Scammer "famicom_world" on Ebay. Buy at your own risk!

[kitkit.com]

I received information of this known scammer from a member. famicom_world (Ebay ID) is a notorious scammer on Ebay and on NG forum: softmaphk, princess_valet, japan-bid, ladyjhos5_sell (these IDs are various alias used by this scammer on Ebay)

Real Name: Michael Wong
NG Forum: justmike531
Current Ebay ID: famicom_world

Hong Kong Phone No. (852) 26333218 (business or home phone)
Hong Kong Phone No. (852) 66520131 (mobile phone)


Detailed Information:

Just got scammed big time by a local guy (in Hong Kong) I used to consider to be a friend here, he went MIA after taking some of my gaming stuffs to sell, and then he just vanished with the goods, and I see the prick now trying to sell my stuffs on ebay!

and after doing a quick background search, I came across your post:
http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showth...ight=japan-bid

and realised that the rabbit hole goes much deeper than I thought previously.

Anyhow, I can actually verify who Japan-bid on ebay is, and also noticed some missing link - a defunct member here, "justmike531" is also one of his alias. See this thread:
http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=177478

there he was defending for softmap.hk, and check his personal info - his email address is [B]princess.velvet@yahoo.com[/B] !!!

Comes in a full circle, huh? I came to know him through his ebay Japan-bid - now defunct, he tried another another ebay alias: http://myworld.ebay.com/swoiphoonfra...MEFSX:SELLERID

that one failed miserably also, and now he has moved onto another ebay alias:
http://myworld.ebay.com/famicom_worl...MEFSX:SELLERID

if you read famicom-world's feedback page 3 - at the very beginning, guess who left the earliest feedbacks?

softmap.hk and swoiphoonfrankiefun !!!

Plus I know for a fact that the guy shill bids like crazy. He actually asked me to help him before but I refused.

Anyhow, I think I should warn fellow members here about the guy. He is bound to repeat his scamming ways again.

 

[kitkit.com]

Continue:

His local Hong Kong yahoo alias is justmike531, and email is [B]justmike531@yahoo.com[/B]

This is his yahoo.hk page:
http://hk.user.auctions.yahoo.com/hk...:justmike531

The guy's name is "Michael Wong", supposingly born in HK and went to US when he is around 12-13 years old, and returned to HK to work for the past 2-3 years.
The guy has quite a bit of local game shop contacts and since he brings these guys some business, the shopkeepers tend to keep quiet about him, eg. he frequents Sam at "Oh games" at Kai Wong Center @ Mon kok quite a bit.

And he is about to start another local yahoo alias at:
http://hk.user.auctions.yahoo.com/hk...comworldeb ay

As for his recent ebay accounts, he has wised up to ask other people to sell the stuffs for him - ie. the paypal account goes to another person, and it doesnt involve him directly when the account goes into the craphouse. Very cowardly, but it makes tracing/tracking him much harder. The prick even uses his wife as cover, and asks me to transfer money to his wife's account instead of him, so there wont be any link between transaction between me and him directly.

He once asked me to help him to sell stuffs with my ebay account(100% feedback, I dont sell stuffs on ebay, just a buying account), and I turned him down.

Japan-bid account is supposedly his cousin, Henry Jiang, who run a California-based gaming store at http://www.frankandsonshow.net/

But those are the prick's words, so I dont know how trustworthy it is.... but I do think this US connection has helped him to scam people much more easily.

The current famicom-world account is under the name Joe Lam(at least that is what the invoice on the paypal says), but looking at the softmap.hk feedback from so long ago, he had probably planned this 2-3 years ago already.

I have very little or no hope to ever reclaim my properties/loss(at least around $5000-7000 USD there, which include a PCE LT console, Dreamcast Divers CX1, 3 loose Neo geo AES consoles amongst other stuffs I gave him to sell), but at least I can hopefully delay or even stop his scamming ways locally and internationally.

I am just worried that if we release too much info too soon, the prick would be alarmed and try to disappear.

 

[kitkit.com]

Past Scamming History:

http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=205209

A well-known scammer "japan-bid" (Ebay ID) aka "sofmap.hk", "princess.velvet", "ladyjhos5_sell" from Hong Kong is selling Neo Geo + gaming stuff on Ebay again.

For those of you who don't know the history of this scammer. In gist, he/she/they have scammed lots of $ on Ebay and from NG forum members. Avoid this scammer at all cost!

http://shop.ebay.com/japan-bid/m.htm...&_trksid=p4340

For more information, please refer to this thread:

http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183964

More information about this scammer can be found in Bulletnyourass's scammer/timewaster thread in the Feedback Forum, post #31.

Related threads:

http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=180000 (pictures showing a member received a worthless comic book instead of AOF3 homecart from this scammer)

http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=180001

http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=181007 (member paid €980 (~USD1500) for 6 AES carts, receives a used PS2 pad)

http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=182691

 

[Hewitson]

What an idiot buyer. He bought a Naomi cart thinking it included the mobo and everything. He leaves a neg because he made a mistake buying the item, fucking retard.

