MoboFree – social marketplace with 2.5 million African users has disclosed plans to launch a database of scammers to allow its users check credibility of buyers and sellers in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Zimbabwe.
According to Wilfred Tchasse, co-founder of MoboFree, “MoboFree users upload up to 1000 new classifieds per day in Nigeria only, and only 20-30 % of those ads goes live” – discloses. Others are identified as scam by our special internal algorithm, scam control staff and MoboFree users–volunteers who help to ensure reliability of ads.”
“We noticed that after banishment from MoboFree frauders move to other boards of classifieds and successfully proceed with their business. Such situation makes big harm to all online trading/classifieds ecosystem. People loose trust in online buying and selling as effective and safe way to buy, sell and swap stuff. And what’s the most important – people loose their hardly accumulated savings.” – says Wilfred Tchasse.
“Scammers database” service will be accessible free of charge and will be based on checking phone numbers – when buying or selling something via blind boards of classifieds phone number usually is the only thing which is known for sure. Usually scammers work in two directions – pretending a seller and pretending a buyer. In the first case buyers loose money and in the second case sellers use their goods. “Scammers database” will help to protect from both categories of frauders. Service will be opened not only for MoboFee users but also for users of other boards of classifieds.