Suspected Scam on CN

 https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/743653-complete-idiot-needs-help-pretty-please/

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Posted Yesterday, 08:02 PM

hey guys thanks for reading and helping new rookie out. i just purchased a brand new in case  Astro-Tech TMB-92 Signature Series 92mm f/5.5 Apochromatic Refractor scope for $1199.00 the other day. My basic use is for terrestrial - Celestial viewing only, absolutely no astrophotography .   

 

basically i need informed guys to tell me what other basics ill need for this 6lb boat anchor, other than the tripod which i have figured out already, and is this my best option for which my intended uses are for, again thanks for any and all informed input because purchasing mistakes is digging into my beer money             

Edited by junomike, Yesterday, 08:52 PM.

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I've seen posts a few times where some "regular" person says they're excited about an incredibly great deal they got in regards to a telescope.  Sometimes an avid amateur will stumble across a rare find at an estate sale or garage sale.  But most of the time it turns out to be a scam where the poster (OP) didn't realize they just gave their money to a scam site.  Usually a call to a credit card company fixes the issue.  And of course, the person will need to monitor their credit card account closely as the fraudsters will probably sell/distribute the cc number.

But sometimes you get the above post which eventually leads to a post about how the "lucky" purchaser bought their scope.  It ends up being some sort of scam where the whole reason for the post is to get people to "discover" the scam site.  It's really targetting newbs who only see how much money they can save.  Newbs often don't do their due diligance because they don't know who to trust.

There are a few red flags here.  First, the OP's first post ever is about a great deal.  Mostly, I think folks would ask first to get a sense of the trustworthiness of a potential seller.  Second, the OP seems to know what the actual value of a TMB92 scope is.  But he also claims to be a rookie.  Third, for some reason this poster referred to the scope as a "boat anchor" which might just reveal his/her sense of humor.  But it might also be a Freudian slip revealing that the OP actually knows the value of the scope to be equivalent to a useless boat anchor.  Fourth, the linguistic ticks of the poster are interesting.  In the first sentence, the OP drops an article...  "a" new rookie...   You can draw your own conclusions here.  Fifth, and perhaps most revealing is that there is an added space before the description of the telescope.  If you copy paste what he/she's listed, the first Google hit is a well-known scam site.  No legitimate seller of that scope lists the scope as a "signature series" scope.

Caveat...