Watch out!! New ebay scam about!!!!

[dugnsuz]

Hi All,
I've just been the victim of a pretty obvious but frustrating ebay scam.
Sold an item with a buy it now price to a Diana Brown in Liverpool, London!!!!
"She" wanted the item shipped to her "pastor" in Lagos, Nigeria - classic stuff!
So, I played along - sent dodgy account details and waited for the next move after alerting ebay via email as to what was going on - that in itself is a very frustrating excercise!
A fake email from Barclays bank with graphics etc came asking me to post out the item and forward a tracking number so that the funds could be transferred into my dodgy account!!
I sent the tracking number...f24u56c - k55y71o21u2, my Nigerian isn't too good but I'm sure they'll read between the lines so to speak!!!:whistle:
This is a new one on me - I'm aware of the phishing email scams, suppose it just goes to show how loose ebay is too.
It's just really frustrating in that now I've got to go through this long-winded process of trying to reclaim the fees incurred from the sale etc etc and the dispute process.:mad2:
Seller beware!!!
Cheers
Doug:thumbsup:

[Ric]

Hi Doug, the blooming weasels, they never stop trying do they.

Hope you get your fees reimbursed.

[dugnsuz]

Thanks Ric - ebay's not going to be worth it if this becomes common!
I had 8 potential buyers "watching' the item with 2 days to run on the auction too.
Cheers
Doug

[Jarrod]

you'd think they could do better then to ask you to send the item directly to Nigeria!

its worrying that people can fall for such a poorly planned scam.

jarrod

[Ric]

I always have to laugh at those emails that come through saying that I have won the Irish lottery or some lottery from some country.

If it were true then I must be richer than Bill Gates :P but how come I still dont my own observatory and 20 metre scope. :lol:

Cheers

[Jonathan]

Hi Doug,
I had the same thing happen to me a few months ago. I used the live help thing on ebay and ended up getting refunded for the listing. They also helped me set up a few things in my account to avoid it happening in future.

This may help -

To add buyer requirements to your listings:
In My eBay, under the My Account column, click the "Preferences" link.

In the Seller Preferences section, click the “Edit” link. The Buyer Requirements page opens.

Select your buyer requirements. These include blocking buyers who:

Are registered in countries to which you don't ship

Have a negative feedback score

Have received Unpaid Item strikes

Are currently winning or have bought '1-100' of your items in the last 10 days

Do not have a PayPal account

Click the Submit button to save your requirements.

The most important one would be to block buyers from countries that you're not willing to ship to. :thumbsup:

[xelasnave]

I am sure this is not unique...
I had a mate who confided that he was in touch with an ex government official and helping him get $90 million out of a frozen bank account...his share would be $20 million or something.
The con man called upon him to send only"$10,000 to cover legal fees for the "set up"... yes it was a set up indeed...however...no matter how many times I explained it was a scam to get his $10,000 he would say ..but its only $10,000 and I will get back $20 million.... These people deserve to be fleeced..their greed is only overshadowed by their stupidity.
alex

[OneOfOne]

I think it was 60 Minutes recently had a story on this subject. They had a couple in Australia who had been fleeced. In the end they showed them it was all a con. Then they asked them what they were going to do, and the guy said "I still think I am owed part of the $20M!" Some people just can't be helped.

[dugnsuz]

Got an email from ebay support this morning.
The scammer has been bumped and is no longer a registered user.
Great - until they sign up again with different fake details!!!!
I will be refunded the costs incurred which is acceptable and wasn't as long-winded as I thought it might be.
All the best
Doug

ps Thanks for the info Jonathan, I'll certainly look into that - in this case the scammer set up the account an the 24th to buy the item on the same day and had a (0) rating so would have appeared "clean" to any filters.

[Garyh]

Love your tracking number...:lol::lol::lol:
good one Doug!!!...:thumbsup:
Having been with ebay for some years we havn`t had this one pulled on us yet! Did they actually wanted your account details including your password? as I don`t know how they could access your account with the normal account details as used in ebay?
We have had plenty of fake invoices for items we havn`t bid on to get us to pay for someone elses items!!
Have to be real careful these days!

[xelasnave]

It is great that you have taken action...most get conned and because they are embarrassed that they have been so stupid keep the con to themselves for fear of understandable ridicule.

The trouble is many of our reputable companies do similar by getting investors in with the promise of high returns...when the company goes belly up no one says anything..because all around are saying what should have been obvious... well anyone with any sense could see that such a return was unsupportable....so the duped realise their stupidity and say nothing and having said nothing this practice continues.

If something sounds too good to be true there is a fair chance that something is wrong.

Although not really skilled in maths even for me it does not take long to project the figures and conclude a particular scheme will defy economic reality if it does work and history tells us economic reality is perhaps the strongest reality of all.

I have a thing about the latest rash of tree planting... I live in a forest..I know what timber is worth..I know what it costs to harvest.. I know the time one must wait for a return..

I predicted that the returns on the final sales of so much of this pulp timber has been overstated ...and if one did any research one would find that so many projects of returns on these forests is nonsense.

