AVOIDING SCAMS AND CONMEN You can sidestep would-be scammers/conmen by following these common-sense rules:- DEAL LOCALLY WITH PEOPLE YOU CAN MEET IN PERSON - follow this one simple rule and you will avoid 99% of the scam attempts on eaclassifieds.
- NEVER WIRE FUNDS VIA WESTERN UNION, POSTA, MONEY ORDER, MONEYGRAM or any other wire service - anyone who asks you to do so is a scammer/conman.
- FAKE CASHIER CHECKS & MONEY ORDERS ARE COMMON, and BANKS WILL CASH THEM AND THEN HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE when the fake is discovered weeks later.
- EACLASSIFIEDS IS NOT INVOLVED IN ANY TRANSACTION, and does not handle payments, guarantee transactions, provide escrow services, or offer "buyer protection" or "seller certification"
- NEVER GIVE OUT FINANCIAL INFORMATION (bank account number, personal identification number (PIN) etc.)
- AVOID DEALS INVOLVING SHIPPING OR ESCROW SERVICES and know that ONLY A SCAMMER/CONMAN WILL "GUARANTEE" YOUR TRANSACTION.
Who should I notify about fraud, conmen or scam attempts?- Your local Police Station in the City or Town you are located
- Criminal Investigation Department (CID)
If you suspect that an item posted for sale on eaclassifieds may be part of a scam, please Contact Us. Be sure to include the URL (or post ID number) in your message. Recognizing scamsMost scams involve one or more of the following: - inquiry from someone far away, often in another country
- Western Union, Money Gram, cashier's check, money order, shipping, escrow service, or a "guarantee"
- inability or refusal to meet face-to-face before consummating transaction
Examples of Scams- Someone claims that eaclassifieds will guarantee a transaction, certify a buyer/seller, OR claims that eaclassifieds will handle or provide protection for a payment.
- These claims are fraudulent, as eaclassifieds does not have any role in any transaction.
- Scammer will often send an official looking email that appears to come from eaclassifieds, offering a guarantee, certifying a seller, providing payment services -- all such emails are fakes!
- distant person offers a genuine-looking (but fake) cashier's check
- you receive an email (examples below) offering to buy your item, or rent your apartment, sight unseen.
- cashier's check is offered for your sale item, as a deposit for an apartment, or for just about anything else of value.
- value of cashier's check often far exceeds your item - scammer offers to "trust" you, and asks you to wire the balance via money transfer service
- banks will often cash these fake checks AND THEN HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE WHEN THE CHECK FAILS TO CLEAR, including criminal prosecution in some cases!
- scam often involves a 3rd party (shipping agent, business associate owing buyer money, etc).
- Someone requests wire service payment via Western Union or MoneyGram:
- Scam "bait" items include apartments, laptops, plasma TVs, cell phones, tickets - but could be almost anything
- Often claim that an MTCN or confirmation code is needed before he can withdraw your money - this is FALSE, once you've wired money, it is GONE.
- Common countries currently include: Nigeria, Romania, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Spain, Italy, Netherlands - but could be anywhere
- Apartment listing may be local, but landlord/owner is "travelling" or "relocating" and needs you to wire money to them abroad
- Deal often seems too good to be true, price is too low, rent is below market, etc
- Distant person offers to send you a money order and then have you wire money:
- this is ALWAYS a scam, in our experience - the cashier's check is FAKE
- sometimes accompanies an offer of merchandise, sometimes not
- scammer often asks for your name, address, etc for printing on the fake check
- deal often seems too good to be true
- Distant seller suggests use of an online escrow service.
- most online escrow sites are FRAUDULENT, operated by scammers
- for more info, do a google search on "fake escrow" or "escrow fraud"
- Distant seller asks for a partial payment upfront, after which he will ship goods
- he says he trusts you with the partial payment
- he may say he has already shipped the goods
- deal often sounds too good to be true
- Foreign company offers you a job receiving payments from customers, then wiring funds
- foreign company may claim it is unable to receive payments from its customers directly
- you are typically offered a percentage of payments received
- this kind of "position" may be posted as a job, or offered to you via email
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