Every month hundreds of individuals do business over our free classified ads. The vast majority of these transactions are uneventful and positive. Unfortunately, like every other website that provides free classified ads, Bowiste.com and Stickbow.com are not immune to the opportunistic Internet fruadsters and scams. We are happy to announce several fraud prevention and detection controls that have been put in place here in an attempt to make it very difficult, and risky, for fraudsters to operate here. Despite these efforts, the best protection is afforded by you - by being smart and cautious when doing business online. Here are some tips:
Internet fraudsters will contact you to buy your item, typically for full price or sometimes more than you are offering. They will ask you if you accept a bank check or Money Order. Everything may seem on the up and up, but it is not. They will send you a check and you will cash it. A couple weeks later your bank will contact you and alert you that the check was not legitimate. If you sent your goods, or sent money to the person, you are officially a victim of a well known internet scam.
This is a dead giveaway. If the person contacting you does not know how to form correct sentences and uses improper grammar, there is a great chance that the person is a fraudster. Most of these scams originate overseas where they have not fully grasped the English language and Grammar. While it's possible the person is legit, poor grammar should arouse suspicion and you may be better off moving on.
The buyer will send you a check that looks completely legitimate. They will invite you to cash it and make sure it goes through. It all sounds good, but in reality the check it bogus and it will be rejected by your bank. Unfortunately that could take 2 weeks due to the nature of the check and the banking process. For more tips on common check frauds click here.
We have implemented a new feature for our PM system. If you suspect a problem, report it to us. If we get 2 or more reports on an individual we remove their ability to use our PM system. This is a simple measure but it has proven to be extremely effective.
Here is an actual message received on Stickbow.com's Leatherwall.
"Hello, I am fully interested in purchase your item.I would like to ask you some questions regarding this item.I would like to know if you are the right owner of this item . I would be paying you Via US BANK certified Check for this item and moreover get back to me with your email address so i can contact you directly and also get back to me with the actual price of the item without any delay .If you are willing to sell the item to me and get bact to me your full name and address for the payment including your phone # and aslo if you have any question regarding this item feel free to get back to me Thanks "
Note, poor grammar and stating payment via US BANK certified check. This may seem legit but it is in fact, a fraud.