Exercise caution in online transactions
 

There are people out there who would take advantage of our tendency to believe everybody is as fair and honest as we would be in an online transaction.

We’ve had some recent examples of people registering for the purpose of scamming others by “selling” parts that don’t exist.

A few have included the added twist of hijacking user IDs by including a link that tricks you into believing you are logging into the Forum and, thus, recording for the scammer your user ID and password. Then, they sell bogus stuff using your user ID to people who think it must be legitimate because you have tenure and a good reputation on the site.

To avoid problems, consider these suggestions:

• Don’t follow links sent by people you don’t know.
• Don’t give anybody your password. There is no legitimate reason for anybody to ask for it.
• Don't post your email address or phone number in threads. If you do, scammers can harvest the information and bypass the site to contact you directly to avoid sanctions or oversight.
• Be wary of deals that sound too good to be true.
• Exercise caution in dealing with newly registered users with no track record.
• Ask a lot of questions. Ambiguous answers should raise a red flag.
• Ask for pictures of the parts being sold. If the item/s don’t exist, you won’t get a picture or you’ll get a generic image stolen from the Internet that probably doesn’t match what you need.
• If at all possible, inspect the items in person. If that’s not possible, ask if there is another Forum user in the area that can inspect them for you.
• Check references. Who on the Forum has the seller done business with in the past? Did they have a good experience?
• Search the Transactions Feedback section for complaints.
• Pay for any item using PayPal and/or a credit card so you’ll have some recourse on a charge-back if a problem arises. Note, however, if you designate the PayPal payment to "friends and family" and they determine it was for goods and services, no protection is afforded.
• Run if someone insists you pay by money order or some other means that doesn’t allow you to recover your money if you don’t get the item you were trying to purchase.

If you are contacted by someone you believe is suspicious, report it to a moderator/administrator.

:yesnod:

Good advice. Thank you for sharing this with us all.
Best regards,
David Howard
AllVettes4Me

Surely all of you know not to fall for the scam where somebody sends you a check for more than your asking price and then asks you to send them the difference after deducting a small amount for your trouble. Anytime you see a request like that, it is a scam. :yesnod:

Also, the scammer/s referenced in the first post have been telling potential customer his PayPal isn't working and to send him the money via Moneygram. Don't do it. Once the money is sent, you are stuck whether you get the item you purchased of not.

I have been getting emails from a person identifying as “dinky”, they are referring to parts listing in a listing “parting out 72 Chevrolet corvette coup, c3” in the c3 parts for sale. The emails are coming directly to my email and not in my messages? Jay

My recommendation would be to tell dinky that you prefer to communicate via PMs, not email. You can also adjust your profile under the user cp to block other users from emailing you.