mimosa
08-02-08, 06:17 PM
I was just replying to that thread when someone deleted it...if someone still has the original post in their cache then could they maybe post the text into this thread somewhere?
See, there are hundreds of these things, and people get ripped off every day. So I wanted to use this as an example of how easy it is to spot the fraudsters:
Treat this kind of thing with extreme caution: There are some tell-tale signs that this is an attempt to defraud you:
1. The prices are all very cheap, and unusually round numbers - i.e. someone who wrote that price list didn't care in great detail what percentage margin was on each product.
2. The first paragraph then mentions vaguely about other expensive consumer items, but no details, highlighted special prices, or even a link to where you can see the list. So it probably doesn't exist.
3. "All the accessories"...what? For all of them? Not specific to product...fishy.
4. "Our term": Spelling mistake, ship within 48 hours to where? Payment method? Refunds policy? Too-good guarantee? They want you to call..and guess what...payment by Western Union...you are about to be ripped off...can't you smell it yet?! Wire transfer payment is your BIG CLUE! This man wants to steal from you!
5. Have you ever met anyone called McCartney Jones? That would be a dumb name even for an American, because it's two family names. However, Nigerian fraudsters share that taste for family-name-first-name, because they think it sounds classy. In reality it sounds "I am here to steal from you pleez unnuhstan inglis not fahst langwaj". Job title: "Manager". Of what? Sales? Finance? Advertising? Oops...that imperfect language again...
6. Three addresses all mixed up into one. Hertfordshire in southern England...Ayrshire in...er..Scotland...and...Largs..wtf?! Two separate post codes though, take your pick. Haha.
7. Final massive clue just in case you were asleep: Mobile number only, no land line, no website even...
8. OK and final final....Omani bulletin board..new member,....posts UK mobile number with no country code...."wat? iz inglish sabla yiss...so mass be in Inglan yiss? pleez sennin mahni now to wessun union..."
This one is a really sad effort!!!!!
Here are my top tips:
- If you receive something on an email or a bulletin board, it's usually rubbish leave it.
- If you must investigate, don't use the link given. Check the name of the actual website, and enter it direct into your browser.
- skimpy details, broken English, weird names...the salesman is called Reverend Doctor Fitzwilliam Cambridge-Johnson PhD? Wahlkam in Nigeria!
- The validation trinity of internet purchasing sites: Physical address that you can check, complete with postcodes and no errors. Land-line or free-phone telephone number. Well-maintained website that you accessed yourself through the home page. One or more of these missing? Forget it.
- Use Paypal or something similar. They will give you your money back if you get ripped off. If not, check your own country's laws on cradit cards. In the UK, the credit card company is technically the retailer of anything you buy with the card, so if it's a con, THEY refund you. So use the credit card (not debit card, differetnt rules.....check your own).
- Never, ever, send a wire transfer to someone you don't know in person. No legitimate business gets paid down at the Western Union office by the taxi rank on Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria.
- Verisign approved. Good system, there are some others. These are a guide at least...
- And the number one golden rule: If it's cheaper than any online retailer you can find, it's almost certainly an attempt to part stupid people from their money. Too good to be true? Yep, exactly.
By the way, you know what these people really love? When you get ripped off, you feel dumb, so you NEVER tell anybody. Cool huh?!
Anyone here ever got stung? Go on, be brave...
See, there are hundreds of these things, and people get ripped off every day. So I wanted to use this as an example of how easy it is to spot the fraudsters:
Treat this kind of thing with extreme caution: There are some tell-tale signs that this is an attempt to defraud you:
1. The prices are all very cheap, and unusually round numbers - i.e. someone who wrote that price list didn't care in great detail what percentage margin was on each product.
2. The first paragraph then mentions vaguely about other expensive consumer items, but no details, highlighted special prices, or even a link to where you can see the list. So it probably doesn't exist.
3. "All the accessories"...what? For all of them? Not specific to product...fishy.
4. "Our term": Spelling mistake, ship within 48 hours to where? Payment method? Refunds policy? Too-good guarantee? They want you to call..and guess what...payment by Western Union...you are about to be ripped off...can't you smell it yet?! Wire transfer payment is your BIG CLUE! This man wants to steal from you!
5. Have you ever met anyone called McCartney Jones? That would be a dumb name even for an American, because it's two family names. However, Nigerian fraudsters share that taste for family-name-first-name, because they think it sounds classy. In reality it sounds "I am here to steal from you pleez unnuhstan inglis not fahst langwaj". Job title: "Manager". Of what? Sales? Finance? Advertising? Oops...that imperfect language again...
6. Three addresses all mixed up into one. Hertfordshire in southern England...Ayrshire in...er..Scotland...and...Largs..wtf?! Two separate post codes though, take your pick. Haha.
7. Final massive clue just in case you were asleep: Mobile number only, no land line, no website even...
8. OK and final final....Omani bulletin board..new member,....posts UK mobile number with no country code...."wat? iz inglish sabla yiss...so mass be in Inglan yiss? pleez sennin mahni now to wessun union..."
This one is a really sad effort!!!!!
Here are my top tips:
- If you receive something on an email or a bulletin board, it's usually rubbish leave it.
- If you must investigate, don't use the link given. Check the name of the actual website, and enter it direct into your browser.
- skimpy details, broken English, weird names...the salesman is called Reverend Doctor Fitzwilliam Cambridge-Johnson PhD? Wahlkam in Nigeria!
- The validation trinity of internet purchasing sites: Physical address that you can check, complete with postcodes and no errors. Land-line or free-phone telephone number. Well-maintained website that you accessed yourself through the home page. One or more of these missing? Forget it.
- Use Paypal or something similar. They will give you your money back if you get ripped off. If not, check your own country's laws on cradit cards. In the UK, the credit card company is technically the retailer of anything you buy with the card, so if it's a con, THEY refund you. So use the credit card (not debit card, differetnt rules.....check your own).
- Never, ever, send a wire transfer to someone you don't know in person. No legitimate business gets paid down at the Western Union office by the taxi rank on Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria.
- Verisign approved. Good system, there are some others. These are a guide at least...
- And the number one golden rule: If it's cheaper than any online retailer you can find, it's almost certainly an attempt to part stupid people from their money. Too good to be true? Yep, exactly.
By the way, you know what these people really love? When you get ripped off, you feel dumb, so you NEVER tell anybody. Cool huh?!
Anyone here ever got stung? Go on, be brave...