With a particularly perfidious scam, fraudsters try to steal expensive goods from classifieds. You can read here what to look out for in triangular fraud.
Kassel – Whether furniture, cars or clothing: With classifieds (formerly Ebay classifieds), consumers can sell almost anything. Recently, the U.S. company Ebay withdrew from the online division. For consumers, apart from the name change and the new logo, hardly anything has changed, but fraud does not disappear.
Again and again there are reports of fraudsters who are on the move with classifieds and are targeting sensitive user data, for example. Now a new, particularly brazen scam is making the rounds. With a so-called triangle fraud, users are to be lured into the trap.
Classifieds | |
---|---|
Foundation | 2009 (as Ebay Classifieds) |
Management | Paul Heimann |
New listings per day | around one million |
Triangular fraud in classifieds: This is how the perfidious scam works
How does the scam work? As the name suggests, this method is not just about scammers and victims, but about three people, the industry magazine Techbook reported. In any case, this makes the scam more complicated than the usual scams in classifieds.
For example, let's say you advertise a smartphone in classifieds. The scammer feigns interest, asks for your payment details, and the money ends up in the account as usual. They send the smartphone or hand it over to the fraudster personally. But where is the fraud here?
Triangular fraud in classifieds: What consumers need to know
Only a short time later, a third person is likely to contact you and ask about the whereabouts of the smartphone. After all, the person had already paid. Meanwhile, the fraudster has placed an identical ad to the mobile phone in classifieds or another portal. For this ad, the third person has signaled their interest. The interested party asks for the payment details, but does not transfer the money to the fraudster's account, but to the original seller.
Users of classifieds have to look particularly closely in order not to fall for a triangle scam. © Antonio Guillem/imago
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The seller is not suspicious, sends or hands over the smartphone to the fraudster – the third person, on the other hand, goes away empty-handed. If, after some waiting, the latter contacts the actual seller, for example via the PayPal-mail, the fraudster is already out of the woods.
What can those affected do now? For example, if you didn't process the PayPal payment through friends and family, you can get the money back through buyer protection, Techbook reported. Then the third person receives their payment back, but the seller ends up without a smartphone and money. In any case, Classifieds recommends reporting suspicious or fraudulent content.
Classifieds scams: How to protect yourself against them
The online portal itself offers the option "Pay securely". Here, payment data remains secret during processing. In addition, the buyer protection comes into force and you will get your money back if the order does not arrive or deviates significantly from the description. The company also advises these tips on its website:
- Seek telephone contact with the provider or interested parties and always communicate via classifieds
- Use secure payment method; Never pay by Western Union, PaySafe, MoneyGram, cheques or cash in an envelope
- Never send photos of identity documents or bank cards
- Check receipt of money on the account before sending it
- For PayPal payment: Send insured after receipt of money; do not accept pickup as PayPal's Buyer Protection Terms require proof of shipment from the seller
- Save ads and messages with vendors/prospects
The North Rhine-Westphalia State Office of Criminal Investigation also advises checking reviews and the trading history of buyers and sellers. Anyone who may have been a victim of fraud should file a complaint with the police. In addition, listen to your gut feeling – not every offer is really a bargain. You should also be careful when shopping online, because fake shops could lurk behind supposed branded products at low prices. (kas)