Post by admin on Sept 11, 2011 15:42:01 GMT -8
This list is posted in the members-only Trading Reports area. I am copying it here for convenience because there are a lot of newbies coming here from our Facebook page and they may not be aware of the risks involved in insect trading.
Causes for suspicion about a Classified ad, in random order:
1) Trader uses a Hotmail or Yahoo e-mail address or other anonymous 'free mail'. Free mail is very convenient for everybody but the downside is that it allows for multiple, anonymous, untraceable identities (MAUI). The user of free mail does not need to own a computer. They can conveniently conduct business from Internet cafes or public libraries. This increases your risk in business transactions. Of course, not all people who use anonymous free mail are swindlers -- but 98% of the swindlers use anonymous free mail.
2) Trader uses Yahoo e-mail to conduct business, but their Yahoo profile is completely blank. No information at all. This shows they are in too much of a hurry to bother to fill it out - or they don't want to reveal anything about themselves (such as name, location, hobbies, photo, etc.). Very suspicious for a person who wants to conduct regular legitimate business using Yahoo mail. You can check for that by entering the Yahoo ID in a URL in your browser in the following format:
profiles.yahoo.com/yahooID/. Hotmail and other free mail systems may also have profiles. You'll have to research that.
3) Trader uses a web page on a free hosting site such as Geocities.com, Tripod.com, or Wix.com. The principle of caution is the same as with free mail: these free hosts allow anyone to create a web site in a few minutes using a 'click and build' interface. The user does not have to verify their identity or register for a domain name. There is no financial commitment to set up these free pages. No HTML knowledge is required. The web site URL will be a subdomain of the free hosting domain, such as insectguy.tripod.com. These kinds of free web sites can appear and disappear like smoke. Use caution. And NEVER trust any so-called shipping confirmation web sites that use subdomains of free hosting domains. No legitimate carrier is going to set up shop on a free host. Geocities.com and Tripod.com are the most well known free hosts, but there are many others. So, any time you see a trader's URL that is a subdomain (name of trader's business followed by '.', followed by a root domain name) you should go to the root domain and check to see what services they are offering. If they offer free hosting, be careful with that trader.
4) Trader does not post a picture with an ad and has no photos of the item they can send you. This is likely because the specimens do not actually exist.
5) Trader (who is selling items) has no web site.
6) Trader is unknown to the insect trading community and has no references in same.
7) Trader requires prepayment using Western Union.
8) Trader has no bank account for wire transfers.
9) Trader's offer seems too good to be true (It's amazing how many buyers fall for this one).
10) Trader does not post an address or phone/fax number with their ad.
11) Trader misspells insect names or seems unknowledgeable about the insects they are selling. (A simple quiz to them will reveal this. For example: "What color are the wings?" or "How many legs does it have?")
12) Trader is offering protected species without a permit, very rare species, endangered species, illegal species, CITES Appendix 1 species, etc.
13) Trader sells from a country that is notorius for Internet scams. Sorry, I can't reveal the names of these countries (Cameroon, Nigeria, Uganda) because that would be politically incorrect.
14) Trader says a species is caught in his country and you know that is impossible.
15) Trader has bad reviews in the InsectNet.com Forum/Insect Trading Reports (do your homework).
16) Trader is selling insect livestock of a species found halfway around the world from their country. (Example: How likely is it that a trader in Nigeria has livestock of Hemileuca eglanterina from the Western USA? This was an actual offer to me. Get real!)
17) Seller makes an agreement with you on the total price of your order. You send a payment. Then a few days later the seller says the package is held up in customs and asks you to send more money because of 'postal fees', 'export fees', 'customs fees', etc. A common practice of African scammers. You have been cheated and you are not going to get your package anyways - so don't send even more money down the drain.
18) A seller becomes very defensive, nasty, and foul-mouthed when you ask for references or question his/her integrity. This is a smokescreen to make YOU feel guilty for even asking.
19) You place a 'Want to Buy' ad for an insect species. Immediately you get an offer for this species by e-mail from someone in the USA who has an unusual-sounding or famous-sounding American name. When you pursue the offer further they will ask you to send money to their relative in Cameroon. Stay away!
20) Invalid address: Trader includes a street address and city in their ad. You check that address for the city using Yahoo Maps or some other similar service and the address 'cannot be found' or 'does not exist'. This is a bad sign. You check again just to see if the street even exists in that city. It does not! This is a worse sign.
21) Ad placed in wrong category. Be careful of ads that are posted in the wrong insect order category. For example: an ad for crickets (Orthoptera) placed in the Homoptera category, etc. This indicates the seller is inexperienced.
22) The classic 'cashier's check' scam: You put something up for sale and a person contacts you through e-mail, offering to buy your items. For some convoluted reason they offer to pay you MORE than the amount you asked, much more, by cashier's check from a foreign bank, and then send their 'shipping agent' to pick up the merchandise from you. The only condition: you are asked to refund the balance of payment after you have deposited their check. This is a classic Internet scam (made famous on EBay). You will receive a check but the check is counterfeit. No shipping agent will show up - because they are not really interested in your items. They want to get you to refund them their 'balance' (overpayment) before the checks clears. You might do it because you think a cashier's check is certified funds. If you deposit the check and refund them the balance before the check has cleared, you will be liable to your bank for that money that doesn't exist. The problem is: the cashier's check looks legitimate, even to your bank. But it will bounce in about 10 to 15 days. If you have sent them money before then, you are toast.
