BEFORE YOU EMBARK ON ANY ONLINE TRANSACTION, PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THE FOLLOWING:
All online platforms are there to make profit and therefore none gives a hoot on whether you get defrauded or not.
Nairaland.com, Nigeria's largest forum has turned to a soft ground for scammers. Please note that any online transaction you are doing with anybody is always at caveat Emptor basis.
The following points are very salient to take note of being givigiving anybody money in a faceless forums and blogs
1. Search for the Person’s Name and Phone Number on Search Engines to Know What Other People are Saying or Have Said about the Person: This is very necessary because it will help save you from falling prey to what others have fallen and come out to testify. Most scammers take advantage of the fact that most Nigerians don’t make research before dealing with them to scam as many people as possible using the same name and method. Do a thorough Google search to know more about the person and should you not find any trace of the person’s name and phone number anywhere on net, then it is a good sign to be suspicious already.
2. Always Desire to Meet the Person One on One if Possible: The best online transaction is meeting the person online and then going offline to complete the transaction. Never start and complete your transaction online no matter how genuine it may seem to appear. But if you must start and complete the transaction online where it is impossible to meet the person online, then take note of the other points listed in this article.
3. Don’t Pay Until You Have Gotten Either Your Goods or Services and Ensure That it is in a Good State: Most people sell goods that are bad online because they know that as soon as it gets to you, returning it will be difficult if not impossible thus they packaged a defaulted goods and send to you. It may take you sometime to notice the fault in the goods and by then it becomes too late to have your money back. In extreme cases, you may not even receive the goods you paid for. So ensure you get your goods before making payments
4. Get As Much As Possible the Person’s Personal Details and Pictures: This is for security reason. It will enable the tracing and tracking of the person should he/she run away with your money. Scammers usually use fake names and pictures in their business transaction with potential prey. Therefore, ensure you just don’t accept the name he told you with the one picture he/she is using to chat with you. Try as much as possible to get his/her Facebook ID and contact some of his friends to ensure he is who he claims he is.
5. Withdraw the moment your mind starts having doubt: One thing about online scammers is that in the long run they will show signs of being dubious and then your mind will start doubting if the person is real or not. Well, I am here to advice you that immediately your mind starts being skeptical about the business, quit the transaction and leave it at whatever level you have reached with the person. Don’t say you have started therefore you need to complete what you have started. It is better to lose five thousand naira than losing ten thousand naira.
6. Report the person as soon as you discover that you have scammed: The mistake most people make is letting scammers go the moment they discovered that they have been scammed. This is very wrong. The first step to getting a scammer trapped is to report him/her to the online platform that you met him/her so that everybody that searches for his name will see that he is a scammer and beware. After that you can then go ahead to report him to the appropriate security agents so that he or she will be brought to book. Note that there is no way you can do this without having a good details of him which includes his real name, pictures, place of resident and place of work or school if possible.
All online platforms are there to make profit and therefore none gives a hoot on whether you get defrauded or not.
Nairaland.com, Nigeria's largest forum has turned to a soft ground for scammers. Please note that any online transaction you are doing with anybody is always at caveat Emptor basis.
The following points are very salient to take note of being givigiving anybody money in a faceless forums and blogs
1. Search for the Person’s Name and Phone Number on Search Engines to Know What Other People are Saying or Have Said about the Person: This is very necessary because it will help save you from falling prey to what others have fallen and come out to testify. Most scammers take advantage of the fact that most Nigerians don’t make research before dealing with them to scam as many people as possible using the same name and method. Do a thorough Google search to know more about the person and should you not find any trace of the person’s name and phone number anywhere on net, then it is a good sign to be suspicious already.
2. Always Desire to Meet the Person One on One if Possible: The best online transaction is meeting the person online and then going offline to complete the transaction. Never start and complete your transaction online no matter how genuine it may seem to appear. But if you must start and complete the transaction online where it is impossible to meet the person online, then take note of the other points listed in this article.
3. Don’t Pay Until You Have Gotten Either Your Goods or Services and Ensure That it is in a Good State: Most people sell goods that are bad online because they know that as soon as it gets to you, returning it will be difficult if not impossible thus they packaged a defaulted goods and send to you. It may take you sometime to notice the fault in the goods and by then it becomes too late to have your money back. In extreme cases, you may not even receive the goods you paid for. So ensure you get your goods before making payments
4. Get As Much As Possible the Person’s Personal Details and Pictures: This is for security reason. It will enable the tracing and tracking of the person should he/she run away with your money. Scammers usually use fake names and pictures in their business transaction with potential prey. Therefore, ensure you just don’t accept the name he told you with the one picture he/she is using to chat with you. Try as much as possible to get his/her Facebook ID and contact some of his friends to ensure he is who he claims he is.
5. Withdraw the moment your mind starts having doubt: One thing about online scammers is that in the long run they will show signs of being dubious and then your mind will start doubting if the person is real or not. Well, I am here to advice you that immediately your mind starts being skeptical about the business, quit the transaction and leave it at whatever level you have reached with the person. Don’t say you have started therefore you need to complete what you have started. It is better to lose five thousand naira than losing ten thousand naira.
6. Report the person as soon as you discover that you have scammed: The mistake most people make is letting scammers go the moment they discovered that they have been scammed. This is very wrong. The first step to getting a scammer trapped is to report him/her to the online platform that you met him/her so that everybody that searches for his name will see that he is a scammer and beware. After that you can then go ahead to report him to the appropriate security agents so that he or she will be brought to book. Note that there is no way you can do this without having a good details of him which includes his real name, pictures, place of resident and place of work or school if possible.
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