a while. Rest assured, I'll be back! What a great scam I have! The only thing I am afraid of is someone filing a complaint against me with the United States Postal Inspector Service, the local police (more info below), or notifying the Internal Revenue Service that I am stealing a LOT of money and in all likelihood not reporting it. This really worries me because I know that it is an easy process and that these are pretty scary folks once they get a hold of something. Fortunately up until now no-one has actually done this so I am getting bolder and bolder! You can help of course by ignoring the old "unproven traders send first, period" rule. You can also help by fighting the urge to avoid trading with ANYONE from Warren, Ohio. Sometimes I feel bad about ripping so many people off. Then I look at all the cigars and money I've stolen and that bad feeling goes right away! So keep an eye out for me, I'll have made up a new name and e-mail but the old "Warren, Ohio" address will give me away - rest assured that regardless of what I say or how hard I cajole, beg, whine and threaten - you will NEVER get ANYTHING I promise you, be it cigars or money. Sincerely, Mark. BTW, Here are some addresses I've used:
I've also used Youngstown, Ohio & Columbia, Pennsylvania as my hometown, but don't be fooled! If you happen to come across any info on me, anything at all no matter how trivial - I dare you to send it to some people trying to keep tabs on me. Come on, I dare ya! So, how can you protect yourself from me? 1. Look for a history of good references from established sites such as CigarFamily.com or Yahoo! Auctions. Post on JRBB, CigarWeekly or CigarFamily asking if anyone else has ever dealt with the seller and ask for references (from more than once source!) Look for a pattern of good trading/selling going back at least 6 months. If you can not verify a good trading/selling history, demand the seller/trader send first. Unfortunately this is where I really get my engine going, I will bully and cajole you into either sending first or trading at the same time, telling you I really need the money and maybe even giving you a bogus tracking number. If you fall for this, kiss your cigars or your money goodbye and add your name to the list of people from whom I've stolen. 2. Verify, verify, verify. Ask not only for a name and address, also ask for a phone number. Call the number and say "Hi". No honest seller/trader will have a problem with this. Look up the name and number in any of the Internet directory services, does the person really exist and if so, at the address given? Check on handle(s) given by the seller/trader at the appropriate Cigar Boards - were they created just two days ago or is this a long established trader? Lastly, watch out for "anonymous" e-mail accounts like @tripod or @yahoo - also keep a VERY close eye on AOL accounts for obvious reasons. 3. Be ready to walk away at the first hint of deceit. Sure, it may be the deal of a lifetime, but I sure steal from a lot of people that should know better. If that little voice in the back of your head says "maybe this is not such a good idea" - listen to it. Credible traders and sellers will understand and happily move on to the next person. And funny enough, after I badger you a bit to unsuccessfully try to make you ignore that little voice, I'll just move on to the next person too. Are you the only one out there? Heck no, there are a whole bunch of us (but I am the best!) Who Are the Local Police? Boy, I bet if you
called the local Police Investigation team, even just to tell them you
are yet another victim, I'd be in even hotter water! I would really appreciate
it then if you didn't call Captain
Timothy Roberts, the head of investigations at (330) 394-2521, Lt.
Joseph Marhulikor at the same number, or even one of the eight general
Detectives. TTFN! |
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