Possible eBay ID Theft on two Bobcat 873's

Gatorboy · Dec 9, 2003

Possible eBay ID Theft on two Bobcat 873\'s

I believe I have found a possible case of ID Theft on eBay.

This auction on eBay is for two (2) NEW Bobcat 873's for $5,000 each with Buy It Now!

The auction also says SHIPPING FREE!

This has to be a case of someone getting there GOOD (many positive feedbacks) ID stolen, and someone trying to make some quick cash.

Other red flags are:
- The seller's location says United States only -- No city or state.
- Photos are from the Bobcat website -- not of his machines (which I believe does not exist)
- The feedback on the user shows he has been a BUYER and not a SELLER.

I have reported this to eBay. We shall see what comes of it.

I also sent the SELLER a question asking where he lives, for seeing that he is selling those at $21,000 LESS than MSRP, I could afford to FLY anywhere in the US to see these machines and pay him cash. I suspect I will not hear from him.

Gatorboy · Dec 9, 2003

Re: Possible eBay ID Theft on two Bobcat 873\'s

I guess I should explain how can this happen.

Well, on second thought, I guess I could just link to the eBay website on protecting yourself from SPOOF emails.

CTyler · Dec 9, 2003

Re: Possible eBay ID Theft on two Bobcat 873\'s

Yep, super cheap price and you must be a pre approved bidder just screams SCAM!

Gatorboy · Dec 9, 2003

Re: Possible eBay ID Theft on two Bobcat 873\'s

LATEST UPDATE: The "Seller" wrote me this email. It is definitely a SCAM! The idiot has no idea what a new Bobcat 873 costs let alone all of the attachments shown on the page.

Hello there,

I want to tell you that the BOBCAT 873 is in perfect conditions for
working. The BOBCAT 873 is in perfect cosmetic and engeen conditions. The
item comes with full warranty, and with all acesories from photos from
listing. The item have 15 hours.

Look here all the details I think you need to close this deal quick and
succesfully.I'm sales representative for US corporation that trades with
it products and since the end of November l'm working for its italian
branch. THE BUY IT ! NOW PRICE IS $5000 WITH SHIPMENT INCLUDED and you can
buy it without winning the auction. Right now l'm located in Napoli
(country: Italy ) and here I met my source directly in the factory.

Shipping: l will ship via LufthansaAir but you can choose other mail
carrier .lt usually takes 48 hours till the package arrives to your door.
l will cover the shipping and insurance costs.

Payment: l'm a serious seller with more than 2 years of experience in this
field. l'm a fair trader with a very good feedback on ebay which is the
proof that l have closed a lot of sucessful deals.During this period l
learned that the best deals are closed when the risk involved is minimum.
You will arrange payment through western union(www.westernunion.com) I
have something safe for you because I want you to be sure that you will
receive the product and I hope we will colaborate in future too because I
want to develop this bussines as soon as possible. Look what I can do for
you: -you will make the transfer to my location(Napoli,Italy ) but not to
my name(you will use your wife name for example as receiver's name)so you
can be sure that i will not pick up the money untill you get the product.
So you make a deposit at western union and you will give me the transfer's
details(SENDER NAME,RECEIVER NAME,MTCN) so i can check that the deposit
was made. After i verify I will send you the product imediatly and email
you the details from Luthansa Air -only after you will receive the
product and check it if it ok you will have to change the of the transfer
to my name so i can collect my money.So untill you will have the product
in your hands the money will be deposited on your best friend's name at
western union agent. I think it is better to not inform western union that
you will change the receivers name in a few days because it is possible
they to ask you to pay the fees twice.
My old buyers of course make the transfer at western union direct to my
name which is easier and i will be happy if you can trust in me but
because it is our first deal i proposed you this very safe and efficient
method so you can only deposit the money first and after you get the
product to allowed me to cash it. Probably this payment method it is not
very familiar to you but since i am in Italy (where is a lot of birocracy
) l have used it for many times and each of my customers being satisfied
and l have to admit that it is most efficient process to go through.

Return policy: 20 days.my suppliers only approved this kind of deal and
thay is why i have to do only this way. If you are are agree ! with what i
was telling you,first of all i need your full name and a ddress,so i can
make a reservation at Luthansa Air service and you will have the package
in 48 hours at your place.

Mail me asap ,if you are still interested!
Have a nice day!

Docsknotinn · Dec 9, 2003

Re: Possible eBay ID Theft on two Bobcat 873\'s

That reminds me of those foregn scams that were popular a few years back. Good grief, hang em by the toes !

