Yes I've heard about the MO scams for some time now which is why I personally only deal with USPS MO's. I suppose those too are not safe these days either unless you take them to the PO.
I've been on both sides of the fence as a buyer and a seller and it's scary as hell no matter what you are doing. Heck even a face to face transaction runs risks right down to getting counterfeit cash.
I've had some bumps and bruises with paypal as a buyer, worst of which cost me $75 shipping out of my pocket to send an item back I bought on eBay that was not anywhere close to being as described, and I'm not talking condition either. The seller was a real scam artist and eventually lost his account, but ebay nor paypal were able or willing to recover my funds, but my credit card did.
I have a credit card that pays the funds via my paypal account so the funds are always there no matter what and anything I have ever sold via paypal, I wait for the funds to clear if the transaction is listed as pending. Once they clear the money is yours unless a claim is filed against the transaction by the buyer. eBay just recently changed their user agreement to better protect the buyer if funds were not available in the paypal account in the event of a dispute.
Anyone who gives paypal or anyone other then your employer, or a government institution your bank account number for ANYTHING other then the purpose of direct deposit, should have their head examined. Your just asking for trouble.
Using paypal with a credit card it is like a second line of defense that if you can't resolve an issue through paypal, usually your credit card will back you up. I've only ever had to do that once and that was with the transaction I mentioned above.
And you should guard your social security number like your bank account number and credit card numbers.
Phone verification is certainly a good idea as is dealing with people who have a solid reputation, but just remember that everyone had to start out some time even on flebay. I've personally got (130) 100% positive feedback on ebay and that is not even a tenth of the transactions I've done on that site. People really don't use the feedback system properly.
Is eBay feedback a reliable barometer for an individuals character or reputation? I don't know, but I guess it's better then nothing.
Like I said before, paypal as much as I dislike them, they are the best form of payment over distance. Even MO's are not safe these days because of they are counterfeited so much now. Don't even consider Western Union.
Take this for what it's worth, as a seller if I were to get a USPS MO in the mail I would take it to the PO with me when I was shipping the item. I use the USPS MO to pay for the shipping and get the cash right there so I know there are no problems with the MO. That is why I only accept USPS MO and probably the same reason a lot of other people do the same thing. If there are any irregularities it will be caught right then and there before you pay for the shipping or ship the item out. But this does nothing to safeguard the buyer.
I do like to use the internet to print and pay for my postage if I use paypal, it usually saves a few cents on shipping, you are sure to have the buyers address correct and not having to wait in line to drop the item off at the post office is a plus, but you are going to have to eat the paypal fees. This really is the safest method of payment for both parties.
As a buyer I still prefer paypal as it is a means of recourse to get your money back if nothing shows up in the mail or there is a significant problem with the item that the seller is not willing to negotiate with you on.
I did have a $1200 transfer switch miss delivered by UPS to the wrong address once. Let me tell you my heart skipped a beat when the tracking number said the item had been delivered and I had nothing to show for it. The driver delivered it to a Street instead of Avenue and I had a UPS manager hand deliver it to me with many apologies after some frantic phone calls on my part.
Word about insurance. I've only had one claim with the USPS for damaged goods and it was initially denied. Not until I wrote a letter to the inspector general about it was my claim honored. I have no idea how they would treat a claim that was miss delivered. I notice now that if you send an item USPS insured you have to sign for the item to receive it. So if you are not home expect a trip to the post office or sign the form for them to deliver it again. It's kind of a pain, but they don't seem to hire the sharpest pencils in the box at the PO and I guess this keeps the claims down on miss delivered items.
Bottom line there is no perfect safeguard out there at the present time, but if someone hears of something I'm the first guy who want's to know.
