Ebay Ripoff, supporting criminal instead of consumers, not pursuing these criminals themselves to get the consumers money back and show these scammers they will not tolerate this as a part of their consumer based website! Internet
I must start out by saying how amazed I was to find out what happened to me has happened to thousands of people on a regular basis!It wasn't until I did the research on this, to find that Ebay does not have enough protection for it's millions of consumers who use their site everyday.
It is not enough that they post "warning" signs on their website, because these criminals are finding more and more ways, to not only outsmart the consumers but the Ebay company as well.These criminals are even coming up with better web pages and addresses thatn Ebay themselves!
Let me describe my scenario, and after reading it if you are one of the thousands of people who believe that Ebay should take some responsibility in this kind of fraudulent activity being tolerated on their website, please notify me via email if you would be interested in starting a class-action against this company in hopes of getting enough victims together that a lawyer would feel confident taking this on,and so that we get revenge on them for allowing these criminals to make "easy" money off us consumers who work "hard" for ours!
This just happened to me on July 19th,2005. I was searching the Ebay site,I was using my husband's screen name, this was my first time attempting to purchase something, and now I must say it was the last!My husband had only purchased 2 other items previously,so he had an idea on how it worked.We made a couple bids on a 60" TV that we were wanting, and were outbid.
The next morning, I received a "Second Chance Offer" in my ebay messages and at my email address. I thought it to be legite, considering it came from an ebay members address and had an ebay logo, and this is the most important part, had the exact item #, and amount that I bid on.So,I thought, for sure no one else would kow this info, without ebay filtering this out.
The instructions were written very precise,to wire the funds Western Union to where the seller was, his address said "verified and confirmed" in London, England. So I did what I thought I was supposed to, and took a cash advance out on my credit card, and wired the money so that I could get my item.
Well, needless to say after he said the tracking # would come from ebay in24-48 hours, I waited,still responding back and forth the "seller",it took Ebay's fraud dept, 2 days to write me back, and turns out this wasn't a legitamate sale, it was fraud.
I tried to contact the "seller" back, he no longer had a valid email address, I contacted Western Union, he already picked the money up, and they couldn't refund it because it was already picked up, I called my credit card company, they couldn't help because it was me who authorized the transaction, so this wasn't considered fraud.I emailed ebay, the fraud dept. advised me on how to better protect myself "next time", and said there is nothing they will do because this happened "outside" of ebay. I was furious at this point.
I contacted the local police, they couldn't help because the transaction was outside the U.S.I contacted the AOl account the "seller" had been using, they would not give me any info about the person, unless the polcie issued a summons for all the records etc.Their own fraud dept. would not do anything because they said he wasn't misusing the email account, ok...WHAT??
So, that brought me to the next and final thing that I thought would get me some restitution, our local FBI office.Yeah, right...because this happened out of our country, the laws about handling government issues are not valid in the UK, so therefore they can't pursue it.
At this point, I didn't care what came out of my mouth, so I say to the agent "You mean to tell me, as much as Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair have tea together that we can support each other in war, but not protecting tax paying citizens in their right to consumer protection?"
I must say, I think I stunned this gentleman,and all he could say was that it was a difference in government policies that protects people...I stopped him right there and said I'm not trying to sound as if I know more about these kind of issues than you, but how do you know that this kind of thing is not funding these terrorists in these countries, and especially if your not willing to look into these situations,because this is simply easy money to criminals and who knows what the money is being used for.
So after, contacting IFCC, MSNBC, and every other company with the alphabet as it's name,I have came to one conclusion...The only one who is going to help us get our money back, or revenge, is US!While I am out over $1,000 and all of my trust in the consumers rights laws,Ebay sits back and still gets our business as well as the "criminals", so who should take the loss,wouldn't it be the ones making a profit off of our loss??
I know there are more stories of fraud worse than mine, I have read hundreds, it's time for us to do something about it.The more exposure we give this, the more pressure we put on the company to take responsibility.Notify everyone from your local police dept. to your local new channels, don't stop there, make it a national story because it has surely become an epidemic!
Thank you for listening to my story,and if your reading this, that means it probably has happened to you, so let's do something about it.
Tamara
Virginia Beach, Virginia
U.S.A.
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on ebay
24 Updates & Rebuttals
David
Sumter,South Carolina,
U.S.A.
I AM SORRY FOR YOUR PROBLEM
#25Consumer Comment
Wed, June 07, 2006
Hi,
I am sorry to hear of your dealings with ebay. I agree with you. I placed a listing on here about problems I have had and all I received was rebuttal's in ebay's favor. I have only been a seller since December of 2005, and I have nothing but problems with ebay. I do not sell $1.00 items , and I am not a power seller.