Dozernut · Dec 9, 2003

Re: Possible eBay ID Theft on two Bobcat 873\'s

This is the same scam they are running on high dollar airguns for a pittance. All they want you to do is send the money through Western Union or give them a credit card number. I guarantee you will never see the item you paid for! As P.T. Barnum said "Theres a sucker born every minute".

40Kchicks · Dec 9, 2003

Re: Possible eBay ID Theft on two Bobcat 873\'s

So is he saying that he is going to ship a bobcat 873 via LufthansaAir? Outrageous!

You really have to be careful these days. Twice my partner at work has got emails from a site that looked just like ebay’s website asking him to send him his username and password so they could verify it. When he looked up the website this information would have gone to it was in Russia. Scary.

Good Job Gatorboy.
Eric

Gatorboy · Dec 10, 2003

Re: Possible eBay ID Theft on two Bobcat 873\'s

eBay has responded to me, and they confirm it was an ID theft situation. The auction has now been REMOVED.

I feel very happy that I may have saved someone from losing $5000 of their hard-earned money.

Docsknotinn · Dec 10, 2003

Re: Possible eBay ID Theft on two Bobcat 873\'s

Good work /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Its nice when eBay responds and gets the scum out. We sure dont need them. When the system works the way its intended its a lot of fun and you can get great deals /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

songhunter · Dec 10, 2003

Re: Possible eBay ID Theft on two Bobcat 873\'s

I have bought and sold on Ebay successfully for years, but these scams are making me very cautious about any Ebay transaction. I sure that someday Ebay will eventually come up with a good solution for these scams. Until then, I agree with Gatorboy in his "identify a scam" points.

This word of caution comes because I almost took the bait on one of these a few months back. The deal for a 2002 JD 4100 for $5000 just seemed too good to be true. Well, it was. I sent an email to the vendor asking how someone gets on that pre-approved bidder list. He never answered how to get on the list, but he did answer how to "buy" the tractor outside of Ebay. He said he needed the money within 48 hours to complete the deal. Since he was in southern Pennsylvania, I told him I'd bring a cashiers check and trailer to pick up the tractor. That is when his emails changed in tone.

Here is his reply:

if you are concerned about the transaction i want to inform you that i have an account with ebay and any buyer of mine can ask for a refund if he is not satisfied of the deal.Ebay will be supervised by ebay.

There are a few conditions to be met before you can ask for a refund:

If the seller cannot prove that you have received the item(s) in the condition stated above or if the seller mislead you to belive the item has certain properties which doesn't prove true, you are entitled to the refund.

If your merchandise arrives in a much longer period than the one you agreed on, you are also entitled to refund.

Under these circumstances you have to send back the item.

You are also entitled to a refund if the item doesn't arrive at all.

I look forward to hearing from you.

How's that for a scam! I wouldn't wait too long for that refund!
/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

If anyone wants more information about this, please contact me. Of course, he was going to ship the tractor from Europe when it was clear (from the photograph) that the tractor was located in an agricultural location somewhere in the US.

jmc · Dec 11, 2003

Re: Possible eBay ID Theft on two Bobcat 873\'s

While you saved some sucker from losing his $5000, he's just going to lose it on the next "good deal". Good work on making things more difficult for the scum, though.

John

crazyal · Dec 12, 2003

Re: Possible eBay ID Theft on two Bobcat 873\'s

Unfortunately there seams to be a lot of that on eBay. I have seen things from snowmachines to ATV's listed for less than half the cost of new. I have even had someone use a picture I took of a snow machine I sold on eBay. Kind of funny to see your picture shown in a scam auction. If it looks too cheap to be real then it is.

DUMBDOG · Dec 12, 2003

Re: Possible eBay ID Theft on two Bobcat 873\'s

Email #2 from fake seller:

( I understand that you do not feel confotable with sending advance cash,but
at least a proof that you are serious and that you have the money availble
will be ok for me,so the method is simple...you just made the trasnfer on
a FAKE NAME (your friends name ).. and my address( so that noone will pick
up your money) and send me the transfer details(sender's name receiver,s
name you will put insted on mine and the control number,the amount..).I
will check if this info is ok on the western website chat and after I will
give to there onloine employee this detailes from the transfer and he say
that everything is ok,I will initaite the shipping and let you know the
detailes+tracking number.After you will receive the package and test
it,you will call western union and change the recievers name (your friends
name..) with my name so i will be able to pick up my money.I think that
this is fair for both of us and fast.

Let me know if this works with you.

Regards!)

