An offer too good to be true? A salesperson who avoids you on the phone? On the internet as in real life, we have become accustomed to flushing out suspicious behavior. But we are never safe from a scam, especially when it is well put together.
While the share of e-commerce in France reaches 14.1% in the retail trade, scams are a flourishing scourge. According to a survey by UFC-Que Choisir in 2020, one in five French people has been the victim of at least one scam over a full year.
Faced with this observation, models have been launched, such as Gens de Confiance, a site for classified ads between individuals which is based on the principle of triple sponsorship and recommendation to ensure trust. The platform, launched in 2014, now claims 1.3 million members. Nearly one in two members connects to it every month to find a babysitter, buy a car or even rent an apartment. Ulric Le Grand, co-founder of Gens de Confiance, gives ZDNet five practical tips for buying more serenely online.
Identify bad experiences
First and foremost, Ulric Le Grand classifies bad experiences into two categories: on the one hand, what he calls “the lack of politeness” of buyers and sellers (the “no show” experience and negotiations at the last minute, among others), and on the other, the “scam specialists”, who act “with more and more professionalism”, analyzes the co-founder of Gens de Confiance.
Faced with “the level of sophistication (which) is increasing”, Ulric Le Grand defends the sponsorship system to fight upstream against this risk. Even if the scammers want to enter the platform, they have a harder time finding a sponsor who agrees to recommend them. A first welcome “barrier”, especially since once on the marketplace, “the level of mistrust among members tends to drop”, he acknowledges.
Beware of overly attractive offers
Among the false announcements, Ulric Le Grand believes that “the classic scheme is too good a deal”. He encourages Internet users to “turn on a light when an offer seems too good to be true”. After all, “we don’t do magic”, agrees the specialist.
On Gens de Confiance, tools have been put in place to fight against account theft. “If someone tries multiple passwords on an account, we know about it. We have put intelligence behind the reports,” says Ulric Le Grand.
Create a contact with the seller
Before taking action, Ulric Le Grand advises Internet users to “do not hesitate to call the person” to “try to create a contact”.
If necessary, the Gens de Confiance platform goes as far as deleting fraudulent accounts. In 2021, “about fifty accounts” were closed, reports Ulric Le Grand.
Take an interest in the circular and collaborative economy
Platforms for second-hand products between individuals are in vogue, Vinted in the lead, and Ulric Le Grand analyzes that “the circular and collaborative economy is only in its infancy, and can only improve”. According to the expert, “we will find more and more tools to improve the customer experience and make it develop further”.
He agrees that Vinted is a “beautiful model”, with “trust profiles, ratings and some form of seller history”. On the other hand, “if a sale goes badly (either because the size is not the right one or the package has not been received, for example), the mediation service is clearly to be improved”, observes Ulric Le Big. For him, “customer service is a strategic asset of the platforms”.
Faced with this success, “many brands see that part of the value in the second hand escapes them”, notes Ulric Le Grand. Gens de Confiance invites professionals to take part in its model: “That does not pose a problem, as long as it is explicitly displayed. It is an additional means of distribution”, explains Ulric Le Grand.
The marketplace has just launched a feature around professional profiles, intended among others for coaches, real estate agents and craftsmen. “You can create a second profile and promote your business. It is in a way the yellow pages revisited, ”explains the leader.
To defend oneself
If however, despite your vigilance, you fall into the nets of a scammer, you still have a few cards to play. “First, you have to warn the platform as soon as possible to intervene”, so that it deletes the announcement, at a minimum, explains Ulric Le Grand. Then, “if you have suffered damage, you have to file a complaint, even if the damage is low”, underlines the expert.
In this regard, let us recall that the Ministry of the Interior recently launched the THESEE platform, an online complaint filing service to manage crimes related to cyberdelinquency, without having to go to the police station or the gendarmerie. Classified ad scams and fraud related to sales sites are among the scams and scams targeted by the service.