Online interactions are probably safer today than they’ve ever been – the South African police are better equipped to handle cases, technology has evolved to anticipate needs and most importantly, consumers are better educated and thus more able to spot red flags. But there are rare occasions where individuals are caught out by criminals, and it’s important to know how to respond.
This is according to Claire Cobbledick, head of marketing at Gumtree SA, who says: “The best way to prevent a scam is to trust your instincts and walk away if a deal seems too good to be true. If however you do find yourself out of pocket due to an online scam, the worst thing you can do is to do nothing at all.”
Cobbledick says that victims might keep quiet because they feel embarrassed that they fell for an obvious trick, be unwilling to go through the process of reporting, or simply won’t report the incident because they feel as though “the culprit is never going to get caught anyway”. “Reporting a crime doesn’t always result in getting your money or goods back but it goes a long way to ensuring that others don’t fall victim to the same crime and that the site in question becomes safer,” says Cobbledick. “Good reporting has allowed us to prevent certain individuals and actions from our own site and stamp out those crimes – to such an extent that they migrate entirely to another platform, prompting them to take action. The harder we make it for scammers, the better.”
Cobbledick says that a close working relationship with SAPS has proved fruitful. “Last week, a man was arrested for robbing a woman in her home. We met via a radio program and then began a correspondence so that we could assist the police with the case, and escalate it to our own contacts. It’s always helpful to report these incidents to both us and the police.”
She adds that, at Gumtree, once a scam is reported, the case is immediately escalated within their customer service department, who liaise with police to provide the IP address, machine IDs and other relevant information pertaining to the culprit. There are also preventative measures in place.
“We are very customer centric. From ad moderators to email and live chat support agents to a highly skilled filter management specialist. Our moderation team is keeping an eye on the site 24/7, constantly skimming through the site, hunting for policy infringements and any suspicious activity,” says Cobbledick.
Here is what to do if you have been a victim on an online classified site:
* Report the incident to the classified site immediately, sending them as much information as possible about the ad in question as possible. They can retrieve and store information to pass on to the police.
* Report the incident to your local police station so that they can open a case. Send the details of the investigating officer to the classifieds, along with your case number.
* If you haven’t fallen victim to the scam, but you suspect that someone was attempting to scam you, report it immediately to the classified in question. They can investigate and take steps to prevent that person from carrying through with their plans.
Cobbledick says that regular reporting can make online trading even safer, but prevention is better than cure. “Currently, there are over 22-million interactions taking place on our site alone every month, without incident and only a handful of cases are reported per year. Most of these can be prevented by following very simple safety tips such as ensuring that cash is cleared by the bank before handing over goods, or meeting in a public place.”
