 Beware
of Scammers!
Some of our advertisers have been targeted
by e-mail scams in the recent past. This activity is
in no way unique to our website or this service. AntiqueAppliances.com
has no responsibility for or control over the kind of responses
you get to your ad. Please remember "If it sounds too
good to be true, it probably is."
If you receive an e-mail in response to
a classified ad or otherwise that you find questionable, please
check these sites to see if it may be a scam:
Your best defence is common sense.
• DO pay by credit
card if possible. You then have some protection
from the credit card company in most cases.
• DO meet the buyer/seller and use
cash as payment where possible. You can then see exactly what
is being sold and get immediate payment.
• DO NOT pay money direct into someones
bank account or send them a cheque unless you are prepared
to accept the risk that you will never receive whatever you
paid for or it doesn't work, is incomplete or is not as described.
• DO NOT assume that receiving money
via payment systems such as Nochex, Paypal etc gives you 100%
guarantee of payment. It is not unknown for them to confirm
payment into your account then a day or two later to retract
that saying the payment was fraudulent.
• DO NOT have anything to do with anyone
contacting you saying they are from Nigeria, South Africa
or any other African or South American country who want you
to send them your name, address and bank account details.
They also sometimes claim to be from Holland or Canada.
• DO NOT accept a cheque or money order
for more than your asking price and send the difference to
the 'buyer'.
Many people have been contacted from African,
European, or U.S. buyers involving a common scam. Most of
these people are actually based in Nigeria, regardless of
where they say they are located.
A typical Example:
• Your appliance is for sale for $3000.
• The buyer wants to have his friend, business partner,
or employee send you $6000 because his friend or business
partner owes him $3000.
• You are supposed to cash his cheque for $6000 and
then send the remaining $3000 to the buyer, usually by Western
Union.
• DO NOT DO THIS! It is a scam. You
deposit the cheque and then send the buyer the extra $3000.
The bank cheque either bounces or was a forgery and you lose
your $3000. They don't want what you are selling, just the
cash - the goods are never collected.
A similar scam:
• The buyer sends you the cost of your item and the
cost of shipping. Later, they say they have taken care of
shipping and ask for you to refund the shipping cost. They
keep your refund and the original cheque bounces.
• Beware of anyone "representing
a client".
• Beware of any buyers from Nigeria, Saudi Arabia or
Egypt who want to wire you money.
• Beware of anyone who does not ask you specific questions
about your appliance.
Why do they say they want the money sent
by Western Union? Because this puts cash directly into the
scammers hands immediately.
If any deal requires you to send the buyer money,
it is a scam.
We hope that by posting this information,
those entities and individuals involved in internet scams
will realize that our customers are informed and cease activities
with regard e-mail addresses collected from our site.
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