Stay safe - Protecting yourself in the global marketplace

We already know that 99.9% of students and teachers are honest and trustable. We also try our best to keep the website clean and safe. However, it's not possible for us to verify everyone's credentials, intentions, and integrity. That's why you have to be alert against potential financial and physical damage when dealing with strangers.

Summary: If you read nothing else:

1. If you are meeting in person, meet at a public location like a library/mall, etc.
2. Pay and receive payments via TeacherOn.com. If payment is made via us, we secure payment for teachers and ensure services for students. 
3. For students:
   1. If you chose to pay outside of TeacherOn: try to pay with PayPal - they have fraud protection.
   2. If paying directly in a bank account: if the tutor's profile name doesn't match bank account etc, you should be skeptical that the tutor might be a fraud.
4. For teachers: 
   1. If receiving payment outside of TeacherOn, start work only after you get at the least a partial payment.
5. Stay away from scammers
   • Here's a list of known scammers. Make sure you aren't interacting with them.

How to protect yourself online?

Most scams are done online - mostly due to anonymous nature. We are working every day to make the system so it's easier to trust individuals. In the meantime, here are a few things you should know.

For Teachers

1. Ask to be paid via TeacherOn. Most students are unwilling to pay in advance because they are unsure of the services. However, since we are protecting their payment (via escrow) from bad tutors, they will pay you as it's risk-free for them. You will get the funds in 30 days even if the student stops responding - something which happens to a lot of tutors after they have given the services.
2. For projects/assignments, always ask for payment in advance for the work to be done. If the student is unwilling to pay, ask a partial amount. Send the proof of the partial work and get more payment to complete the work.
3. For online tutoring, give a demo of one hour or whatever you are comfortable with. That should tell the student if you are a good fit. For further sessions, ask the money to be deposited as the lessons go. 

For Students

1. Pay via TeacherOn. We hold your funds with us until you are happy with the provided service. We also help you secure a refund if you are unsatisfied with the tutor.
2. If you chose to pay outside of Teacheron, pay with PayPal. They have a buyer protection policy. Make sure you have selected the "Paying for services" option while making the payment. 
3. Raise a dispute if you don't get the promised service.
4. If the expert says to close a dispute as they will deliver shortly, just say politely that you will close dispute once they deliver as promised. This is important as you can't raise dispute again once you close a dispute in PayPal.
5. If not paying with TeacherOn or PayPal, tread carefully, and pay as little as possible initially.
6. Check our list of known scammers.
7. Search online for known scammers by just googling "{tutor name}+scam".
8. Most scammers won't use real names in their profiles. However, they give you correct account details when receiving payment. Make sure to double-check that against known scams. 

Meeting in person?

When meeting in person, the danger of financial fraud is relatively less. Physical security should be your main concern. You probably already know how to handle yourself. If not, you can blame your parents ?

Please meet at a public location for at least the first few meetings.