Post by arizonamother on Mar 19, 2019 9:25:12 GMT -8
Dear Members,
On insect collecting/trading/marketplace sites, many of us are familiar with scams by purported sellers who are fakes.
Lately, however, I am being scammed by purported buyers.
These scams are more like Craig's List-style frauds.
One scam involves payments that purported buyers insist have been sent, yet the money never appears via PayPal, bank transfer or mail. These persons insist that you are scamming them. A long series of escalating texts, email messages ensue wherein you are bullied, threatened that you will be "reported," or threatened with legal action. When you demonstrate any facility with the payment platforms, these persons usually evaporate.
Another scam is a purported buyer who offers to buy all your material, very few questions asked about the material, just asks for quote for full value, then demands a phone number so they can text. They offer to send their "agent" to pick up your material and present a bank counter check. (Check you local Craigslist in their "avoid common scams" pages for what comes next)
So, some observations:
1. these scammers had become members of the sites where they saw my adverts the day of contact (no history, no other trades, no postings, totally unknown agents)
2. Strangely, all these scammers used aliases from actual persons who are convicted felons or criminals or famous/notorious persons.
3. They, too, use unverified email addresses from free sites
If it's a large sale that you really want to complete, Google them or google their email address. On most sites you can see their date of membership or other posts, listings, adverts, etc.
Most scams are not new, just variations on an old theme. Some are quite intricate. Probably all are described by various sources/sites that you can find easily.
Don't be bullied. Don't send material to unknown agents without payment. Don't send additional identifying contact information to strangers (phone numbers, home address, other clients' information, etc). Don't offer to send copies of your transaction lists from payment platform sites. And never, ever accept checks/payment for more than the value of the items you offer.
Michael
On insect collecting/trading/marketplace sites, many of us are familiar with scams by purported sellers who are fakes.
Lately, however, I am being scammed by purported buyers.
These scams are more like Craig's List-style frauds.
One scam involves payments that purported buyers insist have been sent, yet the money never appears via PayPal, bank transfer or mail. These persons insist that you are scamming them. A long series of escalating texts, email messages ensue wherein you are bullied, threatened that you will be "reported," or threatened with legal action. When you demonstrate any facility with the payment platforms, these persons usually evaporate.
Another scam is a purported buyer who offers to buy all your material, very few questions asked about the material, just asks for quote for full value, then demands a phone number so they can text. They offer to send their "agent" to pick up your material and present a bank counter check. (Check you local Craigslist in their "avoid common scams" pages for what comes next)
So, some observations:
1. these scammers had become members of the sites where they saw my adverts the day of contact (no history, no other trades, no postings, totally unknown agents)
2. Strangely, all these scammers used aliases from actual persons who are convicted felons or criminals or famous/notorious persons.
3. They, too, use unverified email addresses from free sites
If it's a large sale that you really want to complete, Google them or google their email address. On most sites you can see their date of membership or other posts, listings, adverts, etc.
Most scams are not new, just variations on an old theme. Some are quite intricate. Probably all are described by various sources/sites that you can find easily.
Don't be bullied. Don't send material to unknown agents without payment. Don't send additional identifying contact information to strangers (phone numbers, home address, other clients' information, etc). Don't offer to send copies of your transaction lists from payment platform sites. And never, ever accept checks/payment for more than the value of the items you offer.
Michael