Ebay protects the criminals more than they protect actual honest ebay buyers and sellers. They very seldom enforce the rules that they made up and make you agree to. I feel that you should contact the f.b.i again and file a online complaint. I think you said your are from England, but the f.b.i. does investigate crimes that were perpetrated in the U.S.
If you sent your money to Nigeria, then I feel your out of luck. That is the home of the infamous 419 scam where they promise you hundreds of thousands of dollars to get you to help them smuggle money into the U.S., but there is no money and they will keep telling you that they ned money for bribes, and you are just being ripped off. There are ,many scams coming out of Nigeria.
Back to ebay, they do not care about their customers. as long as they get paid they can care less. I would do anything I could if I where you to at least try to put a scare into those people. Also, I would only pay using paypal, and if the seller does not offere insiurance purchase paypal buyer protection insurance. Then you will at least get some of your money back.
Thankfully after 6 months of head aches I have quit ebay, but I met some very good people who I will do business with at my online website, and I also only sell precious metals, and I really do not want to sell much of that at this time. I wish you the best of luck, and if the U.S.law enforcemebnt cannot help, maybe your countries law enforcement can help you.
Good Luck,
David
Lonny
Sauk Centre,Minnesota,
U.S.A.
Missing the point.
#25Consumer Suggestion
Mon, May 22, 2006
It seems that some are missing the point. While I agree that Ebay needs to take some additional measures to protect both buyers and sellers, this complaint is about a phishing scheme that was perpatrated outside of Ebay itself.
Being on the internet we all should know how phishing works. This perpatrator watched a high dollar auction, gathered all the info on it and most likely the images. Then phished the loosing bidders with disguised e-mails. When you hold your mouse over that link does the link displayed in your status bar match the link shown? Is the return address the same as the sending address? Are you to respond to a different address than the one you got the mail from?
I buy and sell on ebay... I refuse to send e-mails outside of the ebay system. I ALWAYS use ebay's internal messaging system. I recommend you do the same.
This is the fault of the complaintant... I does not matter what medium you used, there are those in this world who will try and rip you off. One should always be careful!
Brian
San Francisco,California,
U.S.A.
Ebay outsources their policing to the victims
#25Consumer Comment
Sun, April 16, 2006
Ebay has a responsibility to everyone since they collect a fee from each seller, Ebay is not a law unto itself. If a seller is proven to be selling defective merchandise or scamming buyers Ebay has a duty to investigate and not to make the buyer do everything.
Karen
Elwood,Indiana,
U.S.A.
ebay
#25Consumer Suggestion
Sat, April 15, 2006
well, i know of a few ways that may help you not to get ripped of or scammed on these online auctions. first off is the user id history. if you click on the seller's screen name you will see something called id history. ok, click on that. you will more than likely see that some of the user's history is blocked. there is usually a reason for that. if you see that the user has his whole history blocked off it usually says private. well you should probabally stay away from these kind of people. here is something that might help. if you see let's say a playstation 2 and it has at least 30 games, 3 controllers, a multi-player tap that is still in it's package, 3 memory cards that are still in their packages. well just anything like this that looks too good to be true. well that ought to tell you something. just remember to stay away from stuff like this. you might not know the outcome of this. the user could be falsley advertising this. he very well could take your money and run. now, here is one really big thing that will help you out. type in auction scams in your search space. you will then see a list of things that will teach you how not to get ripped off.
Number one thing......... always use a postal money order check. THE FBI ONLY LOOKS INTO THESE CHECKS. THEY DO NOT LOOK INTO ELECTRIC TRANSFERS THROUGH WESTERN UNION. do not use store money orders. the FBI will not trace those. the postal money orders are the only ones that are investigated. if you are a victim of auction fraud, please go to the federal trade commission. they will help you every time. they say to look at the seller's feedback and ratings. right? well i noticed that it doesn't always work that way. i took a chance on a few good looking ebayers and yahooers. i still almost got ripped off.
They will also tell you to stay away from people that won't return your email. (in fear for the consumer getting ripped off) this part isn't all that true either. i met alot of good users that might ignore your emails. but they still sent my packages to me. i think that this deal here is a 50 50 chance here. yes, it can be frustrating for them not to answer your email. but they are like that sometimes. one more thing. TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS!! if you're not sure about something, pray about it. sometimes you will feel leary about sending a seller a check. i've been there myself. i'm with anybody who wants to help get these scammers off line. let's help each other get these people off of the internet.
