RESEARCH BEFORE YOU GET SCAMMED in buying online.

I’m an active facebook user, it’s essential means of communication and last past years I’m using it often for marketing. Yes, I’m an online seller, I offer products and services. Lately, I observe a lot of people posting that they got scammed. Sadly, it happens and I am well affected, and I’m sure a lot of sellers feel the same way too. Those who portray this scams discredit those who keep their integrity and who work hard enough to this kind of business. As for myself, I’m a consumer too, also hesitant to trust now buying online. There are ifs and buts. It’s too risky. There are many stories how they got scammed. Some are I say hilarious because the item they ordered are not the exact thing they got. I know you’ve seen those post before, and I find it funny. Sorry but I’m living my life, there’s no point in crying.

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Now there were the ones who trusted the sellers. We can’t blame them because when you check there profiles, it was perfect. No flaws. But there’s no such thing as perfect. People are innovative and as well as scamming. So we have to learn from ourselves and from others. We see these post almost every day, we browse and not only facebook is being utilize in scamming people. I feel sorry for them so I read their stories and then I contemplate how it happened and what should be learned. I’m not an expert here, I didn’t attend of any training or anything regarding "scam". I’m just sharing my thoughts and views and hoping that I can be of help because this thing should be stop. Not to mention the credibility of legit sellers, it wastes time, money, effort and trust. If I were to put myself in shoes of people who suffers this, it will be difficult for me to buy again online even if it’s my friend or relative who is offering the product I really want. Imagine what you went through to have it and then you end up getting scammed. Curse the scammer, right? So how to check scammers who are posing as sellers? This is my very questions too. I’m a seller but I honestly don’t know how to spot scammers. So I asked this question on a group created on facebook, this group are compose of buyers and sellers. I’m sure you are familiar with this so I don’t have to further explain. There were a lot of helpful comments received from the members and I’ll try to summarize it here. The list are as follows in no particular order:

• Keep mentioning your payment and in a hurry to get you to send your payment even though the transaction is not yet finalize. The focus is your payment. E.g. “What time are you sending the money” “Pm me when you are sending the money” “Send your payment now so I can reserve the item for you or else someone will beat you to it” “Hurry send your payment now, we are on sale so I can reserve your item now”

• Not answering direct questions. They’re beating the around the bush. You can’t understand their response to your question. E.g. “I will send you the receiver’s name once you’re in (means of sending your payment)” “Send to this person’s name because I can’t get out the house to receive your payment” “Shipment Only, No Meet up (even though you live in the same place)”

• Prices are too good to be true. “Buy 1 Take 2” “Free Shipping” “Freebies” “Big discounts” “Take all” “Low monthly installment” “No interest”

• They provide proof of transactions but name of seller or buyer /both are hidden. Why?

• Not using their real names. You can’t even spell or pronounce their account name. Profile pictures are obviously taken from the net. Few friends and most are not connected to each other. You can’t tell her relatives. No comments from family/friends. Post are easily grabbed from any websites. No photos of her/his self. Nothing to trace who the hell that person is.

• All products selling are can be easily copied in any website. Not even a single photo of on hand products.

• Mode of payment. They will forcefully specify the means of sending your payment (even you suggest the easiest and safest means favorable to your both protection).

• Don’t want to provide identification cards with picture.

These were the few, I know I haven’t included all possible circumstances so please let me know. And I feel I need to explain thoroughly to clarify each pointers because being seller, all the lists will not automatically brand one as a scammer. For the first two list, I’m sure I don’t have to elaborate more. It is what it means.

Third, yes! there are promos given by legit sellers especially those are earning more in bulks selling. Buy2take1, Buy1take1, Buy5take1 are just few examples that are understandably a promo but Buy1take2 is questionable considering the price. In defense, it can be but it’s mostly not.

Free shipping is acceptable if your purchase is considered worthy for a free shipping and the seller will still earn even he/she handles the shipment fee. E.g. php 2000.00 - purchase, php 165.00 – shipping, php 1400.00 –cost. If the shipment fee is equal or cost more than your purchase and it’s offered free, there’s something wrong.

