CAUTION: Another FRAUD on ebay

[SPEEDEAMON]

Here's another FRAUD on ebay of an AC ACE with Buy It Now for $15K.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...&category=6465

The seller in UK asks for bidder preapproval. The car is in Germany. The photo of the car and the back ground looked familiar so I did some snooping and it is a car being sold by Heritage Classics in Los Angeles for $88K.

http://www.heritageclassics.com/ac/56acered/Page.html

The idiot even used their photos.

Shin

[rated x]

AgainandAgain. They steal both pictures and ebay account so that it looks like they have good positive feedback from other ebay buyers. Again be careful of everything on Ebay there is areason why it is on e-bay!

[luke-44]

Can someone explain to me how these guys hijack another persons identity to be able to show their feedback record?

[EarlsflyinCobra]

Not everything on EBAY is a fraud or a bum deal....there are some really "good deals" on there, but you do have to be careful and shop what you want just like around town or in catalogs.

[clayfoushee]

Luke and others,

Within the last 6 months, there was mass wave of e-mails that looked like very authentic communications from ebay....logo and everything. It asked people to click on a link and fill in account info, like username, password, credit info, etc. to verify their accounts. Anyone who did that lost control of their accounts and had critical personal info. compromised.

Obviously, they were fraudulent, because no company will ever ask for that info, particularly passwords. Ebay now routinely sends out e-mails warning people to that, and they also include that info on their site.

This wave of ebay frauds is easily identifiable by the following:

1) Price too low, and
2) 3-day auction, and
3) Bidder must e-mail to be placed on "pre-qualified bidder list."

If you do e-mail, you'll receive a song and dance about a dead relative, the car is overseas somewhere, and once you wire him several $K overseas, he'll arrange to ship the car.

Thus, it's fairly easy to spot these.

[clayfoushee]

P.S. I just reported this one to the ebay fraud unit as well. It usually takes them 24 hrs. or so to take it down.

[skippy]

Give you a clue,

After my experiance with e-bay with small items.

There is no way in the world i will buy a car from that site, call me old fashion.

Skippy.

[LURK]

I bet email from 10,000 or so Club Cobra members could REALLY mess with a "seller's" mind

We could tell him that he's got a beautiful car, his price is too low, and because of this rare opportunity we'll be wiring the full amount immediately (if they would be so nice as to deposit a check from a dead relative of ours in Nigeria...)

-JT

[xlr8or]

Funny thing is they say the car is in Germany but if you look closely at the picture with traffic in the background those license platess look an awful lot like California plates. They certainly aren't German.

[trularin]

I wonder what would happen if you told him you were in Germany and wanted to see the car.

I mean push the issue. If he says it really isn't in Germany, it's in Itay or something, tell him you are going to be in that country and want to see it before you buy it.

This is one of those "what if" thingies you would try.

Just a thought

[clayfoushee]

I don't think anything you said to them would bother them one bit. They're just pro scammers waiting for an innocent fish to bite and send a wire "deposit." If you said you wanted to see the car, you'd simply not hear from them again.

You can't track them down anyway, because they always use different IP addresses to send e-mails to would-be victims. In that sense, they're much like the people who get their kicks unleashing computer viruses and worms on the rest of the world....very difficult to track down. Don't you think ebay's been trying to find them?

The only real defense here is to keep reporting them to ebay everytime they surface, keep shutting down their listings, so that they figure out their scheme is not likely to work.

[DaveSemko]

I've had folks send me email offering to sell me an item like one I'm bidding on... of course for much cheaper.

These folks are crafty! One scam even set up a couple fake escrow companies - - the sites were well done - and completely bogus. Moral of the story - - Buyer beware!

Just today a friend was here to visit me, he thought he sold his BMW on another site - - the guy was supposed to wire funds to his account (he set up a brand new account just for the wire - then planned to close it after the deal). Anyway the bank called him to tell him that he had funds in the account - but the payment had come via certified check via overnite mail. The check was bogus... Needless to say the bank security is on the tail of the person that sent the check, and the FBI is doing the homework as well.

By the way - the FBI has a website where you can report suspected scams. The investigate the situation within hours of receiving your email, and actually send you a response as to their findings (not automatic replies - but email from a real person).

Sad.+

[werthie]

I'm still a big eBay fan . . . almost 500 transactions with no problem. I put together a 32 Ford 5-window with parts purchased on eBay . . . .including a '61 Rochester Fuel Injection unit out of Savannah Georgia! It's also great for buying the wife name brand (expensive) watches. On any big purchase, simply ask for a phone number and speak to the seller directly to verify condition, authenticity, etc. A little common sense, and you won't be a fraud victim . . . . Indeed, if the entire world operated with the courtesy, consideration and honesty I've experienced on eBay, we'd be in a MUCH better place.
Best,
Alan

[clayfoushee]

You're right Alan, ebay can be a good thing, and you can get good deals. And your advice is very good, speak to the seller directly when it's a big-ticket item. In this case, you'll never be able to do that, and that's a dead-giveaway.

But, it's fairly obvious when something on ebay is fraudulent. I'm surprised ebay allows this so-called "pre-qualified bidders list." That's the way these overseas scams always seem to operate.

Ebay will also tell you to report anyone who asks for "direct wire transfer," especially overseas. That's always what this scammer(s) asks for. Once you arranged for a wire transfer, your money is always officially gone with no recourse, and they specifically tell you they do not recommend those types of transactions.

[clayfoushee]

Removed by ebay.

[BLACKJACK]

THANKS, GUYS - - -

FOLKS LIKE YOU WHO POST OPINIONS AND EXPERIENCES ARE VERY LIKELY TO SAVE PEOPLE (DUMMIES) LIKE ME A LOT OF MONEY.

CLAY - THANKS PARTICULARY FOR THE SPECIFICS. THEY ARE A NICE GUIDE TO HAVE IN MIND.

THANKS AGAIN - - AND - - Y'ALL HAVE A REALLY GREAT DAY.

BLACKJACK