Use Online Escrow Services to Avoid Fraud
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- Non-payment or the practice of failure to deliver products sold or bought whether from online auctions or from individual sellers is the most common online crime reported to the IC3 last year
- Reports indicate that these thefts occur about 25,000 times every month
Those numbers prove that there is a LOT of victims of online fraud out there.
This may or may not have already happened to you but everybody needs to know how you can protect yourself in future transactions. I want you to be comfortable in bidding on motorcycle auctions and buying used motorcycles from our classifieds. So, read the tips below and see why it’s a great idea to use online escrow services to avoid fraud.
DO YOU KNOW OF A GOOD (OR BAD) ESCROW SERVICE
Tell us which online escrow service did you right or ripped you off!
The key appears to be in finding a legitimate online escrow service especially for large transactions like motorcycles, automobiles or any item over $100 or so. She says that when you, as a buyer, mention that you plan to use an escrow service that the scammers duck and run for cover!
SCAMMERS WILL TRY TO TALK YOU OUT OF USING AN ONLINE ESCROW SERVICE!
Shady online sellers will tell you that there it’s not worth it to use online escrow services to avoid fraud. They will win your confidence by being friendly and tell you lots of reasons that:
A. you shouldn't use a (reputable) service at all
B. if you insist you should use a (fraudulent) service that they recommend.
When the truth is that even if you decide not to use escrow, you can weed out the thieves by indicating that this is your plan should you decide to buy.
The online purchaser’s motto should be "When in doubt", mention escrow.
WATCH OUT FOR FAKE ESCROW COMPANIES
Ok, so we have ascertained that all such services are not on the up and up and it's necessary to know how to identify legitimate online escrow companies from the bogus ones.
The first sign of a legitimate service is that its url will always start with "https" (indicating a secure connection) on your browser’s address line.
- If you do not see "https" but see only "http" FORGET it.
- Check to see that the business has posted a physical address and a phone number. Check to see that it works and that you can connect directly to a representative of the company.
- Verify that the business' licenses and accreditations are on display. You can then verify that they are authentic and legitimate with the applicable state(s), and that they are willing, on request, to give you references including names and contact information of satisfied customers, whom you can then contact verify their business practices.
Do your homework and please post a comment here if you come across a fraudulent company. We all need to work together to wipe out the cheaters so that when we find used motorcycles for sale by private owners we don't have to worry about being cheated and losing our hard earned cash!
