Trust & Safety
High-value hardware attracts scammers everywhere it's traded. Here is how the common tricks work, how to spot them in seconds, and what to do when something feels off.
The one rule that defeats almost every scam
Payment and conversation stay on SiliconExchange. Held payments, carrier tracking, disputes, refunds — every protection we offer exists inside the platform. The moment money or messages move off it, none of that can help you. Anyone who asks you to pay by Zelle, Venmo, CashApp, wire transfer, crypto, gift cards, or PayPal Friends & Family — or to move the chat to another app to close a deal — is someone to report, not negotiate with.
The four patterns to know on sight
The off-platform “deal”
Someone offers a discount if you pay them directly — Zelle, Venmo, CashApp, wire transfer, crypto, gift cards, PayPal Friends & Family. The discount is the bait; the payment method is the scam. Money sent that way has no held funds, no dispute process, and almost no way back.
Phishing
An email or message styled to look like SiliconExchange (or Stripe) asks you to “verify” your password or payment details through a link. We will never ask for your password, and we never take payment through a link in a message. When in doubt, close the message and sign in by typing the address yourself.
The copycat checkout
A conversation starts on the platform, then someone sends a link to “complete the purchase” somewhere else — a look-alike page, an invoice PDF, a payment request. Real SiliconExchange checkout only ever happens on this site, signed in to your account.
The overpayment
A “buyer” sends more than the price — by fake check or doctored screenshot — and asks you to refund the difference. The original payment was never real; the refund you send is. On SiliconExchange, real payments only ever appear on your order page, never as a screenshot.
The ten-second check
Not sure whether a purchase, a refund, or a payment request is real? Open your order history. Every real SiliconExchange transaction appears there. If it isn't in your orders, it didn't happen on SiliconExchange — no matter what an email, invoice, or screenshot claims. The same goes for selling: a real sale shows up on your seller dashboard — never only in a message.
See something? Report it — even if you're not sure
Reports are how a marketplace stays clean, and a false alarm costs nothing. You don't need an account to report.
- A listing: use the Report this listing link on the listing page, email report@siliconexchange.io, or use the report form. Counterfeit, stolen, misdescribed, prohibited — all of it.
- A message or an off-platform payment request: email report@siliconexchange.io or send it through the contact form.
- Think you already paid a scammer? Contact your bank or card issuer immediately — speed matters most — then tell us so we can act on the account involved.
Meeting in person
Local pickup orders are paid online like any other order — never in cash — and the payment stays held until you've inspected the item and shared your pickup code. Meet in a public, well-lit place (many police stations offer designated exchange spots), bring a friend for high-value items, and keep the arrangements in on-platform messages. The full flow is on the Buyer Protection page.
Keeping your account safe
Use a password you use nowhere else
Most account takeovers reuse a password leaked from some other site. A unique password (or signing in with Google) closes that door.
We will never ask for your password
Not by email, not by message, not by phone. Anyone who does is not us.
Check the address bar
Before signing in or paying, make sure you're on siliconexchange.io. Look-alike domains are the oldest trick in the book.
Sign out on shared machines
Your account can release payments and change listings. Treat it like the payment account it is.
What we're doing on our side
- Every seller is identity-verified through Stripe before they can publish a listing.
- Every payment is held by the platform until the buyer has the item — sellers never see your card details, and buyers can't pay outside checkout.
- Orders of $750.00 or more always ship with signature confirmation on delivery.
- Delivery is confirmed by the carrier's own scan — not by anyone's word — and every reported listing and message gets human review.