Be careful who you sell things to online.
A warning from police after reports of eTransfer scams in sales from online marketplaces. This after five reports to Westshore RCMP in the last few weeks from transactions on Used.ca
In these scams, a scammer masquerading as a buyer messages a seller that they are interested in purchasing the item for sale.
The scammer offers an etransfer to buy or hold the item, but when accepting the payment, a seller must input their bank account information in order to receive the money.
Police say in the background what’s actually taking place is the scam artist is rerouting money from the sellers account into their own, essentially draining the sellers bank account.
They’ve released these tips as a way to tell if you could be involved in this type of scam:
- Buyer appears overly eager and wants to place a hold on the item(s) for sale, they state they cannot pick up the items right away ie. “I am moving and can’t come get the item”
- Buyer asks you to respond using your personal e-mail
- Buyer insists on e-transfer payment using PayPal (which redirects you to a fraudulent link);
- The buyer is relying on you to input your banking information using the fraudulent link they sent for e-transfer
- A Seller can set up auto deposit, which will prevent you from having to input any banking information and protect your bank account.
