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@Atlanta Area Dealers *Scam Warning*

I was passed this along and passing it here just in case any of our Georgian dealers or collector members run into this scam.

The main antagonist is Chris Gaines using phone number 404-707-1365. Chris approached a collector with a diverse set of coins that included a 1909s vdb, I guess a heft amount of exonumia, etc. All seemed on the 'up and up' but his behavior seemed a tad off and the collector began to postulate the coins were stolen but now believes that what was in fact going on is that Chris Gaines was using somebody else's picture.

The reason being it seems when the collector started digging he noticed that some of the emails with pictures Chris was sending to him look forwarded. What had this collector originally getting suspicious was a massive delay in pictures. He would talk to him on the phone and Chris would claim to have the coins in front of him but when he asked for a specific photo he would take a day or two to send to him.

What he believes is that Chris was in fact corresponding with an actual collector/dealer and playing as though the coins were his so that when the collector asked for a specific picture Chris would have to ask the real owner for it. The real owner's email MIGHT be: Hugo.teng@yahoo.com.


Chris' wife Talaha was also involved but rarely spoke on the phone.

They both own a business called T & C Beauty Salon in which the wife's cell phone serves as their business line: 404-914-1700.


I asked for pictures used and will post them once I have them. I guess reverse image search showed nothing.


Recap of information to be on look out for:
Chris and Talaha Gaines.
404-914-1700
404-714-1365
chris197918@icloud.com

I have plans....sometimes

Comments

  • cmerlo1cmerlo1 Posts: 8,028 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Did he look like this?



    image
    You Suck! Awarded 6/2008- 1901-O Micro O Morgan, 8/2008- 1878 VAM-123 Morgan, 9/2022 1888-O VAM-1B3 H8 Morgan | Senior Regional Representative- ANACS Coin Grading. Posted opinions on coins are my own, and are not an official ANACS opinion.
  • planonitplanonit Posts: 525 ✭✭
    Originally posted by: cmerlo1
    Did he look like this?

    image


    If so that would make this 100x more interesting.
    I have plans....sometimes
  • roadrunnerroadrunner Posts: 28,371 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The Atlanta area may be a hot bed of scammers and thieves. I was taken via Ebay on a seller out of Union City, Georgia, an Atlanta suburb (Fulton County). The local police were so disinterested they hung up on me after the first contact. The Internet Crimes division agent out of Dallas indicated it was probably a high tech organized crime ring with ties out of the country. The Internet Crimes division agent covering the Atlanta region wouldn't call me back either. The thieves lifted another dealer's Ebay auction and re-posted it as their own using an account with 100% FB. Be leery of Atlanta.
    Barbarous Relic No More, LSCC -GoldSeek--shadow stats--SafeHaven--321gold
  • TomthecoinguyTomthecoinguy Posts: 851 ✭✭✭✭
    Based on the information provided I see no evidence of a scam yet. It is not a scam to sell coins on consignment. Is there more to this story did you give him money with him failing to deliver the coins? Based on what you have said so far, it does not seem fair for you to call him a scammer and post his name and phone number on this board.
  • planonitplanonit Posts: 525 ✭✭
    Originally posted by: Tomthecoinguy
    Based on the information provided I see no evidence of a scam yet. It is not a scam to sell coins on consignment. Is there more to this story did you give him money with him failing to deliver the coins? Based on what you have said so far, it does not seem fair for you to call him a scammer and post his name and phone number on this board.


    I trust my friend.

    No it is not ok to tell somebody you have coins for sale but instead you are on the other end pretending to be a buyer and soliciting pictures that you then turn around and present as pictures you take.

    I have plans....sometimes
  • TopographicOceansTopographicOceans Posts: 6,535 ✭✭✭✭
    Looks like he could just be brokering the deal?
  • jdimmickjdimmick Posts: 9,935 ✭✭✭✭✭
    404 area code phone number got a dealer friend of mine (well he used to be a friend) caught in a scam with 24 1 oz gold maples. They got switched during the deal. Problem was it was my money that fronted it, so I am the one that lost out.

    It was a professional hit.
  • TomthecoinguyTomthecoinguy Posts: 851 ✭✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: planonit
    Originally posted by: Tomthecoinguy
    Based on the information provided I see no evidence of a scam yet. It is not a scam to sell coins on consignment. Is there more to this story did you give him money with him failing to deliver the coins? Based on what you have said so far, it does not seem fair for you to call him a scammer and post his name and phone number on this board.


    I trust my friend.

    No it is not ok to tell somebody you have coins for sale but instead you are on the other end pretending to be a buyer and soliciting pictures that you then turn around and present as pictures you take.



    This happens all the time. If the owner of the coins knows he is selling the coins for him, there is nothing wrong with it. While I agree that if he is brokering the deal (I still don't think you have even proven that) it would be better if he was up front about it. However, I think that is a far cry from saying there is some "scam" going on, and posting his phone number.

    It's just a really bad idea to post that someone is a scammer, post their name and phone number, and provide no evidence that they were actually trying to defraud someone. It's gotta be against the forum rules, in the vary least.

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