DO NOT USE ANY PAYMENT SERVICE OTHER THAN PAYPAL GOODS & SERVICES. Scammers will try to persuade you to send them money using Venmo or Zelle, but do not be fooled. Those payment methods offer little to no protection for you, the buyer.
SCAMMER WARNING
Scammers unfortunately are everywhere using the Internet and most are based overseas so it’s very difficult to track them down and prosecute. As such it’s important to educate yourself and be aware of the types of things to look out for. If you think you’ve encountered a scam that doesn’t match in to any of the below examples then please contact us so that we can update this section of the site and keep people informed.
PAYMENT SCAMS
1) IF YOU'RE THE BUYER - And the seller's email doesn't lineup with the email they gave you to send the money to. Don't be fooled, we DO NOT generate a BIkeExchnage receipt for private sellers.
2) IF YOU'RE THE SELLER - Do not accept a check of any kind!!! Including a cashier's check.
The 2 common scams we are seeing right now are potential buyer reaching out to a seller and offering to send a cashiers check. The check arrives and is around $2,000 over the asking price. The seller then asks you to send the additional money back to them. And a seller sending the buyer an email address that clearly is not the same one that was used to post the ad. The seller then explains that their lawyer has informed them to never use the same email address due to the fact of scammers are everywhere.
If something looks too good to be true, it probably is. If a seller will only contact you by email, their phone doesn’t work, they only accept payment via western union or they are overseas then unfortunately that bargain you’ve found doesn’t really exist. Report this listing to be removed from the site.
TEXT MESSAGE
If you are contacted via text message and asked to email the person then in all likelihood this is a scam. It is designed to get around security procedures so do not respond.
If you receive a text message where the sender is labelled as "BikeExchange", this is also likely to be a scam. The scammer is attempting to contact you via an anonymous web-SMS service, where you can manipulate the sender's details. BikeExchange will never send you a text message via SMS.
DELIVERY SCAMS
Be aware of last minute changes from potential buyers that require you to pay for delivery. If you are asked to pay for a courier and the buyer says they will add it to the cost of your product then don’t, it’s a scam.
GOLDEN RULES
If something sound too good to be true, it probably is
Do not pay any money if you are the seller
If the seller indicates they are overseas then do not continue
Unless you have the cash in your hand or money in your bank account, you have not been paid
Do not respond to text messages asking you to contact them via email
Control the transaction. You decide payment and transport details
Talk to the buyer/seller. A scammer will avoid talking to you
There is no such thing as a bikeExchange.com 'Verified Trader'
Do not trust documents sent to you via email. Fraudulent copies of paypal or western union documents are easy to create.
If you are in any doubt, contact us
KNOWN SCAM EMAIL ADDRESSES
To see a complete list of known emails please click here
SCAM EMAIL EXAMPLES
To see a sample of common scam emails please click here