Paul
Anaheim,California,
U.S.A.
Let me ask you, would you hand over $1000 to somebody you met in a dark alley in the middle of the night and let them walk away to get your item?
#25Consumer Suggestion
Wed, August 10, 2005
Most people would say of course not.
Then, why in the hell are you willing to hand over money to someone you never even met, but found on the internet?
Hell, you know more about the guy in the alley. At least you saw him. Even in the dark, you have a general idea of who you handed your money to.
What do you know about someone you found on the internet? Their web site address? Maybe you can track that back to the name it's registered to.
Great! How is that going to help you? Even if the police showed up at the site owner's door, he could just say that you never sent anything.
The bottom line is this. On the internet, you have absolutely no idea who, what, or where your money is going to. You have no idea if you will ever see any item or not.
Chances are, you are sending your money 100's of miles away. If not thousands.
I'd say you have a better chance of hitting the lottery than getting what you want on the internet.
As long as people are willing to gamble, the internet will be there for them. On the other hand, smart people like me go down to a real store and see just what they are buying. That's how I buy my televisions.
You see, unlike you, I have to actually work hard for my money. So, I'm not going to gamble with it on some fraud I found on the internet.
There is a simple way to prevent this kind of thing. Buy your stuff from stores. Use the internet for reading the articles and looking at the pictures. But, never send any money to someone you met on it. Leave that for the suckers who are looking for a deal-of-a-lifetime.
Paul
Anaheim,California,
U.S.A.
Let me ask you, would you hand over $1000 to somebody you met in a dark alley in the middle of the night and let them walk away to get your item?
#25Consumer Suggestion
Wed, August 10, 2005
Most people would say of course not.
Then, why in the hell are you willing to hand over money to someone you never even met, but found on the internet?
Hell, you know more about the guy in the alley. At least you saw him. Even in the dark, you have a general idea of who you handed your money to.
What do you know about someone you found on the internet? Their web site address? Maybe you can track that back to the name it's registered to.
Great! How is that going to help you? Even if the police showed up at the site owner's door, he could just say that you never sent anything.
The bottom line is this. On the internet, you have absolutely no idea who, what, or where your money is going to. You have no idea if you will ever see any item or not.
Chances are, you are sending your money 100's of miles away. If not thousands.
I'd say you have a better chance of hitting the lottery than getting what you want on the internet.
As long as people are willing to gamble, the internet will be there for them. On the other hand, smart people like me go down to a real store and see just what they are buying. That's how I buy my televisions.
You see, unlike you, I have to actually work hard for my money. So, I'm not going to gamble with it on some fraud I found on the internet.
There is a simple way to prevent this kind of thing. Buy your stuff from stores. Use the internet for reading the articles and looking at the pictures. But, never send any money to someone you met on it. Leave that for the suckers who are looking for a deal-of-a-lifetime.
Paul
Anaheim,California,
U.S.A.
Let me ask you, would you hand over $1000 to somebody you met in a dark alley in the middle of the night and let them walk away to get your item?
#25Consumer Suggestion
Wed, August 10, 2005
Most people would say of course not.
Then, why in the hell are you willing to hand over money to someone you never even met, but found on the internet?
Hell, you know more about the guy in the alley. At least you saw him. Even in the dark, you have a general idea of who you handed your money to.
What do you know about someone you found on the internet? Their web site address? Maybe you can track that back to the name it's registered to.
Great! How is that going to help you? Even if the police showed up at the site owner's door, he could just say that you never sent anything.
The bottom line is this. On the internet, you have absolutely no idea who, what, or where your money is going to. You have no idea if you will ever see any item or not.
Chances are, you are sending your money 100's of miles away. If not thousands.
I'd say you have a better chance of hitting the lottery than getting what you want on the internet.
As long as people are willing to gamble, the internet will be there for them. On the other hand, smart people like me go down to a real store and see just what they are buying. That's how I buy my televisions.
You see, unlike you, I have to actually work hard for my money. So, I'm not going to gamble with it on some fraud I found on the internet.
There is a simple way to prevent this kind of thing. Buy your stuff from stores. Use the internet for reading the articles and looking at the pictures. But, never send any money to someone you met on it. Leave that for the suckers who are looking for a deal-of-a-lifetime.
Paul
Anaheim,California,
U.S.A.
Let me ask you, would you hand over $1000 to somebody you met in a dark alley in the middle of the night and let them walk away to get your item?
#25Consumer Suggestion
Wed, August 10, 2005
Most people would say of course not.
