Better yet, just leave the smartphone out of the pay chain altogether.
IMPORTANT FRAUD ALERT
- Thread starter Chris
- Start date
Yeah lesson learned. Likely gone changed passwords. Sad world we live in.
They did a thorough job on the post. I thought it was weird she had a JL and then that it was getting replaced with a zeon for the hell of it. But it didn’t occur to me it was fake.
OP
They did a good job indeed. It shows how sophisticated these scams are getting.
They've realized that they have a better chance at scamming people if they hijack a well known member's account. That gives them some credibility.
That is again why I always say to only use PayPal goods and services because at least that way you're covered. With Zelle, CashApp, Venmo, and others, you're never getting your money back.
I'm going to put a huge popup from now-on in the classified section that warns to NEVER pay people (even known members) using anything other than PayPal. Heck, if people just message me first via PM I'll be happy to check the account.
The one way I can always find out if they are scammers is check their IP address history. In the case of @wborisenok all of the IPs she has logged in from were within the U.S. until the other day when all of a sudden the login IPs were tracing back to Singapore, Istanbul, etc.
Could you implement some version of Two factor authentication to post an ad?
OP
It's too bad you have to implement something to thwart these scammers, but if can I and many others would be very grateful.
OP
It’s the world we live in. In the meantime, as I always say, never use anything where you don’t have buyer protection. And you can always reach out to me personally before sending money so I can check the IP address history for a user.
Agree that two factor should be turned on if possible. Same thing on another forum I use that sells collectibles that go for thousands sometimes. People were getting scammed left and right, had to turn on two factor.
Two factor is great - as long as it doesn't involve a phone, smart or otherwise.
Sorry, everyone. I am in Chicago to be with my best friend for her 5th chemo round and it was a crazy day, I wish I saw the email sooner. The whole thing irks me. Shout out to @Jamison C for clueing me into the winch listing way sooner than I would have seen it.
Well, when one sees a practically new Warn EVO for $500 shipped you’re definitely getting clued in
FYI everyone. The “note” with the username was a dead giveaway. No normal person does that when selling something. Scammers do that across all sorts of different categories to “prove” the deal is real.
I don't have a smartphone and I'm still more than capable of using Venmo, Zelle, and PayPal friends and family to pay for stuff that I don't care whether I get screwed on. Smartphones have nothing to do with how smart folks are about buying stuff.
That I wasn't aware of - I was under the impression that Venmo and Zelle were smartphone only things. What about Cashapp or whatever its called?
No idea on that one but I have full access to Venmo and Zelle on my desktop.
Did a bit of reading here, so what do you all propose to use for payments?
I have always used PayPal and money orders. Both options reveal receivers name which can be verified with ID.
My and my friends banks have been endorsing Zelle for the past year, when using it shows name and phone number of the recipient associated with the service. Not a foolproof method, but it is something.
Outside of that, what is reasonable? Escrow services? This is internet, unfortunately that is the risk associated with buying and selling on marketplaces.
If every sale is going to turn into a witch hunt, what is the point of marketplace ?
I have always used PayPal and money orders. Both options reveal receivers name which can be verified with ID.
My and my friends banks have been endorsing Zelle for the past year, when using it shows name and phone number of the recipient associated with the service. Not a foolproof method, but it is something.
Outside of that, what is reasonable? Escrow services? This is internet, unfortunately that is the risk associated with buying and selling on marketplaces.
If every sale is going to turn into a witch hunt, what is the point of marketplace ?