TheClassifieds Weekend Picks #1

posted in: Best of the Weekend
21 February by:

Another fabulous Monday has almost come and gone and boy, did it go quickly. We’ll be flying at a lightning pace all week as we head up to the launch of Snaply next week (have you signed up yet? Find out more about our soon to be released Ecommerce platform right here), but that doesn’t mean there isn’t time to fulfill the blog duties.

This week I am kicking off a full array of new blog features starting with our Monday feature – the Best of the Weekend. This is where we’ll pick a few adverts posted over the weekend which we thought might be really useful for one reason or another.

This car may be a bit older and have a few kilometres on the clock, but it looks like it’s in great condition and depending how it drives (you’ll have to check that out yourself!), it could be an absolute steal for only R32 900.

This stunning picturesque plot in Knysna is a very tempting offer for those that can afford it. Especially if you have dreams of operating a guest house one day as this definitely has the facilities. In fact, it looks like that’s how the current owners are using it.  No reason for the wanted sale is given but you can always contact the seller to find that out!

This one is for the horse owners among you. The Lourensford Wine Estate with it’s location in the shadow of the Helderberg mountains of the Western Cape is a dream location for your horse to be housed. Not only will he/her be in beautiful surroundings, just imagine the spectacular rides you can enjoy on his/her back.

Don’t own a horse but still enjoy the joy that they can bring? Especially when attached to a carriage and you can enjoy life at a slower pace than that of our hectic daily lives? This advert really grabbed our attention this morning with the service it offers. Imagine arriving at your wedding like Cinderella? Or how about your matric dance? I’m sure if the occasion is special you could think of a way to use their service. Definitely check this one out.

And those are the weekend picks this week. Check back again next week to find a bargain or something really special!

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Snaply – Your all-in-one ecommerce solution. Beta signups now open!

posted in: News
03 February by:

I want you all to take a minute to take a deep breathe, stick your arms in the air and make a sound of utter jubilation with me. Done it? Good, now you’re ready. I am very happy to introduce you to our latest product offering, Snaply.

Snaply is, quite simply, your store online.

Those three words could mean turning your entire business around. Snaply will help you take your services or products (whether they’re homemade or mass produced in millions) and put them online allowing you to reach a larger audience. In other words, Snaply gives you your own independent space to sell your stuff online and we give you the tools to make it quick and simple, all in one convenient location. All it will take will be a few quick clicks and your store will be setup – from an eye catching design to a secure payment gateway.

And the cost? Not an issue. Snaply will have various packages, priced to suit every budget including a simple free package, so even if you have a store online already, you can create another one with Snaply at no extra cost – but you could end up earning that much more.

Snaply Beta will be launching on the 1st of March so go on over to our Beta sign up page and be one of the first to get your store when the time comes or reserve your store name today (first come first serve my dears, keep that in mind).

You can be one of our future Beta users by following this link or, if you’d like more information, email us at info@theclassifieds.co.za.

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Happy Data Privacy Day

posted in: News
28 January by:

It’s Friday which is always exciting, but more importantly, it’s Data Privacy Day, a special day set aside to raise awareness about information privacy.

In this day and age, with the amount of time most of us spend on the internet, we’re just giving out our personal information every which way. Data Privacy Day is dedicated to opening discussions on how to protect all that information of yours as well as to educate users about the privacy challenges when using your mobile devices, social networking sites and other online services. In other words, it’s definitely a day worth celebrating.

So on this special of special days, I just want to remind you to be careful on TheClassifieds. Have a look through the blog and check out all the information we have on various scams that could be used to steal your personal information. Also, keep these tips in mind (we’ve posted them before but it won’t hurt you to see them again):

  1. Don’t give our too many personal details.

When you are buying or selling something through TheClassifieds or a similar service, there is a certain amount of information that you will need to give out, but keep that to a minimum. Never give our details such as your ID number, credit card number or address unless you know the person on the other end of the phone (or email) is completely legitimate.

2. Shred!

Just because a lot of ID theft occurs online, this doesn’t mean that these criminals necessarily found your information online. Make sure to be very careful about throwing away any documents or mail that show your name, address, ID number or even bank account number. If possible, make sure to shred this information – or cover it with meat sauce and let the dog attack it, just do something!

3. Redirect!

Moving is such a pain really. You never have enough boxes and packing takes a million years. You’re worried about getting everything ready for the new owners or tenants and you’re worrying about your new place. With all the stress going on around you, one of the last things on your mind is your mail. Let’s face it, you might change all the important addresses like your license or bank details, but there might be a clothing account or something similar you forget. It’s for this reason you should always ask the post office to forward your mail on to your new address for at least a year so you can be sure to cover everything and not have strangers getting all your mail.

This is actually a hint the previous tenant of our flat could have used – we get all of her cellphone statements and bank statements.

