Safety Tips

Last updated: July 31. 2016

General

Never send money to anyone. Richobo is for face to face trading only.

Never give your personal information and bank details to anyone.

IP addresses can be spoofed, so they are not 100% accurate.

Meet in daylight preferably.

Buy, sell and trade

Never send your goods or money to anyone.

If someone says they are out of the country and they want to send you money for shipping goods to them, it is probably a scam!

How the scam works

They send you a fake cheque or a fake email from some kind of payment system such as paypal hoping you will send the goods before the cheque clears or before you notice the payment confirmation email is not legitimate.

• Do not carry large sums of cash. Take a friend with you to purchase the item.

• Be suspicious of people who claim to be out of the country.

• Be suspicious if a deal is too good to be true. Do not let greed get the better of you!

• Meet the seller in a public place.

Renting a property

If a landlord says they are out of the country and wants you to send the money as a deposit, it is most likely a scam!

How the scam works

You send the money, there is no property to rent so you lose your money.

Another Scam

They ask you to send money to someone you trust to prove you have money to rent the flat. They want you to use a system such as Western Union. You send the money to your friend or family member. After this they will ask you to prove it by showing your payment receipt. You scan the receipt and send it to them by email or fax. They can duplicate the receipt and claim the money with the serial numbers on the receipt.

If a potential tenant says they are out of the country and wants to send you a deposit for the property before viewing it, it is most likely a scam.

How the scam works: They send you a fake cheque for more money than you require "you want €100, they send €300". When you tell them they paid too much, they say "ok, send me €200 back". If you send the €200 back before finding out the cheque is fake, you will lose your money.

Quick tips to meeting someone from Richobo (Dancers/Models/Friends)

• Meet in a public place such as a pub or cafeteria.

• Tell a friend you are meeting someone from Richobo and say the time you expect to be back.

• Get a cellphone number of the person you wish to meet and speak to them before you meet.

Scammers

If someone online asks you for money for any reason "travel fair to meet you, help pay their bills, sickness, etc.." they are probably a scammer and should be reported to the site you met them on.

Fake Photos

If the person only sends professional models like photos, it might not be them. Ask for normal unprofessional photos of them. Also ask when the photo was taken. Some people will send photos from 10 years ago and will look completely different when you meet them.

Get their cellphone number

If they do not want to give their phone number, they could be wasting your time.

Rate phone number

Sometimes they will give you a premium rate phone number to contact them on, some of these numbers look like normal telephone numbers too. So be careful. Use a PayG SIM card to contact them if you are unsure of the number so you won't run up a big bill on your contract. You can also search Yandex or Google to find out more information on the number.

Get persons on Webcam

In this day and age, the majority of people have smartphones with video cameras or webcams on their laptop or computer. Most Internet cafes will have webcams too. If they are serious about meeting you, they will make time to see you on a webcam.

Social Network

Ask if they have a Twitter, Vkontakte or some other social network account, most people into Internet dating these days will also have a social network account. If they do not use social network sites, then they might not be who they say they are.

Meeting your online date

If you decide to meet the person, make sure it is in a public place like a cafeteria or a pub. Tell a friend you are going to meet someone from the Internet and share with them the profile/photo of the person you expect to meet. Tell your friend how long you are going for and when you expect to be back. If you feel uncomfortable at any time on the date, make your excuses, be polite and leave.

Do not wait too long on your first date

If you are early or on time and your date is more than 30 minutes late, go home. Phone up your date and let them know you are going home. If you stay, you will look desperate unless they have a very good excuse. Teach them a lesson for being late. They might not even turn up! Do not let them waste your time.

Meeting a Companion

A number of users have reported this scam. You hire a companion to come to your home for company. The companion asks you to pay first then says they need to leave your house to give money to their driver or manager. You pay the money up front, the companion leaves with your money to pay the cab or manager and you never see the companion again.

Travel Tips

• Always let your family or friends know where you are going and with whom you are traveling.

• Upon arrival at your destination, we advise contacting relatives and friends to let them know you are safe.

• Share your hotel information with an emergency contact.

• Additionally, share your safety contact’s information with the hotel front desk, that way the hotel can immediately reach out to someone close to you in the case of an emergency event.

• Give your family or friends a copy of the passport and contact information "if possible" of the person you are traveling with.

• If you are residing at a private residence for the duration of your stay, email, text, fax and verbally share the address with family and friends in case of emergency.

Meeting Someone Abroad

• Verify that all tickets and hotel reservations are in your name to ensure that you have complete control over your travel.

• Use your best judgement when meeting with travel companions.

• Try to meet in a public place and take time to acclimate yourself with your travel partner.

• Never travel out of the country or to a different location to meet someone you are not familiar with.

• Whenever possible, meet someone for the first time in your home town before deciding to travel with them.

• Once you arrive and meet your travel partner, contact your relatives or friends to let them know you landed safely.

If you think we should add something else to this list, please contact us .