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While the Internet offers convenience, it can also enable scam operators to defraud buyers and sellers. Fraudsters can use the Internet to scam individuals looking to buy or sell products and services. Like many sites AfricaHunting.com has no verification or screening process for transactions.
Share your tips in the thread below as well. Here are some of the best ones that I could come up with but I am sure the community has some good ones to add.
Tip: Make payment via an escrow service like Escrow.com or GunTab.com whenever possible. Escrow is a financial arrangement in which two parties enlist a third party (who is neither the buyer nor the seller) to temporarily hold money, paperwork, or other assets for a transaction on their behalf before the transaction has been finalized. Be cautious when the buyer or seller wants to use an online escrow service you have never heard of as many scammers use fake escrow sites that may look like the real thing. Watch out for red flags such as poor spelling and domain spoofing. Never send financial information online unless the website displays a secure “https://” URL.
Tip: Beware of Internet payment services that you are asked to access through a link or in the body of an email. Remember that links can be masked, and logos and trademarks can be faked online. If you intend to use what you believe is a well-known Internet payment service, visit that company’s website yourself, rather than trust the information or link that another party is suggesting.
Tip: When you buy or sell online DO NOT post your personal information publicly. This includes personal information such as your name, address, phone number, email address... No one needs to know anything about you unless they’re buying whatever you’re selling or vice versa. If you want to provide someone your personal information please do so in the Conversations/Private Messages (PM) system here on AH.
Tip: Don't be rushed and a deal that sounds too good to be true probably is. Trust your instincts. Always follow your instincts. If something seems like it's not right, or someone makes you uncomfortable for any reason, just walk away.
Tip: When shopping online there is always a risk that the seller is a scammer with nothing to sell and that the photos of the item for sale were just stolen from someone else on the internet so one tip to avoid getting scammed with that method is to ask for specific photos. Ask the seller to send you a couple of unusual very specific photos of the item for sale, for instance if selling a rifle ask the seller to send you a picture with their forefinger in a certain odd position on the rifle and another with their hand holding the scope. Ask if they can send you a short video clip of the item. You can certainly suspect that something is not right if they won’t do this.
Tip: Do a reverse image search on Google. Not foolproof but this can reveal if the image was previously posted on the web. Search Google with an image instead of text by clicking here
Tip: Ask the seller for their full name, residential address, phone number and email address. Use Google to do a simple or reverse search of their name, address, phone number and email address. Call the phone number to make sure that the number given is indeed the proper number. Talk to the seller in person and also ask to do a video chat where you can see the person and the item. This suggestion is not full proof but often online scammers are selling items they do not own and just have taken pictures from the Internet.
Tip: Be wary of wiring money to a party that you don’t know. Many people mistakenly think that wire transfers, like personal checks, can be canceled at anytime. This is not true. If you wire money via Western Union or MoneyGram, it’s impossible to retrieve the money once it’s picked up at the other end. Because it can be picked up anywhere in the world, the money is virtually untraceable. Once money is wired overseas, United States law enforcement agencies may have little ability to recover lost funds.
Tip: For sellers cashier’s checks are NOT the same as cash. Counterfeit checks can look very authentic. Just because the money appears to be available in your account doesn’t mean that the check has cleared and is legitimate. Federal rules require banks to make deposits "available" to consumers quickly, often the following business day. A check takes a long time to clear. It may take a bank weeks to discover that the deposited check was fraudulent. The bank may still bounce the check if it’s a forgery. Once a victim wires funds onward from such a check, he or she may be liable to the bank for the amount wired. Typically the bank will not cover the loss, and expects the victim to pay the difference. You can check and verify its legitimacy by contacting the issuing bank. Do not use the contact information that appears on the check. Do a little leg work and obtain the contact information independently through legitimate directories.
Share your tips in the thread below as well. Here are some of the best ones that I could come up with but I am sure the community has some good ones to add.
Tip: Make payment via an escrow service like Escrow.com or GunTab.com whenever possible. Escrow is a financial arrangement in which two parties enlist a third party (who is neither the buyer nor the seller) to temporarily hold money, paperwork, or other assets for a transaction on their behalf before the transaction has been finalized. Be cautious when the buyer or seller wants to use an online escrow service you have never heard of as many scammers use fake escrow sites that may look like the real thing. Watch out for red flags such as poor spelling and domain spoofing. Never send financial information online unless the website displays a secure “https://” URL.
Tip: Beware of Internet payment services that you are asked to access through a link or in the body of an email. Remember that links can be masked, and logos and trademarks can be faked online. If you intend to use what you believe is a well-known Internet payment service, visit that company’s website yourself, rather than trust the information or link that another party is suggesting.
Tip: When you buy or sell online DO NOT post your personal information publicly. This includes personal information such as your name, address, phone number, email address... No one needs to know anything about you unless they’re buying whatever you’re selling or vice versa. If you want to provide someone your personal information please do so in the Conversations/Private Messages (PM) system here on AH.
Tip: Don't be rushed and a deal that sounds too good to be true probably is. Trust your instincts. Always follow your instincts. If something seems like it's not right, or someone makes you uncomfortable for any reason, just walk away.
Tip: When shopping online there is always a risk that the seller is a scammer with nothing to sell and that the photos of the item for sale were just stolen from someone else on the internet so one tip to avoid getting scammed with that method is to ask for specific photos. Ask the seller to send you a couple of unusual very specific photos of the item for sale, for instance if selling a rifle ask the seller to send you a picture with their forefinger in a certain odd position on the rifle and another with their hand holding the scope. Ask if they can send you a short video clip of the item. You can certainly suspect that something is not right if they won’t do this.
Tip: Do a reverse image search on Google. Not foolproof but this can reveal if the image was previously posted on the web. Search Google with an image instead of text by clicking here
Tip: Ask the seller for their full name, residential address, phone number and email address. Use Google to do a simple or reverse search of their name, address, phone number and email address. Call the phone number to make sure that the number given is indeed the proper number. Talk to the seller in person and also ask to do a video chat where you can see the person and the item. This suggestion is not full proof but often online scammers are selling items they do not own and just have taken pictures from the Internet.
Tip: Be wary of wiring money to a party that you don’t know. Many people mistakenly think that wire transfers, like personal checks, can be canceled at anytime. This is not true. If you wire money via Western Union or MoneyGram, it’s impossible to retrieve the money once it’s picked up at the other end. Because it can be picked up anywhere in the world, the money is virtually untraceable. Once money is wired overseas, United States law enforcement agencies may have little ability to recover lost funds.
Tip: For sellers cashier’s checks are NOT the same as cash. Counterfeit checks can look very authentic. Just because the money appears to be available in your account doesn’t mean that the check has cleared and is legitimate. Federal rules require banks to make deposits "available" to consumers quickly, often the following business day. A check takes a long time to clear. It may take a bank weeks to discover that the deposited check was fraudulent. The bank may still bounce the check if it’s a forgery. Once a victim wires funds onward from such a check, he or she may be liable to the bank for the amount wired. Typically the bank will not cover the loss, and expects the victim to pay the difference. You can check and verify its legitimacy by contacting the issuing bank. Do not use the contact information that appears on the check. Do a little leg work and obtain the contact information independently through legitimate directories.
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