Tips on Avoiding Fraud as a Seller

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If you have never had a chargeback for fraud you are lucky! Unfortunately it is part of doing business that you can be the victim of fraud.

Outright fraud is often committed by a buyer with stolen credit cards. There are two victims: the person who had card info stolen and the merchant doing the selling. Plain and simple there is nothing you as a seller can do once you are a victim of outright fraud. If a credit card was used the company will always side with the individual whose card was stolen and will pull the money from you holding you accountable for making the sale in the first place. No amount of using one credit card merchant over another will save your money.

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So what can you do? Avoid being involved in a deal that could be fraudulent in the first place!

Easier said than done right? Well yes and no. You just have to work to make sure a sale isn’t more important the knowing who you are selling to. Prevention is the name of the game.

Here are some helpful tips I hope help people avoid getting into a fraudulent situation in the first place.

1.) Delivery to a hub for pickup

Hub pickup requires a photo ID and is under video surveillance by the location. Despite the inconvenience someone who cares about the animal and who is not doing anything fraudulent will go pickup a purchase. If they aren’t willing to that can definitely be a sign you should consider not going through with the sale (red flag that things may be fraudulent). We ship several hundred animals each year and don’t regret missing a potential sale where we refused to ship to someone’s home.

2.) Only ship to the person on the payment method and the associated address

Be it PayPal or credit card shipping to the hub closest to the person and their payment method address is a given. If they ask to have a “friend” or “significant other” pick up for them or ask for a completely new address not listed on any of their info then that is another type of red flag saying you should potentially look for another buyer or ask more questions.

3.) Match ID and Payment info

If selling online or at a show make sure the person you are selling to, their ID, and their credit card info match. Not always necessary given some of the other steps described or the situation but definitely something that’s good practice if you are feeling fuzzy about the sale. I for instance now only process credit cards manually so I can ask for the zipcode of the buyer and match it up to where I’m shipping and their ID. If they don’t match I ask a lot more questions.

4.) Get to know your customer/buyer

Some other things to keep an eye out for are really relative to building a relationship with someone who wants to buy from you. If they are a reptile fan they will want to talk to you on the phone, have questions, be interested in your breedings, have references they want to brag about having, etc. If they just want to do the deal and nothing else, that’s another red flag that something may be off. Some other things that can help you in this regard:

  • How long have they had an account? (facebook, MM, etc)
  • What’s their contact info/email (can I email them directly and does it seem semi-
    normal…not bigpoppapump69@gmail.com)
  • How often/well do they respond after I respond? (is it reasonable etc)
  • Do they want a payment plan? Outright fraud will pay in full (no payment plan) to get the
    animal quicker before the stolen card is discovered.
  • Does their info match and if not talk to them about it and see how they react?
  • Are they willing to talk on the phone or hesitant etc?

In the end both selling and buying is a matter of trust but hopefully talking to the people you are working with (both buyers and sellers) can help make new connections and make it more difficult for scammers.

Hope this helps!
John Dague
JD Constriction

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This is a great post. I want to share and experience of mine as well as an example of how it can go wrong (not snake related but still relevant). This is from my days doing cosplay work and selling pieces for profit and there was a particular buyer of a mask I was selling for $1,500 (it had been an expensive and time consuming build, over 100 hours and $400+ in consumable materials). Something about them just…didn’t feel right.

The grammar and spelling of this person was not great, but without any other reason I dismissed my gut feeling as being judgmental about the way someone typed.

I sell, receive the money, and ship the mask. All is good until about 2 or 3 days later when I get an email from a furious mother who explained it was their internet-savvy 13 year old who had made the purchase on her card without permission pretending to be her. Yikes! At this point the status of the mask was “Refused” in the shipping tracker so it was never signed for. I sent a refund and went to track down the mask I spent so much time on (as the shipping company still has it at this point).