Freebies and big discounts are attention magnets. We all love that cause it’s savings!!! But if it’s mouth-watering that you think it’s not even real, then it’s likely not real. We think we can save more to buy more but think first and check it out. If what they’re offering will make them earn more then why the other sellers are not offering it? Are the other sellers are too greedy? Or just giving the right price for the right product? What exactly is the product they’re offering again? The same photo but wait, different material used or size? Yes, they give freebies and big discounts but what’s the catch? Still it’s not all 100% scamming. Sellers offers this promos when they want to gain popularity to the online market, they’re advertising, they have sponsors, etc so think first and check it out.

Take all are offered but in definite right price, it’s not offered to ruined the sellers financial stability. You don’t purchase a product to sell it in a lower cost, you have to gain or get back the equal amount you spend on it.

Low monthly installment and no interest promos are not so suspiscious, we can see this all over mostly big establishments. But it’s a risk to take, it’s on you. Would you like to send money monthly even there's no guarantee you’ll receive the product after you finish your installment or vice versa, what are the guarantees you can keep for your protection? No interest? Are these promos are getting to your nerves? You’re too excited about it? It’s unbelievable? It’s once in a blue moon promo? Don’t be blinded and be fooled. Again think first and check it out. It’s possibly legit but who will take the blame if it’s not?

Sellers provide proof of transaction to prove that they are a legit seller. This is one way to gain customers and of course it’s not wrong, it’s highly recommended to establish your business. Legit proofs ultimately answers on how to spot a legit seller and a scammer. But be careful on people providing proofs of transaction. There are tricks they learned to transpire and it’s scary. These people really go miles just to scam people. They copy proofs of legit sellers and claim it as their own. They use it on their fake accounts and there are people scammed because they don’t check thoroughly. Yes, we have to protect our customer’s identity but there are still signs left for authenticity. It should not all the information be hidden. Legit sellers will still leave signs that they own what they claim their proof not totally blank all information leaving only the courier. You have to be careful, not all who provide proofs of transaction have the real proofs. Scammers copies accounts of legit sellers and make it their own. It’s tricky but you have to be one step ahead. Have a conversation, see the pattern of how they respond to your message. Even they have solid proofs of transaction but respond to your questions poorly. They’re not the real owner, I bet. If you own the business you know what are your product and service you offer unless your business is scamming. Also alarming is when you have to send your payment to a different name other than the account’s name. There are reasons why, some sellers do this and some don’t so I guess you have to engage them into conversation, ask any identification or selfies. I think it’s understandable to ask requests particularly if it’s involving money, you have to protect yourself but of course ask nicely. Don’t demand and be rude. If they can’t provide it because everyone have their own reasons, it’s okay to turn to other sellers who is willing to comply to your needs. We all know customers are not always right, business owners are not always wrong. We all have the right to say yes and say no and stand to our reasons. Sellers who don’t want to comply to you doesn’t necessarily means they are scammers right away so be careful and sensitive because you can ruin and damage their reputation. E.g. Sellers don’t see you as a real customer so they don’t want to comply to you. Sellers knows how to profile potential buyers, remember that. So don’t go aimlessly posting who ever turned you down on your request without proper evidence. One neatest trick I discovered just few days ago was scammers create different accounts. Yes, they grab and copy pictures online, pictures of families, travels, pets, etc.. This accounts are different from each other, different story of life, different hobbies, and different ages. I was astounded because that scammer is really good.I think his tech savvy. He really went far in scamming as his means of earning money. I saw him posted as a scammer in one of the groups I’m into. The one scammed states that she/he check the scammer profile and trust him because she/he saw he have proofs. I was curios to what kind of proofs. That’s when I discovered his dirty trick of scamming people. He create this accounts and use them as his proof of transactions. How? He will use an account he created then post on his account that his using to scammed people. What he will post? E.g. “Thank you Conrad(I made up the name) I already receive my order, I am very happy” “If you’re looking for a coconut shaver( I again made up the item), I recommend Condrad, his the best supplier. I just got mine.” This are just few samples he made up just to show proofs. You do the math. So why did I say it's a fake account? Judging by their post on their accounts it's obviously they were post by the same person which is the scammer. I hope you get what I'm trying to say here.

