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There are many people using the internet. Unfortunately,
many of them are scammers that are looking to take advantage of
people using fraudulent methods. The best practice you can take
when using gorage.com is to be aware that the people contacting
you could be trying to scam you. Take the “Buyer Beware”
approach even when selling your items. Ask questions and be sure
you are comfortable conducting business with the other party. One
of the best ways to avoid this problem is to keep all transactions
local -- whenever possible, don't do business with anyone who is
not in your local area. Be especially mindful of those are not from
the United States.
• Use caution and common sense when dealing with any financial
transaction.
• Dealing with locals will enable you to have more direct
contact with them. Most non-local inquiries on gorage.com are scams.
• Do not accept any offers to purchase your item for more
than the price you are asking and have the balance of the transaction
returned to the buyer.
• Never wire funds to a distant person, via Western Union
or any other carrier.
• Be wary if the other party wants to use an escrow service
such as BidPay, iEscrow.com, Escrowoncall.net or Squaretrade. The
escrow services allow scammers another level of anonymity to prevent
you from dealing directly with them. To protect yourself, go to
the website of the escrow service and read their policies and perform
a Google search for “fake escrow” or “escrow fraud”
to see if there is information about the escrow service the person
is suggesting.
• Never give out personal financial information such as;
checking account number, SSN or other sensitive information. Never
give anyone your personal information so they can write you a check
unless they are writing it to you in person. If the person’s
objective is not to scam you, it is to gather your information and
sell it to companies that send out spam.
• Never give anyone your bank account information so they
can transfer money to your account. If they get enough information,
they can transfer money from your account to theirs.
• If you wish to use PayPal to accept payment, use the “Request
Money” option to generate the request for someone to pay you.
It will allow you to enter all the necessary information in order
for that person to get the payment to you. The link is: https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_request-money
(you must have an account and log into that account to view the
page).
• You can trust your instincts, but always remember that the
most important rule: caveat emptor or BUYER BEWARE. This applies
to any transaction requested by people using gorage.com where money
is involved.
• If you think you have been scammed, contact the non-emergency
number for your local police department. There is no guarantee the
police will be able to do anything, however they may be able to
offer advice about your options.
Who should I notify about fraud?
FTC toll free hotline: 877-FTC-HELP (877-382-4357)
FTC online complaint form (www.ftc.gov)
Canadian PhoneBusters hotline: 888-495-8501
Internet Fraud Complaint Center (www.ifccfbi.gov/)
Additional Links:
http://www.fraudaid.com/ScamSpeak/Nigerian/counterfeit_check_fraud/
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/nigeralrt.htm
http://home.rica.net/alphae/419coal/
Inform the gorage.com team:
If you suspect that an item posted for sale on gorage.com may be
part of a scam or you are being contacted by a person whom you feel
may be trying to scam you, please email the details to customerservice@gorage.com.
You can forward the e-mail to us with your description of why it
may be fraud. Please include any information regarding the item
that is being sold or purchased.
Ways to Recognize a Scam
Most scams have characteristics to look out for, such as the following:
• Inquiry from someone far away, often in another country
• Proposed transaction includes a cashier's check, postal
money order, Western Union, or escrow service.
• If someone introduces themselves as “Hello, I am
Sir George.” Most likely they are not really trying to legitimately
purchase your item. People in America don’t speak this way.
It is more common among English speaking people to give their name
at the end of the e-mail.
• Buyer wants to purchase the item for far more than you
are asking for and would like the balance returned to them.
• Buyer requests to purchase the item for a third-party,
or makes claims they are buying as a gift for someone and wants
you to ship to that person. Buyer may also claim that a person in
your area will pick the item up, even though the buyer themselves
are not in your area.
• Inability or refusal to meet face-to-face when asked.
• Non-specific e-mails are usually the work of a scammer
that copies and pastes the same email to hundreds of sellers. Most
of them don’t really know English but instead use previous
scam attempts that are already typed out. They might start out with,
“Hello, I saw your advert (advert is a British term) and was
wondering if you have pics. This is a dead give away if you already
have pics in your ad. They will not ask specific questions about
your item but instead ask you what condition it is in and your lowest
asking price.
• If someone is speaking in broken English and doesn’t
even complete their sentences be careful. Most of these scam artists
are from different countries and know just enough English to attempt
the scam. A lot of these people will cut and paste potential scams
that they have found from other people and create their own crafty
scam letter.
• The most common way to recognize a scam is if the inquiry
or request for a transaction seems too good to be true or if the
person is more than willing to give you more than you are asking.
The best thing you can do is use common sense and ask questions
before you agree to participate in the transaction.
Types of Scams
1. Buyer / seller claims that gorage.com will
guarantee a transaction, certify a buyer / seller, OR claims that
gorage.com will handle or provide protection for a payment. These
claims are fraudulent, as gorage.com does not have any role in any
transaction. The scammer may send an official looking email that
appears to come from gorage.com, offering a guarantee, certifying
a seller, providing payment services. Those types of emails are
fakes, since gorage.com does not provide any such services.
