Staying Safe
Introduction
The vast majority of people you meet online are decent and genuine just like you! Thousands of farmers throughout Ireland check FarmAds.ie on a regular basis, and so unfortunately, there will always be a few bad apples.
The most important thing to remember: FarmAds.ie is all about local transactions between farmers. Always meet in person with whomever you’re dealing with. Face to face interaction is an easy way to avoid scams and stay safe.
Your Safety
There are some simple steps you can take to ensure a successful and safe buying experience.
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Be aware of top scam warning signs, and if in doubt about a seller either contact us for advice or don’t proceed.
5. Use your common sense. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Common Scams
Below is a description of common scams, to help you avoid the online con men.
1. 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.
2. An email allegedly from FarmAds.ie (or another company) asking for your personal details – logins/passwords/credit card details. You get an email that claims to be from FarmAds.ie 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. FarmAds.ie and most other companies will never send out such emails. If you get an email alleging to be from FarmAds.ie asking for your personal information, don’t follow any links provided in the email.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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, FarmAds.ie is designed for meeting up to deal with people in your local area face to face.
6. 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.
7. 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.
Further Reading
The following websites are useful resources containing information on typical online scams.
Get Safe Online
E-Victims
