The following are some common online classifieds scams that prospective users need to be aware about.
Check over-payment
A buyer, prospective tenant or even an employer will send you a check worth more than the value of the items/rent/job. They’ll then ask for the surplus money to be returned to them or a third party, for example ‘to pay for shipping’. The check will clear into your bank account, only to be refused weeks later. At this point, the bank/building society will take the full check amount back out of your account. This would then leave you out of pocket for the amount on the check and the amount you passed on as the difference.
An email from Sulekha (or another company) asking for your details - logins/passwords/credit card details
You get an email that claims to be from Sulekha or another company and requests that you reply or follow a link to provide personal information. These are fake and are known as ‘spoof’ or ‘phishing’ emails. Any emails which combine urgency with a need for personal details should be treated with caution, no matter whom they appear to be from. Website pages can be easily faked. Sulekha and most other companies will never send out such emails. If you get an email alleging to be from Sulekha asking for your personal information, don’t follow any links provided in the email. Report it to Sulekha Customer Support.
Requests to use money transfer services like Western Union, Ukash or MoneyGram
These services are not meant for transactions between strangers. In our experience, they’re favored by fraudsters. Fraudsters use different ways to trick people into using these services. One popular trick is to ask you to prove that you have funds by sending money to a friend or relative via these services and show them the receipt. All they need is the tracking number from your receipt and they’ll be able to collect your money. Any requests by strangers to use these services in any way should sound off alarm bells and shouldn’t be followed.
Payment or protection services by Sulekha or other well-known sites such as eBay or PayPal
You get an email that claims to be from Sulekha, eBay, PayPal or another company and offers buyer protection or an online payment system. This could be directly in connection with a transaction through someone you’ve met online. Or perhaps the buyer or seller suggests you use a payment or protection service from one of these companies and sends you to a link to follow instructions. These are fake and are known as ‘spoof’ or ‘phishing’ emails. Sulekha doesn’t offer any form of payment scheme or protection. While other companies may offer payment or protection schemes, the email or instructions you have received may not be genuine. If you receive an email alleging to be from a company offering a service, always go directly to the company’s official website and look for details of the service.
Fake escrow sites
A buyer/seller or prospective tenant/landlord suggests using an escrow service to complete the transaction. These escrow websites often may look official, but are actually run by fraudsters. They’ll take your money and never send you the product.
Comments
0 comments
Please sign in to leave a comment.