Lost and found: what you can lose when buying on free classifieds sites
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One of the many dishonest ways to take money from the population is fraud in the sale of goods on free classifieds sites. For many Russians who buy things there, it may be a revelation that if an item purchased there turns out to be stolen, then the buyer, even without being aware of the criminal origin of the item, can act as a witness in a criminal case if the fact of the theft is revealed. “MK” asked experts to remind us what risks await Russians when applying for this or that item through free classifieds and how to protect themselves.
State Duma deputy Sergei Gavrilov said that thieves often use free classifieds platforms and groups on social networks to resell stolen items, and those at risk include mobile phones, bicycles and motorcycles, and jewelry. In this case, the unwitting “participant in the crime” – the new owner of the stolen item – will be obliged to provide the police with information about the transaction and provide documents on the purchase. At the same time, he will be able to return the money for the goods confiscated from him as part of a criminal case through the court.
Lawyer Konstantin Trapaidze, for his part, expressed the opinion to MK that “the platform itself should fight for the “purity” of sellers and buyers: these are ratings of sellers and buyers, their non-anonymity, openness of information about the transaction through the acquiring accounts of the platform.” He added that if a criminal case is suddenly initiated regarding the purchase of a stolen item by the buyer, then recording this transaction, correspondence in your personal profile, all the information about how and to whom you transferred the money will prove that you are a bona fide buyer, and in this In this case, the purchased goods may not even always be confiscated.
But we are talking not only and not so much about well-known free classifieds sites, where there are some mechanisms to protect buyers from scammers, but about numerous resources for free classified ads around the country. Now almost every village has its own public page on the Internet “Free, flea market”. And the main risk here is not even the purchase of a stolen item, which is still rare, but the loss of money by a person instead of acquiring a dream item.
Here are a couple of recent cases cited by the press service of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. A resident of Barnaul saw a message on the website about the sale of a Toyota Corolla car for 150,000 rubles. I contacted the seller and asked him questions about the documentation and operation of the vehicle. And then the actions unfolded according to a common fraudulent scheme: the seller asked for an advance payment in the amount of 25,000 rubles. Then, under various pretexts, the deceiver asked several times to transfer money to him, which the victim obediently complied with. After the victim transferred 109,000 rubles, the ad on the site was deleted, and the “seller” stopped communicating. The victim contacted the police, after which a criminal case was opened under the article “Fraud committed causing significant damage to a citizen.”
The following case: a citizen decided to purchase a snow blower after seeing information about its sale on a free classified ad website. The trusting man made an advance payment, but never received the promised equipment. In connection with such incidents, of which the police have recorded a great many, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation (once again!) urged citizens: do not pay for goods and services through unfamiliar Internet sites, do not leave an advance payment for goods purchased through ad sites! The police also warned that “advertisements for urgent sale at unreasonably low prices are often used by scammers as bait for prepayment schemes.” In other words, transactions on too favorable terms should raise red flags.
“We decided to buy a laptop – in stores this brand costs 46,000 rubles, but on an advertisement site we found the same one for 40,000 rubles,” vigilant Muscovite Artem shared his experience with MK. — The seller assured that the laptop had not been opened, was packaged, and he allegedly bought it from a well-known chain, but “circumstances have changed” and is now selling it. But we were alarmed that he had two such devices for sale. If a person buys for himself, why does he need two? And what seemed most suspicious was the fact that the man demanded 100% payment in cash, and we could open the laptop only after giving him the money. We did not contact him, believing that he was using some kind of illegal scheme or, perhaps, stole equipment from some warehouse, having access there.”
“MK” asked the “cyber detective” to talk about the risks when purchasing goods on free classifieds sites.
“Firstly, these are scammers on the site itself,” explains cybersecurity expert Igor Bederov. “They can be administrators of the portal, a specific store on it, or users who contact victims under the pretext of changes in the payment system. That is, a person contacts the buyer on behalf of the seller with the words “something has changed with us,” or even on behalf of the site informs that “the payment format is changing,” accordingly, “the money will be returned to you,” but you need to transfer it to another account, for why a QR code is sent to the FPS (Fast Payment System) or some other. The victim is given a QR code or acquiring (online payment system) for payment, which has nothing to do with the real participant in the legal relationship.
Secondly, numerous direct discounts should alert you. These are half-price iPhones, advance reservations and deposits. The third risk is the delivery of goods of inadequate quality and quantity. The fourth is the acquisition of stolen goods or counterfeit goods, which may threaten the acquisition of equipment by the copyright holder or its blocking.
The expert recalled the precautions, which he called “standard,” but for some they will be a revelation. The first is to get a separate, non-credit card with a limited limit of money on it for online payments (money should be transferred to it only in the amount that is needed for a particular online purchase). The second thing is not to store passwords in browsers, using external managers for this. Third, unlink payment via SMS messages using your credit card. Fourth, prohibit your mobile operator from re-issuing and other operations with your account and SIM card without your personal presence. Fifth, do not follow suspicious links, but use an antivirus; in addition, check the links and sites you go to, taking into account that the domain that processes the data of Russians must be located in Russia, be registered not a month ago, and also have a clear indication of the business entity on whose behalf the commercial activity is conducted . And sixth, you need to look at the seller’s ratings and still try to pay for the goods physically upon delivery.
Newspaper headline:
The Dark Side of Free Ads
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