Safe Internet Policy

Sadly, not everyone who contacts you online has your best interests at heart. FInd out how to protect yourself from unscrupulous people who might try to exploit you via your online postings and classified advertisements...

Dealing with scam, fraud and phishing emails

All publicly accessible electronic services, including social networks and forums, are open to abuse. AngloINFO takes many measures (technical and other) to minimise the potential for abuse, but like all public online services, abuse by some unscrupulous parties is possible. From time to time, emails are sent via the Classifieds and Discussions that are illegal scams, attempts to defraud users, or so-called "phishing" attempts, most frequently in the form of the Advance Fee Fraud, variations of the so-called "Nigerian Letter" or "419" scam.

Should you receive such an email via AngloINFO, please do the following:

• Do NOT reply to it and do not click on any links in it
• Forward the email in its entirety, with all headers if possible, to limousin.forums@angloinfo.com
• Delete the message
• Please do not make a public posting to the Discussions forum. This reduces our ability to deal with the offender and, if made, will be removed by the Discussions Administration as a matter of course
• AngloINFO will use the information you provide to take the necessary technical (and, where appropriate, legal) steps to try to prevent recurrence.

If you have been a victim of a scam which appears to have been perpetrated through AngloINFO:

• Let us know the details by clicking on the Report Abuse button
• Make sure you keep all of the records and correspondence
• Contact the police if appropriate
• Please do not make a public posting to the Discussions forum. However justified it may be, such a posting is effectively accusing someone of fraud which is not permitted in our Discussions forum.
• AngloINFO will use the information you provide to take the necessary technical (and, where appropriate, legal) steps to try to prevent recurrence.

For further information on protecting yourself online, please see the following resources:

• Internet Fraud Tips - National Consumer League
• How to reduce the risk of online fraud - from Microsoft
• LooksTooGoodToBeTrue.com
• OnGuard Online - U.S. Federal Government
• Anti-phishing working group

Remember, as the saying goes: "If it looks too good to be true, it probably is!"

Some Typical Scams

Here are some common scams to watch out for:

Advance Fee/Nigerian Letter/419 Scam

This scam usually originates from an email, often purporting to be from a government official, asking for assistance in moving a large sum of money out of their country (often Nigeria, but it may be any other country). The recipient of the email is told they may keep a percentage of the money in return for their assistance. The scammer makes money through the payment by the recipient of fraudulent ‘administrative fees’ and other advances.

Cheque Overpayment Scam

Used for purchases, rent/security deposits and advances on wages, this scam involves the scammer providing a cheque written for more than the purchase price, rent or wages. They then request you to refund the excess. The real vulnerability for you lies in depositing the cheque only to find that weeks later it is refused. At this point your bank will take the full cheque amount (including the excess) from your bank account.

Money Transfer Scams

MoneyGram or Western Union transactions for the purchase of a product or service should be avoided as they provide little to no protection for either buyer or seller. A common money-transfer scam involves a seller asking you to transfer money to someone you know and then asking to see the receipt (which includes the transfer tracking number) as proof you are able to make this type of transfer.  That transferred money can be collected by a fraudulent seller using the tracking number.

Fake Escrow Scam

Used for product or property transactions, the seller or renter sets up a fraudulent escrow account at a website or company that appears legitimate but is not. The victim deposits money into the account, never gets it back and receives nothing in return.

Import/brokerage Scam

Used when a seller fraudulently claims that import duty or brokerage fees are payable for the buyer to receive the item. They buyer pays these fake fees directly to the seller or a fraudulent courier or other intermediary.

Ukash Scams

Ukash transactions between a private buyer and seller through a classifieds ad should be avoided. Common Ukash scams include:

• The seller setting up a fake Ukash website and sending the buyer to it to enter sensitive bank information, or to make a ‘refundable’ payment (with the payment going directly to the seller and no merchandise being exchanged).
• The seller claiming the item for sale has been left with FedEx, UPS or another courier and cannot be sent until the purchaser obtains a Ukash voucher and provides the voucher number as insurance for the shipping. The purchaser then receives a fraudulent email that appears to be from the courier, requesting the Ukash voucher number. The scammer can then use the Ukash voucher number to collect the money and the buyer loses the voucher amount and receives no product.

