Anti-Scam
WARNING: To prevent unauthorized use of your phone number, please do not provide the SMS activation code to any third parties.
Protect yourself against Internet fraud!
The vast majority of ads are posted by honest people and trust. So you can do excellent business. We have not verified the ads on this website and we cannot guarantee their legitimacy. Watch for scams especially when purchasing items, renting apartments, and applying for jobs. Despite this, it is important to follow a few common-sense rules following to prevent any attempt to scam.
Please become familiar with the scams described on this page. If you have any questions or would like to report suspicious activity please send an email to abuse@gofied.com.
To avoid scams, please follow these rules:
- Do 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.
- Do not rent housing or purchase goods SIGHT-UNSEEN.
- Never pay any kind of fee when applying for a job.
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. Sending or receiving payment by Western Union or MoneyGram is against our terms of use.
- 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.
If you see a suspicious ad, please click on the "Report abuse" link at the bottom of the ad.
Do not send payment to a prospective "employer" for any reason (e.g. visa or processing fees). A legitimate employer will not ask you for fees and you will lose any money you send.
Beware of any "job offers" that require you to act as a "payment intermediary." You will be asked to receive payments via cashier's check, keep some percentage as a "payment fee", and then to wire a lesser amount to a third-party. The cashier's check will be fake and you will lose the amount sent to the third-party.
For Buyers and Prospective Tenants:
A distant seller or owner asks for payment via Western Union or MoneyGram. After payment is sent using one of these services, the distant owner promises to send item or keys via Fed Ex, DHL or other delivery service however the items or keys never arrive.
The item or flat/apartment may seem to be "too good to be true"; the price is usually well below market value.
Never send payment via Western Union, MoneyGram or similar service to someone you do not know personally!
Do not use bank transfer to send money to a city other than your home or destination. For example, if you are from New York, traveling to Madrid, do not sent money to someone in Dublin, Ireland! If there is a problem, local authorities at home or at your destination will not be able to help you.
For Sellers and Property Owners:
A distant buyer or prospective tenant sends a money order or cashier's checks that exceeds the actual price or rent.
The distant buyer or tenant requests that you forward the excess amount to a third party via Western Union, or MoneyGram. After initially accepting the check, your bank informs you several days later that the cashier's check is fake after you have wired funds to the third party.
The perpetrators of Advance Fee Fraud (AFF), known internationally as "4-1-9" fraud after the section of the Nigerian penal code which addresses fraud schemes, are often very creative and innovative.
Claiming to be government officials, business people or the surviving spouses of former government leaders, con artists offer to transfer millions of dollars into your bank account in exchange for a small fee. If you respond to the initial offer, you may receive "official looking" documents. Typically, you are then asked to provide blank letterhead and your bank account numbers, as well as some money to cover transaction and transfer costs and attorney's fees.
A common misconception is that the victim's bank account is requested so the culprit can plunder it -- this is not the primary reason for the account request -- merely a signal they have hooked another victim.
If you receive such a message, please do the following:
- do not reply to the message!
- forward the message to their email provider at their "abuse" address (e.g. abuse@yahoo.com, abuse@onebox.com etc.). Ask their email provider to shutdown the account. The service provider may ask you to provide additional information such as "message headers."
- to our knowledge, authorities only take complaints from actual victims. Therefore, follow the previous step to have the scammer's email account shutdown.
