Ebay Scam---Detailed Information

KiotiJohn · May 22, 2005

( If they have zero feedback do not permit yourself to be sucked into the oppertunity of a lifetime. )
All of this is great advice, but also be careful even with the ones with good ratings as they have often been highjacked and the real owner doesn't know sometimes until it's too late.
We've had posters post some scams where the real owner had inadvertently given out his/her password to a scammer, and they in turn used that account to put up a scam. They also did it as a "private" auction so no one could see the bidders names and let them know it's a scam. They would have a different e-mail address in the body of the auction to try to keep people from contacting the real owner.
Thanks for this informative post Tollster

mark1 · May 22, 2005

Hi Ken..Your note says do a "View scan" what's that and how do you do it?? Thanks
mw /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

KenVT · May 22, 2005

( Hi Ken..Your note says do a "View scan" what's that and how do you do it?? Thanks
mw /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif )

I know on Navagator mail, if you highlight mail before opening it and click on view on top toolbar, then down to message source, you can then view all source code,
if on outlook express, I belive all you need to do is highlight, right click and it is either document properties or message source.

EDIT

n outlook, highlight mail before reading, right click, properties, then message source. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Which Mail program do you use?

Ken

newcountry · May 22, 2005

( All of this is great advice, but also be careful even with the ones with good ratings as they have often been highjacked and the real owner doesn't know sometimes until it's too late... )

A great reminder KiotiJohn. You can't always go by the positive ratings.

When I was looking for my tractor I found a recurring theme online- once on Ebay and once on a classifieds on IronClassifieds. Both were Kubotas that were about 1/2 price. I e-mailed the seller and got the same story on both. He claimed he had moved to England and had no need for his tractor and needed to sell it fast. They even claimed free shipping and if I didn't like it I could send it back and I'd get refunded /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif!! Yeah, RIGHT!! Shortly after conferring with these idiots my Ebay account was suspended as I may have put my account at risk by e-mailing this thief.
I'll also repeat what someone else said - DO NOT click on a link in any e-mail sent to you by any seller-- the thieves set up mirror sites that look just like ebay or any other site and can steal your password.

Lastly here's a site where scammers are getting a little of their own medicine. Very funny stuff! www.419eater.com/

mark1 · May 22, 2005

Thanks Ken..I'll give it a try..I use Internet explorer and sometimes Mozilla firefox /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

buckslayer129 · May 30, 2005

This is more than likely a scam. When someone contacts you instead of you bidding on the item combined with the fact that they are circumventing Ebay's normal payment procedures is a red flag. I'm a Police Officer and while working in our Investigation division I worked an Ebay scam. Most of the scam are ran overseas with a mule in the U.S. picking up the money. During my Investigation I contacted the F.B.I. and they stated they would not get involved unless an actually loss exceeding $30,000.00 had occurred. The victim in my case lossed $2100.00 and I traced back a total of $12,000.00 in losses to the same suspect. The IP address used was located in Israel and was suspect to be ran a Russian crime syndicate. I would advise you to contact Ebay and explain the situation.

TORQUIN · May 31, 2005

For any large purchase you are not willing to lose the money for, insist on using an Escrow Service. It's as simple as that. The fee will be worth it if you don't lose your money. If the seller does not agree to using an escrow service then you can pretty much count on them being fraudulent.
I purchased a Harley rake from a member here. I did not know this fellow from Adam, and he contacted me about buying the rake after seeing my post on here asking about a Harley Rake. We corresponded a few times and I asked if he would have a problem going through an escrow service. He said that he would not. He suggested his bank forth eEscrow service, which I checked out with the FDIC first, to make sure it was a legit bank. I then went to the bank's web site and compared the info from their web site to the FDIC info, phone numbers, addresses, etc., and it matched. I called an spoke to the bank president also, per information I found independent of the seller. I used his bank, with a letter of intent/instructions to the bank president. Once the funds were there the seller shipped the rake.
The Harley rake arrived as advertised and I faxed a letter to the president of the bank to release the money to the seller.
All went well with this transaction and I took no chances on losing my money.
The seller understood, as this was thousands of dollars and neither of us wanted to get screwed. I told him, nothing personal, it's just business. I had a very good experience with this sale, but had to go into it suspicious since he solicited me. Regardless, with the large a sum of money, I'd use and Escrow service anyway, because it si wirth the fee for the protection you get.
I believe Ebay offers escrow services for the big ticket items. You'll have to decide for yourself how much money is too much to lose, and worth the escrow fee.

Chris