Auction/Classified Ad Scams
How do Auction (and online Classified Ad) Scams work?
Scammers use various ploys to part you from your cash and/or goods.
Victims are harvested from auction sites (mainly eBay) and Sites that list
classified ads for a variety of products, eg Craigs List, cars, horses etc. Victims are contacted by email and urged to send money/goods either within an auction or outside the system.
Auction fraud is rampant on eBay and Yahoo Auctions, just ask anyone who paid for a laptop on eBay, but received a phone book instead. A quick look through other auctions reveals many many potentially fraudulent auctions.
Here are some signs that the item you are bidding on is probably a fraud.
- Low priced high-ticket items, like TVs, laptops, or jewelry — especially if there are multiple items for sale, especially if the price is way below similar items on sale by other vendors.
- Brand-new sellers with no sales history. (Look for the seller ranking/rating).
- Sellers requesting payment by Western Union or using an unfamiliar Escrow service or payment in foreign currencies, or sellers wanting to pay more than the auction price, with instructions to send the remainder to a third party (esp. in Africa).
- Auctions that begin and end over a weekend, since eBay customer support is light during those days.
- Seller telephone numbers or addresses that can't be verified, sellers who are based in unusual countries (Nigeria, Korea, Romania, Bulgaria etc).
- Sellers with good feedback ratings that have not bought or sold anything for a long time (hijacked accounts).
- Sellers of high value branded items who have a lot to sell at very low prices (Counterfeit products is a huge industry on eBay).
Fraud conducted outside the eBay framwork is almost certainly higher, because many scammers work outside the eBay system, contacting auction bidders and offering exclusive deals direct from the seller, or even offering 'second chance' deals to underbidders on other, genuine auctions. If in doubt, check it out!
eBay Survey Auction Scam
Be extremely suspicious of all and any emails appearing to come from eBay - One popular scam is a spoof eBay survey with a bonus of $20 for completion. It asks for a credit card number (and even the PIN number) to credit the money to. THIS IS A SCAM. Here is an example email:
Dear Valued Member,
You have been chosen by the eBay online department to take part in our quick and easy 6 question survey. In return we will credit $20 to your account - Just for your time!
Helping us better understand how our customers feel benefits everyone. With the information collected we can decide to direct a number of changes to improve an expand our online service. The information you provide us is all non-sensitive and anonymous - No part of it is handed down to any third party groups.
it will be stored in our secure database for maximum of 7 days while we process the results of this nationwide survey. We kindly ask you to please spare two minutes of your time in taking part with this unique offer!
Many Thanks and Kind Regards - eBay Customer Department
"Second Chance Offer" Auction Scam
It's not only plasma TVs and Notebook computers though!
My wife was the losing bidder on eBay for an antique quilt. Two days later she got an official-looking 'Second Chance Offer' bid email. The idea is that if the original auction winner drops out for some reason, the seller can contact the underbidder and sell it to them instead.
My wife was overjoyed, but after accepting the terms, the email reply (purporting to be from eBay) was so strange that we were immediately suspicious, not least because they wanted payment by (you guessed it!) Western Union!
This is the follow-up email. The phrase 'over-egging the pudding' comes to mind...
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Dear xxxxxx ,
My name is Fred Brewer from the eBay Safety Center.
We know that you have been contacted by Darren Corfu for the second chance offer in his auction #7345877992 and we also know that the item is located in United States and the seller is in France . The shipping will be made from United States by his wife and the payment will be made in France to Mr. Darren Corfu who is a verified seller and you will be protected by us. As will be stated in the invoice, the seller has $6,048.50 in our account and if something will happen ( you will not be satisfied with the item ) in max 5 days you will receive your money back. So you can see the item before you give your money for good.
So it is not a problem if you send the payment through Western Union Money Transfer. We secure this transfer!
To complete the transaction, you will need to follow the steps from the invoice and make the payment. In any other case you will not be protected.
Payment instructions:
To submit the payment with WesternUnion Money Transfer, you have to:
Click here to locate the agents in your area http://www.westernunion.com/info/agentInquiryIntl.asp. Go to one of them and send the payment to the verified name of the seller..
Once the payment was sent, email the seller the following information:
1. Exact 10 Digit Money Transfer Control Number;
2. Exact senders name on file with WesternUnion:
3. Your street address on file with WesternUnion:
4. City and country where you sent the money from:
5. Amount sent:
 Copyright © 1995-2005 eBay Inc. All Rights Reserved. Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of the eBay User Agreement and Privacy Policy.
This is the original Contact email
| Second Chance Offer -- Buy The Item You Recently Bid On |
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Good news! The following eBay item on which you placed a bid is again available for purchase:
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c.1880 MINT/COLOR Wreaths/Hearts applique quilt/Indiana Item number: 7345877992 |
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Don't let this get away! |
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Second Chance Offer
The seller, is making this Second Chance Offer because the high bidder was either unable to complete the transaction or the seller has a duplicate item for sale.
The selling of this item through Second Chance Offer is in compliance with eBay policy and you will be able to exchange Feedback with the seller and will be eligible for all eBay services associated with a transaction, such as fraud protection.
eBay does not charge an Insertion Fee to send a Second Chance Offer. Sellers pay only the Final Value Fee when the offer is accepted. |
Act Now - This Offer Expires Soon
To take advantage of this opportunity, please act quickly.
To see this item, click on the following page:
To purchase this item please contact the seller by replying to this email message.
To learn more about Second Chance Offer, please visit:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/second_chance_offer.html
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Thank you for using eBay!
http://www.ebay.com/
eBay sent this email to you because your Notification Preferences indicate that you want to receive Second Chance Offer Notices. eBay will not request personal data (password, credit card/bank numbers) in an email.
If you do not wish to receive further communications, log into "My eBay" by clicking on My eBay link found at the top of the eBay home page and change your Notification Preferences. Please note that it may take up to 14 days to process your request. Visit our Privacy Policy and User Agreement if you have any questions. |
Copyright © 2005 eBay Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners.
eBay and the eBay logo are trademarks of eBay Inc |
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