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Has anybody else with equipment for sale on this site been contacted by someone offering an unusually good price? I have been contacted by somebody that apparently has a client in the UK who owes him money. This client of his will send me a cheque for the debt and arrange for collection of the item in question. I will then have to forward the remainder of the cheque to this guy.
Maybe if he is a regular on ePhotozine, he could contact me again through the site? Because as it is, it sounds rather like an opportunity for a stranger to try and get my bank account details...
Thanks
Chris
I would be surprised if anybody has not been contacted like this when they advertise.
Ian
I've placed 5 ads here and have had half a dozen scam e-mails. It was funny at first, now it's just annoying. Won't be placing anymore now though. Surely something can be done about it?
Isn't there a police internet fraud unit somewhere we can forward these things too. I'm sure I've read that elsewhere in these forums, but could be wrong.
Sorry about the ads. Unfortunately, other than not take them, I don't think there's a lot we can do. Any advert on any web site that displays an email address will be contacted by these ****** (insert any swear word you like). If you don't have a contact how will genuine buyers get in touch? If anyone has any ideas how we can make this a safer service (or have seen other sites get round it) please fire away.
Pete,
How about if responses, contact details, or even the classified ads themselves, are limited to registered ePhotozine users?
That way, at least any attempted fraud can be logged, audited and reported...
I thought it was funny when he offered me 650 for a Nikon F65 and a Sigma general zoom lens!
Chris
It's strange though why they pick us, I've sold loads on eBay and never had an approach via the 'Ask seller a question' function.
You could always try vetting queries before passing them on, but that sounds like a lot of work to me. Do they always come from different email addresses?
Maybe the classifieds should only be available to registered users, not guests. I know that probably wouldn't stop everything, but it would deter some people.
Ian
Pete,
I agree with Ian, could you limit access to registered usres? It's not foolproof, but it would be a start. Also you could put a banner on the section alerting sllers that the scam exists and encouraging them to report such abuses to the police.
Alan
Thanks for the feedback so far. We are going to add a banner and a message to warn sellers about risks.
I prefer not to limit classified just to members view so you do get maximum benefit to sell the items to all visitors, but if that's what you prefer it can be done.
How about an option in your profile (or per-ad) so that we can choose whether our contact details will be available to members only, or anyone?
Dan.
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