4. Listen to the alarm bells

If you start getting a bad feeling about a company that might have your details or a company that contacts you with your details and you know you’ve never heard of them before, listen to that feeling and seek advice from the SAFPS – The South African Fraud Protection Service.

5. Check your bank account and credit record regularly

Don’t just let your account and credit record go unchecked. Even if you have a bank account which you use solely for debit orders or savings – make sure you check the balance often and that everything is in order. The same goes for your credit record – you don’t want to have debt collectors knocking on your door one day and you have no idea why. You need to take an active role in your own protection.

6. Always make sure to log out

When you do online banking or use your Facebook account or other information sensitive websites, remember to make sure you log out completely and properly to make sure that your details aren’t visible to the next person who comes to sit down.

7. Have adequate protection on your computer

You need to make sure you have a virus scanner on your computer which will catch any malicious software or viruses which may steal your private information. Also make sure to keep your computer password protected so that no one can use it and access possibly sensitive files.

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Sneak a Peek

posted in: News
20 January by:

On Monday we gave you a tiny, very vague hint about our upcoming project. Today I’ll give you a little bit more. Last night, Cameron shared this sneak peek super exclusive snapshot on Twitter.

Now I can see at least two things in that pic that should be able to give you a very good idea of what we’re going to be doing. Want to try and figure it out? Even if you can’t though, tell us what you think of what you can see there. Like the colours? Hate the colours? Love the font? Want to have babies with the pic because it mentions cookies? Be honest with us :)

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Oh SNAP!

posted in: Articles
17 January by:

If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll know we’ve been slaving away in our underground lair, working on a project that is so secret and so awesome…you can’t know what it is yet.

That doesn’t mean we can’t give you some hints though.

Hint #1: The title. According to a certain definition of the word “snap”, it is the new “wow”. This might be according to five people in rural Tibet or something similar, but we plan on making it cool.
Hint #2: We’re giving you the power.

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Pants are completely optional

posted in: Articles
11 January by:

In 2001 a group named Improv Everywhere was formed by Charlie Todd. This group was created as a comedic performance art group which would carry out “missions” in public places. The point of these missions? Not to cause trouble and mayhem, but rather to provide any of those who observe their antics a laugh and an experience that they would be able to talk about later.

One of their missions which has in fact become an annual event is their ‘New York Subway No Pants Ride’. Members of their group (and anyone wanting to join in). This no pants ride is exactly how it sounds. Participants would board the train looking just like anyone else with their pants on, once the train began moving, they would all remove their pants continue the ride without any, behaving as if everything is normal.

This year, the event has been going for 10 years and some individuals in Johannesburg thought this would be the perfect opportunity to get in on the fun with the recently built Gautrain. Unfortunately, not everyone seemed to think so and the group of 34 people were handcuffed and taken into the Kempton Park police station.

It all began with the group deciding to make the ‘no pants’ trip from Kempton Park to Sandton and back again on Sunday. Just like the New York based pranksters, our locals waited until the train embarked before removing their trousers commencing their ‘no pants’ ride. Other passengers on the Gautrain seemed to take it in their stride as it was remarked that many, while definitely staring, were also having a good laugh.

The fun seemed to come to an end though when they once again arrived at the Rhodesfield station in Kempton Park and the group was met by a group of Gautrain security gaurds who promptly handcuffed the group and escorted to the Kempton Park police station. The group of pranksters sat at the station for a further three hours before the police realised they wouldn’t actually be able to charge them with public indecency since they all still had on underwear or shorts.

Don’t cheer or grimace just yet, the group did not come away from the experience scott free. While the police could not pin any legitimate charges on the group, the Bombela Gautrain operator fined them each R700 for wearing the “wrong clothing”.

Unfortunately this has sparked commentary about just what the “wrong clothing’ is. While we don’t have the answer, I can tell you one thing: We also have a mobile site remember? If you ever decide to take part in one of these pranks and you misplace your pants, you can always visit our site and do a search for any nearby people trying to get rid of a pair of pants. It could end up saving you a few hundred rand.

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Job Seekers Beware

posted in: Scams
06 January by:

Jeanette was kind enough to share a wonderful comment about job scams on our “Job Scams Awareness” post. The information she provides is very valuable to any job seekers out there and so, I’m passing it on to you in an easy to find location.

Job seekers please be careful when you are about to send off your CV and other documents in response to a job Ad.
First do your homework and check out whether a company is legit or whether you are dealing with a legit recruiter and whether the job indeed exists!

Warning bells should go off immediately if the Ad offers little info about the job, a contact name and telephone detail is omitted or when only an 086-fax number is given to forward info to.

When you see a free e-mail address such as gmail.com; webmail.co.za; sapostbox.co.za; mastermail.co.za; jobwork.co.za or webpost.co.za PLEASE send off an enquiry e-mail first to see whether you get a valid response to your enquiry. You will know that this is a scam when you immediately receive up to 10 e-mails from different e-mail addresses, all requesting you to fax your documents, but not responding to your actual query.