Then, why in the hell are you willing to hand over money to someone you never even met, but found on the internet?
Hell, you know more about the guy in the alley. At least you saw him. Even in the dark, you have a general idea of who you handed your money to.
What do you know about someone you found on the internet? Their web site address? Maybe you can track that back to the name it's registered to.
Great! How is that going to help you? Even if the police showed up at the site owner's door, he could just say that you never sent anything.
The bottom line is this. On the internet, you have absolutely no idea who, what, or where your money is going to. You have no idea if you will ever see any item or not.
Chances are, you are sending your money 100's of miles away. If not thousands.
I'd say you have a better chance of hitting the lottery than getting what you want on the internet.
As long as people are willing to gamble, the internet will be there for them. On the other hand, smart people like me go down to a real store and see just what they are buying. That's how I buy my televisions.
You see, unlike you, I have to actually work hard for my money. So, I'm not going to gamble with it on some fraud I found on the internet.
There is a simple way to prevent this kind of thing. Buy your stuff from stores. Use the internet for reading the articles and looking at the pictures. But, never send any money to someone you met on it. Leave that for the suckers who are looking for a deal-of-a-lifetime.
Mamie
Mascoutah,Illinois,
U.S.A.
How Ebay "plays" Consumers
#25Consumer Suggestion
Wed, August 10, 2005
I'm sorry to hear what had happened to you, but like the other person said, never deal with anyone who tries to get you to send anything thru western union. Like he said you simply can't track it. Paypal though to me, isnt any better, due to the fact that they too, sometimes side with the seller. I purchased something from a seller back in June, July came still no item. So i filed a dispute against them since i paid for the item thru paypal. Then the seller sent paypal a tracking number from the USPS. W
hen I received the item, it was the wrong one. Then paypal closed my case. Stating since they received proof, of the item being shipped out that the dispute was no longer in effect. When i tried to explain to them that the item was wrong and its now 2 months since i paid for the item, they told me i had to work it out with the seller.
Now the seller is trying to resolve this matter since I had filed a complaint against them on IFCC. Yet my point is this, u really cant seek solace either with paypal because they are just as bad as ebay, since they own both companies. Just keep me in mind though when u are ready to file a class action lawsuit, against both paypal and ebay.
Mamie
Mascoutah,Illinois,
U.S.A.
How Ebay "plays" Consumers
#25Consumer Suggestion
Wed, August 10, 2005
I'm sorry to hear what had happened to you, but like the other person said, never deal with anyone who tries to get you to send anything thru western union. Like he said you simply can't track it. Paypal though to me, isnt any better, due to the fact that they too, sometimes side with the seller. I purchased something from a seller back in June, July came still no item. So i filed a dispute against them since i paid for the item thru paypal. Then the seller sent paypal a tracking number from the USPS. W
hen I received the item, it was the wrong one. Then paypal closed my case. Stating since they received proof, of the item being shipped out that the dispute was no longer in effect. When i tried to explain to them that the item was wrong and its now 2 months since i paid for the item, they told me i had to work it out with the seller.
Now the seller is trying to resolve this matter since I had filed a complaint against them on IFCC. Yet my point is this, u really cant seek solace either with paypal because they are just as bad as ebay, since they own both companies. Just keep me in mind though when u are ready to file a class action lawsuit, against both paypal and ebay.
Mamie
Mascoutah,Illinois,
U.S.A.
How Ebay "plays" Consumers
#25Consumer Suggestion
Wed, August 10, 2005
I'm sorry to hear what had happened to you, but like the other person said, never deal with anyone who tries to get you to send anything thru western union. Like he said you simply can't track it. Paypal though to me, isnt any better, due to the fact that they too, sometimes side with the seller. I purchased something from a seller back in June, July came still no item. So i filed a dispute against them since i paid for the item thru paypal. Then the seller sent paypal a tracking number from the USPS. W
hen I received the item, it was the wrong one. Then paypal closed my case. Stating since they received proof, of the item being shipped out that the dispute was no longer in effect. When i tried to explain to them that the item was wrong and its now 2 months since i paid for the item, they told me i had to work it out with the seller.
Now the seller is trying to resolve this matter since I had filed a complaint against them on IFCC. Yet my point is this, u really cant seek solace either with paypal because they are just as bad as ebay, since they own both companies. Just keep me in mind though when u are ready to file a class action lawsuit, against both paypal and ebay.
Dave
Jacksonville,Florida,
U.S.A.
