At NaijaUKmart.com, Because we want the best, we have Zero Tolerance to Spamming and Frauds, here are our safety measures and Advise
- Firstly, consider your safety. Whether buying or selling a product or services, you will most likely not know the person with whom you are transacting. Take the following precautions to protect your safety: Arrange to meet in a public place; tell others where you are going, who you will be meeting, and when you expect to return; ask a friend, family member or co-worker to join you; bring a cell phone; if the situation seems suspicious or potentially dangerous, move to a safe location as quickly as possible.
- Beware of Internet payment services that you are asked to access through a link or in the body of an email. Remember that links can be masked, and logos and trademarks can be faked online. If you intend to use what you believe is a well-known Internet payment service, visit that company’s website yourself, rather than trust the information that another party is suggesting.
- Don’t be rushed. If someone really wants to do business with you, they will wait until you are ready to make a legitimate transaction. Furthermore, if an individual wishes to make changes to the terms of the transaction, such as where and how the payment is sent, do not let your eagerness to complete the transaction blind you to potential problems.
- Be wary of wiring money to a party that you don’t know. Many people mistakenly think that wire transfers, like personal checks, can be cancelled at any time. This is not true. If you wire money via Western Union or MoneyGram, it’s impossible to retrieve the money once it’s picked up at the other end. Because it can be picked up anywhere in the world, the money is virtually untraceable.
- Where possible, receive payments for goods by bank transfer and verify you receive alerts that payment has been made before exchanging goods or services. You may also receive payment in cash where possible, but make sure this is in a safe location.
- Take extra care when receiving payments with checks. Cashier’s checks are NOT the same as cash. Counterfeit checks can look very authentic. Just because the money appears to be available in your account doesn’t mean that the check has cleared and is legitimate. A check takes a long time to clear. It may take a bank ‘weeks’ to discover that the deposited check was fraudulent. The bank may still bounce the check if it’s a forgery. Once a victim wires funds onward from such a check, he or she may be liable to the bank for the amount wired.
- Typically, the bank will not cover the loss and expects the victim to pay the difference. If you receive payments check and verify its legitimacy by contacting the issuing bank. Do not use the contact information that appears on the check. Do a little leg work and obtain the contact information independently through legitimate directories.
- Always be wary of someone who wants to pay more than your asking price or who wants to sell you an item at an unbelievably low price. A deal that sounds too good to be true probably is.
- Be wary of “third parties” or “agents.” If a third party is actually owed any money, their client should be making the payment, not you. Do not wire money to a third party.
In Summary
Protect yourself against Internet fraud!
The vast majority of ads are posted by honest people and trust. So you can do excellent business. Despite this, it is important to follow a few common-sense rules following to prevent any attempt to scam.
Our advice
- Doing business with people you can meet in person.
- Never send money by Western Union, MoneyGram or other anonymous payment systems.
- Never send money or products abroad.
- Do not accept checks.
- Ask about the person you're dealing with another confirming source name, address and telephone number.
- Keep copies of all correspondence (emails, ads, letters, etc.) and details of the person.
- If a deal seems too good to be true, there is every chance that this is the case. Refrain.
Recognize attempted scam
- The majority of scams have one or more of these characteristics:
- The person is abroad or traveling abroad.
- The person refuses to meet you in person.
- Payment is made through Western Union, Money Gram or check.
- The messages are in broken language (English or French or ...).
- The texts seem to be copied and pasted.
- The deal seems to be too good to be true.
