I recently ran into yet another online scam and so I decided it is time to start posting ways people are trying to scam you. This will be an attempt to educate more people about the rampant scams, phishing attempts, and general filthy techniques these scumbags use to steal honest peoples' money.

It will take me some time to cover the many rotten ways these technologically savvy criminals use, so please bear with me. I will try and post new articles as I can, each covering different methods of attack and ways you can protect yourself.

The first scam I will cover is one I recently ran into, although I have seen it in the past in various forms. In all cases, it has involved sending money through Western Union, which seems to be a preferred method for these scammers to collect their ill-gotten cash.

It starts out with an innocent victim trying to sell something – in this case I was selling a domain name on ebay. I must admit that the domain was a bit overpriced, so I was surprised when an email offering the full purchase price came almost instantly. The first red flag was that the potential buyer had zero feedback on ebay and had just barely created his account that same day. The second red flag was in the offer itself. The buyer wanted to pay extra for me to end the auction outside of ebay and was curious about alternate forms of payment. I also found it odd that he kept referring to the domain name as “the item”.
Even with these red flags, it was possible the buyer was just new and was honestly interested in the domain. Wanting to give him a chance (and perhaps a bit numb to a potential scam due to his generous offer), I replied to his email stating my accepted methods of payment and that the transaction should take place through ebay. His response is what sent the Scam Alarm through the roof. Still referring to the domain name as “the item”, he asked if it was in “good condition”, and if so, gave a list of demands for completing the sale. Now, a domain name is a virtual item, so anyone buying one ought to know that this type of item's “condition” is irrelevant. This matches the pattern of a blanket scam, where the scammer will send the same email or message to many people at once. Often times the content of the message does not exactly fit the item being sold - and generic phrases may be used. This is why I initially found it odd that the buyer used the term “the item”.
I became convinced it was a scam when reading through the buyers requirements, I found he would like to pay even more to use his “preferred” shipping company. Am I supposed to ship a domain name now? Another requirement is that he would pay more still and I would refund the difference by sending him cash through Western Union. Ok, that's a huge red flag! Never, I repeat, Never agree to receive extra money and refund the difference by any method – especially Western Union.

The common thread that links this scam to others like it is the list of requirements the buyer sends to complete the transaction. They wish to overpay (usually with a personal check or money order) and they want you to send them the difference. If faced with this scam, do not be persuaded by how much is offered – if you ever receive payment, it will bounce. Another sign is that more often than not, they will want the extra money sent back via Western Union. This is simply because it's easy for scammers to receive the cash and difficult for you to fight it after the fact.

I can't possibly cover all the different ways this scam is played out but hopefully this has helped highlight some of the things to look out for when selling items online. These guys are crafty and will stop at nothing to get at your hard earned cash. If you aren't sure whether or not a potential buyer might be trying to scam you, remember that you can always politely decline to sell.