How to Prevent Online Fraud

When buying or selling items online (either on a website or an auction site), you must take the necessary precautions to prevent fraud.

There are several types of scams online that could affect you whether you are buying or selling goods, or even if you simply respond to an email or browse web pages. Below we will first discuss common scams, & then explain how you can avoid them and see to it that the scammers get busted! SO MAKE SURE you click on the link at the bottom of this page to find out some tips on how to avoid the following fraudulent activities.

Common Online Scams

Scam # 1 Phishing Scams
 

A phishing scam (pronounced fishing) is a where someone will try to get your personal information (passwords, credit card numbers, etc.) by sending you a spoof email, creating a fake auction listing, or by any other means they can try & trick you.

The way that email phishing works is they will send an email that looks 100% identical to the company's email that they are imitating (like Paypal®, eBay®, a credit card company, etc.). They will say something like "Your Paypal® account is being suspended" or "You have money in your Paypal® Account," etc.

Basically, the email will have a link inside that says Paypal®, but when you click on the link you will be taken to a web page (that also looks identical to Paypal's® website). This website, however, is not Paypal's® website. When you "sign in," the scammer will get your password & then he or she will be able to get into your account & steal your money. They will also sometimes send a question, or anything to try & get you to click on any link in the email so they can get you info.

Again, these look 100% real, even have similar subject, and the link may even contain the word of the company-so watch out.
This same type of scam is also common on auction sites.

Basically, the scammer will create a bizarre or crazy auction that will get your attention. When you go to click on the auction, however, it will pop up a window asking you to sign into your auction account. During this scam, it is a fake web page that looks identical to, say, eBay's® sign in page. Again, they will get your information, steal any personal information that they can, and then proceed to use your auction account to make even more fake listings so they can continue the scam. They can do this "phishing" type of scam by imitating any popular website or company.
 

Scam # 2 Selling Scams

While the majority of online sellers are legitimate, there are some people that think can be sneaky & create a fake auction, website, or classified ad to scam you (in nearly all cases, however, the scammer will be caught). This is a simple case where you buy something & never receive it. Basically, the scammer will place an item at a great deal to lure you in, and then he or she will accept payment & you will never hear from them again.
 

Scam # 3 Nigerian Scams

This type of scam usually happens when you are selling an item. The scammer will contact you (most likely by email) & tell you that they really want to buy a particular item from you. They will then go on to tell you that they are even willing to pay you the full price, or even much more than the full asking price. They will then proceed to send you the full payment (which is fake) later asking you to send the rest of the money back or to hurry & ship the item. They usually either send a fake Western Union payment, fake check, fake money order, or some other fake method of payment. You will probably not even know the payment is fake, and the banks will even cash the payment & give you the funds (but they will be contacting you in about a week or two to let you know that it was fake). The scammer will then scam you by either persuading you to send the item, or send them some of the payment back (which will not be fake). So in essence, they send you a fake payment, and get either real money back, or the item you are selling--leaving you with the bill.

Scam # 4 Buyer Scams

There are several versions of this scam. Basically, a buyer buys something from you & either pays you with fake funds, or claims that they "never received" the item in order to attempt to get the product for free. Also, they may try to persuade you to send the item to a suspicious address or they may request a C.O.D. A COD is a service provided by the United States Postal Service & stands for "collect on delivery." Never do a COD because the buyer could give the postal worker a fake check or money order.

All of these methods are considered fraud, and when caught, the scammer will have to face serious consequences.
These are just a few of the most common scams facing the internet today. Of course there are others & scammers will be use different versions & techniques of the same scams so always watch out.

Now, PLEASE continue for some tips on how to protect yourself against these types of scams!

Protect Yourself from Scams