 

[city41]

Thanks for the heads up. I'll avoid him from now on.

I won an auction from famicom_world recently. A lot of 10 Neo CD games. They arrived packaged well, and in immaculate condition. If these are boots they are unbelievably good ones (down to the neo logo embossed in the case even). I don't have a Neo CD system yet, but they play just fine in Neo CD SDL (CD system emulator).

The lot of 10 games was only $75. I suppose he is trying to win my confidence over with a small auction like this so I'll bid on his expensive stuff? He now has some seriously expensive stuff up, brand new JPN AES MOTW, Shock Troopers 2 AES, ROTD AES, sealed Drac X (PC Engine), a XRGB, etc.

 

[kitkit.com]

That's what he did with the softmap.hk Ebay ID as he built up many positive feedback, then auction off "entire" Neo Geo homecart collection.

It turned out that a French guy got scammed over $4,000; a member received a worthless comic book instead of Art Of Fighting 3 homecart; another member received a PS2 controller instead of boxed Mahjong controller, another Italian member paid $1,500 for 6 AES homecarts but received a used PS2 pad etc.

This scammer is like a time bomb as you never know when he will take your money and disappear.

This guy also shill bill using various Ebay IDs. See the example I pointed out when he was selling under "ladyjhos5_sell".

The lot of 10 games was only $75. I suppose he is trying to win my confidence over with a small auction like this so I'll bid on his expensive stuff? He now has some seriously expensive stuff up, brand new JPN AES MOTW, Shock Troopers 2 AES, ROTD AES, sealed Drac X (PC Engine), a XRGB, etc.

 

[hoop-jones]

Thanks for the information about the guy, i will surely avoid him at all cost in the future.

I think i was actually very lucky that i really got the new KoF 98 cart from him that he sold on ebay. Wouldn´t have bought it anyway, if i had known all those stories before...

 

[The Chief]

Thanks a lot Kit. I've noticed a bunch of interesting items he's listed recently but haven't bid on anything, and with this information I certainly won't. His shipping prices, location and layout of his auction seemed a little suspect, and with all the information you just provided it would seem my gut feeling was justified.

 

[Xian Xi]

I bought some stuff from him, too. Waiting for it to arrive so I'll let you know if I get a magazine or comic book instead of games.

 

[maddogpwa_1]

BIG THANK YOU

Just wanted to say a big thank you for posting all this stuff. Ive looked for a shock troopers 2nd squad for ages and when i seen it i had the mind set of i must get this game.
Im so glad i came on here and asked about this seller before i started bidding.

I emailed this guy before i posted anything here just saying that i was worried about conversions ect. I basicly said that i would chase my money down if it was a fake and that i had someone who could open the cart for me. His response was dont worry its legit cart that was bought from a very good seller who was a collector for years and that if any of his carts turned out to be fake he would offer money back.
After reading what has been posted here i can say i dont want my money anywhere near this guy. Thanks for the big save.

 

[BRANDI]

Thanks for the warning.. these informations are always very useful

 

[Metal Sonic]

It's a good thing that I decided to read this. I was just outbid on one of his games and was going to make another bid. Thanks for looking out for us.

 

[moonwhistle]

Are you gonna give all your info on this scumbag to Ebay kitkit? It might be worth a shot.

 

[kitkit.com]

Updated information from another thread:

Current Shady practice by famicom_world
(testimony from member WilalvesBR) :

There wasn't any address information about him a few days ago, now there's a "Ship From CA 91732, United States".

Seller
famicom_world
joe_lam68@yahoo.com.hk
joe/henry

Payment sent to famicomworldebay@yahoo.com.hk


I won two of his auctions recently, a few days after payment sent he came with a story that "for some reasons, we lost 2 out of 5 games in this auctions" the games were Twinkle Star Sprites and Choukousenki Kikaioh (two of the most valuable games on the package).


He offered a partiall refund of $20usd including shipping fee, I denied his offer and even after my refuse he still refunded $20.00. I said that i didn't want the games anymore and asked for a full refund wich was provided by him.


Two days have passed and the games were relisted (with Choukousenki Kikaioh included)


It reminds me of a HK scammer: http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=180001

Related:

http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3126915&postcount=5

http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=220636

Are you gonna give all your info on this scumbag to Ebay kitkit? It might be worth a shot.

Yes. I need time to compile all the information and send them to Ebay for investigation. Whether Ebay cares or not is another story. The most important thing is WE as a community don't get scammed by him.

 

[IDCHAPPY]

Thought some of his early stuff looked too good to be true. Just read him ripping off that other guy for $3100

 

[Mokum]

I was following some of his auctions. I'm glad I came across this post!

I owe you one

 

[Xian Xi]

Address:

El Monte, CA 91732

No sender name other than Famicom World.

All the games I got were correct and also very clean as well. But for high ticket stuff I would still be careful.

 

[SNKorSWM]

Whoa. Lots of high ticketed items this time.

http://shop.ebay.com/famicom_world/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=

Maybe this is the reel-in part of the scam.