Pet Shipping Scam

A’ seller’ of an expensive breed of pet will claim to be overseas and require the purchaser to pay transport fees for the delivery of the animal. The transport fees are paid upfront either directly to the ‘seller’ or to a fraudulent transport company, the buyer ends up with no pet and has lost the transport costs.

Work from Home Scam

Offers for job opportunities that involve working from home ‘stuffing envelopes’ (which turns out to be selling a multi-level marketing scam to others) or cashing cheques are usually money-laundering situations. The AngloINFO Terms and Conditions expressly forbid postings in violation of the law (which include these types of job ads) and AngloINFO actively works to prevent such postings.

Spoof Emails

If you have posted an ad on AngloINFO we may send you a small number of emails to keep you updated on the status of your ad and to make you aware of any responses.  Sometimes you may receive an email that looks like it is from AngloINFO but raises some suspicion on your part.

Spoof emails are fake emails made to look like they’ve been sent by a legitimate company. They trick people into either replying or clicking a link to reveal confidential information like bank account details or account passwords.

How can I spot a spoof email?

• A spoof email will often ask you to take some form of urgent action – often including a request to re-enter or confirm your login or other account details.  AngloINFO does not send out mails of this type
• Email addresses are easily faked, so don’t assume the address that appears in the ‘From’ line is real.  Just because it says the email is from xxx@angloinfo.com doesn't mean it really is.
• A spoof email will often contain a link to a fake website that looks like the AngloINFO site. One way to tell if it’s fake is by looking at the URL.  Legitimate AngloINFO pages will always be on XXX.angloinfo.com for example riviera.angloinfo.com/myangloinfo/.   These fake websites will ask for sensitive information, such as your credit card details, account name or password to ‘confirm’ or ‘verify’ your status. Never go to, or follow instructions, on such sites.

Dealing with Viruses, Trojans and Malware

There are many types of computer viruses, Trojans and malware that are designed to take control of your computer and in some cases disable it. AngloINFO takes these threats very seriously and ensures that its security systems meet the latest standards and that its sites are regularly tested.

• Viruses - Viruses normally infect your computer via email attachments or external media sources.
• Trojans - Trojans usually function by tricking you into downloading the virus that then infects your computer.
• Malware - Malware can be downloaded via tool-bars, applications such as games, or infected shareware programs.
• Protection - You can avoid becoming a victim of these threats by installing market-standard anti-virus software. Effective anti-virus software is widely available and the investment is well worth the protection that it affords. Automatic updates are provided regularly so that you remain protected against the latest threat.

What Happens if You Receive a Virus Warning?

When anti-virus software detects a possible threat, the software usually generates a pop-up informing the user that that it has detected a malicious program and asks whether it should be permanently deleted.

There are a number of clever Trojans and viruses that can by-pass anti-virus software. If your anti-virus software invites you to download another software package (usually a free anti-virus cleaning program), this is a sign that a malicious program is present. Under no circumstance should you accept the download.

Some viruses use the internet browser (particularly Internet Explorer) on the host’s computer to spread viruses or to pass on the Trojan download. In most cases, this is done by the virus masquerading as a trusted website, such as AngloINFO. To the user, it looks as though the virus is present on the website is, but this is rarely the case. If an anti-virus pop-up appears on an AngloINFO website follow the instructions of your anti-virus software.

While AngloINFO takes active measures to ensure the safety of the content on its own sites, it cannot be responsible for the content on all of the sites to which it links. Some of these sites may host malware. Some anti-virus software is able to identify and report this threat, but not all programs can.

To learn more about current threats visit the AVG official blog.

To check the safety status of AngloINFO visit the AVG ThreatLabs Web Site Reports. Your anti-virus software may come with a similar site report service which can be used to check the safety of any website.

To learn more about viruses, Trojans and malware visit:

• Wikipedia page on Computer Virus
• Wikipedia page on Computer Trojans
• Wikipedia page on Computer Malware

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