Please be aware that on occasion scams have been reported. Therefore, be
extra careful when dealing with any financial transactions.
To help you avoid being tricked by a scam or fraud, here are some tips:
1. Never send out an item until you are certain that the buyer's
check has cleared your bank. If the check is from another country this could
take more than a month.
2. Depositing or cashing a check does not mean that the check has
cleared your bank or that it will not still bounce. If it does bounce your
bank will hold you responsible. Oftentimes the checks are fake cashiers
checks, but the bank won't know this or inform you until after it has
bounced, and you will still be held responsible.
3. Never accept a check for a larger amount than the asking price.
One of the most common scams occurs when the buyer says they will send a
check for an amount well over the item's price, under the condition
that you will send the remaining balance to the buyer's associate, shipper,
or some other 3rd party via Western Union or another carrier. Once you have
wired the money there is no way to retrieve it, and when the buyer's
check bounces your bank will hold you responsible for the loss.
4. Never send payment via Western Union, Money Gram, or any other
carrier. Often the deal will seem too good to be true, and once the money
has been wired it is impossible to retrieve. Sometimes the seller will claim
they need an MTCN or confirmation code to withdraw the money'this is
false, once the money is wired, it is gone. The item you thought you paid
for will never arrive.
5. Never give out any personal account information (PayPal
account, eBay account, social security number, checking account, etc.)
6. Be especially careful when dealing with distant buyers or
sellers. Countries where scams have been originating more often recently are
Ukraine, Netherlands, Spain, Romania, UK, Italy, Spain, and Nigeria, but
they could be anywhere.
7. Most online escrow services are fraudulent. If you must do
business with a distant seller be sure to use a legitimate escrow service,
such as www.escrow.com.
8. Always use common sense. If a deal seems too good to be true,
or would not make sense from the other end, then it is most likely a scam.
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