# eBay Scam?? What do you think **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 29, 2007, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-scam-what-do-you-think/405862 "2007-05-29T03:45:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Aceospades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Aceospades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aceospades)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-scam-what-do-you-think/405862/1 "2007-05-29T03:45:38Z")
i’m pretty sure that this is a scam but wanted to know what everyone else thought. i’m in the market for a Motorola s9 bluetooth headset. they sell for around $100 on ebay, but i’m hoping i can get one for $85 (probably not though). [i bid on this one and lost.](http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230132811104) the next day i get this email sent not by ebay, but directly from the “seller”: Dear delawaresace…You expressed interest on an item. I’m the owner of that item on which you’ve recently bided on through the eBay system… _ **Item number: 230132811104** _ and I’ve contacted you because I need to know if you are still interested to buy it… E-mail me as soon as posible with your answer because I must to know if is necesarly to find another buyer or if you can buy the item for …If you accept this offer the eBay policy automatically proclaims you winner. The transaction will go strictly according to eBay’s RULES and POLICY and will be supervised by eBay Trust & Safety Department. If you are interested just contact me, with your best price… I am waiting a fast response!..Thank you! now what caught my attention is that she (i’m just guessing it’s a she) knows my email address. ebay is pretty good at keeping it hidden. the only way i figure she found it was to look up one of my recent auctions where it is listed in the auction description. either that or getting really lucky in guessing that i have an account with gmail. anyway i respond back to her with this: i am still interested in your item. my max bid is $80.00. let me know if this is acceptable. thank you. she resopnded with this: Hello, In order to make the transaction legit so we can be able to exchange feedback once completed i will have to get in touch with eBay Department. I will need to confirm me the following details: - your complete name - your complete shipping address I’m located overseas for the moment, in Italy because my little sister is getting married and i couldn’t miss this once in a life time moment. She found her true love over here in Italy. I have to stay here for at least two weeks. Must inform you that I have the item in the custody of the shipping company who helps mee very time to ship the goods to the buyers addresses. A 100% serious company and i have acontract with them. Regarding the shipping insurance,who protects my items from any damages on the way to the buyer, i can inform you that they are already paid.Shipping is covered by me so don’t have to be worried to pay extra charges for delivery.So the final price will be US $80.00 Once you will provide me the requested details (full name, address) i will contact the eBay Department and they will do the rest. They will send you the rest of the instructions and info regarding this process. You need to follow the instructions exactly so we can be both protected by their Purchase Protection and Refund program. Positive feedback is assured once everything is fixed up. Thank You and along with the requested details email me with any other questions you may have! i’m thinking of giving her my name and address and see where this leads. i see a couple possibilities. 1: she sends me a link to a fake eBay page to try to get my personal info 2: she strings me along to try to gain my trust and then get me to pay using a non secured method. 3: it’s really Opal cat and she’s just pissed at me because i registered at her web site three years ago and have never been back since. what does every one else think? is there any chance that this is legit? ---
**Author:** ![brendon\_small](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brendon_small/32/17101_2.png) [@brendon\_small](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brendon_small)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-scam-what-do-you-think/405862/2 "2007-05-29T03:54:12Z")
I would say not. I specifically have been told that to avoid a scam, it is best to avoid those that want responses “as soon as possible” but are “currently out of the country.” Also, the “Must inform you that I have the item in the custody of the shipping company who helps mee very time to ship the goods to the buyers addresses. A 100% serious company and i have acontract with them.” Wow. That seems kind of ridiculous. I will admit that I got scammed once on an internet sale, so it’s not hard for me to remember how I never saw it coming. This one sounds a little obvious, like you said, and I am assuming it is that they will have you send the money through non-secure means and then never deliver the product… I would avoid it altogether, unless they might start it as a buy it now auction. I don’t think you should buy something from an ebay person who isn’t working through the site. That’s only IMHO, but it seems way too shady. Brendon Small ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-scam-what-do-you-think/405862/3 "2007-05-29T03:59:34Z")
Take a look at [this](http://www.bustedspoke.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?start=0&t=33895). Someone else has a little sister who is getting married. Yeah, right. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Critical\_Mass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@Critical\_Mass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical_Mass)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-scam-what-do-you-think/405862/4 "2007-05-29T04:03:37Z")
I think that any time something stinks even a little bit, you should walk away from it. This stinks more than a little bit. Don’t look back. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-scam-what-do-you-think/405862/5 "2007-05-29T04:05:15Z")
