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Types of scams & how to prevent it - Troubilshow - 08-30-2022
hello everyone,
Here is a non-exhaustive list of the types of scams that we can encounter as a buyer but also as a seller when we make transactions and when everything is based on trust.
I saw on the forum some people who had been scammed and I think it's good to educate yourself on this.
Feel free to contribute to this list by posting below if you have already been able to solve problems of this kind.
As they say "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me."
This thread is divided in 2 parts, the first one where I present you different ways to secure your payment and the second part where I present you a list of scam and how to protect yourself from it
I let you discover all this!
First of all I will present you different payment methods to avoid being scammed easily
1st : Escrow
In standard escrow the market holds the money during the purchase.
If you received your order you tell the market to finalize your order and give the vendor your money. Be careful: the orders finalize after some time automatically, in case you forgot to do it manually and so that the vendor has not to wait ages for his money.
If you have not received your order or have issues with it (it was less than the amount you bought or the product was not as advertised), you can dispute it. That prevents the order from auto-finalizing and you can resolve that matter along with a market staff member and the vendor in a discussion.
The market staff member then decides after the discussion what actions to take (e.g. who gets the money from the order or if one of your violated the market rules).
Remember to message the vendor first if you have problems with your order, instead of disputing it right away.
2nd : Multisignature (multisig)
Multisignature is a form of technology used to add additional security and for crypto transactions. Multisignature addresses require another user or users sign a transaction before it can be broadcast onto the blockchain. The required number of signatures is agreed at the start once people agree to create the address Multisignature allows the creation of 2-of-3 escrow services. For example: when Buyer (you, the buyer) wants to pay Vendor, you send a transaction to a multisignature address, which requires at least two signatures from the group "Buyer,
Vendor and the staff" to redeem the money.
If the buyer and the vendor disagree on who should get the money (the buyer wants a refund, whilst the vendor believes he fulfilled his obligations and demands the payment), they can appeal to the staff. The staff grants his signature to the buyer or the vendor, so one of them can redeem the funds.
So who gets the bitcoins in a dispute is decided by the market staff. As you can see, nobody can simply run off with your money. There always have to work two parties together to release the money (the buyer and the vendor, the staff and the buyer or the staff and the vendor).
So if you have the choice, please choose that payment method. To use multisig with specific market please look at their help section or wiki where you should find how to do it.
3rd : Finalizing Early (FE)
If you finalize early you basically give all your money to the vendor you make your order with. So as soon as you give up your order the vendor receives the money for it. It is like giving your street dealer your money and letting him run around the block to get the stuff.
As you can see this is extremely risky because it is easy to scammed. Especially if you have a buyer account with little history (few orders). Few people would believe you, and if you do get scammed using FE, you never get your money back.
Sometimes vendors offer a lower price for the same item if you FE for it (because it is more convenient if they get their money instantly), but it is usually not worth the risk. It is also strongly discouraged to FE for new vendors since the risk that they scam you is even higher.
Use your common sense if you are going to pay this way
Now that we have seen the different types of payment (I invite you to get detailed information to see more clearly) let's go directly to the different types of scams and how to protect yourself (sorry for the presentation I wanted to make a table but it's not possible so I made it in a drop-down list)
The following information is divided into 5 categories,
1st: the person who wants to scam you
Indicated by the "Scammer
2nd: The element with which the person will try to scam you.
Indicated by the "scam field".
3rd: The justification for the scammer to scam you.
Indicated by the "Scam Description".
4th: How to spot that you are being scammed
Indicated by the "How To Spot It
5th: How to prevent this kind of problem from happening in the future
indicated by the "How To Prevent/Fix It
below you will see that it is noted "love letter" I will explain what it is :
A "love letter" is a playful name for a letter from the postal services which basically states: We seized your goodies, but don't have the time/money to build up a case against you; and/or you didn't order enough for us to be too concerned. You lucked out bastard. Don't do it again, we are watching your address. Sincerely, LEO/Post Office/Postal Inspector
Once you get one of these love letters, consider that address burnt. Do not use it again as a delivery address for "purchase"
Let's start !
Scammer /
Vendor
Scam field /
Feedback
Scam Description/
Vendor pays users to purchase items, never delivers them but users leave positive feedback to make it look like they were legit sales (to prevent the feedback manipulation being tracked back to the vendor).
How To Spot It/
Multiple feedback that have similar qualities & spelling.
How To Prevent/Fix It/
Check the forums, reddit, and any vendor review threads for the vendor.
Scammer /
Vendor
Scam field /
Feedback
Scam Description/
Vendor uses an alt/puppet account and vote on their own product.
How To Spot It/
Multiple feedback that have similar qualities & spelling similar to vendor profile.
How To Prevent/Fix It/
Check the forums, reddit, and any vendor review threads for the vendor.
Scammer /
Vendor
Scam field /
Feedback
Scam Description/
Vendors blackmail clients to leave positive feedback.
How To Spot It/
Multiple feedback that have short, hostile, or confusing reviews. Reported on forums.
How To Prevent/Fix It/
Check the forums, reddit, and any vendor review threads for the vendor.
Scammer /
Vendor
Scam field /
Escrow
Scam Description/
Send empty box to the customer as tracking also indicates it arrives. Photo evidence is not supported as buyer could remove item and take photo.