2. Buyer / seller offers a genuine-looking (but
fake) cashier's check. In this case, you will receive an email (examples
below) offering to buy your item, or rent your apartment, sight
unseen. Often times, the cashier's check is offered for your sale
item, as a deposit for an apartment, or for just about anything
else of value. The value of cashier's check often far exceeds the
asking price of your item. The scammer offers to "trust"
you, and asks you to wire the balance via money transfer service.
The banks will often cash these fake checks and hold you responsible
when the checks do not clear, including criminal prosecution in
some cases! This type of scam often involves a 3rd party (shipping
agent, business associate owing buyer money, etc).
3. Fraudulent buyers / sellers will request or
require payment via Western Union or MoneyGram. The scammer will
often claim that an MTCN or confirmation code is needed before he
can withdraw your money. That claim is FALSE. Once you have wired
the money, it is GONE and cannot be retrieved. Scammers will "bait"
potential victims by listing items such as; laptops, plasma TVs,
cell phones, tickets and other electronic devices, however be aware
that a scammer may list almost anything to get your information.
In addition, scammers are also looking to buy those same types of
electronic items from you...but they could also request to buy anything
you have listed for sale. The most common countries that scammers
are sending requests from include: Nigeria, Romania, Ukraine, Spain,
UK, Italy and the Netherlands. Be aware that scammers could be located
anywhere in the world...including the United States.
4. Be aware if a buyer / seller who lives in another
country offers to send you a cashier's check and then have you wire
money. This technique is ALWAYS a scam. In nearly all cases, the
cashier's check is FAKE. In most cases, the scammer asks for your
name, address, etc for printing on the fake check and usually the
deal seems too good to be true.
5. The buyer / seller suggests use of an online
escrow service. Most online escrow sites are FRAUDULENT and are
operated by scammers. It is in your best interest to obatin information
about the escrow service being suggested. To get more information,
perform a Google search on "fake escrow" or "escrow
fraud". If you choose do business with a distant buyer / seller,
insist on a legitimate escrow service, such as www.escrow.com. Always
read the policies and information regarding the escrow service before
participating in any transactions.
6. Buyer / seller asks for a partial payment upfront,
after which they will ship goods and state that they trust you with
the partial payment. Be cautious if the person states that they
have already shipped the goods. Again, be aware if the deal sounds
too good to be true.
Examples of scam emails sent to gorage.com sellers
Send us your examples and we will post them as a reminder to others.
Dear seller Am highly interested in buying this your listed item
without no delay,so do you accept a U.S cashier check as the mode
of payment,if you are through with this i will like you to send
me your full name and address so that the check can be sent.
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Hello seller, I saw your item posted online and i will like to
purchase it.I would like to pay with united state postal money order
or paypal and am ready to pay for the item, just for you to know
that am serious, i will pay right away and as soon as possible.
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Dear Seller, Some one intrested in your item you posted for sell...So
i will like to know more about this item such as condition and others...Payment
method Pay via Cashier Cheque.So we will need full name and address
city state zipcode country and phone number.
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Dear <your seller name here.
I would like to buy your "<your item name here, which is listed at http://www.gorage.com/
myitem/itemnumber.
Logon to gorage.com looking for a honest seller to trade with,i
see your <your item name hereand go through the item condition and i think you will
be a good person to do business with,but before i continue,i
will like to ask you some few question.1.do you accept a
cashier's check or Monay Order? 2.What is the condition of the
item? 3.What is the final selling price of this item.that is all
i have for you,can please that back to me,so that will can talk
more about the successfull of our transaction,get back to me as
soon so posible. regards..........Cole Colins
Regards,
cole1@uymail.com
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Dear <your seller name here.
I would like to buy your "<your item name here, which is listed at http://www.gorage.com/
myitem/itemnumber.
I will like to order your item pasted on advert. May I know its present condition and last price.I'm buying it for a client who resides in Canada and just ordered this item from me. I will be paying you via money order or cashiers checks immediately i confirm that you are ready to sell this item to me.....pls Contact me back as soon as possible.
Regards,
Tracy Richter
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Hello,
I'm interested in the immediate purchase of this item,which is needed in
my store urgently in next 5 days for my store,how much will you offer for
the total cost of the item including shipping to abroad via GLOBAL EXPRESS
MAIL Delivery (EMS) 3-5 Days but i will like to offer you $700,i will be
paying you through a trusted name called PAYPAL or Bank Transfer, and i
will like if you can get back to me with the mode of payment you will
accept among the two, if you will accept Bank Transfer, kindly send me the
account holder name, Bank Name and Branch,Account Number, Swift Code,BSB
Number total amount and your email address, so that i can contact my bank
now for the payment, kindly get back to me asap...and you can contact me
via marycalon@yahoo.com..
Thanks
Regards,
marycalon@yahoo.com
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List of e-mail addresses of possible scammers
We will keep this list updated as we receive information from our
buyers & sellers as to potential scammers.
sandrauall05@yahoo.com
larryfred_007@yahoo.com.au
cole1@uymail.com
tracy_whitfield04@yahoo.com
marycalon@yahoo.com
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