Our Mission

At RepCheck, our mission is make peer-to-peer transactions safer. In the UK alone in 2021 online fraud cost consumers £1.3bn, and we are passionate about making a difference to keep you safe while you transact online. This is just a drop in the ocean compared to the estimated £130bn that will be lost by global consumers to online fraud in the 5 years from 2018 to 2023. If we can help to reduce this by even a fraction, we will consider it a victory in our efforts to tackle the growing issue of predatory online criminals.

Our service allows users to provide feedback about their previous online transactions with informal counterparties – increasing transparency & creating trust. We encourage users to report instances of potential fraud, which can warn other users before they think about sending money or products to a nefarious agents in the marketplace.

We want to keep you safe online.

Types of Online Fraud

Fake Payment Scams

Sometimes things too good to be true don’t they? With this method, this is unfortunately often the case. This tactic occurs when a seller lists something for sale online, and then they receive a message from a buyer to say they will pay immediately for the item, sometimes offering above market value to reel you in. They insist on paying via PayPal or Venmo (or similar), and will ask for your email address to complete the payment. You will then receive a fake email to say that payment has been made, but often with bogus clauses to say that you will not receive the money until the item has been sent. In reality, no money has been sent and you will be left out of pocket if you are unlucky enough to fall for this type of scam.

 

Chargebacks

This is particularly nasty because it can take you by surprise upto 6 months after you think a transaction has gone smoothly. A buyer can (fraudulently) claim to their bank that they were not responsible for the transaction or that they didn’t get what they paid for. The money can then be reclaimed by the counterparty’s bank, at your expense. 

What is the issue we see?

Transacting online in a peer to peer marketplace is at first glance a very simple process. 

A buyer initiates a transaction with a seller and they negotiate until a point of commitment. The transaction is agreed and the payment occurs. Once monies are exchanged, the goods are fulfilled and received. 

However, there is a significant information asymmetry, with buyers rarely knowing who exactly they are buying from. This can result in fraud with buyers losing vast sums of money in fraudulent transactions. 

This is why we created Repcheck – to make your buying experience safer.

Repcheck allows buyers and sellers to review the past performance of potential transaction counterparties based on their historical transactions. Our rating system focuses on the common points of failure in the buying & selling process. With better information, you can make better choices.

Alternatives

We haven’t a found a product that is similar. Consumers are trying to tackle the issue in different ways

Pay the premium – for someone to assume the risk for you and underwrite the transaction – Stock X & Ebay – EXPENSIVE for both parties (15%). At the mercy of price gouges

Forums – Legit Checks – imprecise / prone to misuse / ad hoc

Localise the transaction – make it in person

Back out / don’t buy it

Pricing

Our scam monitoring and alert system will always be free. You can search for a specific online account with us and we will let you know if that user has been reported to us for potentially fraudulent online activity.

If you would like to see detailed metrics relating to how a user has conducted previous transactions, you can upgrade to RepCheck Pro which provides unlimited search access. Repcheck Pro is £1.99 per month, with discounts applied to subscriptions lasting multiple months. 

If you are only looking to search for a single profile you can purchase a one-time pro token for just 99p!