Scam Type
Online Purchase Scam
Date Reported
Sep 11, 2022
Victim Postal Code
92391
Total Dollars Lost
835
Scam Description
I heard about a PS2 handheld from some youtube videos (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o93mMR5emDE)(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkrCVTXQRZ8). Both of those videos point to an online retailer known as phoenix retro mods. I went through the Etsy store page linked in one of the videos(https://www.etsy.com/shop/PhoenixRetroMods). It’s a store run supposedly by someone named Matt Willis. He responded to my questions in a reasonable time on Etsy. Considering the people vouching for him, I didn’t think it was a scam. I saw videos of a finished product, and people claiming this is where to buy it. His etsy page claimed it wouldn’t be much more than 4-5 months probably. It’s been more than 9 months since I made my purchase, and he won’t respond to emails or any attempt to contact him through his Etsy store. I’ve been totally ghosted. I have no indication that I will ever get what I ordered. It seems like he just takes people’s money tells them it will take longer than the period allowed to dispute the charges, and then he pockets the money. According to what he told me, I was around like the 40th or 50th person to make an order, so he probably has scammed people for more than $30,000.