Recently up North no one could figure why 6 shipments of timber showed a huge loss... 5 million was kicked in from the tax payers fund.. the Government... to bail out the investors.

Why should this be so..well the only reasonable explanation is this tree planting idea has a lot of people on the pay role and confidence needs to be maintained.

The Global warming is good reason to continue we are told... well I think it may have more to do with returns to directors and promoters of these schemes.

Interesting the promise to the land holders that they would get millions in jobs etc manifested in them getting a nice new jetty er wharf..why well so the timber could be shipped.. they were sold a pup by a mongrel that what has happened.

The current prime loans thing..it has happened before..it is a recurring scam...money gets cheap..loans are made to folk who cant feed themselves let alone pay the rent or service a mortgage... (remember Home Fund) ..then the holder of the loans sells the "business" to some fool who thinks they are getting a great investment..the sums say so..the greed dims their view..
but the you know what finally hits....and ever reason is given except the truth for the colapse.

And do we have banks stepping forward to say ..yes we were stupid and bought a parcel of those loans... no one is owning up to their exposure... and all the fed can do is drop interest rates so the scam goes unexposed. Those who have profited will be busy buying gold because they have insite into the mess and that gold will be the only safe place.

Each time this happens we face the prospect of a major depression... and at the moment this latest "matter and fan connection" promises that if confidence is not maintained the system could collapse.

A drop of .5 percent must tell you something..why not .25%.... that says the matter is extremely serious...the fact that our interest rates are not being put up when the marker to do so has been passed (4.1 inflation rate says interest rates must go up) tells me there is a greater impact coming than we have seen so far.
The last to time this happened interest rates had a long way to travell before they went off the board downwards...well the problem now is there is little room to move to save things with further drops... last time interest rates dropped over ten percent before confidence was recovered... we dont have that luxury with low interest..you can only drop it a little ways before you reach zero....think about it.

If you ever get conned ..speak out and hunt down the dogs and expose them and anyone who tries to keep it quiet.
alex


alex

[xelasnave]

And I ask ...how many former directors of collapsed companies live in a caravan park enjoying a life with no cash....poor devils they cant even afford that..they are forced to live with their wife in her mansion and drive her Merc.
alex

[CoombellKid]

I think I watched the same program, I remember the investigaters saying the
people being conned arent your usual halfwit types they're professionals like
lawyers, doctors and company directors... that amazed me.

regards,CS

[xelasnave]

Professional people in spite of their own high self opinion invariably live in sheltered worlds and often once outside those worlds are incredibly naive... a generalisation based on only my personal experience in Law, Real Estate and contact with the street.
alex

[xelasnave]

PS if there is anything to worry about as to the prospect of an economic colapse the price of gold will continue up...I think there has been some profit taking however once passed the next movement will be an indicator of the smart moneys feeling as to whether the crisis will pass smoothly...
alex

[xelasnave]

September gold movement
http://www.kitco.com/scripts/hist_charts/monthly_graphs.plx
sorry to go off track but that rounds off what I was pointing at.
alex

[Terry B]

People sometimes scam the scammers.
http://www.bustedupcowgirl.com/scampage.html (http://www.bustedupcowgirl.com/scampage.html)

[Terry B]

Blast. The link is down at present.:(

[bizarro]

Speaking of scamming the scammers here's a site with some funny transcripts. He does a pretty good job at stringing them along for a while. He even gets them to take some funny photos of themselves.

http://www.ebolamonkeyman.com/

Cheers,
Greg

[Stevo69]

I have been the victim of eBay scams. eBay jumps on the eventually, BUT, they imply that you, the legitimate eBay user is at fault. Either you answered a spam email or similar. They will never admit that their systems are "hackable".

I have a MP3 of an ABC Radio National show "Background Briefing" from 24/6/07 about internet security and your banking details. Only the transcript is available on-line here (http://abc.net.au/rn/backgroundbriefing/stories/2007/1955341.htm), but I have put it on Media Fire to download here (http://www.mediafire.com/?cxvcxyoo11g). It talks about the lack of internet security in this Australia, and how even top U.S. government officials have almost given up in internet security. The Media Fire download is 22MB but if you can download it, it's worth it.

[dugnsuz]

Hi Stevo,
This scam is a very easy one to do and falls outside of ebay's "foolproof" systems. I could do it to you right now - just fake bid on a buy it now item, then try to get you to post it to me in leiu of funds to your account...I'll transfer cash tomorrow Stevo honest!!!!!! Except i wouldn't be as thick to include a Nigerian pastor in the scam:lol:
It's a very human hack!!!!! The gullible and greedy need only put their commonsense on hold for a wee while.
And yes, I agree - ebay sent a list of links on how to protect myself against fraud, all of which still wouldn't/couldn't plug the hole that let this scammer into the system in the first place:shrug:
All the best
Doug:thumbsup:

[dugnsuz]

Hi Gary,
They wanted bsb and account details to transfer the non existent cash to,
I gave them some made up ones... but then they sent a spoof email from Barclays bank in london stating that barclays were holding the funds deposited by the "buyer" and could I now post the item to the Nigerian address - inform them of the tracking number so that the funds could be sent to my account:lol:
I saw this morning that the scammer had 2 negative feedbacks against him - mine and a guy in Melb selling an Xbox. I wonder if that was for the pastor in Nigeria who needed it urgently too!!!!:P
Cheers
Doug:thumbsup:

