With the increasing popularity of free online classified ads due to their simplicty and effectiveness, scammers are prowling free classified sites to prey upon the most gullible. A classified scam starts with responding to ads posted in these sites or posting ads to attract scam victims. But most of the time, these scammers will reply to pet ads, autos for sale, aprtment rental, big ticket items like TV, cell phones, etc. for sale.
- Image by jepoirrier via Flickr
The scammer sends an email offering to buy your item using a cashier’s check. Value of these checks will often far exceed the item price. They will tell you to cash the check in your bank account and send the excess amount to one of their agent in the USA for shipping the item to a foreign country, like Nigeria but it can be any country.
You will be able to cash the check easily in your bank. As soon as you wire the excess money, may be using Western Union or MoneyGram, to the scammer in some foreign country, you have already become a classified scam victim.
After a few weeks, when the check fails to clear and comes back to your bank as forged, you will be held responsible for the amount. In some cases banks may initiatite criminal prosecution against you.
How to avoid these scams? First, you should never send money by wire transfer, or even personal check, to anybody you don’t know. Never fall for the excess amount scam. A genuine buyer will never send you any excess money.
If you’re buying the item from a business, always pay using your credit card. Don’t even use your debit card. If you believe you have been scammed, you can always call the credit card company and ask for a charge back if you have paid using a credit card.
If you are buying an item, always insist on talking to the seller on the phone. If it is an individual selling the item, tell them that you want to pay by PayPal. While PayPal is not 100% scam proof, it is better than wiring money to a complete stranger.
Most importantly, use your common sense while dealing with strangers online and you will be able to avoid a classified scam. There are millions of honest people ready to buy and sell online. However, there are thousand of scammers who are scouring these classified sites to find people they can scam.
