Enforcement of something like this would be a major pain in the butt. And the number of "screw u" emails in response to the enforcement would flood our email inboxes, for certain. It would be a LOT to ask of everyone to comply with something of this nature. And as has been pointed out, this can be falsified, and in my opinion, the most likely people to have the most incentive to comply might very well be the people inclined to scam others, since those efforts would bring the biggest reward to them. After all, they will be getting something from you for free, so the effort could pay off very well for them.
This would try to shift the burden of sensible buying and selling from the buyers and sellers to the management of this site to filter out the scammers that would come here. Would be nice if feasible, but we just cannot protect YOU from THEM. YOU have to make sensible choices in how you do business and who you do business with. WE have to be careful that we don't make so many burdensome rules for participating here that legitimate concerns don't just throw their hands up in frustration and go somewhere else EASIER to do business at. So we have no choice but to put most of the burden on YOU to do your homework and make rational and informed decisions.
We require a TRUE full name and location in the profile of the people doing business on this site. This is for what I hope is a very good reason. It gives you a handle on who is advertising that merchandise or who it is trying to buy from you. Quite frankly, if someone tells you that the name on their account here or their location is different as to where they want you to send the money or merchandise, that SHOULD be a very big red flag to you. That person has already lied in public, and then is telling you that they will lie to everyone else but you. Yeah, sure..... And I have a big bridge in New York to sell to you when you are done with that transaction....
Those profile fields are there to help you identify the OP in a transaction. I strongly suggest you use that information as a guide to help you make a rational decision about your business dealings. Scammers will lie. They will lie CONVINCINGLY. They will tell you anything they feel it will take to make their score with you and STEAL from you. If they are lying here about their identity, then there is a strong probability that they will certainly lie to you about everything else as well.
Sure, anyone can put in a false name and/or location here. But when it comes time to send money to them, or send a shipment, then things get dicey for them if they have provided false information here. I suggest paying via a method that requires a true identity and location. And when you get that information, check what is listed in their profile on this site. If it does not match, then you had better be paying close attention to what you are doing.
Just remember that the best liars are those that are convincing that it is the truth. Most will try to put you in a rush to buy or sell so you feel like you CAN'T take the time to check on facts and details. But take your time and be thorough about what you are doing. You will soon forget losing a good deal because you were TOO cautious, but you will NEVER FORGET getting screwed by a scammer because you were not cautious enough.
If you make sound policies about how you do business, then you greatly reduce the risk of getting taken by the scammers swirling around in the waters around you every day.
So quite frankly, if you do decide to buy or sell to someone using false identifying info here, and you DO get scammed, well, whose fault will that be? We can only do so much, but if we take the time and trouble to hand you the tools to try to help you, YOU HAVE to use those tools. If you fail, or refuse, to use those tools we offer you to HELP you, then I guess we'll be reading about your transaction on the BOI pretty soon...
Yea...I was just hoping to somehow make it more difficult.
Thanks and good luck everyone!!