[Stevo69]

My scams are specifically relate to someone taking over my account. My account suddenly is taken over by another eBayer. They change my password and postal address. Then they start listing large ticket items for sale. They have listed bobcats, large excavating machine, semi's, prime movers. They want the bidders to register with "me" before bidding. These items are listed in the $ tens of thousands of dollars. The offender also starts bidding on anything they can, using my account. In my case, the offenders ended up originating from Denmark, Germany and Ukraine, using internet cafe's in Canada (this is what eBay tell me anyway).

When I contact eBay,they have taken 2-3 days to rectify. Then imply that I must have given out my password, or responded to a spam email. I am pretty internet savvy, and would never do this, but there is no 100% foolproof way of buying on-line.

After several years on eBay, my two basic tips are:


Use the eBay message system - don't reply to any emails through you mail client.
Open a small bank account which is independent from your main banking accounts - even use a different bank. And only keep a small amount in at all times
And we have a post box.hoo roo,
Steve

[dugnsuz]

Bad luck there mate.
That sounds major organised crime!!!
Thanks for the advice - I run all my ebay stuff from a different bank to my main bank...and being an amateur astrophotographer it's always empty!!:lol:
Cheers
Doug:thumbsup:

[joe_smith]

Now that made my day :rofl:

[Glenhuon]

I've been an ebay buyer and occasional seller for about 6 years and never had any of the problems in this thread. Had only one item obviously not posted, and that was a $35 second hand mobile phone. Maybe I've been lucky, or probably very carefull. Always check my sellers ratings before bidding, never buy from someone who is a recent subscriber, watch my buyers like a hawk during bidding (had a couple of scammers bidding on a recent sale, stuck out a mile they knew each other,blocked them.) Never send anything until the money is in my sweaty paw ( I'm a Scot, its in the genes :)) I've had over 370 transactions during my time on ebay and must say its been a 99.5% positive experience.
(And no, I do not have large ears and my middle name is not Quark LOL)

[dugnsuz]

Absolutely Glenhuon - I'm from Edinburgh, yes it's genetic - the canny gene!
It all worked out OK - I relisted the item today and it sold today, and ebay will refund me the scammed fees!!
What peeved me was as a seller the scammer controlled the auction in a way, by clicking on the "buy it now" option - he/she scuppered the auction - that part was outwith my control!
Point is, there's no real way to protect oneself (as a seller) from a scammer coming out of left-field on ebay like this!
That's the point I've been trying to highlight in this thread and to ebay support too - but they send back "don't give out passwords" etc etc.
Standard ebay-member-as-idiot fare!!!!
Cheers
Doug

[leon]

Hey Doug I had that very same pastor Linda try that stunt on me, when i was selling my Olympus Om 4ti, she nearly begged me to send it off and offered extra payment if i did.

It was to be a present for her father in some foreign country, I smelled a rat and she finally gave up.

Leon

[Glenhuon]

Glad it worked out OK in the end Doug. Yes, from the little experience I've had with Ebay's "protection system" it is usually just the standard format reply. Sent them a couple of scam emails but just get the standard reply, don't bother now just delete them. The two guys I was refering to bid the item up to a ridiculous level, far more than it could possibly be worth. Dumped them and things went sensibly thereafter :)
I'm from just outside Edinburgh, born in Newtongrange, brought up in Gorebridge. A wee miners laddie :)

[Stevo69]

Another interesting experience with eBay very recentyl... I bought an XBox game where the auction clearly stated "New and factory sealed, never opened". When it arrived it was not factory sealed (no shrinkwrap or similar). It was also scratched. eBay's policy was that I had to prove it was not sealed. eBay Australia suggested the only was to get my money refunded after the seller ignored many emails, was to send eBay a statutory declaration to eBay California. They rejected it on the grounds that they do not accept a stat dec from Australia. All this after it was recommended by eBay Australia! Work that out.

[dugnsuz]

That's what we call the runaround!!
Idiocy wrapped up in small print.
On one sale, the ebay messaging system provided me with an out of date address (I should have checked I know - but not this time, now I do!!!).
The item was posted, had a nice trip round Oz before coming back to me...no harm done! Now I know the buyer should have up dated their details, but ebay's response was a very defensive "we bear no responsibility for anything posted" attitude, the ultimate disclaimer,
a la Sgt Shultz - "I know nothing!"
Had a similar xbox experience too! The 6 bundled games that came with an Xbox 360 were copies - not even in covers, just DVD's with texta titles!!!!
I left a negative feedback rating but didn't follow up with ebay - I should have! Still, they all worked:lol:
ebay's a laugh innit!!!!!
Cheers
Doug:thumbsup::thumbsup:

[dugnsuz]

Just had a message through the ebay message system from a concerned member who was being scammed by my Nigerian scammer right now!!
He's out there people - Watch Out!!!!!!!
Doug