Avoiding scams when buying online?

theirishrover

im just on the brink of buying something off a seller on another website but since the deal is very good im worried it could be a scam.

is there a way someone could advise of verifying that it is not a scam before buying? i have the name, address and bank details of the seller.

alternatively is there any system i could use that would ensure the seller doesnt get my money if the product never arrives? paypal or summin?

any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

wyndham

Have a look at the online buying and auctions forums:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=583

Is it eBay? Post a link to the sale for scrutiny if it is.

Otherwise, how was the sale arranged, etc?

theirishrover

thanks,

its not ebay, its gumtree.com, and everything seems legit, buuut its a very very good price..

i was thinking, if there was any way to confirm this person actually lives at the address given, and then that the same person owned the bank account im putting money into, then that would pretty much guarantee that i wasnt being scammed. but i dont know how to do that or if its even possible?

jhegarty

theirishrover wrote: »

i was thinking, if there was any way to confirm this person actually lives at the address given,

Knock on the door.... collect in person with cash....

MzFusspot

Definitely, complete the transaction in person. If you suggest it to them and they come up with any excuses as to why this can't happen then chances are it's dodgy. If you do meet up with someone to buy something check it to make sure it's what you think you're getting before heading off, always look in the box!

Things to watch out for when you want to avoid falling for a scam are

An item that's for sale at way less than you know it's worth. If it's a really huge bargain then (unfortunately) chances are it's not for real, this is especially true when you're buying electronics. There's no one going to sell you a phone that costs €800 here for €200.

People asking for payment via Western Union.

People offering to pay for your item by bank draft. If you get a draft for more than the price of your item it's a scam.

People asking you to ship an item to them. Especially with cars when it would make bog-all financial sense to ship something so expensively to, for example, the UK when they can get the same car there for less money. No one's really ever going to buy a car they haven't seen.

When buying pets, anyone offering to ship the pet to you or send it by 'Pet Courier'.

Emails with dodgy english or english that isn't bad but doesn't sound completely right, like the one below for example.

'This is Lee smith .I saw your advert that you want to sell the (Car)and i am interested in buying it from you and i am ok with the conditions and the price.Regarding the payment,a cheque will be sent to you by my associate which you can cash in your bank.So now that i have your details for the payment,i will ask my associate to send you the cheque ,the cheque that will be sent to you will be in amount of money that will cover the cost of the (car) i as well as the shipping cost'

Tipsy Mac

If your being asked to pay via Western Union and the offer seems too good to be through 9.9999 times out of 10 it is and you will be ripped off.