Sulekha US & Cannada

Avoiding Scams

Most people you meet online are lovely, genuine people. Everyday thousands of people use Sulekha to successfully connect with fellow Indians in the USA. Of course, there will always be the few bad eggs out there, just like in the ‘real’ world.

Here are a few tips to remember while interacting with others on Sulekha:

• Sulekha is all about being local. Always meet with whoever you’re dealing with face to face, which is an easy way to avoid any potential scams.
• Avoid transacting with unknown people. Never give out your bank details or any financial information unless you are certain you can trust the person contacting you.
• Never wire funds via Western Union, Moneygram or any other wire service. Anyone who asks you to do so is likely to be a scammer.
• Fake cashier checks & money orders are common. Banks will hold you responsible when the fake is discovered weeks later
• Avoid deals involving shipping or Escrow Services. Only a scammer will guarantee your Transaction.
• Sulekha is not involved in any transaction. Sulekha does not handle payments, provide escrow, "buyer protection" or "seller certification."
• If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Scammers usually try to lure people by providing a deal that you cannot refuse. Be rest assured, if you are offered any such deal, he/she is most likely a scammer.

Online Scams to watch out for

The following are some common online classified ad and auction scams that prospective buyers need to be aware about.

• Check overpayment

A buyer, prospective tenant or even an employer will send you a check worth more than the value of the items/rent/job. They’ll then ask for the surplus money to be returned to them or a third party, for example ‘to pay for shipping’. The check will clear into your bank account, only to be refused weeks later. At this point, the bank/building society will take the full check amount back out of your account. This would then leave you out of pocket for the amount on the check and the amount you passed on as the difference.

• An email from Sulekha (or another company) asking for your details - logins/passwords/credit card details

You get an email that claims to be from Sulekha or another company and requests that you reply or follow a link to provide personal information. These are fake and are known as ‘spoof’ or ‘phishing’ emails. Any emails which combine urgency with a need for personal details should be treated with caution, no matter whom they appear to be from. Website pages can be easily faked. Sulekha and most other companies will never send out such emails. If you get an email alleging to be from Sulekha asking for your personal information, don’t follow any links provided in the email. Report it to Sulekha Customer Support.

• Requests to use money transfer services like Western Union, Ukash or MoneyGram

These services are not meant for transactions between strangers. In our experience, they’re favored by fraudsters. Fraudsters use different ways to trick people into using these services. One popular trick is to ask you to prove that you have funds by sending money to a friend or relative via these services and show them the receipt. All they need is the tracking number from your receipt and they’ll be able to collect your money. Any requests by strangers to use these services in any way should sound off alarm bells and shouldn’t be followed.

• Payment or protection services by Sulekha or other well-known sites such as eBay or PayPal

You get an email that claims to be from Sulekha, eBay, PayPal or another company and offers buyer protection or an online payment system. This could be directly in connection with a transaction through someone you’ve met online. Or perhaps the buyer or seller suggests you use a payment or protection service from one of these companies and sends you to a link to follow instructions. These are fake and are known as ‘spoof’ or ‘phishing’ emails. Sulekha doesn’t offer any form of payment scheme or protection. While other companies may offer payment or protection schemes, the email or instructions you have received may not be genuine. If you receive an email alleging to be from a company offering a service, always go directly to the company’s official website and look for details of the service.

• Fake escrow sites

A buyer/seller or prospective tenant/landlord suggests using an escrow service to complete the transaction. These escrow websites often may look official, but are actually run by fraudsters. They’ll take your money and never send you the product.

How to spot a scam?

Most scams involve one or more of the following:

• Inquiry from someone far away, often in another country.
• Western Union, Money Gram, cashier's check, money order, shipping, escrow service, or a "guarantee."
• Inability or refusal to meet face-to-face before consummating transaction.

How to report an ad?

If you think we should check out a Sulekha ad because it is suspicious, there's a simple way to report it to us from the ad itself.

1. Click ‘Mark This Ad’ which is located above the Ad Title

2. Click on Prohibited / Fraud

We look at all of these as soon as we can. After evaluation, if we believe that the ad is likely to be a scam attempt, we will take down the ad and notify you of the same.

If you can no longer find the ad you wanted to report, it may have been taken down already. Please email us so we can double check.

How to report a reply?

Actual Scam emails sent to Sulekha users

• Below are some helpful links:
  1. https://www.usa.gov/housing-scams
  2. https://www.usa.gov/state-consumer
  3. https://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx