How to Buy and Sell with Confidence Online
Online fraud: Internet crime is the growing concern for online retailers
When dealing with business partners over the Internet, you must take special precaution steps to confirm you know who you are dealing with. Before doing business, you have to authenticate them, to avoid problems. Many online sellers and buyers are fraudsters that conduct their dubious activities for financial gain and refrain not from using crime to achieve their goals.
Having that said, make sure to follow these safety instructions when doing business online:
- Always authenticate your party. Ask for their names, telephone numbers and addresses before doing business.
- Check their website for contact details. Steer away from them, when no contact information can be found.
- Check the telephone directory. Is their company listed? Is the address in the directory consistent with what they say?
- Make personal contact. Call them, email them and preferably meet them face to face to confirm they are real humans and not a phoney company registered somewhere in the Caribbean.
- Ask your friends and family if they know these people. If it's an established company, chances are someone you know has heard about them.
- If you are dealing with a person, not a company, you can verify their identity by requesting a photocopy of a passport, driving license or personal ID.
- Keep track of all emails and mail you send and receive from them. If will be a lot easier to find them using the information stored in email headers or post office stamp.
- If you are doing business via proxy, e.g. eBay or PayPal, you may request more information about your party from these companies. Usually, when crime is involved, Police have access to this information and can find the fraudsters more easily than if you were doing business directly.
- If big money is involved, it may be safer to use an escrow service to complete the transaction.