But, it wasn't from Ebay
#25Consumer Comment
Wed, August 03, 2005
Jason
Yes, you are right, but the email was NOT from Ebay. It was from the scum bag in Nigeria. It had all the trademarks and Ebay identifiers, but it definitely WAS NOT done through Ebay. That is how the scam works. It makes you think these Ebay and Square Trade and Western Union emails are legit. The first clue to anyone that is caught up in this fraud is to read the email. It usually is written in very poor english. That in itself should raise a BIG RED FLAG to the recipient. No multi-million dollar American corporation is going to send you an email with broken and bad english.
As far as shill bidding, that will never be stopped. There are so many obvious ways to spot shill bidding, such as when a reserved item gets up to $1000, and the seller has lowered the reserve to $1001.00, but the item doesn't sell lol. So who really cares about the shills, it's going to happen anyway. It should be an option to the bidder to have his/her email blocked so they don't get scammer emails, or even legit emails from other people selling a similar product trying to get you to buy theirs instead.
Jason
Simpsonville,South Carolina,
U.S.A.
6 of one....Ebay did not make bids public
#25Consumer Comment
Wed, August 03, 2005
If Ebay did not make bids public, then there would be no way to track shill bidding. The OP states that a second chance offer was recieved via email AND "My Ebay". If this is the case, then there was fraud with the account itself. Still, if the OP went "off Ebay" to complete the transaction there's nothing that can be done.
Dave
Jacksonville,Florida,
U.S.A.
Not entirely accurate
#25Consumer Comment
Wed, August 03, 2005
When you receive an email from an Ebay member about anything, here is the message that appears in the email on the right column:
__________________________________________________
Always remember to complete your transaction on eBay - it's the safer way to buy.
Please do not offer to buy or sell this item through this form without completing the transaction on eBay. If you receive a response inviting you to transact outside of eBay, you should decline -- such transactions may be unsafe and are against eBay policy.
__________________________________________________
It's a clear warning! But, some people get greedy. Thinking they can buy a $25,000 69 Camaro RT/SS, completely restored, for $6999 US. Usually Ebay pulls those ads within an hour. But, in that hour, a few idiots have taken the bait. They are told that the car is in Italy, because it belongs to a deceased brother, and if you pay the money right now, (via Western Union of course), they will ship the car for free. You will have it in 3 days. If the buyer had ANY common sense, they would know that is impossible.
Another tactic they use is to Western Union the money, but they tell you don't give them the MTN number. Write a different name on the W U order, so they can't get to it. Then, when you receive the car, you can release the funds. What you don't know is that anyone can get that money. They have friends that work for Western Union.
Then you cry the blues when you get taken! Come on people, if it smells like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a fricking DUCK. But a lot of people ignore the warning signs and blow their money anyway. There is only so much Ebay can do about it. All they can do is warn you.
However, a nice feature would be to allow bidders the right to block their own username when bidding on items, and only allow only the seller of the item to view the username. That would help in reducing scams. I have had countless people email me because I would be bidding on an item, saying they have the same thing for much less, and try to get me to buy from them. It's annoying.
Mark
Orlando,Florida,
U.S.A.
It's Mostly EBay's Fault
#25Consumer Comment
Wed, August 03, 2005
While it's easy to blame the consumer for not seeing the red flag in this case, EBay is clearly at fault for it's lax security protocols.
If EBay fails to take concrete steps to reduce fraud, more and more potential BUYERS will be reluctant to bid and this means no bids or low bids for SELLERS like you and me.
First, EBay needs to put these scam alerts on their front page. They also need to put the alerts in every mail message sent through the EBay contact forms.
Second, when an auction is completed, EBay should not allow bidders identities to be known by anybody other than the bidders and the seller for any given auction.
Third, new EBayers should be subject to restricted contact privileges until they have established a certain level of positive feedback.
These are just a few avenues where EBay could put a damper on fraud, but they're too busy raising seller fees and focusing on their bottom-line greed and avarice.
Jerimiah
Noblesville,Indiana,
U.S.A.
Protect yourself on ebay or yahoo auctions
#25Consumer Suggestion
Wed, August 03, 2005
Hello everyone,
I am an ebay powerseller "abconcepts". I have had at least 30 emails from people trying to rip me off. This is what to watch for. First of all never click on links in your email from ebay, yahoo, paypal. The link may say www.ebay.com, but it can take you to a differant site. These sites look excatly like the real ebay/paypal site. This is how they trick you into typing in you credit card number, or username and password. Once they have that info they can do anything. It is best to go directly to the site,using the address bar, and log in that way.
