Ebay scammers getting desperate?

Richard · Feb 7, 2005

This one kind of tickled me.

I was bidding on something that someone I knew from another website owned. I had had several emails with him prior to the auction ending and I knew his name.

I didn't get the item, however, I just now had THREE "second chance to buy's" from the seller at of course, my high price.

The only problem is/was, the three offers were for the SAME thing, and from DIFFERENT people and not ONE of them was him lol /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

So, I told each one I was interested. If/when they respond back, I'll "remind" them of our initial emails, where I was guaranteed a FREE TRIAL up front and they need to send me the unit lol

Sigh, these morons

aardvark · Feb 7, 2005

That happens alot. I sold an arcade game a couple weeks ago for just over $3400. The second higest bidder emailed me last week with his phone number, asking me to call him regarding the details of his second chance offer. Someone in CA was pretending to be me, and the guy had gotten a money order to send the guy for the game. Good thing he emailed me and I called him.

JimR · Feb 7, 2005

It's not only Ebay these things happen on. I have my BMW for sale on an internet website. I have had 3 people so far tell me that they wanted to buy the car and were going to ship it overseas. They were going to send me a check for the total amount with shipping. I was to forward a check for the shippig to the shipper upon reciept of the (International) funds. Now it takes 2 weeks minimum to clear international bank funds. All 3 of these idiots wanted me to send out a check immediately to the shipper. I replied with this one line. I will accept funds only from an American based bank. All 3 wrote back that they could only use international bank funds. Want to know what my reply was to all 3 of them? It was another oneliner in big bold letters.
OFF SCAMMER", Have A Nice Day.
The sad part is people get sucked into these things and loose a lot of money.

sendero · Feb 7, 2005

And trust me on this - even with an American bank these $%^# scammers have figured out how to make it take WEEKS for the check to come back unpaid.

Basically any time anybody wants you to take a "cashier's check" over an amount, or on the assumption that the check "has to be good" - run the other way /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Richard · Feb 8, 2005

It's been comical (to me since I see the scam) that I've received about TEN "second chances" to purchase the item I missed.

I don't know, but I'd like to think that even a brick would catch on after about the 7th.

I DID tell them I was interested in talking more and when they came back telling me they needed my screen name, address and most interestingly, the item number, I "let them have it" (wooo, scary huh, I let them have it over the internet lol) anyways, I sent them back a pleasant email containing some diatribe that is VERY uncharateristic of me. I showed them how idiotic they were since in one email, they knew everything, then literally 2 minutes later when i responded back to them, they were clueless.

One of them told me to give the aforementioned tidbits to him/her so we can bring this to a quick conclusion.

I told him I was onto his scam, some other explicitives, then told him where he can PUT his scam and if that was a quick enough conclusion for him.

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Strangely enough, he's not responded back yet... and here I sit waiting... lol /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

MadReferee · Feb 8, 2005

Four letter words and other nasty comments will get you nowhere. Here is what I would do. Inform them that you are aware of their scam and that you have given all correspondance over to the FBI and Homeland Security so they can trace the internet path back to scammers computer. Then remind them that our Homeland Security will contact their homeland security (Scotland Yard, KGB, etc) and that they can expect a knock on the door. Also remind them that our Homeland Security will place them on the international do not fly/enter list so they will have problems crossing borders. That should get them shaking in their boots. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

gsxr1100 · Feb 9, 2005

I have been on Ebay since 1997 and it has been bad since about 2 to 3 years ago...Keeps getting worse.

It has gotten so bad with no payers, scammers that I do not even bother selling.

I will say this, what do you expect from a website the is FREE to signup and evey moron out there does. I would say make people pay to signup and I bet most issues will lessen or stop.

Richard · Feb 10, 2005

very nice Ref!

I just had yet ANOTHER one contact me and I did just what you said lol, I'm still chuckling about it.

Oh, and I ended it with a very plesant "have a nice day" kind of thing.

/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

PineRidge · Feb 10, 2005

Been selling at eBay since 1997 and bid siphoning has been going on since then. That is the scammers try to take the sale away from the site where it's much easier to seperate you from your bucks $$$$$.

I found the best policy was to give all items that we sold a 7-day unconditional money back refund. The scammers can't compete with a money back guarantee.