23) Keywords to watch out for: 'withdraw', 'shipping agent', 'agent', 'now', 'only honest dealers', 'serious dealers', 'serious buyers only', 'trust', 'Christian', 'honest', 'agree', 'if you agree'. Ironically, these are words that swindlers use often.
24) Seller or buyer is attempting to trade in CITES Schedule 1 species and has misspelled the species name. This can only mean he or she is trying to avoid law enforcement programs that search for endangered species being bought and sold on the Internet - or they are trying to bypass filters that block the posting of the endangered species names. You don't want to get involved with this trader. You could go to jail.
25) BAIT AND SWITCH: Seller claims to be from Country 'A' but wants you to send payment to Country 'B'. Stay away.
26) Seller claims to be from what looks like a corporation, trading company, or educational institution. Yet they are using a free mail account to conduct business. What's up with that? Suspicious indeed.
27) An ad says 'We have available...(species)', but no company name or web site is given! Well, doesn't 'we' mean more than one person, such as a trading company or group of some sort? If they don't say who 'we' is, be suspicious.
28) Seller claims he/she is laid up in the hospital due to acute illness or injury as an excuse for not sending you your specimens. We've heard this so many times before! Don't fall for it.
29) Poster's declared location is way different than their 'Posting IP' in the lower left corner of an ad. Click in that link to open a geo-locator map to see from where the ad was posted.
30) Seller will only accept Western Union. When you send the payment, he goes to pick it up, and then realizes he forgot to bring his ID. You get a call or a message from Western Union asking you to authorize release of payment. Don't do it!
Any one of these characteristics by itself does not necessarily mean 'bad trader', but if their ad has three or more of these in combination then consider that a red flag. Proceed with caution.
Unfortunately we do live in a world of swindlers and scammers - selfish people who expect to get 'money for nothing', and the Internet is the perfect medium for them to operate. I try to block these swindlers from the Classifieds the best I can, but I am not always successful due their ever-changing identities and strategies. Unlike eBay, InsectNet.com does not have a team of lawyers and skip tracers to track these people down. We only have the Trading Reports.
Be smart and be well,
- Clark, admin
TIP: Use the InsectNet Site Search, the Forum Search, and Google to search on the name, e-mail, or web site of a trader to see if there is any information available on them.
Causes for suspicion about a Classified ad, in random order:
1) Trader uses a Hotmail or Yahoo e-mail address or other anonymous 'free mail'. Free mail is very convenient for everybody but the downside is that it allows for multiple, anonymous, untraceable identities (MAUI). The user of free mail does not need to own a computer. They can conveniently conduct business from Internet cafes or public libraries. This increases your risk in business transactions. Of course, not all people who use anonymous free mail are swindlers -- but 98% of the swindlers use anonymous free mail.
2) Trader uses Yahoo e-mail to conduct business, but their Yahoo profile is completely blank. No information at all. This shows they are in too much of a hurry to bother to fill it out - or they don't want to reveal anything about themselves (such as name, location, hobbies, photo, etc.). Very suspicious for a person who wants to conduct regular legitimate business using Yahoo mail. You can check for that by entering the Yahoo ID in a URL in your browser in the following format:
profiles.yahoo.com/yahooID/. Hotmail and other free mail systems may also have profiles. You'll have to research that.
3) Trader uses a web page on a free hosting site such as Geocities.com, Tripod.com, or Wix.com. The principle of caution is the same as with free mail: these free hosts allow anyone to create a web site in a few minutes using a 'click and build' interface. The user does not have to verify their identity or register for a domain name. There is no financial commitment to set up these free pages. No HTML knowledge is required. The web site URL will be a subdomain of the free hosting domain, such as insectguy.tripod.com. These kinds of free web sites can appear and disappear like smoke. Use caution. And NEVER trust any so-called shipping confirmation web sites that use subdomains of free hosting domains. No legitimate carrier is going to set up shop on a free host. Geocities.com and Tripod.com are the most well known free hosts, but there are many others. So, any time you see a trader's URL that is a subdomain (name of trader's business followed by '.', followed by a root domain name) you should go to the root domain and check to see what services they are offering. If they offer free hosting, be careful with that trader.
4) Trader does not post a picture with an ad and has no photos of the item they can send you. This is likely because the specimens do not actually exist.
5) Trader (who is selling items) has no web site.
6) Trader is unknown to the insect trading community and has no references in same.
7) Trader requires prepayment using Western Union.
8) Trader has no bank account for wire transfers.
9) Trader's offer seems too good to be true (It's amazing how many buyers fall for this one).
10) Trader does not post an address or phone/fax number with their ad.
