Beware: Indonesian online bike sales scam

[Simon Jones]

Hi All

I was recently caught out by a 'company' in Indonesia who looked to be a real online retailer offering really good prices. As soon as I paid for the bike though they became very difficult to contact. No one answers the phone number supplied either. Needless to say after several weeks I have not received my bike.

The site in question is www.focus-cycles.com contact Surya Saputra.
There are several other sites which are either identical or similar all of which have the same 'whois' data including

www.idmasterbikes.com
www.fave-bike.com
www.idbikestore.com

So just thought I would warn anyone else who is considering buying a bike from an online Indonesian retailer.

Cheers
Simon

 

[Chris S]

Did you pay by credit card? The loss would be down to them. If you used PayPal you could easily get your money back.

 

[DiddlyDodds]

Am I the only one that does not want to click on those links ,,,, Trojan horse ,, or am I just to cynical in my old(er) age

Some one click on one and let me know if they were dragged into another realm..

 

[Herr-B]

Don't have to click one, I use Web of Trust (WOT) and if I Google one of the sites (idbikestore) it shows me a red ring next to it - hovering over that brings up a quick review. (Ignore the green tick - that's McAfee's Site Advisor failing in its duty, but I use both because sometimes WOT isn't correct either, both green are usually ok)

As you can see the second on the list is a good site and is someone complaining of the same, maybe a bit of research by the OP would've saved this hassle and money.

 

[Simon Jones]

Sadly although they mention credit card and paypal on their website. When it comes to actual payment they want a wire transfer.

 

[phil_hg_uk]

Sadly although they mention credit card and paypal on their website. When it comes to actual payment they want a wire transfer.

Never ever pay this way always use a credit card for large online purchases, any site that asks for this kind of payment is nearly always a scam.

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

So sorry you've been scammed simon but as phil said anyone asking for a wired transfer on a website is probably a bit dodgy.

 

[Cycleops]

When will people ever learn. If sounds too good to be true it probably is. Just like the American down here I came across recently buying gold for 75% of the market price. Unlike the op he would probably have ended up robbed and beaten up, or worse.

 

[akb]

Did you actually use the wire transfer offer? How much did you lose out on?

 

[sabian92]

If you can't pay by credit card or paypal... don't.

Once you wire money it's untraceable.

 

[markharry66]

have you done a who is on the domain to find out who owns the domain may give you their home address you could then contact the local police