The mask was never seen again. Lost in the mail. The “buyer” had not wanted to pay extra for shipping insurance and I never considered getting it myself to cover my ass in this sort of blowback so I was out the $1,500 and the original mask. It could not have gone worse! If I had done my due diligence, asked more questions, and trusted my gut feeling, I would have avoided this kind of situation.

Also ALWAYS get insurance on packages!

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I had asked @jdconstriction to make this post because he and I have discussed this topic over the past few years. It’s something he’s been thoughtful about, and I knew that he had a system which has been working well. Excellent post!

It sounds like one of the key tricks for high $ sales to unknown folks is: ship to a person name at a hub, where the name comes from their payment method.

What about the rest of you? Does anyone use some of these method or have their own tips?

@mbr what’s your approach these days?

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fantastic post john!!! never thought of having the hub shipment as well for security and helping against fraud. really enjoyed reading this - thanks for the tips!!!

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Thanks a lot for making this post. I’m a new breeder and was always wondering how do you avoid fraud like that. thanks JD!

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Although sellers have experienced fraud I myself as a buyer have nearly experienced fruad myself from a seller on this very site. Its unfortunate because the reptile hobby is great and it sucks to have some bad apples within this community.

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@nathan_e, it is unfortunate, but there are always a few people who want to prey on others. Please check out our new post on the buyer side of things: How Does MorphMarket Protect Buyers from Fraud?

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Thanks so much for the info. We are just starting this year and all though the money would be a big blow, i dont think i would ever stop thinking about the poor baby who would most likely be in a bad situation. Terrifying thought.

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I kinda wish everyone would just ship to a hub. I ordered a couple snakes from a guy, they were supposed to be to my house by 10:30 am. They didn’t show up until after 3. Next day I got something from FedEx and it was at my house by 9. As a buyer, I would prefer them to be held in a climate controlled facility so I can just go get them instead of waiting around, knowing they are enduring more stress all day in a vehicle.

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Great post! My Terms of Service state that the buyer must be willing to have the animal shipped to the exact billing address on the card, or pickup at the hub with photo ID. If the buyer is not ok with that, I’m happy to find another buyer who can work with my very reasonable terms that keep me protected.

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Definitely make the relationship has worked for me so far I’ve been lucky to be able to tell I was talking to a snake :snake: lover… good read guys especially right after watching you guys on YouTube best black and white snakes out there sorry can confidently spell “exanthic”
OJ Merced Ca

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Well this easily backfires if in my case my card goes to a P.O. Box about 45min away from me and my nearest hub(that does pick up) is about 2-3 hours away but the one in the town next to me always gets me my stuff by 10 even if it’s not a rush/ live animal it’s a good policy sometimes but it easily doesn’t work

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The unfortunate part is your situation is the minority, and for a seller looking out for their animals, many wont want to take that risk. It isnt either of your faults, your situation makes sense, but how many people do sellers deal with? How many have some story about their situation or why something is some way? Sometimes blanket statement policy and strict enforcement is the best way to go, even if it loses a few potential customers.

Myself im on the road fairly often, so sometimes i need sellers to hold the animal for a month or two so I can safely receive it. I always let them know upfront and pay in advance, but if they were to say they werent comfortable with that, I wouldnt blame them at all. Fortunately all the sellers ive dealt with have been very accomidating and i make sure to leave them good reviews as thanks :slight_smile:

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Just a note on picking up from a hub, i am disabled wheelchair bound i own no vehicle and going to a hub would not be good for me or the animal(s) i have very limited space on my lap and the city in which i live is extremely unsafe as in day light robberies as well as dangerous sidewalks which if i cannot see in front of me i cannot evade dangerous obstacles such as root damaged sidewalks, potholes, trash and debris and yes even homeless tents etc.

