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Ebay scam FYI

JesseLeeJesseLee Member Posts: 1,032 ✭✭✭✭
edited May 2006 in General Discussion
Last week I placed my 1966 Mustang on line and missed my reserve bid by $200. One of the fellows that had some interest in the Mustang called me to let me know that he received a "second Chance offer" from a guy in England. The guy emailed me the emails that he received and sure enough all 24 pics of my car was attached to his "auction". In my auction I would accept all types of payments, his would only accept Western Union payment transfers. I emailed Ebays security department about the situation and it appears that this has been going on for some time now. I just hope that nobody is stupid enough to fall for this international fraud. Has anybody else seen or heard of something like this?
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Comments

  • nomadictaonomadictao Member Posts: 1,310 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Hmmm, I just sold my old beater '65 Chevy pickup on line to a bloke from England. He contacted me and said he will be sending the money Western Union. He has 170 positve feedbacks and I am familiar with the shipping company he will be using, so it seems legit.

    I was selling it on Craigslist and got numerous fake offers on it from the UK. They wanted to send the dough in an unsecured fashion. I emailed one back a asked that she stick a .45 in her rear and pull the trigger....not long afterword I got an email from her saying "Thanks for the quick reply, I will be sending you an instant check."

    One must keep their eyes open when dealing on line.
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  • gearheaddadgearheaddad Member Posts: 15,091 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Yup! I had the same thing happen. A guy from california contacted me about an auction I was outbid on. I almost went for it until I noticed the e-mail address was the same except for the provider! And payment was to be sent to California (Long Beach) instead of Grand Rapids Michigan! I called the Long Beach Police dept. They didn't care. I called the USPS and they didn't care. Ebay could care less. No crime was committed since I didn't send the money! I sent him a note telling him he should be looking over his shoulder because the guys in uniform are onto him! You'd think the USPS would have a "dummy" money order that when someone trys to cash it they are busted.
    Good luck,
    Ed
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  • bobskibobski Member Posts: 17,866 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    dont do it partner.
    the scam is the western union check is a fake and by the time you find out after the bank drafts it, your truck is gone and so is the value of your payment.
    Retired Naval Aviation
    Former Member U.S. Navy Shooting Team
    Former NSSA All American
    Navy Distinguished Pistol Shot
    MO, CT, VA.
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  • nomadictaonomadictao Member Posts: 1,310 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:the scam is the western union check is a fake and by the time you find out after the bank drafts it, your truck is gone and so is the value of your payment

    Thanks I appreciate the advice. There will be a delay between the time I get the money and a tow to Long Beach for her departure to Europe. I will simply not release the truck until I know I have the cash. I sold classic cars for a while, and sold many that made their way to Europe. My experience and gut feeling says this one is OK....but you never know. I will just be out the fees if it turns out to be a scam. That would suck, but not as much.
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  • Broomie2Broomie2 Member Posts: 325 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Had something like that happen several months back. Had a boat for sale & some guy emailed me asking to bid it in Ireland, wanted to Western Union me the money & then have me forward the payment to the shipping company out of the Westerer Union he sent me. Yeah hello!
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  • warriorsfanwarriorsfan Member Posts: 1,061 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Here's a funny prank that some ebay seller pulled on some scam bidder in England running the same escrow scam:

    http://www.zug.com/pranks/powerbook/
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  • nomadictaonomadictao Member Posts: 1,310 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    He said he was going to arrange and pay the shipping.
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  • 41 nut41 nut Member Posts: 3,016
    edited November -1
    A couple months ago I was outbid at the last second on an item on ebay. A couple days later an email showed up offering me a second chance to buy the item. Only thing was I knew both the seller and the purchaser of the item and knew the deal had gone thru. Found out that 4 of us bidders had all received the same second chance offer. It was turned in and I've never heard that they caught the guy.
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  • pickenuppickenup Member Posts: 22,844 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by JesseLee
    Has anybody else seen or heard of something like this?
    Happens ALL the time. [V]
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  • slipgateslipgate Member Posts: 12,741
    edited November -1
    Happened to me as well accept in my case the scammer outbid my top bidder and then proceeded to snow me so he had time to work the second place buyer. The buyer was actually about to send some money to him. The reason I contacted my second place buyer was I suspected something was up so I wanted to see if he was still interested. I did end up selling to him. Ebay never NARU'd the scammer however.
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  • gagirlgagirl Member Posts: 5,408
    edited November -1
    Yup happened recently to me on a bike. I can send you the emails that I got. The main thing to look for is that if the second chance offer does not show up in your "messages" area of Ebay then it is a fake.
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