Fraudsters, scammers and fake auctions on eBay
Have you ever come across a deal on eBay that looked too good to be true? Well, I hope you didn't end up bidding on it!
Yes, scammers, fraudsters, whatever you want to call them, make money by posting up fake auctions on eBay. Their user ID looks legit, they have a "real" name, but their feedback looks a bit suss. It's hard to explain how you can tell when the feedback is suss. They may have only one, or none.
They will post up an auction that seems too good to be true. It'll be a highly desirable product, with lots of extras for a great starting price. If you see stuff like this, make sure you ask the seller a question. The question could be anything. It's the response you want to see.
If the seller is a scammer, they will ask you to complete the sale off eBay.
Why would they do that? So that there's no real record of the transaction. Because there's no record, you won't be able to dispute it.
The seller will also give you a great offer to buy it outside of eBay. For example, my boyfriend enquired about an SLR camera, with grips, lenses, flash, and tripod. The seller was willing to offer that for $1,000. He thought it was a bargain, but felt really uneasy when the seller asked to complete the transaction outside of eBay. He was also asked to pay using Wire Transfer, and provide his passport or drivers license so that the seller could pick up the payment. BIG NO!
He also noticed that the seller had limited the auction to a 1 day auction. Talk about pressuring you into paying for the "good deal". There's also no time for eBay to close down that auction because it'll be too late!
Don't get caught up in the possibility of a good deal when you can tell something fishy is going on.
Make sure you ask the seller a question, check their feedback, and probably even have a chat with some people on eBay's community forums. Due diligence and missing a "good deal" is better than losing your money, and possibly even your identity.
Yes, scammers, fraudsters, whatever you want to call them, make money by posting up fake auctions on eBay. Their user ID looks legit, they have a "real" name, but their feedback looks a bit suss. It's hard to explain how you can tell when the feedback is suss. They may have only one, or none.
They will post up an auction that seems too good to be true. It'll be a highly desirable product, with lots of extras for a great starting price. If you see stuff like this, make sure you ask the seller a question. The question could be anything. It's the response you want to see.
If the seller is a scammer, they will ask you to complete the sale off eBay.
Why would they do that? So that there's no real record of the transaction. Because there's no record, you won't be able to dispute it.
The seller will also give you a great offer to buy it outside of eBay. For example, my boyfriend enquired about an SLR camera, with grips, lenses, flash, and tripod. The seller was willing to offer that for $1,000. He thought it was a bargain, but felt really uneasy when the seller asked to complete the transaction outside of eBay. He was also asked to pay using Wire Transfer, and provide his passport or drivers license so that the seller could pick up the payment. BIG NO!
He also noticed that the seller had limited the auction to a 1 day auction. Talk about pressuring you into paying for the "good deal". There's also no time for eBay to close down that auction because it'll be too late!
Don't get caught up in the possibility of a good deal when you can tell something fishy is going on.
Make sure you ask the seller a question, check their feedback, and probably even have a chat with some people on eBay's community forums. Due diligence and missing a "good deal" is better than losing your money, and possibly even your identity.
posted by Tinh T. at
3:53 AM
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