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With the expansion of information found on the internet, it's likely that many of these unknowing buyers are going to eventually find out that they've been scammed from one of the many major autograph forgery dealers out there. With this being said, it's absolutely not too late no matter how much time has gone by for you to seek redemption.
First, be sure the items you purchased are 100% forgeries. Start by doing a Google search for the seller's name along with the word "Scam" "Fake Autographs" "Forgeries", etc. to see if anyone else has been posting information about them. This isn't proof positive but it will help you gather some information that can help steer you in the right direction. Keep in mind even some of the biggest forgers don't have much bad press online yet about them. Next, submit your items to any of the recognized experts for third party authentication. Most notable are PSA/DNA and JSA. Definitely don't waste your time using forensic experts as none have been proven trustworthy in this hobby to date. Lastly, you can also confirm here by posting images and asking some of the veterans in this hobby their input on both the autograph and the seller. If your findings result in a confirmation that you purchased a fake autograph, please do not hesitate and take immediate action to do the following:
Obviously first and foremost contact your attorney if you have one. You may also find free legal advice online besides what we suggest below which is always a good suggestion.
File an immediate dispute with whatever method of payment you made. If it's a credit card, do a charge-back by calling the credit card company and disputing the charge. They have sent you illegal fraudulent material. If it was paypal, file a dispute. Next, you must complete the following steps to ensure you get any sort of refund:
Contact your local and state police department and file complaints.
Contact THEIR local and state police departments and file complaints.
These first few steps you may find difficult as in most cases the police aren't prepared to handle such calls as most people don't call in on such things but again, it's important you do this because the more people that do, the more serious this becomes and regardless, there needs to be a paper trail of complaints against these criminals for you to ever consider getting your money back.
If either you or they are located in or near a major city, call the local branch of the FTC. You can google "FTC" along with the city name to find the phone #. Again, insist that you are allowed to file a complaint.
File a complaint with the Internet Fraud Complaint Center: http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx
File an online report: http://www.ripoffreport.com
File a complaint with the FTC: https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/
File a mail-fraud complaint with the USPS: https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/forms/MailFraudComplaint.aspx
File a complaint with the National Fraud Information Center: http://www.fraud.org/info/contactnfic.htm
File a complaint with the Better Business Bureau http://www.bbb.org
I can’t emphasize enough how important it is you for you to take the time to do these few steps. It is only through consistent efforts and vigilance that we can get these criminals brought to justice. We also suggest doing blogs and free press releases so that this information gets copied to others. Please copy all of this information documented here add your own story of how you got ripped off, and spread the word.
Free blog sites to do so include:
Note: You're blog will probably get the most exposure
here on Autograph Magazine Live!
—Editor
Submit press releases for free to as many of these as you can:
http://www.avangate.com/articles/press-release-distribution_69.htm
In your blogs and press releases ask anyone else who has been ripped off to contact you so that you can join forces against these criminals.
It's time to put our feet down. Create a private gmail.com email account so that others can contact you regarding this information while keeping your full name anonymous so you can pool your efforts. There's no reason for you to include any of your personal information with these online postings. Simply state the facts and your newly created gmail account. If anyone contacts you regarding they also having been ripped off, call the police department again to add this to your complaint. Also email the person back and make sure they also call the same phone #s and police departments to file complaints as well. Now those same agencies are getting 3+ phone calls on the same issue and as such are 3 times as likely to finally do something about it. Also of course tell this person to copy all the same information you've been posting and create new posts of their own.
Hi Kimila,
Sorry you were sold a forgery. When did you buy it, what did you pay, did you buy it on eBay and did you pay regular PayPal or Friends & Family?
I bought it Wednesday the 31st, I payed $150 and I talked to the seller through ebay but bought it privately from them and we used PayPal for the transaction. How do I know if it was regular or friends and family?
Paypal friends and family charges no fees for the seller but you have no protection and Paypal won't refund your money. If you received an invoice and/or paid using Paypal goods and services you can get a full refund. The app or site should say how you paid -- as it asks you before every transaction. If you can't find out -- call Paypal.
Idkkamila,
What Bruce Juice said is true in most cases, BUT no contract with someone under 18 is valid anywhere in the US, unless it's co-signed by a parent.
Minors can buy a Slurpee at 7-Eleven and demand their money back.
So if you're under 18, you can get all your money back anywhere in the US, whether it's regular PayPal or Friends & Family.
Brian, can you provide a link to the place you bought it from? What is on your receipt/paperwork?
https://sportstreasures.com Pretty big chain store here in California .
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