We believe that if you know how scams work, it will be easier for you to avoid them.
Junk Mail has a lot of manual and automated ways of filtering out and stopping scams and scammers, including notices like these.
We also rely on and urge everyone using our website to report suspicious activity, especially from the buyer’s side, so that we can take swift action.
Today we’d like to have a quick look at a false payment or buyer scam. This is the type of scam where the seller is convinced to hand over the item for sale before a payment has taken place or has been cleared. It could happen in different ways but the basics stay the same.
These are the type of payment notifications to look out for:
1. FALSE PAYMENT CONFIRMATION: A scammer will contact you via SMS, asking if the item you’re selling is still available. He/she will then ask for your banking details and the pick-up address. Once you’ve provided him with these details, he will then send you a hoax/false payment confirmation SMS and then tell you that a driver is on its way to collect the items.
This can also be done via email.
2. PAYPAL SCAM: A buyer will contact you via SMS or email pretending to be interested in the items you are selling. They will to claim to be from outside of SA (mostly West Africa) and then ask for the actual price of your item in US Dollars and if you would be able to ship the item if they pay an extra $40. Most often they will suggest payment via a PayPal account as they “can only make the transfer via PayPal because they are in a foreign country”.
How to avoid buyer scams:
1. Make sure that the transaction is done on YOUR terms.
2. Cash is king.
3. Try doing business with people in your area.
4. Confirm payment with your bank before releasing the items you’re selling.
5. If you feel uncomfortable or suspicious about a transaction, walk away.
We would like to encourage every seller and buyer to be vigilant when doing business with people you don’t know or aren’t familiar with. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
Scam for WANTED item. I was looking for vintage mini rims and bucket seats, was contacted by a seller with name Hendrik Coombes, residing on a farm in Middelburg claiming his son died and had mini spares he needed to get rid off.Sent me pics and said I must make him an offer which was accepted and I was told he would load it on a truck of his that was going to Cape Town. His wife Trudie then told me to pay via Imali to a cell phone, they even sent me a letter confirming the transaction with Hendriks ID number 4911215038088. Take notice of the name and never pay to a cell number.
Hi Alexander,
Please send any information you have on this seller, including a link to where the items are listed on Junk Mail, to scam@junkmail.co.za. We’ll look into it from our side.
Kind regards,
The Junk Mail Team
DESPICABLE SCAM
I bought a pool table from Daan and Anne Van der Walt yesterday 28/12/2018 and was foolish (trusting) enough to pay an amount before delivery. Exactly the same DISTURBING modus operandi. They said that the pool table belonged to their 21 year old son who died 8 months ago and that it was a painful reminder of him and had to go. They were transporting machinery to Durban and would deliver the pool table for us. Needless to say it did not arrive. What kind of sick people use this method of stealing from honest trusting individuals ? Be very careful of husband and wife teams.