Warning: Tyler Moen Scamming PIF & Mea Culpa w/Pledge to Tighten Needs PIF Henceforth

It has come to my attention through various fora members that Tylor Moen of Rochester, MN has been scamming numerous PIFs on various fora and social media affinity groups, soliciting items claiming need then selling or trading the goods.

I debated mightily how to respond to this and allowed a few warnings to accumulate prior to reaching out for a response.  Thus far, there has been no response from Tyler and am inclined to believe the allegations.  In fact, am in possession of a screen capture of an online conversation wherein he admits to the scheme.  

Shall not suggest to others how to conduct selves in regards to charity.  Hitherto, have been wont to require any proof other than a brief introduction to ensure those in need would not be shamed out of seeking a helping hand.  Frankly, am yet of the opinion that 'poor shaming' is never a good strategy when seeking to help people in need and that there remains a standard the overwhelming preponderance of people would hold selves to account.  After all, in the end, what a scammer of these PIFs does is take the available pool of goods away from people in genuine need - clearly I was deeply mistaken.

Henceforth, we will require recipients to provide a scan or clear picture of a government issued photo ID; should that prove insufficient to protect against future scams, we will up the recipient requirements to participate in the fruits of our donors' generosity.  

I take this scam quite personally and apologize to all our donors for having failed them, promising to do a better job but moreso, I apologize to all the potential recipients:

THIS PIF IS DESIGNED TO ASSIST YOU AS INOBTRUSIVELY AS POSSIBLE - PLEASE DO NOT FEAR THE NEW REQUIREMENTS AS YOUR INFORMATION WILL REMAIN PRIVATE PROVIDING YOU ARE INTENDING TO HONESTLY PARTAKE OF THE PROGRAMME.

I think we all knew of the potential for this type of insanity.
No question that you have been doing whatever you could do, Dan.
If this is true, This is not on you.
Personally, I have zip, zero, nada tolerance for stealing.

I think we all knew of the potential for this type of insanity.
No question that you have been doing whatever you could do, Dan.
If this is true, This is not on you.
Personally, I have zip, zero, nada tolerance for stealing.

Well said Patriot.  This is like Robin Hood anti-matter - in effect, ripping off the poor!  OTOH, when you're in the business of helping people, occasional liars are a cost of doing business.  At times like this, it may help to remember that rain falls on the just and the unjust, and the sun shines on the evil and the good.  

Thanks for all you do Dan, including - on top of everything else - taking the time to deal with this unfortunate but unavoidable nonsense.

Le me get this right. If you do a pass around you want the forum member to send you personal id as proof of their identity?

Slantman,

This is in regards to a needs based PIF we are conducting.  

Fully Restocked: Free Premium Software & Hardware for the Financially Challenged (damnfineshave.com)

PIF recipients will henceforth be required to email or text a picture or scan of a gov't issued photo ID with name and address prior to receiving shaving related items - again, the Tyler Moen experience indicates this may have prevented scamming. 

The passarounds are a totally different matter.  

Apologies for the confusion, my verbal skills are less than stellar given a lack of education.  Hopefully this clarifies matters.

So how exactly will getting a copy of someone's ID keep this from happening in the future?

So how exactly will getting a copy of someone's ID keep this from happening in the future?

Musichead,
We would like to believe that this effort has made a few honest people a little happier.
There have been more than a few contributors to the effort, both individuals and artisans.
It’s hard to determine who’s looking for free shaving gear, taking advantage and who is really having a tough time during the pandemic lockdown.
Seems like trust is a reasonable place to begin…
Can you offer any other suggestions?
Pete

Concur with Pete's statement. 

Suspect that this individual hid behind an alias to scam people. Thus, asking somebody to confirm they are actually the person they claim to be is a logical first step to mitigate against such fraud in the future and is far less intrusive than requesting proof they are actually experiencing dire financial straits.  It is not as though we publish the names and addresses of the recipients. Even in the case of 'Tyler Moen', all we did was provide a city and state as a warning to others that might be solicited for aid by him.

Hopefully, more intrusive validation will never be required.

So how exactly will getting a copy of someone's ID keep this from happening in the future?

Musichead,
We would like to believe that this effort has made a few honest people a little happier.
There have been more than a few contributors to the effort, both individuals and artisans.
It’s hard to determine who’s looking for free shaving gear, taking advantage and who is really having a tough time during the pandemic lockdown.
Seems like trust is a reasonable place to begin…
Can you offer any other suggestions?
Pete

Concur with Pete's statement. 

Suspect that this individual hid behind an alias to scam people. Thus, asking somebody to confirm they are actually the person they claim to be is a logical first step to mitigate against such fraud in the future and is far less intrusive than requesting proof they are actually experiencing dire financial straits.  It is not as though we publish the names and addresses of the recipients. Even in the case of 'Tyler Moen', all we did was provide a city and state as a warning to others that might be solicited for aid by him.

Hopefully, more intrusive validation will never be required.

I understand that there are other than honest people out there and you are merely trying to weed them out by asking for an ID, but again I ask how this will help from it happening again? Are you asking for an ID to possibly take recourse against an individual? I'm sure that if someone wanted to benefit off any PIF or such, this hurdle wouldn't matter at all! You really can't control what someone does with something after its been sent and will be forced to just chalk it up as lesson learned for the future!!

The only suggestion I can come up with for this would be maybe as a preventive measure set it up where the person that is to receive the PIF sends you $1 via PP and only ship to the PP address. This way you know you are sending to a real person and a real place. I know the PIF is set up for people in dire situations but I'm sure sending $1 via PP would work better to identify someone because as we all know if they are going try and cheat the system there's probably a fake ID card involved as well!!

Well, that is an idea had not considered. Concerned about asking for the $1 PayPal given the concept of a 'needs PIF' but an idea it is.... Hard to imagine a person without an official gov't ID and it free under the most dire circumstances. Counterfeiting the ID highly unlikely though