Marketdaylive Safety Center

The need to display caution in every business dealing is very important. No matter how serious and pious the other presents to be, always display caution and think of the safety of your assets, funds and resources first. Never be too hasty to conclude any business dealings. If possible sleep over the proposal and get a second opinion. At times your desire for more business and or quick deals may becloud your sense of judgment and before you realize it you have already committed some blunders that may cost you dearly. Remember “It is always too late to cry when the head (when assets and money have changed hands) is off”.

Scammers and fraudsters are everywhere these days. In fact they sit down doing research on how to scoop you off your feet. Some of them are so good at their job that they have swindled banks, insurance companies, multinationals, ecommerce and online stores, fintech companies, governments and even fellow fraudsters. As a result you need to be aware of how to protect yourself.

We advise that you take time to read our Common online Scams and Safety Centre for information and tips on how to detect and handle scammers

Marketdaylive have a dedicated team working to keep you safe.

Report all suspicious listings us. Alertness and cooperation is the best way to deal with fraudsters. If all people, including you, take part in reporting all and any suspicious deals then we can tackle their number and effectiveness as Marketdaylive will in addition to delisting such deals block the perpetrators and send their details to the anti-fraud network and other sites as well..

Marketdaylive Safety Guidelines

Always think safety and of protecting yourself, your assets and your funds, first. We want to see you do successful online transactions daily.  The following tips might prove helpful to you:

When Selling:

1. Posting Your Ads on Marketdaylive

1. Be detailed but specifics.
2. Be accurate, true and honest. Never give wrong or misleading information about your ads. False details will attract buyers but they will never buy; your ad will be removed and you would be blacklisted
3. Include good and current photos of the items.
4. Include contact information but preferably not your office email address, not your office or home phone number. Use a mobile number and use a general email address like Mail.com, Yahoo, Outlook or Gmail.
5. Limit all personally identifiable information

2. Responding to Initial Contact

1. Respond to all potentials buyers questions honestly and accurately.
2. Determine from the buyers questions his/her sincerity and seriousness and access his/her credibility
3. Don’t disclose any personally identifiable information, like where you work or live, until you feel comfortable with the other person. Avoid inviting someone to your home.

3. Meeting the Buyer

1. Always meet the buyer in a public place. Do not meet them in your home or office and do not go to theirs.
2. If the item is big and in your house or office and the buyer has to there to see it, let your neighbors know in advance that such a person is coming and arrange for a friend to be around.
3. If you have to deal with buyers who are not local, use an escrow service.
4. Remove your ad once it is sold. .

4. Receiving Payments

1. Always receive payments before parting with your assets
2. Be careful about giving out your bank and account details. If possible use a savings account.
3. Do not give out any personally identifiable information.
4. Where the amount involved is large, you may accept certified bank drafts.  
5. Always issue a receipt for the sale

When Buying:

1. Contacting the Seller

1. Before meeting the seller ask as many questions as possible about the product and or service.
2. Crosscheck the information from the seller with market realities. If possible compare products and prices and get a second opinion.
3. When discussing over the phone or email limit the amount of personal information about yourself that you give. Never ever give out your home or office address or the type of work that you do, or your income or any details about your family not even the name of your bank
4. Establish the credibility of the seller before meeting him or her in person.
5. When meeting the seller for the first time never meet in a secluded place, his home or private office. Never meet in the night or late evenings. It is best you meet the seller in a public place such an eatery, a restaurant or a shopping plaza.

2. Evaluating the product/Service

1. Get background information about similar products, similar listings and their prices. This puts you in a better position to negotiate. Be informed.
2. Make sure you see the item live and in person before paying for it. Where the item involved is an equipment or machinery make sure you test it out and preferably let a technician check out the mechanics and its condition.  Check out history and previous use of the equipment.

3. Meeting the Seller

1. When meeting the seller for the first time never meet in a secluded place, his home or private office. Never meet in the night or late evenings. It is best you meet the seller in a public place such an eatery, a restaurant or a shopping plaza.
2. When paying for the item never go alone and never do so in a secluded place. Go with a friend and definitely not a child.
3. If the item is large or big make sure you made arrangements or carrying it, and go with a vehicle to carry it same time that you paid for it.

4. Making Payments

1. It is best to ask for invoice from the seller before making any payment.
2. It is best if when making payments you pay to the same account name as on the advert and invoice
3. Do not pay into an account name different from the name of the seller and invoice. All should be the same for tracking and proofing purposes.
4. If possible use an escrow services when making payments
5. Always get a duly signed receipt from the seller for your purchase no matter how small the amount is.
6. Never give out any of personal identifiable information.
7. Collect your items as soon as you make the payments. Never post pone this.

Common Scams on the Internet

Internet scams, online scams, web scams, 419, advance fee fraud, fraudulent transactions, cheats, deceivers and the like abound not just on the internet but in almost every aspect of life involving exchange of goods, services and monetary payments. Exercise caution when transacting deals whether on the internet or elsewhere.

The most common scams are witnessed in Vehicles, Pets, Jobs, properties, Rentals and Electronic transactions and payments.

How to tell a scam.

The best way to tell a scam is to be familiar with popular scams that occur these days. However, in addition to that, scammers often share some of these other characteristics:

1. They will offer to pay more than the normal prices
2. The addressing and details are not very clear
3. The grammar and spelling in the listing or the messages is usually poor.
4. They will not answer your questions or give detailed answers.
5. They will not send you any additional pictures and when they do such pictures are never original or are ones downloaded from the net and from legitimate websites.
6. They will always avoid meeting you in person under various excuses.
7. They cannot give you any good business reference.
8. They will create a sense of urgency, asking you to finish the transaction fast. Sometimes they will tell you that others are making offers and are ready to pay and collect the items.
9. They avoid speaking with you on the phone and use various excuses. And when they eventually do speak with you they are normally brief and in a hurry.
10. They want cash payments so that you cannot track them
11. The name on the advert and on the invoices and their bank account names are not the same.

The general rules you should bear in mind are:

1. Do not be greedy. Scammers easily scam greedy people.
2. Never be in a hurry to deal, even if you are pressured. Once there is any form of pressure be suspicious of the deal, the seller/buyer and the entire transaction.
3. Always let third parties take a look at the deal and advise you.
4. Always exercise caution and be circumspect
5. Seeing is believing. Always ensure you see the items in real life before parting with cash, otherwise use an escrow payment service
6. If the deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is not true.
7. It is best to make payments to an account that corresponds to the names on the advert for tracking and proofing purposes otherwise make payments by escrow payment services.

Vehicle scams  

Vehicle scams occur when you are buying vehicles or other motorized equipment from the internet. The fraudulent seller will do everything to make you part with money first and then disappear or send you a scrap. In the negotiations they will send you pictures of good vehicles but in reality it is just a scam. Ways you can identify this scams include: