This is the problem with AI-- it's only as good as its "training" and the inputs it has. AI-- it's just a mathematical algorithm, very artificial and not very intelligent
Fell For a Sophisticated Scam (Fake Chanel Bag) - Help!
- Thread starter Mimiloves10
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Hi guys sorry for the late reply. I saw some people asked to get an update on how it was resolved so here it is.
(By the way I’m obviously aware Gumtree is not completely reliable. There ARE authentic bags being sold on Gumtree and I took the a calculated risk and paid with PayPal G&S particularly because I knew I would be protected in the event of something bad happening. Which is what happened. Anyway on to the story.)
1) The bag is definitely fake. Both Entrupy and A4U was correct in this case. A4U’s assessment of authenticity was mostly focused on the hologram. After they drew my attention to this, I had a closer look at the certificate of authenticity provided with the sale by Luxury Authentication Australia and I could actually see the two holograms were different! Despite having the same number. If you look at the distribution of gold sprinkles and font it’s clearly two different holograms. So I falsely implied LAA of authenticating incorrectly. They were clearly authenticating a different (and likely authentic) bag, albeit with the same serial number. I’ve uploaded a picture of the two holograms so you can take a look for yourself. I won’t upload the other pictures of the bag itself but trust me, I compared with my authentic and there’s really no obvious giveaways you can tell just by looking at photos of the bag.
2) What I’m pretty sure happened is the seller or someone she knew had an authentic flap of the exact colour and make, along with a legitimate receipt from an Australian boutique (and I’m still confident the receipt was legit, all the font and details are correct down to the minuscule compared to my authentic - I uploaded a picture for you guys to check out too), then just had one or more likely a batch of super fake Chanel flaps made with the exact same serial code. Then all she had to do was include a photocopies of the authentic receipt to go with it. By the way the receipt she sent me was clearly a photocopy of a complete receipt, not just a printout of the photo I uploaded. Then hey presto - proof of purchase! Hence do not trust receipts - even when they look legit!
3) I opened a SNAD with PayPal and uploaded both the Entrupy and A4U certificate. I was expecting a fight from the seller because she had so much “proof” of authenticity, but (perhaps not surprisingly) didn’t hear a peep from her. PayPal found in my favour and asked me to send the bag to her. She didn’t accept delivery and it was sitting at the post office for a few days. I think perhaps she thought if she didn’t accept delivery it would be ok but I called PayPal and showed them proof (a photo with her address and the tracking number) and they refunded me on the spot. I checked 1 hour later and the bag had been picked up from the post office, what a coincidence hmm...
4) Honestly I felt crap I had to send the bag to her. Since it would be easy for her to pull the scam again. And I’m not even sure where the money I got refunded for came from, since I assume there was no money in her account. I assume PayPal’s insurance paid me and she probably just ended up having her account going into negative which probably just means she can’t use it again... who knows. I reported her account to Gumtree but not sure if anything will happen and I did look at it a few more times afterwards and doesn’t look like she sold the bag again on that platform at least.
Anyway that’s all. Hope that was helpful! Appreciate all the help, particularly from @BeenBurned. I recently sold an expensive Chanel flap on eBay and used all the knowledge I got from here to protect myself. Luckily it all went smoothly since the buyer was a great person. It’s a shame about the bad apples out there!
(By the way I’m obviously aware Gumtree is not completely reliable. There ARE authentic bags being sold on Gumtree and I took the a calculated risk and paid with PayPal G&S particularly because I knew I would be protected in the event of something bad happening. Which is what happened. Anyway on to the story.)
1) The bag is definitely fake. Both Entrupy and A4U was correct in this case. A4U’s assessment of authenticity was mostly focused on the hologram. After they drew my attention to this, I had a closer look at the certificate of authenticity provided with the sale by Luxury Authentication Australia and I could actually see the two holograms were different! Despite having the same number. If you look at the distribution of gold sprinkles and font it’s clearly two different holograms. So I falsely implied LAA of authenticating incorrectly. They were clearly authenticating a different (and likely authentic) bag, albeit with the same serial number. I’ve uploaded a picture of the two holograms so you can take a look for yourself. I won’t upload the other pictures of the bag itself but trust me, I compared with my authentic and there’s really no obvious giveaways you can tell just by looking at photos of the bag.
2) What I’m pretty sure happened is the seller or someone she knew had an authentic flap of the exact colour and make, along with a legitimate receipt from an Australian boutique (and I’m still confident the receipt was legit, all the font and details are correct down to the minuscule compared to my authentic - I uploaded a picture for you guys to check out too), then just had one or more likely a batch of super fake Chanel flaps made with the exact same serial code. Then all she had to do was include a photocopies of the authentic receipt to go with it. By the way the receipt she sent me was clearly a photocopy of a complete receipt, not just a printout of the photo I uploaded. Then hey presto - proof of purchase! Hence do not trust receipts - even when they look legit!
3) I opened a SNAD with PayPal and uploaded both the Entrupy and A4U certificate. I was expecting a fight from the seller because she had so much “proof” of authenticity, but (perhaps not surprisingly) didn’t hear a peep from her. PayPal found in my favour and asked me to send the bag to her. She didn’t accept delivery and it was sitting at the post office for a few days. I think perhaps she thought if she didn’t accept delivery it would be ok but I called PayPal and showed them proof (a photo with her address and the tracking number) and they refunded me on the spot. I checked 1 hour later and the bag had been picked up from the post office, what a coincidence hmm...
4) Honestly I felt crap I had to send the bag to her. Since it would be easy for her to pull the scam again. And I’m not even sure where the money I got refunded for came from, since I assume there was no money in her account. I assume PayPal’s insurance paid me and she probably just ended up having her account going into negative which probably just means she can’t use it again... who knows. I reported her account to Gumtree but not sure if anything will happen and I did look at it a few more times afterwards and doesn’t look like she sold the bag again on that platform at least.
Anyway that’s all. Hope that was helpful! Appreciate all the help, particularly from @BeenBurned. I recently sold an expensive Chanel flap on eBay and used all the knowledge I got from here to protect myself. Luckily it all went smoothly since the buyer was a great person. It’s a shame about the bad apples out there!
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Thank you for the update.
Unfortunately (for the seller), not only is her account negative and she can't use it again, but if she doesn't reimburse PP, they will send her to collections and and credit will suffer.
I'm so glad this worked out for you.
Unfortunately (for the seller), not only is her account negative and she can't use it again, but if she doesn't reimburse PP, they will send her to collections and and credit will suffer.
I'm so glad this worked out for you.