Top 5 Tips On How to Avoid Being Scammed Online
Online shopping has become more and more popular ever since the last decade, thanks to emerging online sites like Amazon and Ebay. Even in forums you can see people selling or buying stuff, usually at a lower than market price. That includes new items as well.
While buying stuff from reputable sites like Amazon or Play-Asia is relatively safe and problem free (with a few exceptions at times), the same can’t be said when dealing through Ebay and especially forums. For Ebay I would say it’s a tad better since there are seller ratings, ability to file dispute or obtain buyer protection for purchases above certain amounts. Not to mention Ebay is directly under Paypal.
For forums it’s usually just between you, the mods and law enforcements / anti-crime organizations.
Nevertheless, some knowledge on how to avoid being scammed should come in handy if you plan to do trades online.
Seller ratings
I first saw this system on Ebay and nowadays it has become commonly available on other trading sites and forums as well. What this system does is that, each time a successful transaction is complete with good testimony from the buyer, it adds a plus to the seller’s reputation. As time passes with more successful sales, the person will deem to be a reputable seller. Which means this person is safe to trade with.
Having said that, we shouldn’t automatically exclude sellers with small reputations or assume reputable sellers are 100% safe. It is not uncommon to see fake testimonies on a seller’s ratings, where they are written by themselves. As a rule of thumb, if the items you are buying are within the hundreds or thousands range, always do a quick background check on the seller.
Sadly, there isn’t a fool-proof method to see if the testimonies are genuine. You just have to make do base on your own judgments.
COD (Cash on Delivery)
When you are dealing through forums, it is best to do COD instead of going through postal. Reason being enforcements in forums are usually non-existent and sellers are not required to give out their personal details like identity card number or home address. In the events of scam, it would be much harder to track down the person.
By doing COD, not only will you meet up with the seller in person, you can also check and see if the items are in working condition before you hand over your hard earned cash. This step is important especially for items like cell phones or laptops.
A word of caution tho, scams can still happen even during COD. One example is where the seller keep insisting the product is working order and he or she is in rush. If you feel something isn’t right, do not proceed with the deal. Also it would be helpful to have a friend tag along in case any problem arises.
Super low price, sounds too good to be true?
This is probably the easiest and most used method by scammers. They will put up brand new products for sale at a price that is way below market price. As humans, we are easily tempted by low prices or good deals and that’s what the scammers are after. Also, they will only insist on bank or paypal transactions, with the excuse of COD being impossible due to their location. Once you bank in your money to their account, that’s it. They would just disappear from the face of the earth.
I have noticed that scammers are getting smarter these days. Their routines are, for the first or second sales batch they would perform the transaction honestly in order to gain the trust of buyers. From the third batch onwards that’s where they will start their scam.
The best advice I can give is, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Don’t take the risk.
Purchase from sellers who provide insurance
This only applies to Ebay (as far as I know). Certain sellers provide insurance coverage for the items they are selling and the amount you pay is base on item’s price. In a nutshell, the more expensive the item is, the higher the insurance cost.
So how does the insurance work? Basically if you didn’t receive the goods, the seller will send over a new one. It is recommended that you contact the seller beforehand for more information.
Buy from reputable shops instead
At the end of the day, buying from reputable stores is still one of the best ways to avoid being scammed. Not only do they have proper customer policies, it is much easier to file complains if a problem arises.
Hopefully this article will provide some insights to those who are planning to buy things online, emphasizing on the first 3 points.
If you have any stories you would like to share, do post a comment or send me an email.
Facebook comments:
Could be hard to find competent individuals for this matter, nevertheless, you seem like you know what you are preaching about! Thanks a lot