Classified Scams
Despite efforts to keep the dropzone classifieds free of scammers, when offering a free service it becomes extremely difficult to prevent these unwanted individuals from registering and posting ads or contacting sellers. We still attempt to do all we can to ensure that every buyer and seller have a positive experience through the classifieds we offer, and in turn act as quick as possible to disable any scam users and to post an alert out on the forums, notifying you of these scammers - so you know who to avoid.
Currently we rely on you, the buyer and the seller to report scams to us. And here's what to look for in an ad or ad response:
Buyer Scams
Seller Scams
Seller ads can be flagged by users, but we remind users that this method should only be used if you're sure it's a scam. If you're unsure of the legitimacy, send us an e-mail at abuse(at)dropzone.com and we will look into whether the ad is legitimate or a scam and act accordingly
When we receive a scam report, we then follow up and do some investigation of our own to determine whether in fact the user is a scammer or whether their ad merely appears like that of a scammer.
If it's determined that the user is a scammer, we will make a post in the scam forum alerting the users to the reported user. This report will also be shown at the top of the main classifieds page. We recommend that users check this forum before completing any classifieds deal.
With our template changes that took place in early 2013, we also now display user's classified ads on their profile pages, and because of this, we have decided to allow users to see whether or not a user is a scammer at the top of that user's profile. Should the user have been determined to be a scammer, you will see a warning present at the top of their profile.
Trusted Users
Users who have premium accounts, or are regular contributers to the classifieds and are known to be trusted in their transactions will be flagged as 'trusted users' on their profile. This means that the odds of getting scammer by the user in question are extremely low and that other buyers have found them to be reliable. Likewise, ads that are submitted as featured ads are more trustworthy than free ads.
Please note: While we are able to determine and in turn let you know which users are likely to be trustworthy, we cannot provide any guarantee on any user's legitimacy and in turn cannot be held responsible for any losses, whether it be a loss of equipment or financial. The dropzone classifieds remains a free service which seeks to put a buyer and seller in touch with each other, and once communication has been made between the buyer and seller, dropzone.com is no longer involved in any way with the transaction.
By admin, in Security And Scams,
Who should I notify about fraud or scam attempts
FTC toll free hotline: 877-FTC-HELP (877-382-4357)
FTC online complaint form (www.ftc.gov)
Canadian PhoneBusters hotline: 888-495-8501
Internet Fraud Complaint Center (www.ic3.gov)
Non-emergency number for your local police department. If you suspect that an item posted on Dropzone.com or a inquiry from a buyer is a scam:
Visit the Security and Scam Alerts Forum to see if it has been reported.
Email the details to "[email protected]". Be sure to include the URL or ad ID (on the bottom right corner of the posted ad) in your message.
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Can you send me more information about a user
Unfortunately not. Our privacy policy prohibits us from sharing user information that was not made public by the user. Here's what you should do.
By admin, in Security And Scams,
I am suspicious about a user, what should I do
Do not contact the site admin. We can not provide you with more information than what you can find below:
Read the Security and Scam Alerts forum. If we've had a complaint about a user it's likely to be logged here.
Read about different scams in the Security and Scams Help Section. Make sure you understand how these common scams work.
Look at the user's profile. This is the information the user opted to make public. Look at the registration date, how active has the person been on the site. Ask questions! Before you enter into any transaction, ask a LOT of questions! As skydiving specific questions that will be hard for a non-skydiver to answer. Do your best to find out who's on the other side.
When in doubt, cut it out. If you "feel" suspicious about a potential buyer or seller, it may be better to avoid the hassle and move on.
Use your common sense!
By admin, in Security And Scams,
Classifieds Buyer Scams
The typical Buyers Scam involves someone offering to purchase gear and sending more money than the advertised price, asking that the seller send the over-payment ("change") to someone or deposit it into an account. The scammers use different names and the exact form of the offer may vary.
See the Security and Scam Alerts forum for the most recent reported scams.
General advice:
DO NOT do business with anyone who offers to send you payment for a higher amount than your selling price with the understanding that you'll send back the balance.
Be suspicious of anyone claiming to be acting on behalf of a "client" or another "customer".
Be suspicious of anyone claiming to be from Nigeria or West Africa
Scam users will often copy and paste the item title when referring to it in their e-mail.
Their given location will often not sync up with their typing or with their story.
In almost all cases they will approach you and state that they will organize a courier to collect the item.
Be suspicious of anyone who refers to the gear as 'the item'.
Don't trust stories about the gear being bought for ones father's birthday or by someone working on an oil rig at sea.
If you agree to accept a check payment, then do not send anything, gear or "change" before the check cleared. And be careful, if you manage to clear a fraudulent check then you may be liable for the damages if the bank finds out later. Make sure your bank authenticates the check.
If it sounds to good to be true, then it probably is.
What do when a scammer contacts you:
DO NOT reply with any personal information.
Best is to not reply at all. Simply ignore the email.
Forward the contact form email to [email protected]
Example of a scam offer:
Username => hawkin
Name => micheal
FromEmail => [email protected]
City =>
Country =>
Comments => hello ,i am mr micheal
One of my customers as told me to help him to purhcase your Cricket
Reserve - 145
.After looking at the adverts on internet ,i noticed
you have it for sale .So i would want to purchase immediately.Please get
back
to me with your final selling price and
also a NAME and CONTACT ADDRESS which you would want your payments
sent to.My customer would prepare and send you a CHECK OR MONEY ORDER
for payments as soon as i hear from you.i would also want you to know
that you would send any excess funds on the CHECK/MONEY ORDER after
deducting the totaL cost of your item ,and any excess
funds on the MONEY ORDER /CHECK would be my own profit + shipping
cause i will handle the shipment of the good too and the funds would
be sent
to me via western union money transfer.I await your reply with
necessary information so payments can be sent immediately.
P.S FEEL FREE TO CALL ME ON MY MOBILE NUMBER +447031840486
Thank you
REPLY
By admin, in Security And Scams,
Classifieds Seller Scams
The typical Seller Scam involves someone offering gear for sale that they have copied from some other site - typically EBay. These scams may be harder to detect but a little common sense can help prevent you from becoming a victim:
See the Security and Scam Alerts forum for the most recent reported scams.
What to look out for:
The subject line and body of these ads are often quite clearly a "copy-and-paste" version of some other ad.
In many cases the seller will not have made the effort to scrub the ad, so you'll still see references to "bidding" if the ad has been lifted from EBay for example.
While not in itself an indication of a scam, a skydiver will usually be able to break down their gear and show the actual manufacturer, type and size information in the fields provided for that.
Be suspicious of any user who registered very recently and immediately posted and ad. While this in itself is no indication of a certain scam, just be more cautious. Dropzone.com will show an Alert message, like the one below, if someone registered on the same day they posted the ad.
Alert! This user registered on the day this ad was posted.
What to do if you spot a scam ad:
If you're quite CERTAIN an ad is a scam, click the "Report a Scam" link at the top of the ad and let us know.
If you SUSPECT it may be a scam and you want to find out, here are a few questions we suggest you ask the seller:
What's your USPA (or licensing organization) number?
How long have you been jumping, how many jumps have you done and what is your home DZ?
Give me the name of your DZO or Instructor, and his/her contact info?
Give me the name and contact info of a regular jump-buddy?
When and who did you buy this gear from?
Give me your phone number?
Contact the seller and make sure he/she can answer these questions and others you may to your satisfaction.
By admin, in Security And Scams,