DUMBDOG · Dec 12, 2003

Re: Possible eBay ID Theft on two Bobcat 873\'s

email #3 from fake seller

( I still have for sale the item.
I understand that you do not feel confotable with sending advance cash,but
at least a proof that you are serious and that you have the money availble
will be ok for me,so the method is simple...you just made the trasnfer on
a FAKE NAME (your friends name ).. and my address( so that noone will pick
up your money) and send me the transfer details(sender's name receiver,s
name you will put insted on mine and the control number,the amount..).I
will check if this info is ok on the western website chat and after I will
give to there onloine employee this detailes from the transfer and he say
that everything is ok,I will initaite the shipping and let you know the
detailes+tracking number.After you will receive the package and test
it,you will call western union and change the recievers name (your friends
name..) with my name so i will be able to pick up my money.I think that
this is fair for both of us and fast.
)

DUMBDOG · Dec 12, 2003

Re: Possible eBay ID Theft on two Bobcat 873\'s

reply #4

( dear sir,

I want to tell you that we will make a great deal (you will see). I bougth
the all my items from italy.
So the item was gought from Italy.
Now you can make the transfer by western union and we will close the deal
asap!
Very Imoportant for US. Please tell the agent western union that the money
are for your member of your familly and not for a deal and in this way we
will avoid big fees.
Im waitting your mail !

Kind Regards)

DUMBDOG · Dec 12, 2003

Re: Possible eBay ID Theft on two Bobcat 873\'s

reply #5

( Hi,

About the deal here are my details:
this is my name:Elizabeth Carma
and adress for the payment:
Street: Via A. Manzoni,
No:96, Napoli,
Zip code:80123,
Italy.
I will pay for the shipping fees by LUFTHANSA AIR
CARGO and for ensurance in case of any damage during
the shipping. I will mail you the transfer dates from
the package with the item so you will know when you
can recieve it. Anyway the package will arrive to you
in 48 hours at your door.
The fastest method of payment so we both can be
satsfied is Western Union.For this you have to go
personally at their office and make the payment from
your name and adress to mine.From there you will get a
conirmation in which will contain the MTCN (money
transfer control number). After that you will mail me
the following details:
-sender first,last name and adress
-the MTCN
-reciever first,last name and address
-the amount that you sent

With all these I will go to an Western Union office
and check the payment and if it is OK than I will make
the shipping right away and also I will need your
adress where you want the package to arrive.
After the arrival you will have a 15 days period to
try the item and if is not satisfactory with your
needs you can send it back on your expense and you
will recieve a FULL REFOUND WITH NO QUESTIONS.
These are the details that you need for the deal and I
hope that this will be the begining of a good
partnershipp and I will be glad if you will recomand
me to your friends for great bussines.

Im waitting your mail.

Regards!
PS: I want to ask you to tell the lady from Western
Union that this transfer is for your member of your
familly, and not for a selling, because I and you
will pay some aditional fees. I hope that you
understand my concern.
)

Darren · Dec 14, 2003

Re: Possible eBay ID Theft on two Bobcat 873\'s

I'm hoping at some point eBay cleans up their act. EBay, by not using state of the art screening methods, has created a market for stolen goods and outright scams. EBay has one of the biggest databases containing price information. It wouldn't be hard to screen auctions to determine a buyer only that just switched to selling expensive items, items that are priced ridiculously below market, and items that will supposedly originate in a foreign country. I'm sure other indicators are out there. We're not talking rocket science.

While any one of the indicators may not indicate a problem, when several exist in a single auction, eBay should freeze the auction until the seller proves the auction is legitimate. EBay is an accessory to the ripoffs.

Gatorboy · Dec 14, 2003

Re: Possible eBay ID Theft on two Bobcat 873\'s

DumbDog,

Let me know when your BOBCAT arrives. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

DUMBDOG · Dec 23, 2003

Re: Possible eBay ID Theft on two Bobcat 873\'s

It has been over ten days since I HAVE NOT sent my money and still have not received anything. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

5030 · Dec 23, 2003

Re: Possible eBay ID Theft on two Bobcat 873\'s

Dave:

On the plus side of E-bay, I trade with people all over the world, especially the middle east and Japan on Zippo lighters. I have an extensive collection of Zippos' and I have never had a fraudulent transaction with them.

I sold one lighter to a fellow in Japan and he paid me with a Japanese Money Order. My local bank got quite a kick out of it. They never cashed a Japanese Money order before!!

I have also bought and sold machine tools and tooling on e-bay. I recently bought a Bridgeport Mill at over $5,000.00. My rule of thumb is any item over $1,000.00, I use e-bay's escrow account. The money is in a holding account until I have the item in my possession and I am satisfied with it.