BEWARE! More than likely a scam

[Rawsreef]

I have been PMing IOAOI in regards to their post on the free test of a return pump, you can find the thread here : https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/free-test-of-ioaoi-nano-dc-return-pump.953698/


They sent me some instructions to follow, basically purchase the pump on amazon and they would refund the money through paypal. All I had to do was send them my paypal email for them to do so.


I then receive this fishy email from "paypal" in what looks like chinese letters, saying who knows what. with a link.


IOAOI is now DMing through here saying I need to click the link to "verify my email"



I just spoke to paypal and they told me it is 100% a fake email.

 

[Rawsreef]

I have been PMing IOAOI in regards to their post on the free test of a return pump, you can find the thread here : https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/free-test-of-ioaoi-nano-dc-return-pump.953698/


They sent me some instructions to follow, basically purchase the pump on amazon and they would refund the money through paypal. All I had to do was send them my paypal email for them to do so.


I then receive this fishy email from "paypal" in what looks like chinese letters, saying who knows what. with a link.


IOAOI is now DMing through here saying I need to click the link to "verify my email"



I just spoke to paypal and they told me it is 100% a fake email.





Please forgive for the double thread, I wanted to put the emergency prefix, after I already made the original post.

 

[Rawsreef]

Heres what the email looked like

 

[billyocean]

Weird. They just told me to send them the Amazon order number in a pm and then they refunded me for the protein skimmer...oh and my PayPal email..it was all on pm though

 

[SoCalSauce]

Their product is junk too.

 

[Rawsreef]

Weird. They just told me to send them the Amazon order number in a pm and then they refunded me for the protein skimmer.

Not sure whats going on but this was not the instructions I recieved.

They told me in the first message :

Hello there,
Thank you for your interest.
Follow the steps below please if you would like a try.
1. Purchase it on Amazon.
Search "return pump" on Amazon.com. The item is on the first page.
Brand IOAOI
Price 29.99
Sold by IOAOI
2. Send us your order number AND your paypal account.
3. We'll transfer you the money once Amazon completes the payment. Tax and Paypal Fee included. No risk of your money.
4. Review it objectively on Amazon when you set up the pump. A couple of pics or a video would be much appreciated.
Reply us please if you agree.
Regards
Tom

 

[billyocean]

Their product is junk too.

The skimmer is working just dandy.

 

[Rawsreef]

The skimmer is working just dandy.

Starting to think your one of them...



No but seriously, I really could care less because I know I will get my money back for this through amazon.

Just worried about anyone actually gullible enough to fall for something like this. I am sure if you click that link you got in the email are screwed.

 

[billyocean]

Not sure whats going on but this was not the instructions I recieved.

They told me in the first message :

Hello there,
Thank you for your interest.
Follow the steps below please if you would like a try.
1. Purchase it on Amazon.
Search "return pump" on Amazon.com. The item is on the first page.
Brand IOAOI
Price 29.99
Sold by IOAOI
2. Send us your order number AND your paypal account.
3. We'll transfer you the money once Amazon completes the payment. Tax and Paypal Fee included. No risk of your money.
4. Review it objectively on Amazon when you set up the pump. A couple of pics or a video would be much appreciated.
Reply us please if you agree.
Regards
Tom

That's what I got for the skimmer in a pm. If someone is asking YOU to pay through PayPal that's something different.

 

[flashsmith]

Alrighty then.... I took advantage of a free backup skimmer. I ordered and within a day I was reimbursed. Whatever..

 

[billyocean]

 

[flashsmith]

Here it is in my sump.

 

[billyocean]

Here it is in my sump.

 

[stephnjeph]

I reviewed their return pump, and two different protein skimmers. In order for them to send you payment, you must have a verified PayPal email attached to your account. Otherwise they could be sending the money essentially to some one attempting to scam them. I had absolutely no issue with them whatsoever. Just simply make the purchase on Amazon, send them your order number, send them your verified PayPal email address, they refund your account. Simple as that. They have been extremely kind in my instances.

 

[Rawsreef]

I literally confirmed with paypal that the email was fake.

They never mentioned your paypal had to be linked to your account......



Either way the email was a fake.. take it how you want it

 

[Tamberav]

You don't have to use the link they sent you. Log into your paypal and verify it from there. That way there isn't any risk.

 

[flashsmith]

They are the ones taking the risk. I could easily clean it and box it up and send it back to Amazon and get refunded along with the PayPal they already sent. Sorry you're having trouble.

 

[billyocean]

I literally confirmed with paypal that the email was fake.

They never mentioned your paypal had to be linked to your account......



Either way the email was a fake.. take it how you want it

Could be someone trying to scam pretending to be them..I dunno. I don't think I even sent an email..it was all pm on r2r

 

[Cthulukelele]

I literally confirmed with paypal that the email was fake.

They never mentioned your paypal had to be linked to your account......



Either way the email was a fake.. take it how you want it

It's not a scam. Idk what to tell you. The money is in my bank account. The skimmer is in my sump in my build thread for a multi year active account. This post should genuinely be taken down for being misinformation. They even shipped a replacement free of charge for a piece damaged in transit.

 

[Rawsreef]

You don't have to use the link they sent you. Log into your paypal and verify it from there. That way there isn't any risk.

logging into my paypal was the first thing i did when I recieved this fake looking email.

Thats when I saw there was no recent activity at all. So I contacted paypal while DMing IOAOI through here.

While he's telling me to click the link, paypal is asking me questions about the email, and letting me know the email is a fake.