Classifieds Safety
How to make your post user friendly
[blockquote]To ensure that the classifieds section remains easy to use, poorly listed items will not be published and this may happen without us being able to notify you so to avoid your listing being rejected please follow these steps…[/blockquote]
1. Obviously, first and foremost make sure that what you are posting is not going to cause any kind of harm to yourself or anyone else.
2. Write a clear description about your subject and outline a call to action for your readers.
3. Provide contact details If necessary.
4. If you need to describe the way something looks, upload an image. You can upload one image which must be at least postcard sized when viewed at screen resolution (72dpi or just not pixilated when you view it on your computer screen) to be displayed at the top of your article. This must be in landscape orientation, be no bigger than 1MB and be the correct way up.
5. Please make sure that you have read the Posting and Usage Policy, including the Classifieds Usage section.
Top Scam Warning Signs
[blockquote]Most people you meet online are lovely, genuine people. Of course, there will always be the few bad eggs out there, just like in the ‘real’ world. The number one thing to remember: The Shrewsbury Finger is all about being local. Always meet with whoever you’re dealing with face to face, which is an easy way to avoid any potential scams. Here are some key signs to help you spot the few unscrupulous people online…[/blockquote]
Requests to use money transfer services like Western Union or MoneyGram. These services are not meant for transactions between strangers. In our experience they’re favoured by fraudsters. One popular trick is to ask you to prove that you have funds by sending money to a friend or relative via these services and show them the receipt. All they need is the tracking number from your receipt and they’ll be able to collect your money. Any requests by strangers to use these services in any way should sound off alarm bells and shouldn’t be followed. Always meet face to face to exchange cash and items.
An email allegedly from The Shrewsbury Finger (or another company) asking for your personal details – logins/passwords/credit card details. You get an email that claims to be from The Shrewsbury Finger or another company and requests that you reply or follow a link to provide personal information. These are fake and are known as ‘spoof’ or ‘phishing’ emails. Any emails which combine urgency with a need for personal details should be treated with caution, no matter whom they appear to be from. Website pages can be easily faked. The Shrewsbury Finger and most other companies will never send out such emails. If you get an email alleging to be from The Shrewsbury Finger asking for your personal information, don’t follow any links provided in the email.
Payment or protection services allegedly offered by The Shrewsbury Finger or other well known sites such as eBay or PayPal. You get an email that claims to be from The Shrewsbury Finger, eBay, PayPal or another company and offers buyer protection or an online payment system. This could be directly in connection with a transaction through someone you’ve met online. Or perhaps the buyer or seller suggests you use a payment or protection service from one of these companies and sends you to a link to follow instructions. These are fake and are known as ‘spoof’ or ‘phishing’ emails. The Shrewsbury Finger doesn’t offer any form of payment scheme or protection. While other companies may offer payment or protection schemes, the email or instructions you have received may not be genuine. If you receive an email alleging to be from a company offering a service, always go directly to the company’s official website and look for details of the service.
Request to use Ukash. Ukash is a payment service for online transactions between customers and merchant sites and not for transactions between private individuals who have connected through a classifieds website. Fraudsters may request that you purchase a Ukash voucher and send the voucher number to them or an alleged “courier” as payment for an item. They may also set-up fake websites and email accounts that appear to be Ukash, or a well known courier company such as UPS or Federal Express as part of the deception to trick you. Our advice is simply don’t proceed with transacting with anyone that you have connected with on a classified website, where Ukash is requested as part of the transaction. Always meet face to face to exchange cash and items.
Cheque overpayment. A buyer, prospective tenant or even an employer will send you a cheque worth more than the value of the items/rent/job. They’ll then ask for the surplus money to be returned to them or a third party, for example ‘to pay for shipping’. The cheque will clear into your bank account, only to be refused weeks later. At this point, the bank/building society will take the full cheque amount back out of your account. This would then leave you out of pocket for the amount on the cheque and the amount you passed on as the difference.
Fake escrow sites. A buyer/seller or prospective tenant/landlord suggests using an escrow service to complete the transaction. These escrow websites often may look official, but are actually run by fraudsters. They’ll take your money and never send you the product.
Payment for brokerage/importing. A seller claims that there are brokerage fees, import duties or similar fees required to get an item into the country. Don’t pay these fees. You’ll most likely never get the product and will lose any money you paid. Always remember, The Shrewsbury Finger is designed for meeting up to deal with people in your neighbourhood face to face.
Work from home. Some work from home opportunities are fronts for money laundering. A key warning sign should be any ‘job’ that involves you receiving cheques and cashing them. These jobs are sometimes referred to as ‘money mules’. Another warning sign is a job that doesn’t require a face to face interview. Other work from home offers can be pyramid schemes which require you to recruit other members to get paid. For example, an ad might say that you can make £100 an hour by stuffing envelopes. But to make that money, you need to sell the system to others. For these reasons, we typically don’t accept ads that offer work from home positions on The Shrewsbury Finger.
419 scams. You get an email saying that your help is needed to take money out of a country and that you’ll be paid a commission for your help. Eventually the fraudsters will ask you for money to help them take the large amount of money out of the country. Once you pay, you’ll never hear from them again.
Pet shipping scams. A seller will claim to have a pet and will offer to ship them from an overseas location, or even get you to book seats on a plane. These are usually sought after dog breeds such as English Bulldogs, Yorkshire Terriers and Chihuahuas. These ads are usually accompanied by staged pictures. The pets don’t exist and the fraudsters are simply trying to get you to pay money upfront. Remember, be wary of overseas sellers.
Pet shipping scams. A seller will claim to have a pet and will offer to ship them from an overseas location, or even get you to book seats on a plane. These are usually sought after dog breeds such as English Bulldogs, Yorkshire Terriers and Chihuahuas. These ads are usually accompanied by staged pictures. The pets don’t exist and the fraudsters are simply trying to get you to pay money upfront. Remember, be wary of overseas sellers.
Tip! Some good resources for information on common online scams are:
Get Safe Online
E-Victims
Buying safely
[blockquote]Following these simple steps for a safe and successful buying experience:[/blockquote]
Keep things local by meeting face to face to see the item and exchange money. Make sure you are completely happy with the item before handing over any money.
For your personal safety, meet in a well lit public place and always take someone with you, or at least tell a friend where you’re going.
Never carry large sums of money with you. If you’re looking to buy something expensive, we recommend that you meet with the seller to view the item first. If you are happy to then proceed with the purchase, either go to the bank with the seller to make the payment or arrange to meet somewhere safe with the money.
Be aware of top scam warning signs, and if in doubt about a seller either contact us for advice or don’t proceed.
Use your common sense. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Other tips:
When buying tickets for events, please be aware that some tickets may have terms printed on them that limit the ability of the original buyer to sell them to someone else. Some event tickets e.g. Glastonbury Festival may also feature a photograph of the original buyer, which can mean that anyone other than the original buyer may be refused entry to the event. Our advice is to always independently check the re-sale terms of the event before buying.
When buying airline tickets, we suggest you take down the seller’s name and ticket number. Check that the ticket exists and take the responsibility of getting the names changed.
Selling safely
[blockquote]Following these simple steps for a safe and successful selling experience:[/blockquote]
Keep things local by meeting face to face with the buyer to exchange items and money at the same time. Never send items upfront in advance of receiving payment.
For your personal safety, meet in a well lit public place and always take someone with you, or at least tell a friend where you’re going.
Use your common sense. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
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