 

[city41]

His policy is to ship items 3-5 days after payment is sent. Which he did for me for my cds. He's now got quite a few pricey items all ending at about the same time. So his 3-5 day buffer gives him some leeway to get all the winners to pay up without worrying about a negative feedback slipping in. Definitely have a bad feeling about this guy.

 

[IDCHAPPY]

Hmm, there's just something dubious about them items. Dont get me wrong, i hope i am wrong, but they almost all look so perfect and most of them are items you dont just find at your local car boot sale/flea market

 

[kitkit.com]

This scammer might not rip you off now, but he certainly will pull the trigger at any moment given his track record. (softmap.hk built up over 500 positive transactions before he ripped everyone off then abandoned the ID)

He might have these stuff in his possession (e.g. he is auctioning rare gaming stuff from the person who reported him) just like the Neo Geo collection, but whether he will send you the stuff or not is another story.

As discussed many times, he shill bid his own auctions. He would not sell an item if he doesn't like the price (refer to WilalvesBR's testimony)

 

[Wombie]

Hey, it's me. The stupid twat...

OK, I will 'fess up - I AM THAT LOCAL STUPID TWAT that trusted this dick and lost thousands, and also the one who gave kitkit.com most the the updated info about this guy. Yes, I am a newb here, and I was that dumb to befriend/trust a scammer, but some of you had dealt with me before and know that I am legit!

By this point, he would have already figured out why his ebay visitor count has tripled overnight, and he already blocked me off his auctions, so he knows that some people are onto him. I have already filed a report with the local police, and probably will pass on more info to kitkit.com later.

Would ebay do anything? Unlikely. I have already reported him to ebay, but they hadn't done much. From his current auctions, I can tell you that the 250GB PSX(with the crappy box without protective console foam), BRAND NEW gold gundam PS2 and the PC engine sapphire(without spine) are/were mine. Plus I am pretty sure that he auctioned them off a month earlier? Probably shilled bid them himself again as they didnt reach his target sale price? Also notice how most of his valuable item auctions are private auctions? 'Nuff say...

So bid his auction at your own risk. Or better still, bid his auction and then leave him bad feedbacks(or better, ask for refunds)! Maybe give him a taste of his own meds!

I can confirm that he has a sizable Neo geo AES collection, so I can pretty sure that he will try the "get more positive feedback and then screw you later at a major neo geo AES deal later" trick. Heck, that is what he did with me in person - I have known him for 1.5 year, very solid in trade and communication, and then suddenly broke off all contact within 3 months - first claiming to be busy with exams/work, and then puff without a trace.

I would be more than happy to answer any question about him or be available for the forum grilling about my naive-ness. But hey, at least I am more cynical about everything and everyone now! Thank you(and fxxk you), M. Wong(if that is even your real name).

Finally, one thing that truly concerns me - it seems that he had all these things planned years ago. Famicom_world's ebay registration was in November 2005. God knows how many more shill bidding/fake accounts he has got out there! It seems to be that we are dealing with someone who is probably a tad more intelligent than the likes of Japhei(but still scums of the earth regardless). The only reason that he abandoned his previous accounts was that he was getting TOO MUCH negative feedbacks. Maybe this was one way to deter him short term?

I would love to hear you guys' thoughts on this, and feel free to post this all over the web so less idiots like me would become his victims.

 

[Fritz]

How did he get all your stuff, did you give it to him to sell on good faith? Did you pay him a few personal visits yet, I assume you know where he lives.

 

[Wombie]

Yes, in a moment of pure stupidity and good faith, I accepted his offer to help to sell some of my extra gaming items on ebay/local yahoo auction. We agreed that he would take 10% of the final sale price, but I guess now he decided to take the entire 100%.

We hung out a couple of times, and I actually treated his dog once(I am a vet), but no, I have never been to his home or anything, just the general area where he lived - Hong Kong is one tiny city where 7 millions people reside - so locating him in person is not easy.

Also I think he still lurks around these forums, but probably has wised up in keeping quiet.

Well, I just have this to say to the prick, since he is probably reading this now:

"Dont ever slip up, Mike. The tiniest mistake from now on may land you in jail, where you belong anyway. I am over now losing those items to you, and glad that at least you showed your true colour before I lent you some of my REALLY treasured stuffs. You will soon run out of "friends" to scam from and whatever you cheat from people, you will lose them in your stock market "investment" soon anyway. Many on the local Uwants.com can testify about your awful amateurish stock opinions.

Best wishes for the rest of your life. The only thing that I still feel truly sorry is for your dog, Ah B. Such a nice corgi, such a dick of an owner.

Cheers,

From someone who treated you like a mate but you chose to backstab, trample over and spit on while he was down. Kudos to you!

PS. Did I forget to mention that I have several pictures of you in person? It's probably a good time to close your facebook account, ya know? But dont worry, soon they will be all over the internet."

 

[channelmaniac]

Feel free to post 'em. Scammers deserve no privacy.