A few things make me think this is a scam 1)She had good english in the first email, but the second sound like she’s from Nigeria 2)She (without being asked) gave a reason for being out of the country. I always get weary when people explain themselves too much. I don’t care WHY you can’t ship the item now, or WHY you are out of the country or WHY you are selling them item (it’s in perfect condition never been used I’m only selling it becuase…) It’s like they’re already on the defense. Besides why doesn’t she just relist the item. If she puts it up for three days, she’s likely to make more on it and this side deal will likely take just as long to close. Oh, and while I haven’t used ebay in a while, I’ve never heard of ebay overseeing sales that don’t happen on the auction block as she seems to be implying will happen. My advice, don’t reply and move on. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-scam-what-do-you-think/405862/6 "2007-05-29T04:32:56Z")
Scam. Never deal with people outside of eBay-regulated transactions, especially people in other countries, especially people who deal with third-party “shipping companies.” ---
**Author:** ![Aceospades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Aceospades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aceospades)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-scam-what-do-you-think/405862/7 "2007-05-29T04:54:49Z")
new plan. i’m going to see how long i can f!@k with her just to waist her time. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-scam-what-do-you-think/405862/8 "2007-05-29T07:37:47Z")
Couple of things: -The email you got is definitely a scam (I’ve seen it word for word before) - it might be that the email isn’t even from the seller, but from someone else who masquerading as the seller -The seller has no feedback at all anyway - a really big danger sign when high-value items are in the listing. What were you thinking when you bid on this item? ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-scam-what-do-you-think/405862/9 "2007-05-29T07:52:22Z")
[QUOTE=Aceospades] new plan. i’m going to see how long i can f!@k with her just to waist her time. [/QUOTE] And this is worth **your** time? ---
**Author:** ![Aceospades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Aceospades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aceospades)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-scam-what-do-you-think/405862/10 "2007-05-29T11:44:32Z")
[QUOTE=glee] And this is worth **your** time? [/QUOTE] call it a distraction from the daily grind. plus it feels good messing with someone who just tried to screw you. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-scam-what-do-you-think/405862/11 "2007-05-29T12:44:14Z")
I think the odds of this being legit are zero. I hope you don’t fall into the trap. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-scam-what-do-you-think/405862/12 "2007-05-29T14:56:14Z")
It’s been a while since I eBayed regularly, but don’t their Terms of Service specifically prohibit this type of outside-the-auction transaction? Or, at the very least, their security policies don’t apply to these transactions. Joe ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-scam-what-do-you-think/405862/13 "2007-05-29T15:12:14Z")
Yes, eBay is very hot on off-site sales, but I’m pretty sure that what was being set up here wasn’t an off-site sale, but a simple fleece job - take the money (which would probably be requested in some hard-to-revoke form such as money order or bank transfer) and run, without supplying any goods at all. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-scam-what-do-you-think/405862/14 "2007-05-29T15:15:28Z")
BTW, [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=417204) is another thread about a similar incident - even down to the wording of the email. They’re trying to pass it off as a Second Chance Offer, but those don’t require verbose emails from the seller and don’t demand personal details moving about outside of the ebay transaction system. ---
**Author:** ![Aceospades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Aceospades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aceospades)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-scam-what-do-you-think/405862/15 "2007-05-29T20:57:49Z")
so i mailed off a fake name and address and here is what i got back: > [@](#): > > Instructions(please read carefully) : > > Complete your eBay transaction in 5 easy steps: > > 1. Buyer and seller agree on the transaction terms and a selling price. > > 2. Seller contacts eBay with the transaction details, eBay accepts the transaction and offers purchase protection to the buyer (if the transaction is declined, no further action is required from either the buyer or the seller). > > 3. The buyer sends payment and the seller receives it. After the payment is received, the seller must notify eBay. The Buyer will send the payment details directly to the seller`s email address. The seller has three business days to send the buyer and eBay the tracking number of the shipment. If no tracking number is provided, a full refund is immediately sent to the buyer. > > 4. Buyer receives the merchandise and has five days to inspect it. If it is complete and as described, the buyer should accept the merchandise. If he refuses the merchandise, the buyer must ship the merchandise back to the seller within three business days. > > 5. After the inspection period is over, the buyer must contact eBay with the result of the inspection. If the buyer refuses the merchandise, the refund will be sent to the buyer after the tracking number for the returned shipment is verified. > > Details and instructions of this transaction: > > The following item(s) are clear for eBay item insurance policy: > > Gallett military watch ,ADANAC on dial, H3 ,1986 Item number: 280115962546 > Seller verified payment address: > Maria Sanders > Via Mauro Macchi 1, Milano 20124, Italy > > Buyer shipping address: > Tim Rollins > 103 North Broom Street Wilmington, DE 19805, United States > > Item Number: > > 230132811104 > Amount insured: > > US $80.00 > Payment instructions: > > The