On not using real names, I also do that. I decided not to use my own name. Why? because I want to establish my company’s name and it’s the one I’m using as my accounts name. Other sellers have other reasons. If you want to share why, please let me know. So again it’s not necessarily mean that we’re scammers because we are not using our name. I added it on the list because people are still getting scammed by not checking thoroughly. It’s not only the name, check their profile and compare it to your profile and to your families profile and to your friend’s profile. You have to asked yourself if this is a legit account, where are his family? If he doesn’t have a family, how bout friends? colleagues? What are his hobbies? Where did he study? Some little informations that prove that person is really existing can make a difference. For newly made account, it’s hard but people have resources I’m sure you can find a way to prove his identity. Some comments I receive is Legality/Legit Check. I’m sure legit sellers are willing to comply with this but if they doesn’t it’s up to you if you want to proceed the transaction but don’t assume without proper evidence. And of course again ask nicely first and don’t overdo it, be sensitive enough to know what right or wrong to post. One thing is type there account name or real name in the search bar and accompany with the word “scam”. Worth a try. Then read the content, don’t judge easily even you read their names as a scammer. You have to read thoroughly. If it’s worth to share, do it.

On hand products and preorders are offered online. A lot got scammed because often posted photos are deceiving and eye-catching. You’re not only scammed if the product you order doesn’t arrive, you got scammed when it’s not the exact product you ordered. So it’s important to read the labels and descriptions of the item and do not only focus on the photo provided. Don’t buy impulsively without checking first. These photos are posted to get your attention. If you got interested with this product, check the descriptions if there wasn’t ask the seller, request for the on hand photos if there wasn’t ask for other items with the same material or size. You have to know the seller have on hand items. In any case, a seller definitely purchase even a single item they are offering. We can’t generalize but we have to find a way to protect ourselves from scammers. Engage in a conversation, research the product or the seller, do something.

Mode of payments. The safest that was suggest is bank transactions. To have a bank account, certain documents are required as proof of identity. But scammers found hole on this, they can make up this required documents especially if they know people who knows how to make fake documents and ID’s. But still bank transaction is the safest and I agree, ask there ID’s if possible. And for other mode of payments, you have to research what are the required documents to claim remittance. If you learned that the mode of payment the seller was suggesting has little security and not favorable to you, I think it’s time to suggest a different mode of payment. As a seller, it wasn’t a problem to me what the buyer prefer so I think it wouldn’t a problem to other sellers. And again, it’s your decision in the end if you want to proceed the transaction if the seller comply or not. And don’t assume until proven guilty.

On my last list, sometimes we can’t judge people who don’t want to share their information and provide you what you need. You can’t blame them because of the alarming rate of identity theft. There are few who can trust people and who are suffering from paranoia. We don’t know the sellers life so we shouldn’t judge and brand them as scammers right away if they cannot comply. We’re both have the right to protect ourselves.

Now that I had further explained, I hope I did help anyone who are looking for answer or clues. I know I have skipped or forgot some information or things I haven’t encountered yet so please let me know. As I said, I’m not expert. I’m only talking from experience and stories I read online. I blogged this to raise awareness and share few guidelines I hope I can help to people in doubt and need answers. In the end, it’s the buyers discretion. We all have blessed with instinct and guts, it’s time to put it in use. Be reminded also that not only potential customers are reading this, scammers are all over the place and we can’t tell one from quick look so be vigilant always. Be one step ahead. We can’t be too smart but we have to know the blinking signals. They can use this blog against us sellers and buyers. But don’t quit and lose to them, we just have to educate ourselves, help each other, share our knowledge and raise awareness. We can stop them.

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