The other scam going is a little easier to spot. You will receive an email from someone who bid on an item you were selling. they are almost always from another country. they will send you an email that looks like it came from western union. it says that the buyer has paid for the item, and you have to ship it. It will say something about once you give them a tracking number someone will deliver your money (ups, fed ex,rnl, airborn express ect). The first rule is NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER send an item untill you have the money. The safest way to ebay is with paypal. If you dont want to use credit cards then just use postal money orders. To avoid this kind of fraud follow these steps.
1) Never send an item before you get the money
2) Never send money for an item that wasn't purchased through ebay, yahoo ect.
3) Never ever use western union.
4) Watch for signs, such as misspelled words or realy bad grammer. these are signs that people are from another country.
5) None of these site will ever ask for any information via email.
If you are not sure of any emails you can forward them to me if you want my email address is ab_concepts2000@yahoo.com
We need to take action against these people, so they learn. Tell them you reported them to the FBI. At least scare them, maybee they will lose sleep. Do Something. Ilike to have fun with them. One of the scammers had a yahoo email address, and I put them on my buddy list, and one day I actually cought them online. I sent them an instant message asking if they knew how to fix laptops. (this was the item they tried to get me to ship without receiving payment)The guy actually responded. After talking with him for a while I told him who I was and that I tracked his IP Adress while I was chatting with him. I( told him he had been setup and the police were on the way. I wish I could have seen the look on his face.
Jerimiah
Noblesville,Indiana,
U.S.A.
Protect yourself on ebay or yahoo auctions
#25Consumer Suggestion
Wed, August 03, 2005
Hello everyone,
I am an ebay powerseller "abconcepts". I have had at least 30 emails from people trying to rip me off. This is what to watch for. First of all never click on links in your email from ebay, yahoo, paypal. The link may say www.ebay.com, but it can take you to a differant site. These sites look excatly like the real ebay/paypal site. This is how they trick you into typing in you credit card number, or username and password. Once they have that info they can do anything. It is best to go directly to the site,using the address bar, and log in that way.
The other scam going is a little easier to spot. You will receive an email from someone who bid on an item you were selling. they are almost always from another country. they will send you an email that looks like it came from western union. it says that the buyer has paid for the item, and you have to ship it. It will say something about once you give them a tracking number someone will deliver your money (ups, fed ex,rnl, airborn express ect). The first rule is NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER send an item untill you have the money. The safest way to ebay is with paypal. If you dont want to use credit cards then just use postal money orders. To avoid this kind of fraud follow these steps.
1) Never send an item before you get the money
2) Never send money for an item that wasn't purchased through ebay, yahoo ect.
3) Never ever use western union.
4) Watch for signs, such as misspelled words or realy bad grammer. these are signs that people are from another country.
5) None of these site will ever ask for any information via email.
If you are not sure of any emails you can forward them to me if you want my email address is ab_concepts2000@yahoo.com
We need to take action against these people, so they learn. Tell them you reported them to the FBI. At least scare them, maybee they will lose sleep. Do Something. Ilike to have fun with them. One of the scammers had a yahoo email address, and I put them on my buddy list, and one day I actually cought them online. I sent them an instant message asking if they knew how to fix laptops. (this was the item they tried to get me to ship without receiving payment)The guy actually responded. After talking with him for a while I told him who I was and that I tracked his IP Adress while I was chatting with him. I( told him he had been setup and the police were on the way. I wish I could have seen the look on his face.
Jerimiah
Noblesville,Indiana,
U.S.A.
Protect yourself on ebay or yahoo auctions
#25Consumer Suggestion
Wed, August 03, 2005
Hello everyone,
I am an ebay powerseller "abconcepts". I have had at least 30 emails from people trying to rip me off. This is what to watch for. First of all never click on links in your email from ebay, yahoo, paypal. The link may say www.ebay.com, but it can take you to a differant site. These sites look excatly like the real ebay/paypal site. This is how they trick you into typing in you credit card number, or username and password. Once they have that info they can do anything. It is best to go directly to the site,using the address bar, and log in that way.
The other scam going is a little easier to spot. You will receive an email from someone who bid on an item you were selling. they are almost always from another country. they will send you an email that looks like it came from western union. it says that the buyer has paid for the item, and you have to ship it. It will say something about once you give them a tracking number someone will deliver your money (ups, fed ex,rnl, airborn express ect). The first rule is NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER send an item untill you have the money. The safest way to ebay is with paypal. If you dont want to use credit cards then just use postal money orders. To avoid this kind of fraud follow these steps.
