Hello All

Selling Site Scams

Social media makes it easy for scammers to pose as someone else and fraudulently list items and steal from unsuspecting buyers, or even demand more money for postage and packaging. 

 

Selling sites such as eBay, Facebook Market Place, Gumtree and Vinted are great sites for buyers and sellers especially when money is a little tight. However, there are plenty of scammers posing as genuine buyers or sellers.

Here are some red flags for selling site scams…

·         Sellers offering suspiciously low prices for high value items.

·         A buyer making an accidental overpayment for a product.

·         Requesting initial deposit for an item to be held.

·         Asked to send the item before payment is received.

·         Request to send courier for collection of goods.

·         Requesting payment outside of the preferred payment platform.

Stay Safe…

·         Do not send items before securing the payment – sites like Vinted will hold the money and will transfer once the items have been confirmed received from the buyer. Do not trust screen shots or receipts showing successful payments – check your own bank account or preferred platform used to confirm that all is well.

·         Beware of buyers claiming to have accidently overpaid for an item. Many scammers use stolen cards, fake PayPal accounts or counterfeit funds to send payment and claim a mistake is made and request a refund. Eventually the payment will be recalled, and you will have lost the item you’re selling and your own funds.

·         Scammers may tell you that an item is getting a lot of attention and they require a deposit to “secure” the item. Chances are they might be telling the same thing to may other people, collecting deposits from them too and stringing everyone along.

·         Take a moment to check the user’s profile – check the date the account was set up and read previous reviews – be wary if the seller is new and hasn’t sold anything yet. It may indicate something that is too good to be true.

If it’s too good to be true, it probably is…

Beware of anything that is for sale for a fraction of the retail price. Scammers may try and make you feel you need to act immediately, or you will miss out on a good deal. High pressure tactics can make you act irrationality and hand over money or information you shouldn’t.

Before rushing in to grab a bargain – STOP.THINK.TELL.

By stopping to verify the buyer or seller you could be saving yourself money, time, and stress by avoiding potential scammers.

Thanks, PCSO Kirsty Hunt