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BEWARE OF ONLINE CLASSIFIED AND WHOLESALE SITES!!!!!
http://scamvictimsunited.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=2129		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  KarynSolo [ Thu Dec 07, 2006 9:11 pm ]
Post subject:  BEWARE OF ONLINE CLASSIFIED AND WHOLESALE SITES!!!!!
Ok I have been sitting here reading one horror story after another where the names Alibaba and Craigslist are involved. It is sad but true that these and other such sites are now scammer central. They do not have proper controls in place to help prevent these scams and most likely will not do much even if they were slapped in the face with a scam situation to end it.

BIG Flags and signs you are being scammed!

1. The company has no legitimate contact details other than a FREE email account.

2. The company is offering a HUGE discount on items you know full well should sell for much higher prices.

3. The company is asking for a Western Union Money Wire to pay for your order.

4. In the case of a buyer, this person is out of the country and desprate for YOUR item or Vehicle.

5. You are being pressured to send off the item or Vehicle ahead of the check clearing the bank.

6. If you feel in your mind and heart it is too good to be true IT IS!


Whenever dealing with ANY company you should ALWAYS get the following information:

Company Name

Full Address Not a po box

Company Phone Number

Owner's Name

City/ State/county in which they are located and do business

Ask for proof of Legal License to do business

Do they have a legal Tax ID number?

Get 3 references: Preferrably 1- business associate 1- bank reference and 1 other reference of their choice but not related , family .


IF you run a business you have every legal right to pre screen who you do business with, this includes application to do business being filled out and signed by the company that would like you to buy from them or sell to you.
Author:  admin [ Fri Dec 08, 2006 9:32 am ]
Post subject: 
I agree with you. While these site may have started off with great intentions of providing a free service for people to post classified ads, the scammers will use the fact that the service is free to THEIR advantage also.

That is why so many of the scammers email addresses are from places where you can set up a free email account . . . they don't want to spend money to make their money. The bad part about this (for people trying to fight the scams) is that there is no way to regulate/stop them. You can report that they are using the email account for criminal activity, and the server may turn off the account, but the scammer can set up another account in 5 minutes and start their business back up again.

I wish that there was a way that once they find out that an account is being used for criminal activity they could BLOCK THE IP ADDRESS, that way the scammer could not just set up a new email account because it would still be coming from the same IP address . . . of course even that would have it's down sides because I am sure that they would not be allowed to block IP addresses that have public access, like the ones in cyber cafes, but it would probably cut things down somewhat.
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