How To Spot It/
Feedback indicating package never arrived, vendor reviews
How To Prevent/Fix It/
Verify the vendor is legitimate and feedback supports all claims. Ask for tracking.
Scammer /
Vendor
Scam field /
Escrow
Scam Description/
Not send any item and receive 50% to 100%, of which all is profit.
How To Spot It/
Feedback indicating nothing was sent. False/Nonresponsive tracking numbers issued.
How To Prevent/Fix It/
Verify the vendor is legitimate and feedback supports all claims. Ask for tracking.
Scammer /
Vendor
Scam field /
Finalize Early
Scam Description/
Not send any item and receive 100%, of which all is profit.
How To Spot It/
Feedback indicating nothing was sent. False/Nonresponsive tracking numbers issued.
How To Prevent/Fix It/
Verify the vendor is legitimate and feedback supports all claims. Ask for tracking.
Scammer /
Vendor
Scam field /
Feedback
Scam Description/
Sends a fake love letter instead of the product
How To Spot It/
You get a love letter that does not look like it comes from an official source.
How To Prevent/Fix It/
Check if it is known how a real love letter looks like, show the support the alleged love letter.
Scammer /
Buyer
Scam field /
Feedback
Scam Description/
Extort vendor for more items/refund on terms of feedback manipulation.
How To Spot It/
Hostile buyer, demanding products
How To Prevent/Fix It/
Make sure you know your buyers before you sell to them, and limit firs time sales to small items.
Scammer /
Buyer
Scam field /
Feedback
Scam Description/
Leave negative/bad feedback even when order was successful
How To Spot It/
Buyer messages that seem confused, or buyers that seem unaware of how to fully use the market.
How To Prevent/Fix It/
Make sure your buyer is intelligent enough and understands that markets native language of the market. Start with small orders.
Scammer /
Buyer
Scam field /
Finalize Early
Scam Description/
Finalizes Early
How To Spot It/
Buyer makes assertions that they will FE, or that FE will be done as a complement.
How To Prevent/Fix It/
Simply inform buyers that FE is not required, and state it on your profile several times.
Scammer /
Buyer
Scam field /
Escrow
Scam Description/
Finalizes Early
How To Spot It/
Buyer makes assertions that they will FE, or that FE will be done as a complement.
How To Prevent/Fix It/
Simply inform buyers that FE is not required, and state it on your profile several times.
Scammer /
Buyer
Scam field /
Escrow
Scam Description /
Buyer claims item did not arrive when tracking indicates it did.
How To Spot It /
Resolution or PM indicating the order did not arrive.
How To Prevent/Fix It /
Send the tracking number. If it is valid, it can be used to obtain 100% resolution.
Scammer /
Buyer
Scam field /
Escrow
Scam Description /
Buyer claims item did not arrive, no tracking avaiable.
How To Spot It /
Resolution or PM indicating the order did not arrive.
How To Prevent/Fix It /
Bring it to resolution, and use tracking in the future.
Scammer /
Buyer
Scam field /
Direct Message
Scam Description /
Buyer makes threats over order instead of sending it to resolution
How To Spot It /
Hostile or otherwise selfcentered buyer messages.
How To Prevent/Fix It /
Do not respond in anything less than a professional manner, do not antagonize the or over explain things, and report them immediately to the admins.
I hope that you have been able to see more clearly and that you have learned some things
Thank you for reading all the way through !
RE: Types of scams & how to prevent it - rolson - 09-01-2022
tyvm, very informational I love the thoroughness
RE: Types of scams & how to prevent it - Troubilshow - 09-02-2022
(09-01-2022, 11:26 PM)rolson Wrote: tyvm, very informational I love the thoroughness
Thank you, I like it when things are well provided. Everyone sees it more clearly afterwards
Don't hesitate to complete this!
RE: Types of scams & how to prevent it - grandmothered - 09-23-2022
when i read the first half of the title i was extremely excited to learn new methods that i can use to scam people, but then i read the rest of the title and i am now shaking, crying, and screaming in agony
delete this thread
RE: Types of scams & how to prevent it - mothered - 09-24-2022
(09-23-2022, 06:08 PM)grandmothered Wrote: when i read the first half of the title i was extremely excited to learn new methods that i can use to scam people, but then i read the rest of the title and i am now shaking, crying, and screaming in agonyWhy?
RE: Types of scams & how to prevent it - Troubilshow - 09-24-2022
(09-23-2022, 06:08 PM)grandmothered Wrote: when i read the first half of the title i was extremely excited to learn new methods that i can use to scam people, but then i read the rest of the title and i am now shaking, crying, and screaming in agony
delete this thread
This thread was created to educate people who are easily fooled, scammers are the worst kind of shit. I'm glad you don't like it!
RE: Types of scams & how to prevent it - peter007 - 09-27-2022
Kinda makes sense to me tbh
RE: Types of scams & how to prevent it - mothered - 09-27-2022
(09-24-2022, 11:47 AM)Troubilshow Wrote:It sums It up to a tee.(09-23-2022, 06:08 PM)grandmothered Wrote: when i read the first half of the title i was extremely excited to learn new methods that i can use to scam people, but then i read the rest of the title and i am now shaking, crying, and screaming in agony
delete this thread
This thread was created to educate people who are easily fooled, scammers are the worst kind of shit.