Tips To Trade Safely on the Internet

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We want all Members to experience "hassle-free" trading on bidorbuy.co.ke, but most importantly, Safe Trading on-line.

Here are some tips to trade safely online:

a) Phishing

Never disclose your personal/confidential data like your password in any email, over the phone or in any other form of communication. bidorbuy, by policy, will never ask you for the same.

If such confidential information is requested from you, you are most likely the recipient of an attempted phishing attack. Simply ignore the request.

Phishing is a type of scam designed to steal your identity to gain access to your bidorbuy account. In phishing scams, the scam artists entice you to disclose valuable personal data such as your username and password, by convincing you that they are genuinely communicating directly from bidorbuy.

There has been an increasing trend internationally and now locally for such Phishing schemes to be carried out online through spam e-mail or pop-up windows. These e-mail addresses seem genuine, as the sender address creates the impression that it was sent from bidorbuy. They are NOT and there are signs that will alert you to the fact that they are not authentic mails. The most important sign is to always check the URL in your browser to make sure that it is www.bidorbuy.co.ke or www.bidorbuy.co.ke and not some other arbitrary URL.

bidorbuy as a company will never send you an e-mail requesting you to enter your personal details and/or password. If you are in any doubt about the source of an e-mail claiming to come from us or of the validity of our website, contact bidorbuy on +27 11 367 0000.

b) Check the Other User's bidorbuy Ratings

Before transacting with another bidorbuy user, check their trading history on bidorbuy (you can do this by reviewing their ratings). By reviewing the experience other users had, you can ascertain whether further checks are required before transacting with them.

c) Ask for Contact Details

After you have successfully sold or won an item, you will be sent an e-mail with the contact details of the other respective party involved in the auction. Give them a call or send them an e-mail requesting for details such as:

• Residential Address
• Land-Line Number
• Place of Work

Verify the details if possible.

d) Sellers Beware

Sellers please be extra cautious when dealing with overseas Buyers, especially those from Indonesia, Nigeria and Romania who insist on paying using credit cards. These Buyers often use stolen or invalid credit cards.

Be careful when dealing with new users or users with no ratings.

Before shipping/handing over any goods ensure that your money has cleared. For example a check handed to you at collection may bounce.

e) Buyers Beware

Buyers especially should be extra cautious when finalising a transaction, as it is usually Buyers who will be requested to deposit or send monies to the Seller. Remember, if the deal looks too good to be true, it is highly likely that it is just that- not true!

• Do not deposit money into a Bank Account or send money to a Postal Box if you cannot verify the identity of the Seller.
• Be very wary of users (especially those overseas) requesting to use the following Payment Methods or Delivery Companies:
  • Western Union
  • Moneygram or Money Order
  • E-Gold / E-gol / Osgol / Goldmoney
  • Payment via Wire
  • UPS
  • DHL
  • Fedex
  • Express Postal Service

f) Be "On-the-Ball"

All we can say to our members is "be very careful". Nearly all our auctions and buy now items end successfully, but we would like to eliminate negative experiences during the fulfillment process. If you have dealt with a member who has been slow in delivering or has been hard to contact or has been rude to you, rate them!

The Rating System has been designed so other members can gauge the type of person they will be dealing with once an Auction or Buy Now has successfully closed. This system can only work if everyone uses it. So please, make it a habit to rate a member after every Auction or Buy Now. You can do this by going to that member's rating while you are logged in (a box will be displayed for you to enter the rating). See more information the Rating System.