Buy & Sell Anything For FREE! Free Ads, Free classifieds, place your ad for free, Flog the lot.ie-Safety Page

Safety - Please take a moment to read these safety messages.

BEWARE COUNTERFEIT BANK DRAFTS… Flog the Lot wish to advise customers to be aware of person(s) who may attempt to pay for items advertised for sale by way of COUNTERFEIT BANK DRAFTS. It is further advised that if you are in any doubt as to the validity of a Bank Draft to seek clearance from a Bank before parting with any goods. Please beware of any email requests offering to overpay for your item via bank draft and asking you to send the remainder amount back via wire money transfer. This is an illegal scam! DO NOT REPLY TO THESE EMAILS. Flog the Lot would appreciate being informed about any such suspicious activity.

Please remember:

If it looks too good to be true it probably is
Never send or wire money using services like Bidpay, Western Union or Money Gram only use Paypal. It is our experience that these forms of fund transfer are favoured by fraudsters.
Be wary of proposals to use a third party payment service as often these are hoaxes. Check the company’s website directly for details to see if the service exists and how it works.

When buying or selling, you should meet in-person to see the item and exchange money. The purpose of Flog the Lot is to encourage face-to-face, local, trading. For personal ease and safety, always ensure you take someone with you. If you’re answering a home service ad, ask the poster to produce identity and proof of qualification before inviting them into your home.

Never send your item before receiving the money
Never wire money to sellers or buyers. This includes using payment services like Bidpay, Western Union or Money Gram to pay for items. It is our belief that these forms of funds transfer are favoured by fraudsters.
Flogthelot doesn’t offer any sort of buyer protection/ payment programs. Any emails you receive that talk about such systems are scams, even if they may have the flogthelot or paypal logo. If you receive any emails promoting these services, please report it to us.
Please also take special care when buying expensive items like mobile phones, laptops, plasma TVs, airline tickets and even tickets for shows/gigs. When buying airline tickets we suggest you take the seller’s name and ticket number, check the ticket exists and take responsibility yourself for changing the names.
When buying tickets for events please be aware that some tickets may have terms printed on them that limit the ability of the original buyer to sell them to someone else. Some event tickets, e.g. Glastonbury Festival, may also feature a photograph of the original buyer which may mean that anyone other than the original buyer may be refused entry to the event.
Never provide your personal or banking information (e.g. credit card number) to others over the Internet.
Make yourself aware of common scams and fraud. Do not believe the promise of large sums of money for your help in any task.
Report any attempted fraud or suspicious emails, ads, or other activity by community members.
In case of fraud or illegal activity, we also recommend that you report it to the Police. Scam info There are some dodgy people out there, and despite our efforts to keep them from flogthelot and protect you, occasionally a bogus ad or buyer slips through.

Read below for some common scams on the net to watch out for.

Brand name spoofing/phishing:
You get an email that claims to be from flogthelot, eBay, Western Union,paypal or another company and offers buyer protection or an online payment system or perhaps a cash prize. These emails will typically request that you send money or provide personal information. Any emails which combine urgency with some need for personal details should be treated with caution, no matter whom they purport to be from. Flogthelot and most other companies will never send out such emails. If you send money via these sites you are likely sending money to the fraudsters. If you receive an email alleging to be from a company offering a service then go directly to the company’s official website and look for details of the service.

Cheque overpayment:
A buyer or seller or prospective tenant will send you a cheque worth more than the value of the items/ rent and then ask for the surplus money to be returned to them or a third party, for example “to pay for shipping”. The cheque will clear into your bank, only to be stopped/refused weeks later. At this point, the Banks/Building Societies will take the full cheque amount back out of your account. Not only will you have lost the goods, you will be out of pocket for the amount of the cheque and the amount you passed on as the difference.

Payment for brokerage/importing:
A seller claims that there are brokerage fees, import duties, or other such fees required to get an item into the country. Do not pay such fees, as you will most often never get the product and will have lost any money you paid. Again, flogthelot is designed for easy to use, local trading.

Fake escrow sites:
A buyer or seller or prospective tenant/ landlord suggests using an escrow service to complete the transaction. Often these escrow web sites are run by fraudsters (even though they may look "official") and they will take your money and never send you the product.

Work from home:
Many work from home offers are "pyramid schemes" which require you to recruit other members in order to get paid. For example, an ad may say that you can make 100 an hour by stuffing envelopes. But to make that money, you need to sell the system to others.

419 Scams:
You get an email saying that your help is needed to take money out of a country and that you will be paid a commission for your help. Eventually they will ask you for money to help them take the large amount of money out of the country and once you pay you will never hear from them again.

Other good sources of information to read about common scams on the net are:

Get Safe Online - is an online safety guide with top 10 safety tips – well worth checking out - http://www.getsafeonline.org/
Metropolitan Police Fraud Alert Pages – is an information portal put together by the Metropolitan Police - http://www.met.police.uk/fraudalert/

I have been a victim of a scam/ I suspect a scam what should I do?
Report it to us so that we can take a look and take appropriate action. If you have been a victim of a scam we also encourage you to report it to the Police. Remember that we are a site which cares about its users which is why we READ EVERY ADVERT placed and reject those which are unsuitable or seem to be scams. Please e-mail us with any problems you have with flogthelot.ie and we will do your best to help.

I have received an email that I think may be a scam. How can I tell if it is dodgy or not?
There are many different types of email scams that exist. You should show caution in all instances, especially with people who;

Are from overseas
Request payment via Western Union (or other online payment methods)
Request that you send goods before you receive payment
Claim to have a friend/agent who can pay you an amount greater than the value of your goods, then ask you to send them the difference.

Here are two examples of fraudulent emails:
DEAR SIR. THROUGH THE INTRNET I DISCOVERED THAT YOU WANT TO SELL solid wood dining suite IN THE AMOUNT OF GBP 800, IN WHICH I HAVE INTEREST ON IT. OUR PAYMENT IS BY BANK DRAFT. WHILE WE URGE YOU TO FURNISH US THE NAME, ADDRESS AND TEL. NO FOR YOU TO RECEIVE THE PAYMENT. WAITING FOR YOUR URGENT REPLY.

Hello, I have seen the price and its ok by me then i have instructed my client in to issue the cheque on your name , meanwhlie i also instructed him to include your money on the payment so you should be expecting a cheque of £1500. this excess is for my shipper that will be coming for pick up of the goods from your location, the funds will be used for the shipping of the {racelet trailer tent} along side other goods i placed order for in care of my shipper to handle for me, i imploy that as soon as you receive my payment cash and and deduct your money for the item (£300) and have my shipping Charges Paid to My delivery Company as soon as you receive the payment . My Shipper will come for pick up of the goods on a specified date that will be convenient for you i hope i can count on you for my balance I ALSO WANT THIS TO BASE ON TRUST CAN I TRUST YOU?...hope i can trust you with my shipping company charges. Please acknowledge this email I have sent you and await my Payment. I request you provide me with your details, for Payment to be Issued and mailed out to you .

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