One of the best things in town is to work freelance at your own pace and time, just as how Blogging for Money and MLM. However, of late, I have seen the stream of fraudsters targeting EBAY work. This is really a staggering cause for concern since many have been conned. I got conned back in 2005 and I did time at HMP Belmarsh for that. A customer paid me with dodgy checks which are guaranteed with a guarantee card and verified. It’s a nightmare.
How can you prevent yourself from being conned?
One of the key concern is KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER which is commonly said to identify them using normal KYC standards and as such you commit to a due diligence. If they ask you to post for them advertising, ask yourself, will you get stuck with the fees etc if the deal goes sour? EBAY FEES are about US$5 onwards, as a rule of thumb, 2% of the gross sale.
ASK FOR SECURITY DEPOSIT. If they are LEGIT, they will pay you by PAYPAL, and make sure the email address matches the one they are using to communicate with you. The name must match, otherwise you can lose money. I typically ask from $100 to $2000 depending on the size of the deal and with your best bet is MONEYBOOKERS since they can’t claw back.
ASK FOR PROOF OF IDENTITY. ASK FOR COLOR COPY OF PASSPORT + LOCAL IDENTITY such as Driver’s License. CHECK THE PASSPORT. Make sure it is not PHOTO SHOPPED! Compare the details to your own passport. The CHEVRONS MUST MATCH, no blanks in between. The photo must face you directly, not at 45* angle as it’s only used for Green Card.
Comparable Identification are:
UK DRIVERS LICENSE (ask for counterpart..will show he got speeding tickets or not) , NOT IDP (GREY BOOK)
MALAYSIAN MYKAD (ask for License or bank passbook/Maybank Savings statement to confirm)
SINGAPORE NRIC *PINK COLOR (FRONT AND BACK, ask for a CLEAR THUMB PRINT or SINGPASS verification such as CPF statement or Voters roll)
UK VAT Registration Certificate, Singapore or Malaysia Company Registration Certificate. Verify from SSM or ACRA (fee apply)
ASK FOR PHONE NUMBER, NOT JUST A MOBILE # so you can call him. Use SKYPE to make a quick call. Talk to the person. Google the phone number if you feel it’s not real.
I’m just poofed now..so I will add more after I move my systems to port my blogs in.