Recession Cafe

• Ensure you only deal with people you can meet in person
• Never send money via Western Union or Moneygram or any other wire service - anyone who asks you to do so is most likely a scammer.
• Watch out for fake cheques and Money Orders, your Bank will cash them and may hold you responsible when the fake is discovered at a later date.
• Recession Café is not involved in any transaction, and does not handle payments, guarantee transactions, provide escrow services, or offer "buyer protection" or "seller certification"
• Don’t give out your financial information (bank account number, national insurance number, eBay/PayPal info, etc.)
• Don’t get involved in deals involving shipping or escrow services and remember that only scammers “guarantee” your transaction

Who should I notify about fraud or scam attempts?

• www.Crimestoppers-uk.org
• www.iwf.org.uk

If you suspect that an item posted for sale on Recession Café may be part of a scam, please email the details to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and include as much information as possible.

Recognising scams

Most scams involve one or more of the following:

• An enquiry from someone in a another country
• Western Union, Money Gram, money order, shipping, escrow service, or a "guarantee"
• Refusal to meet face-to-face before completing a transaction

Examples of Scams

1. Someone claims that Recession Café will guarantee a transaction, certify a buyer/seller, OR claims that Recession Café will handle or provide protection for a payment.
   • These claims are fraudulent, as Recession Café does not have any role in any transaction.
   • Scammers may send an official looking email that appears to come from Recession Café, offering a guarantee, certifying a seller, providing payment services -- all such emails are fakes!
2. Someone from another country offers a genuine-looking (but fake) cashier's cheque
   • You receive an email offering to buy your item, or rent your apartment, sight unseen.
   • Cashier's cheque is offered for your sale item, as a deposit for an apartment, or for just about anything else of value.
   • The value of cashier's cheque may exceed your item - scammer offers to "trust" you, and asks you to wire the balance via money transfer service • Banks may cash these fake cheques and hold you responsible when the funds fail to clear
   • A scam often involves a 3rd party (shipping agent, business associate owing buyer money, etc)
3. Someone requests wire service payment via Western Union or MoneyGram:
   • Scam "bait" items include apartments, laptops, plasma TVs, mobile phones, tickets - but could be almost anything
   • Common countries currently include: Nigeria, Romania, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Spain, Italy, Netherlands - but could be anywhere
   • Apartment listing may be local, but landlord/owner is "travelling" or "relocating" and needs you to wire money to them abroad
     • View properties in person, people willing to rent a property without seeing it/ or the prospective tenant first, even if they claim that it is because they are currently overseas, are unlikely to be legitimate. For personal ease and safety, always ensure you take someone with you, or if you are inviting someone into your home ask to see personal identification first.
     • It is illegal for agencies in the UK to charge fees for viewing properties/ property listings. Please report to us any agencies advertising on Recession Café that ask for fees upfront.
     • Never send or wire money to landlords. This includes never mailing a cheque or using payment services like Bidpay, Western Union or Money Gram to pay for items found on Recession Café. These forms of funds transfer are favoured by fraudsters.
     • Deal often seems too good to be true, price is too low, rent is below market, etc
4. Distant person offers to send you a money order and then have you wire money:
   • This is ALWAYS a scam, the cashier's cheque is FAKE
   • Sometimes accompanies an offer of merchandise, sometimes not
   • Scammer often asks for your name, address, etc for printing on the fake cheque
   • If a deal seems too good to be true it probably is!
5. Distant seller suggests use of an online escrow service.
   • Most online escrow sites are FRAUDULENT, operated by scammers
   • For more info, do a Google search on "fake escrow" or "escrow fraud"
6. Distant seller asks for a partial payment upfront, after which he will ship goods
   • He says he trusts you with the partial payment
   • He may say he has already shipped the goods
   • Deal often sounds too good to be true
7. Foreign company offers you a job receiving payments from customers, and then wiring funds
   • Foreign company may claim it is unable to receive payments from its customers directly
   • You are typically offered a percentage of payments received
   • This kind of "position" may be posted as a job, or offered to you via email

Other tips and advice

Jobs

• You should find out as much as you can about the company from an independent source before taking up a position. If you are an employer, follow up on references and check on their authenticity.
• Meet your prospective employers/ employees face to face.
• You should NOT have to provide your bank account details when applying for a job (this should only be once you have accepted an offer and started with the company). If any jobs ask you for them, please report the ads to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
• Unfortunately some scammers do target job seekers so please make yourself aware of the common scams out there. The common sense rules apply - if it looks too good to be true it probably is!

Never send your item before receiving the money

I’ve sent the poster my money but he has not sent the goods.

• Unfortunately, we are unable to get involved in the private transactions between a buyer and a seller. However, if you can report the details to us This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and we will keep the details on permanent file under the poster's records. You may also wish to contact your local citizen’s advice bureau or the Police, who will be able to advise you on the best course of action to take. The number for your local office can be found in the phone book.