Don't be fooled!

We've all heard the old adage “buyer beware,” now it holds true for buying and selling online. International scam artists are targeting sites like Kijiji and e-Bay to find their marks and a Hants County man almost fell victim to one last week.

Alan Mumford thought a posting on Kijiji would be the simplest way to sell a piece of exercise equipment, but he soon found out selling items through online classifieds is anything but easy. After weeks without a hit, the $300 squat machine finally attracted a potential buyer.

Mumford received an unusual offer in his email. The buyer suggested the payment could be arranged through an advanced money order that would cover the cost of the equipment and shipping. Mumford was asked to cash the money order and then forward the balance to a pre-arranged shipper.

The buyer wrote, “I want you to know that I will be making payment via a money order which will contain both the asking price and the shipping fees, and no pick up arrangement will be made until the money order is cleared and cashed by you....”

The buyer ended the offer with an assurance that this arrangement would ensure the transaction would end “in good faith”.

But when the $2,500 money order arrived postmarked from France, Mumford became suspicious. “The first thing I thought was something is fishy here, that’s a lot of shipping costs for a $300 item.”

He did the smart thing and took the money order to the RCMP and quickly discovered it was fake. If Mumford had cashed the order- it would be weeks before it bounced-but the buyer would already have his cash in hand. “They would have made a good profit,” he said. “It's a good thing I have some common sense.”

In retrospect Mumford said the bells and whistles probably should have gone off sooner. “Toward the end, they became really pushy, emailing me constantly to see if the money order had arrived and demanding I cash it immediately.”

There were 12 emails in total, each more insistent than the other. “Inform the shipper that you have received the payment today,” the buyer wrote. “Make sure you send all the western union details to the shipper's email once you have transferred the funds at the western union today.”

There was no name or signature on the money order, nor did the buyer give Mumford any contact information. “They never said where they were from, but they sure wanted my information.” Mumford was required to disclose his full name, mailing address and phone number.

After discovering he was being scammed, Mumford sent a final email to the buyer saying he wasn’t going to comply with the instructions and that the money order was destroyed. There has been no reply from the buyer.

Mumford admits that if the amount of the money order was only a few hundred dollars, he probably would have thought nothing and simply cashed it. He now realizes it’s best to buy and sell for cash only, and suggests that anyone using Kijiji confirm all the details with the other party first. “If they're not giving any personal information- or are being secretive in their messages- stay away.” He also suggests conducting the transaction in a neutral location, such as a parking lot. Sites like Kijiji and e-Bay are popular methods of buying and selling and for the most part they are perfectly safe. However, the RCMP is warning the public they've seen an increase in frauds of this sort. “It's very, very common for many people to run this kind of scam, it happens everyday in Nova Scotia,” said Windsor Rural RCMP officer, Const. Mike Lidstone. “What they do is overpay by cheque, or money order; and then ask for the excess cash be returned. Then, the cheque bounces.”

Although sites such as e-Bay are reputable, he said there are a number of companies that advertise on it that are not always legitimate. Lindstone suggests using a method such as Pay Pal for all online transactions. “Don't give away personal information, even by sending a cheque you're giving away your bank account information.” And never give out your credit card number over the phone, he said.

Linstone adds there has been a number of phone scams made by illegal call centers, as well, offering cheap vacations. “They actually have what is called a “sucker-list” of phone numbers.”

But no matter the scam, it always comes down to common sense. “The bottom line is, trust your gut instinct, if it sounds to good to be true, then it is.”