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Originally Posted by greenwebdesign
I run a network of free classifieds and have run into the same problem time and again. I have tried to combat it by forcing users to register an account before contacting a seller.
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Yeah, there's a fine line between security and making it a pain for people to use the system. We've had enough problems with people registering accounts and spamming, so I'm not sure that would help. We do ban the IP address of anyone that submits scam reponses, which has at least cut back on the repeat offenders. Each banned IP has a counter next to it, which increments every time the person tries to submit another scam response.
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However, many people put their email address directly into the ads not realizing that it's in their best interests to use the privacy mail until it's too late.
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Yeah, I think this is really the biggest problem. They either don't realize that the responses get sent directly to their email or just don't bother to read the warnings. Part of the purpose of this thread is to impress on people how this can affect them.
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Beware of anyone offering to pay more than you are asking for the item. This variation involves sending you an international money order for a large amount of money. Then, a "shipper" or "friend" or other partner comes to collect the item and the excess cash. A month later, when the MO bounces, the scammer has already gotten away with the item and the cash. Tricky!
Other variations include using stolen credit cards to purchase items from US companies, and have them drop shipped to foreign locations. By the time the person sees the fraudulent charges and reverses them, the items are unrecoverable.
The sad truth is, there are as many different variations on these scams as there are people perpetrating them. Always trust your gut instincts. If you think that the person responding to your ad seems strange, they probably are!
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This is very good advice. I believe there was a scam where people were using stolen checks in this manner too. I used to work in retail and our store experienced it.
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Also beware of anyone who repeatedly calls you "Dear" for no apparent reason, or who talks about God excessively (I've found that many of these scammers will "Praise God" dozens of times in their messages, hoping to throw you off track and gain your trust) and beware of anyone who wants to buy your item without regard to price, color, size, etc.
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Bizarre grammer is usually one of the biggest giveaways. I've seen the phrase "Compliments of the season" come up several times.
Thanks for posting your experiences, it's nice to know we're not the only ones dealing with this
