Trading Post sms enquiries to ad

[lacad01 (Adam)]

Hi all, just after some advice from those who've advertised on the Trading Post. I've listed something for sale and about 10 minutes after the ad went live I received about three (3) SMS enquiries for the item however the phone numbers were preceded by international dial codes (+44 UK and +20 Egypt). Could these be scammers or is it a legit online SMS service the enquirers are using?? Just wondering what other Trading Post users think, cheers

[slowflow (Barry)]

Stinks of scam. Typically, all sorts of promises but no funds. part with the goods when the money is in your hand & be careful not to give banking details.

[LewisM]

Scam. IF you respond, they will tell you they are working offshore, they will have an agent collect it, and they insist on Paypal payment etc. They usually first contact with "what is your best price..."

Be creative if you decide to respond. I once told one that yes, my Camry was still available and my best price was $45000. "It" responded and started the pay with paypal, agent collect BS...

[lacad01 (Adam)]

Cheers guys. Yep Lewis, exactly how a couple of the replies started "what's the lowest price?" and some crap about sending more photos...well there's more than enough info in the ad

[Danack (Dan Ackroyd)]

Originally Posted by lacad01

is it a legit online SMS service the enquirers are using??

Even if it's a legit SMS service, there's nothing stopping scammers from using it. I was working for a company until recently that ran an online SMS product - and the vast majority of our 'customers' were people using stolen credit cards to buy SMS credit to carry out auction fraud.

I'd strongly recommend just replying 'give me a call to discuss' to any SMS received, and still remaining alert to fraudulent tactics.