The latest trend is one poster with a central registered web domain – mighty.co.a, who have 22 different e-mail addresses he / she / they use to place bogus ads. They operate on a daily basis, place ads in all the free classifieds such as Gumtree, IOL, BestJobs, Indeed etc. They alternate between the various addresses and also change their names. When you google the e-mail address given, all their bogus ads will reflect which is placed all over the country!

Whether this is a way to get hold of people’s personal info or whether they generate an income from all the faxed CV’s and docs to the 086-number, this is FRAUD! People please be careful – in today’s difficult times it is so much easier to get scammed – don’t fall a victim to this.

Jeanette makes a very valid points in her comment and remembering what she has to say may save you some heartache in your search. Thanks Jeanette :)

27 Comments »

Phishing warning – swim on by

posted in: Scams
04 January by:

Happy New Year to all our wonderful users! I hope you have a blessed year ahead and to help ensure that this is the case, we’re going to carry on keeping you up to date on scams starting today! Bidorbuy have posted a warning on their blog to their users about a new phishing scam that could affect them. We’ve included what they have to say about it below.

It is difficult to differentiate between various kinds of scum and say which one is worse than the other. Still, it is probably safe to say that the most dangerous internet scam is the one that poses as a solution.

It comes in various forms. It can be a malicious code posing as anti-virus software that ravages your computer when you download it. It can be a friendly message supposedly from your bank inviting you to install a security programme that is really a malware. Or it can be a warning that is in reality an attack.

Several bidorbuy users recently received such “warnings”. At the end of last year, there was a spite of phishing attacks (read the blog post about one such phishing attack and the post about how toprotect yourself from phishing attacks). At the beginning of 2011, scammers have modified their strategy. They are now warning the recipient about phishing scams.

The fake warning message claims to come from bidorbuy. After stating that “we have been alerted that another phishing email has gone out to some users”, it urges the recipient to “click here” in order to verify his or her account before January 06, 2011 – or else (the account will be suspended).

Of course, if you do click on the link provided, you will be taken to the scammer’s site which will steal your bidorbuy log in details. Then the cyber criminals will defraud you or – more often – will pose as you on bidorbuy in order to defraud other people.

Here is a screen shot of the newest phishing email:

It takes just a little alertness to recognise that the message is a fake. The most prominent signs are:

  • It is sent from billing@bidorbuy-za.com. The authentic bidorbuy email addresses do not have a hyphen.
  • It spells the official name of bidorbuy as BidorBuy.
  • It takes you to http://www.bidorbuiy.com when you click on the link.

Do note that scammers are perfecting their techniques all the time. The rule is to be wary of messages that invite you to “click here” and to check the destination URL. If in doubt, it is best to open your browser and type in manually the address of the site. Plus, you can always turn for help to the bidorbuy customer support by writing to hello@bidorbuy.co.za.

I love that bidorbuy stay on top of all these scams. Well done guys!

Remember, be safe online. If you’re in any doubt, not only can you email bidorbuy for help, but we’re also here to answer any questions you might have at info@theclassifieds.co.za

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Craigslist shuts down all ‘Adult Services’ sections

posted in: Articles
29 December by:

A few months ago human rights group, The Rebecca Project, successfully campaigned to have the ‘Adult Services’ section on the popular classifieds service, Craigslist, shut down. At first, this was limited to the North American portal of the site, however, they have now spread the shut down to all of their international sites as well.

Craigslist’s adult categories came under fire from groups such as the Rebecca Project (as well as some politicians and well meaning individuals) due to the fact that it was believed that such services facilitate prostitution, exploitation of women and human trafficking. While there is plenty of merit to what these people have to say, there were a few people who jumped to Craigslist’s defense over the issue such as senior researcher at Microsoft, Danah Boyd.

Danah Boyd explained in an article written for the Huffington Post that while the internet has made it easier for prostitutes, traffickers and other criminals to connect to potential clients, it has also given law enforcement a very easy in depth look at their activity. She then went on to say that censoring these services and forcing them underground once again, may in fact have the opposite effect of stopping sex crimes.

The really are very good points on each side of the debate but really, what side of the fence do you fall on? Do you believe all listing sites should remove their adult sections in a fight against human rights violators and those that sexually abuse young men and women? Or do you believe keeping these adult sections up and running might in fact help in the fight against crime?

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Happy Holidays from TheClassifieds

posted in: Articles
23 December by:

I know many of you are on holiday already. I know many of you are going on holiday at the end of today. I know many of you will be spending time with your family until the new year. I also know that many of you are going to be in the office the entire time.

To whoever you are and wherever you may be, it’s my absolute pleasure to say that we at TheClassifieds wish all of you who celebrate it a very Happy Christmas. May you enjoy the old traditions and bring in some new ones. May you treasure your loved ones and keep the family feuds to a minimum. Most of all though, may you only give Santa the good brandy and leave only the freshest carrots for his reindeer.

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