SELLING ON CRAIGSLIST CAN PRESENT SCAMS IN YOUR RESPONSES! KNOW THESE BBB TIPS!
• If any transaction seems to be questionable, contact BBB to report it. We’ll help you discern whether the situation you are dealing with is legitimate or not and will help you point out any red flags.
• Most online sales situations between individuals occur using email only, which makes it difficult to know who, exactly to trust. If a potential buyer begins to “play bank” with you in email exchanges—telling you what to do with the “check” he is going to send or has already sent, high pressures you to cash it ASAP, or requires you to ONLY use HIS escrow service, consider these to be red flags, and end the interaction.
• If someone from Scotland or Uganda wants to buy your car or puppy, think twice about transacting with them, and decide how far you will go to transact with someone out of the country to begin with! Know who you’re dealing with, and never wire money to strangers.
• If you’re selling something, don’t accept a check for more than the selling price, no matter how tempting the offer or how convincing the story. Ask the buyer to write the check for the correct amount. If the buyer refuses to send the correct amount, return the check. Don’t send the merchandise.
• As a seller, you can suggest an alternative way for the buyer to pay, like an escrow service or online payment service. There may be a charge for an escrow service. If the buyer insists on using a particular escrow or online payment service you’ve never heard of, check it out. Visit its website, and read its terms of agreement and privacy policy. Call the customer service line. If there isn’t one — or if you call and can’t get answers about the service’s reliability — don’t use the service. To learn more about escrow services and online payment systems, visit www.ftc.gov/onlineshopping .
• If you accept payment by check, ask for a check drawn on a local bank, or a bank with a local branch. That way, you can make a personal visit to make sure the check is valid. If that’s not possible, call the bank where the check was purchased, and ask if it is valid. Get the bank’s phone number from directory assistance or an Internet site that you know and trust, not from the check or from the person who gave you the check.
• If the buyer insists that you wire back funds, end the transaction immediately. Legitimate buyers don’t pressure you to send money by wire transfer services. In addition, you have little recourse if there’s a problem with a wire transaction.
• Resist any pressure to “act now.” If the buyer’s offer is good now, it should be good after the check clears.
BBB Advice on Avoiding Escrow Fraud
• Buyers should be leery if the seller pressures them into using a particular escrow service and should always check the company out first at www.bbb.org.
• While escrow scammers might devise a company name and set up their own Web site to back up their fraudulent activities, many are resorting to simply stealing the identity of a legitimate company. After checking with BBB, buyers should contact the supposed escrow company directly to ensure it has not been a victim of corporate identity theft.
• A legitimate escrow site will not ask to do a person-to-person money transfer using Western Union. Legitimate escrow companies ask that buyers wire money from their bank account to the company’s bank, and will provide a routing number and account number for their financial institution.
• A buyer should confirm that the escrow service is licensed and bonded with the appropriate state agency (usually the state in which the escrow service is located) and avoid using an offshore escrow company.