It is dangerous not only to buy, but also to sell on the ad portal – you can fall into the “triangle” scheme



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“I already received such a specific offer from a girl who said that she is from Panevėžys and wants to buy me a camera today. She asked me not to negotiate an account. I already sent an invoice, I waited for the money in the account and nobody” fell “.

She wrote to me to ask for a taxi to pick up the money and sent me a supposed copy of the order. He also sent me an identity document, a completely different person who made me suspicious. Of course, I did not receive the money, but I did not deliver the merchandise either, ”commented Vitalis Mika from Vilnius.

At first, the buyer was quick to buy the item for sale, and when the seller questioned his honesty, the buyer disappeared. The Vilnius resident shared the suspicions with the police.

The person in charge of the portal Skelbiu.lt says that this is one of the most popular fraud schemes on the Internet. It is not known how many people got into it. Now there has been an increase in so-called triangle thefts, where the buyer’s money scam buys the item they need. A fake copy of a money transfer is often sent to the buyer.

“Scammers want to buy a phone with a value of, say, 100 euros. Then they put another ad that also costs $ 100, but usually makes a very attractive offer. Let’s say that, in reality, maybe the value of the phone is of 150 euros, but he put 100 and definitely everyone is interested and willing to buy that phone.

The scammer says well, I am selling you for 100 Eur, but I make a good discount and you make me an order. However, you do not provide your own bank account number, but rather that of the seller selling that real, coveted phone. It turns out that the innocent buyer pays for the scammer’s phone, ”said Simonas Orkin, director of Diginet LTU.

The portal monitors these advertisements in case of suspicion, blocks them, removes them and reports them to the police. Police say scammers act fast, are prepared and avoid any contact. Pick up the goods sent by taxi or shuttle.

“The suspects are now ready for the preparations, the transfers and, as they say, with basic computer skills they can falsify that transfer payment. If a person does not go into details, they think everything is in order and send that article, “said Alexei Gubenko, head of the Kaunas Criminal Police Investigation Board for property crimes.

The police have known about this scheme for two years and, during the quarantine, the number of online advertising spaces has increased significantly.

“We can assume that there may be calls from the prison, but at this point I cannot comment on the details either, but after doing some homework, the analysis can put all the points on the i. We are really buying that kind of fraud, “said Oleg Bigbajev, Head of the 3rd Division of the Crime Investigation Board of the Vilnius Criminal Police.

Surveillance and surveillance are the main weapons to protect against scams.

“It just came to our notice then. If you suspect, double check. Ask the seller to upload more photos, record live video, and skip, show the item. If you have that thing, you can do it,” S. Orkin advised.

“Critically evaluate when a person introduces themselves or gives a name and sends payment details to another person or communicates with a man while a woman needs to pay for a product. On the other hand, questions arise as to why it is necessary to pay someone else’s bill, “said A. Gubenko.

Officials remind us that the bank card number, login code and password do not need to be disclosed in any way when buying or selling. However, although fraud schemes are not new, there are many pitfalls. This year alone, some 80 pre-trial investigations have been launched in Lithuania.



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