WU dot com:
"1. What can I do to protect myself?


Make sure you know to whom you are sending money. Only transfer money to someone you know personally or whose identity you can verify!

If you are purchasing goods or services and paying through the Western Union network, it is your responsibility to verify the reputation and legitimacy of the seller. Western Union is not responsible for the non-receipt or quality of any goods or services.

Do not send money using a fictitious recipient's name. This will not protect you when purchasing from someone you don't know.

Remember that Western Union does not require a receiver to present a money transfer control number (MTCN) to pick up funds.

Discontinue a call if a caller instructs you on how to respond to questions asked by Western Union.

Ask yourself:
- Who is this person?
- Does this money have to be sent immediately?
- Does this offer sound too good to be true?

Security is everyone's responsibility. Stay informed. Keep abreast of consumer fraud trends. A few excellent sources of information include your local newspaper and websites hosted by the United States' Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov) and the National Association of Attorney's General (www.naag.org).

Remember, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is."

everytime i get any email claiming to be from any orginazation
asking me to update or verify anything, I always then forward
the email onto: spoof@ "insert company name" (paypal.com / eBay.com / visa.com)

batting a 1000 so far....

CCrider

AlexRuiz said:I don't think this answers his question, he asked why NOT to accept money via Western Union (seller). In fact, I think this should be safer than paypal for the same reasons of why it is unsafe for the buyer: No way to get the money back. Can anyone shed light on this one? Why not to receive money from Western Union?
Assuming you actually get a legit WU wire transfer, there's no real reason not to accept it. But, since it known as such a source of fraud for *buyers*, few legit sellers are going to have buyers who want to send a WU wire transfer.

That it and of itself is a darn good reason not to accept them. When scammers are well known for accepting WU, and buyers know this, why would a legit seller accept a payment method so very well associated with fraud?

AlexRuiz said:Well, so far you post only explains the "ethic" content of accepting Western Union, but not true risks for the seller. What if the buyer is out of the USA and Western Union is the most convenient, or worse, the only method? What if they really want the item fast and don't have paypal? A buyer couldn't not be aware of its risk, or simply be aware of the risk and take it because of speed or availability. In fact, in a money transfer you go to the WU kiosk, say you got a transfer, provide minimal ID and then collect the money. Where is the risk there for the seller? You sound now like paypal "... a source of fraud for *buyers*....."

In fact, for the seller, Western Union money transfer should be like heaven...... no worries about disputes, chargebacks, held funds, "item not received", "items significantly not as described" and similar stuff..... and you get the money almost instantly.
You're right, there is no reason not to accept WU wire transfers as a seller. They are totally safe for sellers. However, the other considerations as listed above and discussed in other threads are real issues that we as sellers (and buyers) must take into account.

Someone just purchased my laptop with buy it now and it's a scam artist, what do I do now?
sorry I made a separate post before I saw this. thanks for any help.

well aside from 2 feedbacks saying she's a scam artist, she purchased 2 of my laptops and sent this email
Hello,
Compliment of the season to you. I am ********** from
Stone Mountain GA,USA but Presently in London,UK for a business trip. I saw your
product item below on eBay # 6776206461 and i am really intrested
in buying it for my Daugther as a surprise gift for her in school
(university of lagos)and i will handle the shipment expenses.i will
send you my fedex account so you will not pay no money for shipping
to nigeria. i will be sending you payment via PayPal,so kindly send
me your PAYPAL EMAIL ADDRESS so as to immedaitely make out your
payment. make sure you get the package ready for shipment today,you
canship the item as soon as you recieve the paypal confirmation.
Expecting your reply so as to immedaitely make out the payment.
Thanks,
N.B....... If terms are acceptable.send me your PAYPAL EMAIL ADDRESS
and i will make out your payment immedaitely and you will receive
the payment comfirmation from paypal.


What does N.B. mean?? thanks

MuthaFaker said:Just got this in my email from an idiot that calls himself peter. Most probably a university's email address.

http://62.5.162.133/~peter/ws/login.html
Nope, it's an ISP in Russia, surprise, surprise. And the site's still up. A simple whois query would lead to the right place to complain: abuse@mtu.ru.

Complaint sent. We'll see if he goes away.

Dear eBay User ,


After fraud complaints from the eBay members, the eBay Inc. had developed a security program against the fraudulend attempts of accounts thefts. For that we have to securise all the members informations by updating and checking the registrated informations.

As a part of this upgrade, we will also be making the update and check of all eBay users for starting a new secure SSL encrypted program against the taking off of eBay accounts. For that we have to check all eBay users ownership.
Please confirm your registration information by completing the form from the forwarded link so we can check your account validity and your identity:


Complete Verification of eBay account - Click Here

Signin.eBay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?SignIn&ssPageName=h:h:sin:eBayproblems

This process will take 24 hours, period when you will not be able to acces your eBay account. After this period you will receive instructions to enter and securise your eBay account.
Per the User Agreement, Section 9, we may immediately issue a warning, temporarily suspend, indefinitely suspend or terminate your membership and refuse to provide our services to you if we believe that your actions may cause financial loss or legal liability for you, our users or us.
We may also take these actions if we are unable to verify or authenticate any information you provide to us.

After that you can benefit the secure ownership of your eBay account and also by new features:

Reduce the time you spend searching and looking at items
Simplify running complex search queries
Set up Bid Groups to bid on many similar items from different sellers where you only want to win one
Facilitate cross-border trade, specifically for Canadian buyers
You can now edit Individual item specifics in bulk for multiple items.
PayPal Buyer Credit is now available as an option when creating and editing items.
Settings for Distance Sort and Filter are now available as an option in the item location preferences.
Custom description inserts are also now available.
As outlined in our User Agreement, eBay will periodically send you information about site changes and enhancements.

Regards,

Safeharbor Department
eBay, Inc.

is this msg scam? i posted an ad and someone replied with this. looks like scam to me but postal money order? my bet he may not send through postal money order
------------------

hello,
i'm very much intrested in buying your item I hope its still in good shape.
i'll be paying through postal money order & will personally ship
the item with my fedexaccount.Hopeto hear from you soon.
Thanks

what would happen if you accepted a paypal payment from one of these scammers? if they never received the item, would they open a case with paypal against you? or would they just forget about it and move on to the next victim? what would eventually happen to the money in your paypal account?

if they try to scam you, why not fight back? maybe i'm not thinking this all the way through, though.