eBay/Craigslist eBay Tractor Scams

[firsttimer]

"Dear eBay member:"

Here is a good clue. Both EBay and PayPal will acually be addressed to "Your Name". Not just eBay User or Ebay member. I have actually recieved them that says "Ebays" on them. I continue to forward everyone of them to Spoof@ebay.com or Spoof@paypal.com. I hope they eventually can stop most of it. (I know, but I still have a glimmer of hope.) I have turned in over 20 auctions that I belived to be fraud. I've actually tried to contact the high bidder on an item to remind them that they may actually be bidding on a fraudulent posting.

One other thing that I have found is that scammers try to get your information by offering a 2nd chance offer on an Item not won.. I thought it was odd the email did not come from the person who had it listed. I sent that on to ebay as well. They responded back that it was not legit.

 

[kubotabilly]

Dave,
I've used paypal for over 4 years with no problems whatsoever, maybe I'm lucky. Here's a toll free number for paypal 1-888-221-1161. Just follow the prompts and eventually you will talk to a real person.

Bill

 

[creeper]

I was contacted with 7 second chance offerings in 3days and got a little worried.Its a shame because there are also some honest people on ebay.

 

[PineRidge]

I have had a few issues with Pay Pal but all in all a great experience with eBay and with a few of the folks that work there.

 

[teach]

Do you think it could happen here through tractorbynet too?
Ex. the machine is 2000 miles across the country, the seller will pay all shipping costs, the seller wants a $2000 deposit on a $7,000 machine, asks for your full address to set up an escrow through "Square Deal" or "Square Trader". The seller says they don't have their new phone hooked up yet, the esrow company said the same thing (via e-mail). The machine, a BX22-loader, backhoe, low hours, with a trailor? If you think this is a scam, then I just found one right here on this site, not on EBay.
I hate to be so skeptical, but it just sounds like too good a deal. I hate to offend anyone, I generally try to find the good people, but this time I'm just not sure... I do have pictures of the machine that were e-mailed to me, which were not posted in the original ad. And yes, now that you mention it, the grammer/spelling was poor in both the e-mails from the seller and from the escrow company.
teach

 

[Highridge]

It's not just on the seller end of it either,

I tried to sell my tractor on eBay and someone with a highjacked acount bought it. ( I though something was funny when his location said Arizona and I said "NO SHIPPING" in big letters. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I recently listed my tractor here for $4000 and the other day, I get an e-mail from someone from the U.K. who will give me $8000 for it and I could just send him the balance after shipping. Yeah Right!

Needless to say I added "I do NOT sell outside of the USA. I do NOT ship"

 

[keeney]

If you cannot independently verify an address and phone number before the sale, imagine how much fun it will be to find the real address and phone number after you have been scammed and are trying to go after them in court.

Ask them to fax some identification, showing name and address - a copy of their driver's license, for example.

Same goes for an escrow agent suggested by the seller - if you cannot find some legit information on them through independent means, its probably a scam.

I got taken by a scam on some building materials from a bogus site on the internet. We had to litigate everything ourselves because no lawyer would touch it because they said the chances of recovery were too low.

I think that tractors are popular items to scam on because the typical price of a used CUT is right in the $5000 to $10,000 sweet spot of scams. Enough money to be very lucrative to take, but still low enough to not be worth hiring a lawyer to chase after. Even the banks involved would rather just write it off.

Our whole ordeal could easily have been prevented with a simple google search.

- Rick

 

[Plan_B]

Another red flag should go up when the scammer suggests exchanging funds through SQUARE TRADE. eBay's SQUARE TRADE has absolutely nothing to do with money or the exchange of funds regarding a purchase. Square Trade (eBay) will moderate in the event of a dispute but a dedicated scammer is long gone by this time.

I have been a member of eBay since 1997 and have bought and sold with great success. I was stung once with the purchase of an air conditioner, but I still give eBay a thumbs-up for overall satisfaction and great deals. Beware and be smart.

Knowledge is power. Read more about Square Trade.....

eBay Square Trade

 

[nephromancer]

I thought this discussion had dried up but I see lots of new info here. I think it is absolutely essential to protect yourself with better passwords. I haven't tried Roboform but I see that it's a free download on either PC World or ZDNet or CNET or Tucows, to name a few. I am using Data Viz Password manager.

I liked the point about the 2nd Chance scams. Man, I have a lot to teach my kids /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif Phishing scams, passwords, online chat rooms. And all I thought I had to worry about was whether or not to let them walk to the candy store.

I guess the more things change the more they remain the same.

Nephromancer (I am no longer using my real name)

 

[California]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I have a lot to teach my kids Phishing scams, passwords, online chat rooms. -nephromancer )</font>

And online candy stores. Here is a thread where I described how my young daughter's name was obtained online and possibly resold on a list.