11) Trader misspells insect names or seems unknowledgeable about the insects they are selling. (A simple quiz to them will reveal this. For example: "What color are the wings?" or "How many legs does it have?")
12) Trader is offering protected species without a permit, very rare species, endangered species, illegal species, CITES Appendix 1 species, etc.
13) Trader sells from a country that is notorius for Internet scams. Sorry, I can't reveal the names of these countries (Cameroon, Nigeria, Uganda) because that would be politically incorrect.
14) Trader says a species is caught in his country and you know that is impossible.
15) Trader has bad reviews in the InsectNet.com Forum/Insect Trading Reports (do your homework).
16) Trader is selling insect livestock of a species found halfway around the world from their country. (Example: How likely is it that a trader in Nigeria has livestock of Hemileuca eglanterina from the Western USA? This was an actual offer to me. Get real!)
17) Seller makes an agreement with you on the total price of your order. You send a payment. Then a few days later the seller says the package is held up in customs and asks you to send more money because of 'postal fees', 'export fees', 'customs fees', etc. A common practice of African scammers. You have been cheated and you are not going to get your package anyways - so don't send even more money down the drain.
18) A seller becomes very defensive, nasty, and foul-mouthed when you ask for references or question his/her integrity. This is a smokescreen to make YOU feel guilty for even asking.
19) You place a 'Want to Buy' ad for an insect species. Immediately you get an offer for this species by e-mail from someone in the USA who has an unusual-sounding or famous-sounding American name. When you pursue the offer further they will ask you to send money to their relative in Cameroon. Stay away!
20) Invalid address: Trader includes a street address and city in their ad. You check that address for the city using Yahoo Maps or some other similar service and the address 'cannot be found' or 'does not exist'. This is a bad sign. You check again just to see if the street even exists in that city. It does not! This is a worse sign.
21) Ad placed in wrong category. Be careful of ads that are posted in the wrong insect order category. For example: an ad for crickets (Orthoptera) placed in the Homoptera category, etc. This indicates the seller is inexperienced.
22) The classic 'cashier's check' scam: You put something up for sale and a person contacts you through e-mail, offering to buy your items. For some convoluted reason they offer to pay you MORE than the amount you asked, much more, by cashier's check from a foreign bank, and then send their 'shipping agent' to pick up the merchandise from you. The only condition: you are asked to refund the balance of payment after you have deposited their check. This is a classic Internet scam (made famous on EBay). You will receive a check but the check is counterfeit. No shipping agent will show up - because they are not really interested in your items. They want to get you to refund them their 'balance' (overpayment) before the checks clears. You might do it because you think a cashier's check is certified funds. If you deposit the check and refund them the balance before the check has cleared, you will be liable to your bank for that money that doesn't exist. The problem is: the cashier's check looks legitimate, even to your bank. But it will bounce in about 10 to 15 days. If you have sent them money before then, you are toast.
23) Keywords to watch out for: 'withdraw', 'shipping agent', 'agent', 'now', 'only honest dealers', 'serious dealers', 'serious buyers only', 'trust', 'Christian', 'honest', 'agree', 'if you agree'. Ironically, these are words that swindlers use often.
24) Seller or buyer is attempting to trade in CITES Schedule 1 species and has misspelled the species name. This can only mean he or she is trying to avoid law enforcement programs that search for endangered species being bought and sold on the Internet - or they are trying to bypass filters that block the posting of the endangered species names. You don't want to get involved with this trader. You could go to jail.
25) BAIT AND SWITCH: Seller claims to be from Country 'A' but wants you to send payment to Country 'B'. Stay away.
26) Seller claims to be from what looks like a corporation, trading company, or educational institution. Yet they are using a free mail account to conduct business. What's up with that? Suspicious indeed.
27) An ad says 'We have available...(species)', but no company name or web site is given! Well, doesn't 'we' mean more than one person, such as a trading company or group of some sort? If they don't say who 'we' is, be suspicious.
28) Seller claims he/she is laid up in the hospital due to acute illness or injury as an excuse for not sending you your specimens. We've heard this so many times before! Don't fall for it.
29) Poster's declared location is way different than their 'Posting IP' in the lower left corner of an ad. Click in that link to open a geo-locator map to see from where the ad was posted.
30) Seller will only accept Western Union. When you send the payment, he goes to pick it up, and then realizes he forgot to bring his ID. You get a call or a message from Western Union asking you to authorize release of payment. Don't do it!
Any one of these characteristics by itself does not necessarily mean 'bad trader', but if their ad has three or more of these in combination then consider that a red flag. Proceed with caution.
Unfortunately we do live in a world of swindlers and scammers - selfish people who expect to get 'money for nothing', and the Internet is the perfect medium for them to operate. I try to block these swindlers from the Classifieds the best I can, but I am not always successful due their ever-changing identities and strategies. Unlike eBay, InsectNet.com does not have a team of lawyers and skip tracers to track these people down. We only have the Trading Reports.
Be smart and be well,
- Clark, admin
TIP: Use the InsectNet Site Search, the Forum Search, and Google to search on the name, e-mail, or web site of a trader to see if there is any information available on them.