[netguy]

I am sure many had the "bad luck" of getting scammed at least once online. What do you usually do? Try to get your money back? Try to offer negative feedback so that others won't be fooled? How do you personally deal with being scammed?

[Blair]

Negative feedback I think it's the best... let other know what bad experiences you had with those bastards! Especially on message boards like this one :D

You could also try reporting them to Google. So that every time someone google searches, they can't find the scammers, or either they find a page with bad experiences from people that got scammed.

In most cases, I don't know if there's anything you can do to get your money back :|

[puravida]

Yeah, negative feedback when possible.

Blair, on Dec 7 2007, 09:10 AM, said:

In most cases, I don't know if there's anything you can do to get your money back :|

If you pay with Paypal, you can always get your money back. Paypal rules in favor of the consumer.

For me, I am typically the victim in the opposite direction. It is usually someone buying something from me (like SmoothLinks clicks) and I pay all my members for viewing an ad... Then, a month or so later, Paypal notifies me that the purchase was fraud and I lose the money. Then, I still have to pay my members at SmoothLinks. So, I lose TWICE. It really sucks. I think those kinds of people are what killed the PTC (paid to click) and PTR (paid to read) industries.

[Geenie]

I got scammed quite a few times.
I was aware of the fact that the programs might not always pay so i only chose programs that do not ask for money.
So.. i got scammed. It was ok, i had nothing to lose so i had no reason to be too upset. I gave them bad feedback and went on with my life.
I actually expected for this to happen. I am not pessimistic, but i never expect for the best with this things so i would not be angry afterwards.

[netguy]

puravida I cannot believe such things happen. And doesn't Paypal do any bit of research before they "pull the plug". Is there any secure way to not have such issues? This really scares me. Such people are indeed scammers and they should suffer from what they do, not the people who work honestly for the money...

[puravida]

netguy, on Dec 9 2007, 12:14 PM, said:

puravida I cannot believe such things happen. And doesn't Paypal do any bit of research before they "pull the plug". Is there any secure way to not have such issues? This really scares me. Such people are indeed scammers and they should suffer from what they do, not the people who work honestly for the money...

Unfortunately, the answer is 'No'... I have a verified paypal account that I've had without issues for more than seven years. So, I'm obviously not a troublemaker for Paypal. However, no matter what I say, do, or what concrete proof I provide; the buyer ALWAYS gets their money back.

In fact, I've had someone who bought ads 6 months prior request a refund and got their money back! Now, that is bad business.

[nexus]

The first reaction would be to get really angry. I don't like people taking advantage of my honesty. Then I would try to see if I can recover my costs (if I was the one to pay) and also if I can recover my earnings. Not to mention a huge negative campaign so that others won't get scammed again. It's always a good idea to mention bad service so that such delinquents cannot thrive

[mafuu]

Well this is at least one section when I am expert.I have been scammed so many time I could make a directory out of it.Paid to surf,paid to read,paid to write,buying,just about in anything I tried.In time I began to learn and spot scams,most of them are stereotypical,some have similar schemes of already known scams.The idea is that falling for a scam or two isn't that bad ,if it doesn't involve weeks and months spent or more than a few dollars.It can be really,really annoying when first encountered one,but it is a valuable lesson to learn,and it will be a strong motive in being more analytical when wanting to try a new prospect.Once you understand the basic of scamming,you won't be so annoyed that much about them,because you will know how to see them and go around them.

The best thing you can do so others won't fall in the same situation is informing public about scam sites and teach the one's in your community how to avoid them.
Until now,I have never been scammed on important things,like my PayPal account and other sensitive information,and I pray I never will.The only thing besides this that I fear is E-bay,I simply can't trust in using it every time I want to buy something .

[puravida]

Yeah, I am right there with you guys on that.

I just wrote an article on how I get defrauded by the buyers AND sellers.

http://www.productofthesystem.com/2008/01/...ud-fraud-fraud/

It really sucks. :(

-Brandon