Watch Out For Online Scams

Be warned that Online scams abound even on some of the most reputable websites such as Craigslist. Apparently some buyers are more interested in scamming you than in scoring a great deal.

Alan Munro posted an ad on Craigslist to sell a windsurfer board and was asked to email the prospective purchaser an invoice through PayPal. He did so and got an email that seemed to come from PayPal, saying that a remittance had been made. But since the invoice was in U.S. dollars, he was asked to pay the exchange difference before the money was released. Paypal does not send such emails and this was a scam.

Craigslist and other similar services such as Kijiji, suggest some simple rules to avoid getting taken in:

• Ensure that all transactions take place locally with local people you can meet face to face. Go to a public place with many people around, such as a coffee shop.
• Never send or wire money to buyers, which includes mailing cheques or using payment services such as PayPal, BidPay, Western Union or MoneyGram.

Applying just those two simple rules will ensure that you do not get taken in by these ever more prevalent scams.

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