For my safety is worth more than an animal and if a seller is unwilling to work with me in delivery to my door, then they dont need my money and ill find another seller who will :woman_shrugging:. I do all of my shopping online from Amazon to food orders. Im not trying to be difficult or sound rude just being real. I don’t got the luxury of being able to just hop in a car and go to the store or wherever. So thats something to consider as a seller, what might cause undue hardship to a buyer. I have visual impairment and lack depth perception so i cannot have obstructed view. Thanks for hearing my perspective

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Thats understandable, and each seller needs to make a decision whether to take risks or not. For example, if you said these things as a potential buyer, i would want to help, but with scammers always tugging at heartstrings, it could easily be false if there is nothing to verify trustworthyness. So then as a seller you are left with 3 options. 1. politely refuse due to policy as a blanket move to avoid any form of discrimination while maintaining your safety. 2. Make an exception to your policy due to the extenuating circumstances and risk a loss to help a customer who cannot receive the item conventionally. Or 3. Risk offending the buyer by asking for proof of handicap, and potentially invoke all kinds of protection laws.

Personally i will be steering far away from option 3, because if they arent scamming, it hurts everyone involved. This leaves options 1 and 2, and the question is, is the sale worth the risk, and do you take the chance to be a good person. Some businesses can afford the loss and may go for it, but i know for me, until i get established, using my heart as a policy guide will end poorly for my business.

I know this mindset hurts people such as yourself, and i wish scammers didnt exist, so those who genuinely need help wouldnt be treated like time bombs :frowning:

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I always communicate and dont have issues like if they want proof its me vs someone who stole my card( and yes i had a card number stolen) and it was someone in NY buying itunes a cruise and something else but as i was on the line with the fraud team i/we could see additional transactions appearing and im like how can i be in NY buying stuff when im in CA currently talking to you, thankfully i got all my money back as i don’t own a credit card it was all my actual money in my bank. I of course feel for all sides and am willing to do stuff like go live, show my id, me and my card if that was making them comfortable and it sucks thst scammers are everywhere. Id totally hate to cut myself off of an animal i really wanted and couldn’t get elsewhere. I always ask questions about an animal not just put out a wad a cash i think its like when i did loss prevention long ago one sign of a potential shoplifter is did the just grab the clothes without looking at the size. It may need more caution if a customer never asks about the animal. Sure maybe they are really experienced but im sure even they ask questions before they buy.

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Fair, and if you volunteered to show proof of disability, that would definitely go a long ways. Im just pretty sure that businesses arent allowed to ask for it. While you are OK with such a request to help peace of mind, some would take offense, feeling they are being discriminated against.

Working together and having good communication is the best way forward for anyone though, so as long as you are doing your best to be honest, and the seller is as well, hopefully it would result in a sale and not missed opportunities :slight_smile:

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I know risk is both ways but ( not that it has happened to me) what would the buyers recourse be if they sent money yet never received their animal? I know that there is financial records and you could maybe get the bank to reverse the charge but thats not always guaranteed. Does this site do anything to say ban the seller etc.? I’ve only had 2 sellers never reply to my inquiries and that’s their prerogative nobody is forced to do business and no money was transacted. i would really hope i have 100% trust in sellers as they would put in me.

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Yep. If MorphMarket believes it was a deliberate attempt to scam someone, they will be banned.
However if the animal was actually sent and it’s due to shipping issues or whatever, then MM will take that into consideration.

You can find how and when MM will and won’t get involved here:

And more specifically:

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Also, if you do not 100% trusr rhe situation, you can always ask to pay with a method that allows for buyer protection such as Paypal goods and services. You may be asked to pay the fee though. Some sellers will not accept this as paypals stance is take money back first, ask questions later and has been know to shut down seller accounts without notice freezing their assets and taking their money as their stance on selling animals flip flops by the rep. But it is an option you can ask for and some will. And as thomas stated, yes, if you are found outright scamming i do believe the sellers MM account gets banned. And since you need to use photo ID to set up a seller account, i presume it would be harder to set up another afterwards, but not impossible

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