Is this guy "clean"???

Scam auctions on Ebay

Hi there, as they say "if it's too good to be true it probably is"!. This auction is already pulled for being a scam. Things I do to verify a sellers validity are:

1. Check their feedback and some of their previous auctions. If they have no feedback or their last auction was a long time ago, double check before bidding. People hack unused accounts and start running scams using someone's good feedback.
2. Check some of the seller's previous auctions from the feedback page. I've seen ads for GPS, Amps, etc but find that the seller usually sells craft supplies or baby clothes. Why would "grandma's baby toys" be selling 200 watt speakers??? It can happen, but check with granny first just in case!
3. Only contact sellers via your Ebay account's messages option. If a seller posts an email link or tells you to email them outside ebay, it's because they probably hacked the account and don't want you emailing the real account holder (seller). Clicking "contact member" will send an email to the real seller's registered email address so you can verify if they are really selling the items. I've notified ebay sellers of this before and they confirmed that someone did hack their account and was about to ruin their reputation.
4. Check the seller's location vs. the payment address or item location. If the seller is asking you to send money to a different country then the seller's profile says, suspect fraud. Avoid mailing payments either, you can't backcharge someone if they scam you. I ran an auction for some 24" rims on Ebay a couple months ago and it didn't meet reserve price so I didn't sell them. Unfortunately I got an email a month later from a bidder saying they got a second chance offer from ebay and sent "me" a money order for $1700.00, and wanted to know when they would get the wheels. I had to advise them that I did not send a second chance offer, and that the money they sent to someone in Illinois did not come to me in Texas. Nobody hacked my Ebay account, but they sent that person a real looking email claiming to be from Ebay and me. The person was new to Ebay so they didn't think to contact me through Ebay messages to confirm, or to ask why they should send money to IL when the wheels are in TX!
5. Never click the links in the emails Ebay or Paypal sends you (IE: Congrats, you won the DVD player, do you want to pay now?). Go into your Ebay account and pay from there in case the email is a fake web link. Some of them look exactly like Ebay's so you can easily be fooled.
6. If you are looking at items such as DVD players, GPS units or video screens, keep in mind that they may not work in your country. If the seller claims a GPS unit from the Ukrane will work in the USA or Europe they may be scammers. Video resolution varies in different parts of the world, GPS Maps don't cover worldwide and there are different standards for everything from DVD zones to operating voltage to FM tuner frequency ranges. If the seller doesn't address these topics, they may just be making up a line to scam you. Of course, even if the seller really is honest. it is not easy or cheap to return items to other countries when you find out they don't work so you could lose either way!
7. Check for stock photographs vs. pics of actual items. Anyone can go to a web site and copy a photo, at least some real pictures are more descriptive and less likely to be copied. Of course, check other auctions for your item to see if the pics appear elsewhere, as scammers can copy real photos from other auctions too!

Hope this helps, I hate to see people get scammed by these dishonest people out there. I sell my old toys for money to buy new toys and have not had too many problems, but I have avoided a few scams by following the above rules and remembering "if it's too good to be true".....

 

Yeah, also be careful about emails asking you to verify your bank account information. Hackers will from time to time send emails that look exactly like something from ebay, and it will usually only be up for a couple of hours before they get busted, but they can and will drain your account. They almost got me on that once, but I checked it out by going through ebay instead of the link that was provided, and ebay had some warnings posted about that kind of thing.. Gotta watch your back, a lot of lazy and crooked people out there who are good with computers.

 

don't mean to be a hijacker, but that link is dead now, so what the hell..

anybody get popped by the paypal scheme? It was one of the first I heard about. These guys supposedly had www.PAYPAI.com which in some fonts looks just like papypal. I guess they made a lot of dirty money that way, and it took paypal a long time to regain the trust of the E-community.

Or am I just old..? talking about random ancient E-schemes.

 

wow.. that link is active now under a different company..

anyone have any deutsch marks they need to trade in?^_^

 

sorry to hijack an old thread but if you shop for anything on ebay. the #1 rule of thumb is to remember that if anyone is only requesting western union as the only choice as money transfer do not bid or use buy it now on that auction. Most western union money transfers are a scam and should be highly avoided.

 

dude...I talked to that guy LAST NIGHT about that deck...hes been banned and relisted it under like 20 email alias' attempting to take advantage of someone with his western union bull****. Stay away from that particular seller. I've noticed he has only 43 feedback yet he has over 200 new auctions listed all of a sudden with ridiculous buyouts (a plasma tv that true cost is about 1800 to buy he is saying "buy it now for 1k."

Looking for a P9/EQ myself but that guy has ruined my ebay experience for a bit.

-Mike