Online shopping is blowing up the internet, now more than ever before, and we all know why! This pandemic has crippled the traditional shopping trends, and now Cyber Monday may be the biggest sale of the year.
Not only do major retailers put their items on sale, but individual retailers and secondhand shops will also most likely have their deals as well.
The Facebook marketplace has grown in considerable popularity in the last couple of years as a substantially accessible pathway for individuals to sell their used or specialty goods.
Buying items through Facebook is often very affordable and accessible when the seller is local. But sadly, like every other enjoyable experience in life, there have been those who take others’ vulnerability to their advantage to make a profit.
Don’t Purchase or Sell Through Any Online Platform Until You Know These 3 Things:
Make sure the seller or buyer is credible, and they are correctly using the platform (Facebook Marketplace has their messaging system to keep track of transactions and conversations. If they message you outside of this system, it is an instant RED FLAG)
The payment method they would like to use is not popular or is not lining up with PayPal or Venmo’s policy (see below to read more about how Paypal is getting compromised).
They overpay you, or the seller wants too little for the product; this is often one of the biggest mistakes the scammers make!
More About The Paypal Scam:
Paying through Paypal is one of the most reliable forms of online payment there is. They are incredibly secure, but the hackers use a very well-formatted email that looks like it’s coming from PayPal. The Hacker’s goal in this example is to get your product without paying for it.
When you pay with PayPal, you can easily find the recipient by looking up the shipper’s email. The hackers use this to their advantage, asking for your email and name on the account. They then compose an email that appears to be sent by PayPal. However, it doesn’t appear in your app until the product has shipped, and there is proof of shipment.
Look carefully at the sender information in this email. It says it’s from Paypal.com, but look again; it is actually from [email protected], which is not affiliated with PayPal at all. A legitimate payment will always send emails from [email protected].
Now let us look at the full body of the email:
This seller would have paid the shipping cost for the scammer to steal the item! Now that is adding an insult to injury!
While the scammers may have pulled this email template from a legitimate email that PayPal uses, always check the three warning signs listed above before purchasing anything online.
Have you been compromised? Contact Computerbilities for a Free no Obligation Dark Web Scan!
Adam Pittman is President of Computerbilities, Inc. and is a veteran Computer Technician and Network Engineer with more than 35 years of experience in the computer industry. Adam has worked with local and federal government agencies and with more than 2000 businesses in more than 100 industries, including companies such as Boeing, General Dynamics and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. In 2006, Adam was the recipient of the Businessman of the Year award and received the Secretary of Defense Patriotic Employer Award in 2017. Computerbilities was named Best of Business Raleigh Business Services in 2013. In his spare time, Adam is passionate about Sailing and has sailed the British and U. S. Virgin Islands more than a dozen times.
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