Tips to Avoid Fraud

1. Never, Never, Never give out your personal information to an individual. Only make purchases online through secure, well-known payment processors such as Paypalｮ or Googleｮ Checkout, etc.
 

2. If you ever receive an email from either a company or an individual, never respond to the links in that email-PERIOD. Simply close the email & then log into the secure website to answer any questions or to see if there are any issues that need to be resolved. Emails are often used to steal people's information by placing links that are incorrect, but identical to the site they are imitating.
 

3. If you ever receive a window asking you to "sign in" to a website (such as eBayｮ), never ever sign in unless the very first part of the URL is http://signin.ebay.com. Even then, I would recommend that you close the window, go to eBay'sｮ (or website's) home page, then sign in to your secured account. Then you can go & look at auctions.
 

4. Never buy an item or bulk of items from a seller that seems suspicious. Remember even honest sellers can get his or her account hacked into & stolen. So even if the seller looks legitimate, always be cautious. Use only your credit card for making purchases online through a secured payment processor such as Paypalｮ. Most credit card companies can offer protection against purchases that are fake or never received. Also, make sure that you will be covered with "buyer protection policy" on the site you make your purchase on. Also, if you are making a large purchase, ask for a physical address with home phone number first so that you can call to verify the transaction or company. That way, if the scammer does not deliver the goods, you can use the home phone & address to track him or her down & recover your funds.
 

5. If anyone offers to pay you too much for an item, or tries to get you to ship via C.O.D. or to an invalid address, it could be a scam. Only ship to verified, Paypalｮ Confirmed addresses. This insures that you will be covered from any potential fraud. Also, always make sure that the payment has been received & is in your account before ever shipping a product. If you accept money orders or checks, never send the item until it clears, even if the buyer is upset about waiting a week or two.
 

6. Only buy within a secure site. If a seller (or buyer) is trying to get you to make a purchase outside of a secure site, never do it. Not only could it be a scam, it is also against most site's policy. For example: you have an eBayｮ auction & a buyer or seller is offering to buy an item outside of the auction.
 

7. If you ever ship a package to someone, always get at least Delivery Confirmation or make sure it is traceable in some way. Some companies will trace the package & request signature, and some only do this for an extra fee. But as a seller, always get at least Delivery Confirmation to prove that you shipped the item.
8. Use common sense. Even though most scammers are very clever, if it sounds too good to be true--It probably is!
 

How to Stop Scams

1. Forward any suspicious or fake emails to the appropriate authorities. For example, if you get a fake email that looks like it came from Paypalｮ, forward the email to Spoof@paypal.com. They will then work to disable the website that the scammer is using. If the email was from eBayｮ or another online site, then log in & contact customer service or the fraud department to let them know as soon as possible. The same goes for any fake auctions that try to get your information. Report them immediately to the appropriate authorities.
 

2. Keep records of any email addresses, account names or websites that the scammer tried to use. This information can be extremely helpful in catching the scammer & bringing them to justice.
 

3. Alert the proper law enforcement or online fraud authorities about any scams that you run across. They can work to not only catch the scam artist, but also to educate the general public about any new scams.
 

Although buying online is relatively safe, always take the proper steps to reduce your chances of getting scammed. Also, remember that not everyone is out to scam you. I have dealt with many transactions (both buying & selling) that have turned out perfectly! Just always keep up your guard, be honest, and you should be able to avoid these common scams.
 

I personally have received several scam emails pretending to be Paypalｮ or from people on eBayｮ trying to convince me that they are a "wholesale company" or that they could pay me X amount of dollars for an item. I just laugh & forward these to the proper authorities. Also, I am lucky enough to have family in law enforcement, so I make sure to forward all scams I come across over to them.