Just read the "torrettobrian" scam thread.....
Moderators - please decide where you want this to go but I thought it was important.
This is in response to the recent scam post and a few others who have had bad experiences buying on the net lately. I got ripped off a few years ago and decided to do something about it. The following are the best tips we found that we used to protect buyers. I have used this for years and have never been ripped off since...and found and weeded out the scammers! I hope it helps anyone else here.
I have noticed is that a lot of people here don't protect themselves as much as they could. Here's a little checklist to go through that can help you guys avoid a lot of grief when doing a deal with someone you don't know.
In the future, I hope everyone here checks out people before they do business with them. A lot of you guys here buy and sell a lot of items, and if you know the person...great. But if not make sure you get a home phone# a work phone # a cell phone# home address etc. check out the info too. Call the person. If you think they gave you a cell# as a home or work # - check it out here:
www.fonefinder.net/It will tell you if it's a land line or a cell and what city it goes to.
Reverse the phone#s and addresses they gave you to see where they go. Argali is really good for this. You can also reverse the address.
Just go to
www.argali.com and download their program.
If you think the address is a mail drop you can check that out as well at
http://www.finaid.com/scholarships/maildropsearch.phtmlIf you want to find out who owns the address they give you to send payment to you can also go to
http://www.netronline.com/public_records.htmSelect the state and county of the address. A lot of them have online databases, but you can call the tax assessor as well and find out who owns that property.
These are just a few of the free online resouces you can use to protect yourself and verify the information the seller gives you is accurate.
Ask for references from other people they have done business with. If I'm shelling out $2000 for a tires and parts, I want to know if the person is honest or not.
Make sure the info they give you checks out before you give up any of your hard earned cash. An honest seller won't be offended in the least when you ask them for this info.
