Buyer Beware: Online Comic Book Scams

Buyer Beware: Online Comic Book Scams

We've recently been made aware of several online comic book scams involving ads running on Craig's List and Facebook.  One person we know was taken for about $1,000.00 and is working with the police and banks to try to get his money back.

The person bought two books for a decent price through an online ad where the seller initially asked for a payment via Western Union.  Paying for goods via Western Union or similar money transfer services have absolutely no protection for a buyer. Knowing this, the buyer instead offered to make a PayPal payment and the seller asked for a check.  The buyer thought it wouldn't be a problem since he had the seller's phone number and address.

The check cleared and the books never showed up.  The buyer attempted to contact the seller, calling only to have the seller hang up the phone on him several times.

This is just one of many unfortunate scams we've heard of in the past couple of weeks, and we'd like to offer you some advice when buying expensive comics or other items through online ads of any kind:

1.  Never, never, never, ever, never send money to pay for something through Western Union, Wal Mart payments or other similar wire payment services.  You have absolutely no protection and no way of finding out who the money is going to.  Many con artists will try hard to convince you to send the money that way - don't fall for it.

2.  Beware of online ads where the ad may be placed in your area, but the seller is in another state.  This is usually a sign that things are are likely not legitimate.

3.  If you pay for something online, PayPal provides excellent protection with a 45 day period in which you can dispute a transaction. If you don't receive what you were promised within two-weeks, contact the seller and if you get the run around you should immediately file a claim with PayPal.

4.  When something is being shipped to you, always request a tracking number for the package.  If you receive the package and it seems light for what you're getting, be sure to open it in front an employee for the company from which you are receiving the package (USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc.).  If the contents are not what you ordered, you now have a witness.  We have heard about packages being sent with nothing but crumpled newspaper inside when there was supposed to be several thousand dollars worth of comics.

5.  Never pay with a check and never give your credit card information to anyone over the phone.  While you think you might be protected using a credit card, today's thieves are technically savvy and will likely make multiple unauthorized charges to your credit card.  This sort of mess can take a long period of time to clean up and depending on how the thieves obtained the information, you may not be protected by your credit card company.  You have no protection when using a check.

6.  This is old but rings true; if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  This is sound advice in today's world of push button purchasing, it is always good to take the extra time to look at a deal when you get even the slightest notion that something doesn't seem to right.

We simply cannot stand thieves who operate online and try to take advantage of our fellow fans and collectors.  We always recommend buying from reputable and established sellers, like us!