1) Never send an item before you get the money
2) Never send money for an item that wasn't purchased through ebay, yahoo ect.
3) Never ever use western union.
4) Watch for signs, such as misspelled words or realy bad grammer. these are signs that people are from another country.
5) None of these site will ever ask for any information via email.
If you are not sure of any emails you can forward them to me if you want my email address is ab_concepts2000@yahoo.com
We need to take action against these people, so they learn. Tell them you reported them to the FBI. At least scare them, maybee they will lose sleep. Do Something. Ilike to have fun with them. One of the scammers had a yahoo email address, and I put them on my buddy list, and one day I actually cought them online. I sent them an instant message asking if they knew how to fix laptops. (this was the item they tried to get me to ship without receiving payment)The guy actually responded. After talking with him for a while I told him who I was and that I tracked his IP Adress while I was chatting with him. I( told him he had been setup and the police were on the way. I wish I could have seen the look on his face.
Jerimiah
Noblesville,Indiana,
U.S.A.
Protect yourself on ebay or yahoo auctions
#25Consumer Suggestion
Wed, August 03, 2005
Hello everyone,
I am an ebay powerseller "abconcepts". I have had at least 30 emails from people trying to rip me off. This is what to watch for. First of all never click on links in your email from ebay, yahoo, paypal. The link may say www.ebay.com, but it can take you to a differant site. These sites look excatly like the real ebay/paypal site. This is how they trick you into typing in you credit card number, or username and password. Once they have that info they can do anything. It is best to go directly to the site,using the address bar, and log in that way.
The other scam going is a little easier to spot. You will receive an email from someone who bid on an item you were selling. they are almost always from another country. they will send you an email that looks like it came from western union. it says that the buyer has paid for the item, and you have to ship it. It will say something about once you give them a tracking number someone will deliver your money (ups, fed ex,rnl, airborn express ect). The first rule is NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER send an item untill you have the money. The safest way to ebay is with paypal. If you dont want to use credit cards then just use postal money orders. To avoid this kind of fraud follow these steps.
1) Never send an item before you get the money
2) Never send money for an item that wasn't purchased through ebay, yahoo ect.
3) Never ever use western union.
4) Watch for signs, such as misspelled words or realy bad grammer. these are signs that people are from another country.
5) None of these site will ever ask for any information via email.
If you are not sure of any emails you can forward them to me if you want my email address is ab_concepts2000@yahoo.com
We need to take action against these people, so they learn. Tell them you reported them to the FBI. At least scare them, maybee they will lose sleep. Do Something. Ilike to have fun with them. One of the scammers had a yahoo email address, and I put them on my buddy list, and one day I actually cought them online. I sent them an instant message asking if they knew how to fix laptops. (this was the item they tried to get me to ship without receiving payment)The guy actually responded. After talking with him for a while I told him who I was and that I tracked his IP Adress while I was chatting with him. I( told him he had been setup and the police were on the way. I wish I could have seen the look on his face.
Tamara
Virginia Beach,Virginia,
U.S.A.
Has Ebay Done All It Can To Prevent This Type of Fraud..
#25Consumer Comment
Tue, August 02, 2005
That is the question here,my point is...If this kind of thing happens so often, Ebay can take other measures to decrease it.All I'm saying is that other people who are bidding on Ebay should not see my info, nor should they know the amount that I am bidding on.If it wasn't for this, let's just say I would have abviously known it was a scam because they would not known the exact info of what I was purchasing.
Call it what you want,but maybe for someone who is conducting their business, such as,"selling" cars on ebay, and making a profit,should understand that this kind of thing shouldn't go on,and whether or not I am familiar with doing transactions western union or not, I should still feel like their is some kind of action that ebay could take considering that person got my info off their site.Yes, this has happened once, but it will not happen again, and I have received another "email" a week after this happened.I feel sorry for the next sucker that falls for it like I did.
BUT, I have chosen not to do anymore business with or through ebay, because I don't feel like the site is secure enough.I just simply think, there is more that the company CAN do, to make it safer and more secure for both the sellers and the buyers.So ebay employees,if your listening, which I'm sure you are, rub a few of your nickels together, and see what you come up with!
Tamara
Virginia Beach,Virginia,
U.S.A.
Has Ebay Done All It Can To Prevent This Type of Fraud..
#25Consumer Comment
Tue, August 02, 2005
That is the question here,my point is...If this kind of thing happens so often, Ebay can take other measures to decrease it.All I'm saying is that other people who are bidding on Ebay should not see my info, nor should they know the amount that I am bidding on.If it wasn't for this, let's just say I would have abviously known it was a scam because they would not known the exact info of what I was purchasing.
