ANYONE HAD DEALINGS WITH VELA-ESCROW AND E GOLD PAYMENTS?
07 December 2002, 10:04 PM
#1
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I am thinking about purchasing something from America and the seller has asked me to pay using Vela-Escrow/ and my payment to them must be made by E-Gold? anyone ever had any dealing with this? is it safe? I dont want to spend my money then find my cash has gone. It seems that the seller does not get paid until I have the goods here in the UK and I have 3 days to inspect them if they are no good i just send back and Escrow refunds me my money/ I would appreciate any help in this matter Thanks
08 December 2002, 09:33 AM
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'Fraid not.
That said, I'd be very wary - normally escrow services are used as follows:
1) Buyer sends the money to the escrow service
2) The escrow service informs the seller that it's received payment.
3) Seller sends the goods directly to the buyer
4) Buyer inspects the goods, then informs the escrow service that all is well
5) Escrow service sends the money on to the seller. Job done.
The point is that it's the buyer that's protected against a potentially fraudulent seller - if the goods never arrive, the seller doesn't get paid. It's not in the seller's interest to use an escrow service, so the fact that you've been asked to use one at all is very suspicious and should set alarm bells ringing.
One increasingly common scam is for a fraudulent seller to set up a fake escrow service - often with a name or web address very similar to a genuine service - to pocket the cash. Check out this 'Vela-Escrow', find their web site, check that all the links actually work (and not just the 'pay by e-gold' link) and that the site really is complete and free of typing/grammatical errors. Find their telephone number and call it. If anything strikes you as odd, walk away.
Personally I'd run a mile, but if you still want to go ahead with the transaction then insist on using a different escrow service of your choice. If the seller refuses, walk away.
Best of luck
Andy.
That said, I'd be very wary - normally escrow services are used as follows:
1) Buyer sends the money to the escrow service
2) The escrow service informs the seller that it's received payment.
3) Seller sends the goods directly to the buyer
4) Buyer inspects the goods, then informs the escrow service that all is well
5) Escrow service sends the money on to the seller. Job done.
The point is that it's the buyer that's protected against a potentially fraudulent seller - if the goods never arrive, the seller doesn't get paid. It's not in the seller's interest to use an escrow service, so the fact that you've been asked to use one at all is very suspicious and should set alarm bells ringing.
One increasingly common scam is for a fraudulent seller to set up a fake escrow service - often with a name or web address very similar to a genuine service - to pocket the cash. Check out this 'Vela-Escrow', find their web site, check that all the links actually work (and not just the 'pay by e-gold' link) and that the site really is complete and free of typing/grammatical errors. Find their telephone number and call it. If anything strikes you as odd, walk away.
Personally I'd run a mile, but if you still want to go ahead with the transaction then insist on using a different escrow service of your choice. If the seller refuses, walk away.
Best of luck
Andy.
08 December 2002, 06:43 PM
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Er... no. You're not OK if the escrow service you're told to use is a fraud, and just keeps your money. THAT's the scam!
You need to check out Vela-Escrow and convince yourself that it's a legitimate organisation that you're happy to do business with. If not, pick another company and insist on using that. It's also worth asking the seller why they want to use escrow at all - normally it's the buyer that insists on escrow.
Andy.
You need to check out Vela-Escrow and convince yourself that it's a legitimate organisation that you're happy to do business with. If not, pick another company and insist on using that. It's also worth asking the seller why they want to use escrow at all - normally it's the buyer that insists on escrow.
Andy.
08 December 2002, 07:04 PM
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A quick Google...
http://www.auctionwatch.com/mesg/rea...10&thread=4599
Their web site is http://www.vela-escrow.com/
http://www.auctionwatch.com/mesg/rea...10&thread=4599
Their web site is http://www.vela-escrow.com/
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08 December 2002, 11:52 PM
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WARNING!!
You are about to lose your money. 99.9% of Escrow sites are scams.
Just do your searching on Google and all will be revealed. Very bad press at the moment and simply not worth the risk.
You are about to lose your money. 99.9% of Escrow sites are scams.
Just do your searching on Google and all will be revealed. Very bad press at the moment and simply not worth the risk.
09 December 2002, 09:21 AM
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Smiler Thanks M8 are their any other safe ways to deal with someone abroad? Ie he needs to send me the goods but I would want to make sure my money was secured until I had examined them anyone know hoew I can do this?
09 December 2002, 11:16 AM
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You need to locate one of the 0.1% of escrow sites that are legitimate - then you're pretty safe. Sadly I've never used escrow myself, so I can't advise you on which one.
If course, if you're dealing with someone who directed you to use a site that's NOT legitimate, then they're a scam artist and won't even have the goods anyway.
A.
If course, if you're dealing with someone who directed you to use a site that's NOT legitimate, then they're a scam artist and won't even have the goods anyway.
A.
11 December 2002, 09:53 PM
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Just found this - it might make for interesting reading. The site has a comprehensive database of escrow sites and investigative reports on each. To quote from their report on Vela-Escrow:
Glad you held on to your money? 
A.
From the addresses I found, this appears to be a commercial area of the
city. There are no addresses from about 2300 to about 2800 or so. This
may indicate a break in addresses or that a very large corporation
occupies a significant part of the area. However, it does appear that
this is actually another of a series of frauds.
Now to look at the site:
First, the terms were stolen from Escrow.CA and a poor job of editing
out the name of Escrow.ca was done.
All payments are by eGold; all other options are used as a method of
making a deposit into an eGold account. There is no way of tracking
eGold accounts; this method of payment is far worse than even wire
transfer for paying a stranger.
[snip]
So, everything about this site says that it is a fraud.
city. There are no addresses from about 2300 to about 2800 or so. This
may indicate a break in addresses or that a very large corporation
occupies a significant part of the area. However, it does appear that
this is actually another of a series of frauds.
Now to look at the site:
First, the terms were stolen from Escrow.CA and a poor job of editing
out the name of Escrow.ca was done.
All payments are by eGold; all other options are used as a method of
making a deposit into an eGold account. There is no way of tracking
eGold accounts; this method of payment is far worse than even wire
transfer for paying a stranger.
[snip]
So, everything about this site says that it is a fraud.
A.
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