Wine scam (I didn't realise that there was help out there!)

masonic

Tarfgi said:

Thanks everyone who answered my post. My biggest regret now is that I didn't have all 24 bottles delivered to my house. At least I could  have drunk and enjoyed them. (Btw the wine did exist as was confirmed by the bonded warehouse. Also the second scammer was not connected with Imperial Wines, as one of their employees rang to buy the wine back (probably at a much reduced price) and he was furious that I'd sold them! I didn't tell him that I'd been scammed for a second time!

Someone on the phone claiming to be from the bonded warehouse telling you they had the wine is not sufficient evidence it existed.

If the second wine seller actually paid you a fair price for the wine you already had, then that would have been encouraging evidence it existed, but they just disappeared without paying you anything. Most likely abandoned ship before getting a chance to present a potential buyer to you and ask for some sort of advanced fee to broker the sale.

Personally I think the scammers were stringing you along from start to finish and all those you spoke to were in on it in some form - even if one had tried to get one over on the others.

macman

The wine never existed....

phillw

If someone phones me to sell me something that is a guaranteed way of making money, then I always wonder why they can't fund it themselves and make the whole profit.

Bigwheels1111

Never trust ant communications you did not initiate.
To be truthful I would not trust anybody.
Especially family.

Eco_Miser

phillw said:

If someone phones me to sell me something that is a guaranteed way of making money, then I always wonder why they can't fund it themselves and make the whole profit.

That's a good point, especially with unsolicited phone calls, but there's a whole industry (or two: equities and bonds) devoted to funding other peoples money-making ideas, because the schemes need more than the ideas people have.

Tarfgi

The people who contacted me were in a well-known wine-selling business.They made their money by selling wine, at a marked-up price to idiots like me!

Tarfgi

Well as if the original scams weren't bad enough, I'm being told that IWOL didn't exist, that London Bonded Warehouse, a respected organisation, was in on the scam, that the second person who "bought" my wine was in on it too, even though he tried to buy it back, no doubt at a reduced price, was furious that i had supposedly sold it on, that the Official Receiver was in on the scam too! etc, etc. I didn't expect sympathy here, but I didn't want to be told in no uncertain terms that I was a much bigger idiot than I already thought I was. Thanks a bunch! I'm now ready to go for a long walk on a short pier!

Tarfgi

Edited to write, in the third line "Even though IWOL tried to buy it back"

jimjames

Tarfgi said:

Well as if the original scams weren't bad enough, I'm being told that IWOL didn't exist, that London Bonded Warehouse, a respected organisation, was in on the scam, that the second person who "bought" my wine was in on it too, even though he tried to buy it back, no doubt at a reduced price, was furious that i had supposedly sold it on, that the Official Receiver was in on the scam too! etc, etc. I didn't expect sympathy here, but I didn't want to be told in no uncertain terms that I was a much bigger idiot than I already thought I was. Thanks a bunch! I'm now ready to go for a long walk on a short pier!

I don't think anyone is saying that. Just that none of the information you've posted gives any evidence that any of the genuine organisations were involved and that in most of these scams there is no product. Just because someone on the phone says they are from London Bonded Warehouse doesn't mean they are. If you never visited their premises then it's probably safer to assume it's nothing to do with them. But bear in mind if these scammers weren't convincing in getting you to believe them then they wouldn't be doing their job very well - scammers know exactly how to employ tactics to cover any doubts. 

silvercue

Tarfgi said:

Well as if the original scams weren't bad enough, I'm being told that IWOL didn't exist, that London Bonded Warehouse, a respected organisation, was in on the scam, that the second person who "bought" my wine was in on it too, even though he tried to buy it back, no doubt at a reduced price, was furious that i had supposedly sold it on, that the Official Receiver was in on the scam too! etc, etc. I didn't expect sympathy here, but I didn't want to be told in no uncertain terms that I was a much bigger idiot than I already thought I was. Thanks a bunch! I'm now ready to go for a long walk on a short pier!

Scammers are very sophisticated now.  Not only from cold calls, but emails, texts, false ads on well known platforms (Twitter etc).   It is very easy to be fooled when they are so sophisticated and professional looking.  It is organised crime and often very well funded.

Could have happened to almost anyone.  Hindsight always shows things more clearly.    Losing the money to scammers stings, but don't let it do any more than that.