payment has to be made using Western Union in collaboration with PayPal and eBay Inc. We would like to confirm to you again that our seller , Maria Sanders is an registered eBay Seller. Payment via Western Union are guaranteed. Your dealing with Maria Sanders , covered under PayPal Seller Protection eBay Fraud Protection Plan (e-Bay SafeHarbor) . After you will make the payment via Western Union please contact the seller at this e-mail address: [kyttysam@aol.com](mailto:kyttysam@aol.com) > > Western Union Partners with BuySafe for eBay Protection > Western Union Global Money Transfer > Western Union Payment Systems, Inc. is a leading provider of international person-to-person money transfer. Through the Western Union international money transfer network of 225,000 agent locations worldwide, customers can wire cash quickly (usually within 10 minutes), reliably, conveniently and at attractive prices to recipients in 190 countries. > To pay now you need to find a Western Union Agent near you ! > > [http://www.westernunion.com/info/agentInquiryIntl.asp](http://www.westernunion.com/info/agentInquiryIntl.asp) > > However, Western Union Money Transfer is designed mainly for sending cash to friends and family in need, so telling them you are sending the money to an eBay seller will prevent your money transfer to go through and you will be unable to complete this transaction. > > Several IDs and utility bills are required before the funds are paid. Therefore, no > one else but your seller can pick up the money. Your payments cannot be > lost in the mail, like money orders or checks. > > Because the fee to send a Western Union Money Transfer is high,compared to other methods of payment, we have arranged with the seller to compensate for half of this fee (i.e. if it costs you $100 to send the payment, take $50 from the amount insured and send the balance). > > Once the payment was sent, email the seller the following information: > > 1. 10 digit MTCN # (Western Union): > 2. Exact sender name on file with Western Union: > 3. Your street address on file with Western Union: > 4. City and country where you sent the money from: > 5. Amount sent: > > Then wait for the confirmation the payment was received. Within 3 > business days, you will receive the tracking number for your > merchandise. > The seller is a registered SquareTrade Member. Buy with confidence! > Free coverage up to US $10,000.00 .Guaranteed by eBay ! > > Purchase protection and refund: > Currently, this seller has a US $10,000.00 deposit in an eBay managed purchase protection account. Transactions with this eBay seller are covered by purchase protection against fraud and description errors. > For your safety, this account was locked today, for 30 days time. The seller is unable to withdraw any money from it, within this period. Should you need a refund for this transaction, the insured amount will be taken from the seller purchase protection account and sent to you. The refund is sent to your bank account, or by check or money order. > The way you are refunded is at your choice. You have 30 days from the above verification date to request a refund. Refund requests are processed within 3 days. > The insurer of this transaction is eBay Inc. located at 2145 Hamilton Avenue San Jose, CA 95125 United States of America . > The account is managed by eBay Square Trade center. This transaction is supervised by eBay Safe Harbor team. > > CONDITIONS TO BE MET BEFORE YOU MAY ASK FOR A REFUND: > Here are the situations suitable for a refund request: > > 1. If the item does not arrive and/or the seller stops communications after the payment was received; > 2. If the merchandise you receive has different specifications than the > ones you agreed on; > 3. If your merchandise arrives in a much longer period than the one you agreed on (more than 15 days from the payment clearance day); > For cases 2) and 3) you have to send back the merchandise to the seller prior to ask for your refund. If you did not pay the seller by the > required payment method, your refund request would be declined. > Important Usage Guidelines: > > 1. The contact information should only be used for resolving matters related to eBay. Any other use is strictly prohibited. > 2. This transaction is protected by eBay services such as insurance, feedback and dispute resolution. > 3. You may buy and sell with confidence in all transactions with this eBay member. > 4. If you need to dispute this transaction, keep the transaction number at hand when contacting eBay. Any complaints must be filed within 30 days from the verification date. > This e-mail message was sent to you from eBay SafeHarbor team, with the full support of the SquareTrade center. > The seller was informed about this transaction being started and is > awaiting your payment. It is recommended to send the payment as soon as possible, because your purchase protection is valid for 30 days only.If you encounter any problems with this transaction, please contact us. > When contacting our support team, use the repl y feature so that all previous correspondences are included in your email. Otherwise, we will not be able to process your request. > To ask for a refund, simply reply to this notification and enter in the subject line: > > Refund request for eBay Transaction #280115962546 she’s really laying it on thick here trying to use lots of words to convince me that she’s not ripping me off. of course i know that paypal and western union dont work together and that if i ever sent her money, i’d never see anything in return. i also suspect that the above email is a pretyped form letter that is sent out. this is what i wrote back: > [@](#): > > i ve been told not to use western union for ebay auctions. can we do > this through paypal i wonder how long i can string her along? ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-scam-what-do-you-think/405862/16 "2007-05-29T21:05:33Z")
Again, as was the case in the original contact, this person is using cut-and-paste scam language. See [this post](http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=1000501006&tstart=0&mod=1180202056955) in the eBay forums.