If it’s Leboncoin often makes it possible to make good deals, the classifieds sites are also home to many scams. As our colleagues from the UFC Que Choisir site tell us, a user almost paid the price via a secure payment scam. We explain the method to you.
This is not new, Leboncoin has regularly made the headlines not for its attractive prices, but rather for the scammers and crooks who are rampant there. For example, there are countless stories of robbery, like this user who was looking to sell his car in 2017 and who found himself with a gun to his head when concluding the transaction.
Same story in September 2020, with this couple wanting to buy a high-end PC and who were attacked by the buyer. This time, no armed robbery case, but a simple scam via fake confirmation email. As the members of the UFC Que-Choisir association tell, the seller (called Elie) was looking to sell his gaming PC. Very quickly, he was contacted by an enthusiastic buyer who was ready to pay him the amount requested as well as the shipping costs.
To demonstrate his good faith, the man goes further and even insists on carrying out the transaction via the secure payment system from the classifieds site. Following a few exchanges, the buyer explains that he made the transfer, notifying Elie in passing that he would soon receive a confirmation of payment by email. This is indeed the case.
Also read: Le Bon Coin – do not reply to this text message, it’s a scam!
The secure payment excuse to scam sellers
We can see on the email the exact amount, the name of Elie, the summary description of the product and finally the address to which to send the package before being able to recover the money. Fortunately, Elie had the good instinct to find out about Boncoin’s secure payment system before running. It is here that he discovers the pot-aux-roses. Indeed, this famous confirmation email should have arrived on the site’s secure messaging system, and not on his personal mailbox. Another suspicious point, the presence of several gross spelling errors in this confirmation email.
You understood, this email is not authentic and if Elie had sent his PC, he would never have received his money. After conducting some research, he found that several users have been scammed through the same method. As UFC Que Choisir reminds us, several other details could have put Elie on the alert, starting with the email address used. Indeed, the site sends its messages from the following addresses only:
- @leboncoin.fr
- @news.leboncoin.fr
- @messagerie@leboncoin.fr
Also, the failure of the buyer to negotiate the price and pay the shipping costs should be mistrustful. You must add the suspicious shipping address, namely a relay point, instead of the buyer’s home address.
Source : UFC What-to-Choose
