help warn eBay shoppers and sellers about the serious dangers that
could be faced if good people are
not careful, well informed and cautious while buying or selling on
eBay.
Knowledge is our very best defense, read carefully and learn how to
protect yourself.Sellers,
don't be fooled into thinking that you are too smart to be attacked!
However, there are some things that you can do to make your account a
little less vulnerable.
A shocking number of eBay sellers accounts are being hijacked for the sole purpose of stealing money from innocent shoppers.
I know this because my own account was taken over by
pirates. These despicable thieves are out to take unsuspecting
buyers for every penny that they can get. This scam is perpetrated by
stealing the good name and honest reputation of highly respected eBay
sellers. The pirates sell non-existent items (they even steal the
pictures and descriptions from other listings). Buyers pay the
"seller" in good faith and receive NOTHING but grief in return.
Meanwhile, the actual owner of the eBay account ends up with the lost
business from the legitimate items that were hijacked AND a damaged
reputation, OR WORSE!
Fortunately, for me, I monitor my account very closely and I
was able to thwart them before any real damage could be
done. However, those shameless perpetrators just moved on to some other
unsuspecting eBay member and continued to try to STEAL YOUR YOUR
HARD-EARNED MONEY.
SELLERS, BE WARNED - MONITOR YOUR EBAY ACCOUNT VERY CLOSELY!
I learned quite a bit of very useful information from my ID
theft experience and I thought it might be a good idea to let others
know how to spot these low-life thieves, before they succeed in stealing
your money. My fiasco happened in the States, but I am certain that my British friends might be interested to learn from my experience.
1. The "seller" looks completely respectable, with a very good to excellent feedback rating.
There is no reason for a criminal to hijack the account of a
disreputable seller. The bad guys are looking for highly respected
sellers, the more honest and professional the better. Consequently, a
100% feedback rating and glowing feedback comments do not guarantee a
safe transaction. In fact, the better the seller, the more attractive
they are to the bad guys. They want to use the sellers great
reputation to lull potential victims into a false sense of security.
This is done by eBay identity theft, commonly called "ID piracy".
2. The seller asks potential bidders to contact them before bidding.
They will give very legitimate looking reasons for you to contact them
directly. The real reason is to get you to buy off-eBay (where you
"the buyer" have almost no protection). The scammer will try to
convince you that this is done to save on eBay fees so that you can
get a better deal.
3. The suspected seller is often listing a very expensive item that is not usually offered by the real owner of the eBay account.
When you find a 1,000.00 professional camera lens for sale by an eBay member who usually
sells a lot of books, teddy bears or DVD movies, you should be very
suspicious. Most people who legitimately sell expensive high-tech units
tend to specialize in those items. Look at the sellers Other Items For
Sale and their feedback to see if they regularly sell products similar
to the item that is offered in the listing. If the item for sale looks
"out-of-place" for this seller, you need to do more investigating
before making any kind of commitment.
4. The deal looks like a fantastic opportunity to save a lot of money.
When that 150.00 Apple iPhone is offered for 10.00, you should
already know better (your mother told you all about this). Legitimate
sellers do not give away their products. Since this is not a real
auction, the item has to be sold "off-eBay", with the pirates own
version of Buy-It-Now. This is actually a Rip-You-Off-Now deal.
Look for the official eBay "Buy-It-Now" button on the listing. If that
"button" is not there, this guy is up to no good! NEVER BUY AN
EBAY LISTED ITEM DIRECTLY FROM ANY SELLER... EVER! Legitimate sales are
always completed through proper "eBay approved" methods of payment.
NO REPUTABLE SELLER WOULD EVER ASK YOU TO BUY AN EBAY LISTED ITEM DIRECTLY FROM THEM... EVER!
5. Current bidders IDs are often displayed as Private.
This prevents well-informed eBay members from contacting the poor
sucker to warn him or her about the impending scam. We all try to
help each other out when we can, and the bad guys know this. The
practice of making all bidders appear as Private should be viewed as
a red flag. (Although, there are some legitimate reasons for this
practice. Just be sure that you know why this is being done before you
place a bid.)
6. These suspicious items are usually offered in a 1-Day listing.
Some choose the 2 or 3-day listing option, but rarely. The pirates know
that they need to make a quick "hit
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