I Was Swindled Out Of $1000 Dollars

[garryl]

He sounds like my Argentine ex-husband. I couldn't even get him out after the divorce.

Jaja. but I assume this "scammer" guy is an expat.

 

[Girino]

I had the same problem with the same person not wanting to retrieve his things which he had also asked me to keep for him. Then he wouldn't pick them up when I wanted them out! Altho I did not lose any money I almost lost my sanity trying to get him out from my apartment (where he had been pet sitting) and his stuff out when I returned from my trip.
He is a repeat offender, for whatever reason. He did not steal anything, but simply wouldn't respect my requests for him to vacate with his stuff...he would argue with me and try and convince me to let him stay (he stayed on my couch in the living room which is basically half my apartment )while his stuff occupied my limited storage. I thought I was just keeping his stuff for two weeks, ha! Stupid me! He has a way of dragging two weeks into two months..he's masterful at that...He left when I threatened to put his stuff on the street and told him my psychologist said if he didn't get out I'd have a breakdown...and I said I'd call the police.....

Yikes! So, now Joe knows the keywords.

 

[Joe]

Maybe we should give the scammer some credits. He didn't mean to scam you in the first place, so maybe things really got off his control?!

Serafina, would you be interested in acting as an arbitrator?

If so, I can pass you his contact info if you agree to keep it confidential.

 

[Girino]

Serafina, would you be interested in acting as an arbitrator?

If so, I can pass you his contact info if you agree to keep it confidential.

Haven't you learnt anything about my bad temper from my posts?!
I have far less patience than you!

 

[Ceviche]

PS: Never trust an expat! They're worse than Argentines!

I got scammed by at least 2 American expats in my last 5 years here in BA. Both times, the scam caught me unawares after I had known them for a few months or more. It was kind of shocking! Both "seemed" well to do guys, but seemed desperate for money which did not belong to them. Maybe the "well to do" thing, was just a facade.

Since then, have (hopefully) become much wiser especially when dealing with fellow expats.

So couldn't agree more, to the quoted text!

 

[Matt84]

got scammed here by a Brazilian who had been living in Arg for years and had Arg family, so a sort of expat.
The only other major scam was by an Argentne (de la Cole) but ironically I did make more off him than I lost.

 

[Matt84]

Maybe we should give the scammer some credits. He didn't mean to scam you in the first place, so maybe things really got off his control?!

How? He still owes him 1000USD and as far as I can tell he was healthy enough to be able to communicate with him. You might be making the point that he's not a scammer but a guy who thought got a freebie? that is just as immoral. BUT FORGIVABLE THE SOONER HE COMES TO HIS SENSES.

There is a whole industry based on this kind of reasoning - it is called marketing. How much saving is attractive enough? Often people buy products "on sale" and end up spending more (e.g. there is a cheaper option available, buying a larger format would be a better deal, etc.)
So, how come marketing does exist if we are aware of these tricks? Because nobody thinks about the consequences.

If you were to ask Joe today to trust you to go to Uruguay and bring back $1000, what would Joe say?

a) Sure, I'd save $200 ---> might end up losing $1000​

B) No way, lesson learned ---> "not all expats are the same" ---> won't save $200, but won't lose a dime​

There is a 50/50 possibility that Joe gets scammed again. Either he gets scammed or not. By suggesting that "most of the people are not scammer" you no longer feel it's 50/50, maybe a 90/10, so you'd still go for it.

That reasoning taints the good name of Marketing and makes it sound like a perverse art! (.....)
Still, it's truly unfair. The underlying premise is that common sense dictates that one should not lose 20% when changing currencies anywhere in the World, and reasonably-minded people share this understanding. The victim here thought the guy traveling to Uruguay and back could help him save energy and time (because he could have done it some other way and still not lose 20%) just as he would be saving the guy time and energy by storing the bags.
He was not buying a product or service, he was not doing business but interacting with a man he assumed of good will, and I dread the time or place where good will among men is not considered if not the standard at least subject to reasonable doubt. B.A. might be just that place, and we learn from this experience that the expat community is not immune from that.

 

[Girino]

That reasoning taints the good name of Marketing and makes it sound like a perverse art! (.....)
Still, it's truly unfair.
He was not buying a product or service, he was not doing business but interacting with a man he assumed of good will, and I dread the time or place where good will among men is not considered if not the standard at least subject to reasonable doubt. B.A. might be just that place, and we learn from this experience that the expat community is not immune from that.

Marketing IS evil.

About Joe: I think Joe will see his money, after all, but it's gonna be later this year. After much sweat and another 3 pages in this thread.
From lacoqueta's intervention, I get that this guy is not a bad guy, he just takes an unreasonable amount of time to get things done, and put little or no value to promises made to others. I think that, after all, that guy wanted really to do Joe a favor (instead he is giving him a heartache, but that's another story).

I believe other people have a different sensitivity to promises. Really, I mean it. I had a friend who would tell you he'd be there in 10 mins when he was as far as a 3-hours drive by car. And my dad was the kind of person telling you over the phone that "he was getting there" and appeared after 2 hours.

They don't do it with the intention to drive other people mad, it is just their (careless) nature. They solve one problem at time, usually the easiest and closest to reach.

 

[French jurist]

I got scammed by at least 2 American expats in my last 5 years here in BA. Both times, the scam caught me unawares after I had known them for a few months or more. It was kind of shocking! Both "seemed" well to do guys, but seemed desperate for money which did not belong to them. Maybe the "well to do" thing, was just a facade.

Since then, have (hopefully) become much wiser especially when dealing with fellow expats.

So couldn't agree more, to the quoted text!

An Australian girl stole my heart two years ago, does that count?

 

[ghost]

Marketing IS evil.

Here is some free education for you. Try to comprehend the difference between marketing and sales.

Marketing is the process of communicating the value of a product or service to customers, for the purpose of selling that product or service.
Marketing can be looked at as an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, delivering and communicating value to customers, and customer relationship management that also benefits the organization. Marketing is the science of choosing target markets through market analysis and market segmentation, as well as understanding consumer behavior and providing superior customer value. From a societal point of view, marketing is the link between a society's material requirements and its economic patterns of response. Marketing satisfies these needs and wants through exchange processes and building long term relationships.