Have you received a notification of payment for your online auction?
Wait a minute! This could be a scam.
Welcome to my school. Stevie's Scam School. Yeah, great.
Hello. My name is Stevie, the reformed scam artist,
and I'm here to teach you how to avoid being scammed.
Let's see what scam I've got in store for you today.
This lesson, we'll be covering the online selling scam. If you're into selling online, stay tuned,
so you know what to look out for.
Here's what can happen. You post an ad online selling off that,
er, lovely pearl necklace your auntie gave you when you were a little tyke.
Let's say you're selling it for two grand.
Well, I'll jump online, send you an email, and pretend that I'm gonna buy it off you.
Sounds pretty good so far, right? (chuckles) Wrong!
In my email, I'll ask to sell it to me directly, instead of through the auction site.
I'll even put on my best manners and give you a call to seem genuine. What a guy (chuckles)!
You settle outside of the auction and receive a payment confirmation email letting you know
that the two grand has hit your account.
Music: trumpet-style music, the type heard when someone wins a game show.
You've over the moon. You package up that pearl beauty and send it on its merry way.
Little do you know that the payment confirmation is sent from a fake email address imitating
a reputable company that offers money transfer services.
No money has hit your account!
Sound effect: Like an out of tune trumpet, as when someone loses on a game show.
By this point, it's too late.
I've got your auntie's pearls and you've got no cash, and no pearls.
I guess you could say this scam's a real pearler (chuckles).
If you get an email telling you that payment has been made, don't follow the link in
the email to log in to your account. Log in to your account directly,
and check that the money has cleared before sending the item.
And be extra cautious of anybody offering to buy from you directly, rather than through the auction site.
It's a little, ah, shady, shall we say.
Ah, those pesky scammers are like mozzies in summer hard to spot and they pack a sting.
Sound effect: Buzzing mosquitos, then someone getting stung.
Ouch!
Stevie's Scam School. Yeah! Nice!