Face to face transactions are the key! Never ever agree to send a seller funds from your bank account and especially DO NOT send payment via Western Union or Paypal gift (if you send a payment via Paypal gift you will get no help from them if you have sent funds to a ripper / scammer!)
Never ever! agree to meet a seller or let them deliver their phone, as if it is blocked or barred you will have no contact with the seller apart from an email address (usually Gmail or Hotmail) or mobile phone number that probably will not be answered. Always state to a seller that; Unless you can visit their place of residence you are not interested. If you have suspicions that the Address you have been given is not unsecured loans the sellers residence, ask to see a utility/contract bill with their name on it. Always ask for a receipt with their signed and printed name (you need this for most insurance purposes anyway) and on the back write down their Address for reference. Also when you arrive take a note of any car registration numbers outside the Address (just in case you still end up being ripped or scammed and have to report it to the police) Just as an extra measure before you arrange to view a phone do a screen grab of the advert so you have a reference as if you buy a phone that is stolen, barred/blocked you are actually handling stolen goods!
New or nearly new phones will still be tied to a contract (unless they are genuinely 'sim free'), so unless they continue to pay for that contract after their phone has been sold its likely that in days or even Weeks that phone will be barred/blocked. Another reason to be vigilant, is a person that advertises a mobile phone and has the intention of reporting it lost or stolen a week later. Obviously once it is reported lost or stolen the phone you have bought will be barred/blocked by the network and hence make it worthless.
Be suspicious if a phone that is only a few Months old, only comes supplied with the charger as it could of been stolen.
Don't accept a phone that is sealed, and the seller will not let you take the phone out of the box to test it. The reason for this is; Its probably a Chinese copy and if you open the box and test the phone you will discover its a fake!
Oh and every mobile has a Chinese clone that may look and in some respects operate like an original device, but its made with very cheap components and will most likely break down within a few Months. Most of these Chinese fakes are advertised as 'dual Sim' meaning they will take two operator sim cards at the same time (genuine phones only take one sim)
Above all, don't let your heart rule your head! An Iphone or similar device advertised cheaper than the going rate you should treat with suspicion, and don't let them try and force you into making a quick payment because they say 'they have someone else interested' If in doubt let it go! We all love a bargain and scammers know this, and that's why they offer a phone at a ridiculously low prices bad credit loans (Iphone 3G for £160 for example)
Some of the points made in this guide may seem like extreme measures but If you value that £200 to £400 you are thinking of spending on a mobile phone advertised on free sites then it is in your best interests to follow them.
No comments:
Post a Comment