Call it what you want,but maybe for someone who is conducting their business, such as,"selling" cars on ebay, and making a profit,should understand that this kind of thing shouldn't go on,and whether or not I am familiar with doing transactions western union or not, I should still feel like their is some kind of action that ebay could take considering that person got my info off their site.Yes, this has happened once, but it will not happen again, and I have received another "email" a week after this happened.I feel sorry for the next sucker that falls for it like I did.
BUT, I have chosen not to do anymore business with or through ebay, because I don't feel like the site is secure enough.I just simply think, there is more that the company CAN do, to make it safer and more secure for both the sellers and the buyers.So ebay employees,if your listening, which I'm sure you are, rub a few of your nickels together, and see what you come up with!
Tamara
Virginia Beach,Virginia,
U.S.A.
Has Ebay Done All It Can To Prevent This Type of Fraud..
#25Consumer Comment
Tue, August 02, 2005
That is the question here,my point is...If this kind of thing happens so often, Ebay can take other measures to decrease it.All I'm saying is that other people who are bidding on Ebay should not see my info, nor should they know the amount that I am bidding on.If it wasn't for this, let's just say I would have abviously known it was a scam because they would not known the exact info of what I was purchasing.
Call it what you want,but maybe for someone who is conducting their business, such as,"selling" cars on ebay, and making a profit,should understand that this kind of thing shouldn't go on,and whether or not I am familiar with doing transactions western union or not, I should still feel like their is some kind of action that ebay could take considering that person got my info off their site.Yes, this has happened once, but it will not happen again, and I have received another "email" a week after this happened.I feel sorry for the next sucker that falls for it like I did.
BUT, I have chosen not to do anymore business with or through ebay, because I don't feel like the site is secure enough.I just simply think, there is more that the company CAN do, to make it safer and more secure for both the sellers and the buyers.So ebay employees,if your listening, which I'm sure you are, rub a few of your nickels together, and see what you come up with!
Tamara
Virginia Beach,Virginia,
U.S.A.
Has Ebay Done All It Can To Prevent This Type of Fraud..
#25Consumer Comment
Tue, August 02, 2005
That is the question here,my point is...If this kind of thing happens so often, Ebay can take other measures to decrease it.All I'm saying is that other people who are bidding on Ebay should not see my info, nor should they know the amount that I am bidding on.If it wasn't for this, let's just say I would have abviously known it was a scam because they would not known the exact info of what I was purchasing.
Call it what you want,but maybe for someone who is conducting their business, such as,"selling" cars on ebay, and making a profit,should understand that this kind of thing shouldn't go on,and whether or not I am familiar with doing transactions western union or not, I should still feel like their is some kind of action that ebay could take considering that person got my info off their site.Yes, this has happened once, but it will not happen again, and I have received another "email" a week after this happened.I feel sorry for the next sucker that falls for it like I did.
BUT, I have chosen not to do anymore business with or through ebay, because I don't feel like the site is secure enough.I just simply think, there is more that the company CAN do, to make it safer and more secure for both the sellers and the buyers.So ebay employees,if your listening, which I'm sure you are, rub a few of your nickels together, and see what you come up with!
Dave
Jacksonville,Florida,
U.S.A.
You're Barking Up the Wrong Tree!
#25Consumer Comment
Mon, August 01, 2005
It isn't Ebay that is the problem, it's your fault mostly. Unless you have been in a coma for the last decade, you should know to NEVER SEND MONEY via WESTERN UNION for ANY PURCHASE!
What happened is this. The person selling the TV in the first place was probably legit. Some jerk from Nigeria or someplace tracks people bidding on hot items like plasmas, cars, etc.. Then, when the auction is over, he uses his Ebay Logo and email address similar to the seller's, and sends out Second Chance Offers to as many people as he can. They even go as far as to send Square Trade emails out with the proper Ebay and Square Trade logos all over the place. They all state the same thing... Send $$$ via Western Union to.. BUT, if you read ANYTHING at all on the Ebay web site, it specifically says DO NOT SEND MONEY VIA WESTERN UNION FOR PURCHASES!! This guy can potentially scam about 10 people a month.
Ebay sucks at times, and I use it quite often, but don't blame them because you were scammed. It's your reponsibility to be an informed consumer. I sell classic cars on ebay, and have had many foreigners try to scam my cars out from under me. So I know how it works. Even when I didn't know any better, I still wouldn't send money via Western Union, because IT CAN'T BE TRACKED!