Monday, January 12, 2009

Don't Be Too Eager

As sales likely decrease over the next few months it can be tempting to latch onto any potential sale, but be careful. Scams abound, and while not all are as obvious as this, you should always be wary.

"Greetings sales,
I was looking to order for some of the nice product you have in stock.but before I proceed, I will want to know if you do the below.

1) accept credit card payment
2) lagos Nigeria shipment
3) which of the courrier services you ship with.

kindly get back to me as soon as possible today along with your website address if these are acceptable.

Sincerely.
J"


Isn't that nice of "J"? He wants to buy my nice product, but doesn't even know my website. Nor does he know my name.

This is an obvious scam e-mail and I immediately hit the delete button, but sometimes scammers are more subtle and harder to flush out.

Never send product without payment. Never agree to ship to an out of country address if it isn't the same as the billing address.

I'd personally hold a shipment if paid with a money order - especially on a large purchase - if made from overseas. Money Orders can be faked - sometimes so well that banks can't even tell. If you are at all concerned - listen to that inner voice - hold the shipment. For as long as you need - 10, 15 days. Whatever. If they are legitimate they will understand.

Be careful out there!

1 comment:

Youniquely Chic said...

oh yeah i've gotten a few of these myself! Not sure how they got my email address but it all started when I joined different social networks! I love the fact that they love my stuff but have never been to my online store to see it!

Anyway, thank you for your kind words on my blog! and thanks for the visit! You are VERY talented! I am going to add you to my Etsy favorites right now!

Take Care,
Tara