BE SCAM AWARE

anti fraud and scam machinesonline.com.au

 

Be Scam Aware! Machines Online is a classified advertising website created to promote the sale of goods and services, but allow sellers and potential buyers to negotiate on a price outside of the website.

Unfortunately, scammers prowl websites like ours and set up scams to catch out the unwary. Some scams are obvious and others are sophisticated. But, generally if something doesn’t seem right its always best to go back to the basics and telephone the buyer or seller in order to gauge their genuineness.

One of the ways we try and combat scamming is to make every advertiser pay for advertising. That way, they have to effectively identify themselves by using a credit card or Paypal account however, a scammer would obviously have no qualms about using a stolen credit card or they may have scammed some other innocent person in allowing them to use their credit card or Paypal account.

Websites offering free listings can inadvertently make it much easier for scammers to lay their trap.

Scammers may pose as genuine sellers and post fake ads for anything, such as for machinery and equipment including in the wanted and for hire categories, even job tenders or other sections for rental properties, pets, used cars, boats, planes, bikes, caravans and horses.

Indeed, scammers will usually advertise items at a price much lower than comparable items advertised on the same and/or similar sites. Usually they offer a reason for the lower price such as that they need to pay for a medical bill, they’ve gone broke or even to spite their partner in divorce proceedings. Scammers are inventive and play on the emotions of buyers looking for a better than great deal.

Sometimes, a bogus seller insists on immediate payment upfront, or payment by electronic funds transfer or a wire service on the basis that there is another buyer (imaginary) on the way to collect the item. They may also insist that you pay up-front for vouchers before you can access a cheap deal or a give-away.

Scammers may also pose as buyers, and ask that you send them (or allow them to collect) the item advertised on a promise of paying you when they get paid. Often the scammer will come up with some sort of story such as for example about needing the item to start a job or a contract on which they promise to pay you as soon as they get paid for the job or contract; the scammer may also say they are waiting on bank approval but, that their business partner is away and can’t sign off on a bank’s paperwork in time. If it sounds like a scam, it usually is.

Another buyer scam, more sophisticated, is to send you a cheque for more than the required payment, and then tell you it was a clerical error and ask you to refund the difference. Often these cheques will be made out on a fake Bank Cheque which ultimately bounces and proves worthless. This is known as an overpayment scam.

Some Warning Signs of a scam are:-

  • Unsolicited requests for sensitive information through email
  • Disguised hyperlinks & sender address
  • Email consists of entirely one clickable image
  • Generic greeting as scam emails are usually sent in bulk
  • Offers too good to be true
  • Machinery advertised at a price considerably lower than market value
  • “Buyers” willing to purchase your expensive machinery without having viewed it
  • Overseas “Buyers” interested in your machinery despite it being available in their home country for a comparable cost, whereby the transport costs would outweigh the cost of the machinery itself
  • “Buyers” from overseas/offshore who would like a third party (agent, friend, relative) to purchase the machinery and arrange payment

If You Suspect a Scam:-

  • DO NOT click on any links in the scam email
  • DO NOT supply any personal information of any kind
  • DO NOT reply to the email or attempt to contact the senders
  • DO NOT supply any information on the bogus website that may appear
  • DO NOT open any attachments that arrive within the email
  • DELETE the email from your computer immediately

MachinesOnline will never stand in the shoes of a buyer or seller to negotiate or settle on a price of an item advertised or terms of a third parties service. So, if you see a communication using a MachinesOnline letter head or logo in any attempt to negotiate or settle on a price for goods or services advertised it will be a scam. Similarly, if you get an email purported to be from MachinesOnline asking you to reconfirm passwords, accounts or other secure information it will also be a bogus email designed to scam you into providing important details to someone other than Machinesonline. Scammers often give these reasons to entice you to provide information:-

  • The customer’s account details need to be updated due to a software or security upgrade
  • The customer’s account may be terminated if account details are not provided within a specified time frame
  • Suspect or fraudulent activity involving the user’s account has been detected and the user must therefore provide information urgently
  • Routine or random security procedures require that the user verify his or her account by providing the requested information

If something like this happens contacts us immediately – Click Here

You can also call the Australian Consumer & Competition Commission ‘ACCC’ on 1300 795 995 and you can also contact the Australian Federal Government’s ‘Scamwatch’ website to report the scam:- scamwatch.gov.au  This helps us to warn people about current scams, monitor trends and disrupt scams where possible. Please include details of the scam contact you received, for example, email or screenshot.

 

Some Common Types of Scams

  • SMS Scams
  • Phishing Scams
  • Classifieds Scams – Buyers
  • Classifieds Scams – Sellers

SMS Scams

With advances in technology, there are now internet based sms services which can be disguised to appear as a local phone number of choice.

Scammers pose as genuine machinery buyers and send sms enquiries. When the seller responds, the “buyer” claims they are overseas/offshore and needs a 3rd party to pick up the machinery (often incurring fees, which they will ask you to pay which later they will reimburse). This of course never happens.

The phone numbers that send the sms can’t be called back and the sender often requests contact only by email. Unless you are able to call the number and speak to the person sending the text message we advise that you disregard these queries and report them to MachinesOnline immediately – Click Here

Phishing Scams

These scams try tricking people into providing personal and sensitive information such as credit card & banking details.

They’re usually via fake emails sent from “reputable” sources originating from the target company i.e. your financial institution. The email recipient is asked to click on an included link in the email which will then redirect to an official looking website that will look almost identical to the real company webpage (same logos, images, structure, menus etc).

Once on this website the user is prompted to login using their username and password and/or supply credit card and banking details or other personal information such as phone numbers and address. All this information can then be collected by the scammer and inappropriately used.

There a many variations of this scam – the most common is asking for personal and account details within the email itself to be emailed back, without redirecting to a website. Another variation is tricking email recipients into installing a Trojan on their computer by opening an email attachment or downloading a file from a website. This then collects information from the infected computer.

Scammers rely on the law of averages and send these emails in bulk in the hope of fooling a small number of individuals. If only a small number of people fall for the bogus emails and provide details, the scam can still be a success.

Classifieds Scams – Buyers

Scammers may attempt to post bogus online advertisements posing as genuine sellers. In most cases it will include pictures and other details to make the advertisement seem legitimate. To make a quick dollar, the scammers may advertise prices well below market value to lure unwitting customers.

When a customer enquirers, the scammer may claim they are overseas, working on an offshore oil rig, travelling etc and an agent, relative or colleague will deliver the machine after payment. After payment has been made you might receive an official looking email receipt however, the machine will never arrive and contact with the seller will be lost along with your funds.

Classifieds Scams – Sellers

Scammers pretending to be genuine buyers also target sellers online. They claim to want to buy your machines but will make up stories such as needing your help to pay an agent or third party for upfront costs like transportation or insurance. The scammer will promise you reimbursement for these costs, however once you have paid, there is no reimbursement and it is often too late to recover the money and/or contact the ‘buyer’.

DON’T FORGET THE 5 GOLDEN RULES OF BROWSING AND BUYING ONLINE:-

1. Have up-to-date antivirus software
2. Have up-to-date firewall software and ensure your internet browser security settings are up to date.
3. Choose a secure password
4. Always log off when you’re done
5. Most importantly… If it looks too good to be true, then it probably is!