There are many scammers out on the Internet preying on innocent people everyday with false promises of a new pet, thousands of dollars, or any number of things that play on our desires. Scams range from get rich "pyramid" schemes to lesser, but still damaging, wire transfer scams. Below are a few "quick rules" for protecting yourself and your money when dealing with someone on-line.

• A good rule of thumb is to never wire money to anyone, especially if they are overseas. Never use Western Union when dealing with strangers because Western Union does not protect you and your money.



• Use PayPal if possible for buying on-line. Use cash when buying person to person.



• Deal with local people when possible when purchasing items through on-line classifieds unless it is through a trusted source such as eBay.



• Do not place your e-mail address on websites, unless you want spammers picking it up and using it.



• If you are a women living alone or alone with children, do not give out too much information about yourself or your family. If you are buying or selling, pick a public place if possible to make the transfer of goods and money. Let the person leave before you and make sure they do not follow you home.



• Never order an animal on-line unless you are able to pick it up in person before the money changes hands.



• If you are mailing an item that you are selling, do not use a buyers "private shipping company". Use someone like DHL, UPS or USPS.



• If someone says they are missionaries overseas and want you to ship the item overseas, be weary....They are probably using religion as a way to put you at ease. Once again, you should always be weary of dealing with someone in another country when it comes to on-line classifieds.



• If it sounds too good to be true, it is.



• Ask lots of questions and trust your "gut instinct". Be very cautious. Research if possible.



• Because GreaterEastTexas.com is here for East Texas buyers and sellers only, there is less of a chance of you falling prey to scammers because you will be dealing with local people. We police this site on a regular basis, but as is the nature with all classified sites, we can not guarantee that you will not be contacted by a scam artist. It is up to you to take care of your interests when dealing with prospective buyers or sellers.

Here is the most popular scam that you should look out for as a seller:

Overpayment Scam:
The owner of an item places an on-line ad to sell the item. The scammer contacts the seller and arranges to send the payment for the item. The payment arrives as a cashier's check and is more than the amount agreed upon for the item sold. The scammer then contacts the seller again and asks to have the overpayment wired back to them. Often what happens, is the money gets wired, the seller\victim discovers the cashier check is a counterfeit and at times may have already shipped the item they were selling. Again, it is safest to find local people on-line that you can meet in person at a public place.

If you feel you are being scammed, contact the following:
Internet Crime Complaint Center
Better Business Bureau