recent eBay scams... beware

[hawkeye]

In 3 recent bids for TM Burner on eBay i've been subjected to phishing scams.

It's happened to a friend also - so watch out! I made bids up to $95 for each club, they would have sold for $170+ and a couple of days after the auction (today) I received ebay-like emails asking me if i was interested in making another bid on the club. I replied $100 (didn't really want it) and next thing I know i receive a "congratulations - you've won the item" email! Some of the email traffic:

Hi, You have the opportunity to purchase this item ..with US $100.00 The deal will go strictly according to eBay's rules and policy regarding to this offer to start the official transaction .I need to know your details. - Full name and address... as soon as I have them I'll start the official procedure, and eBay will notify you about this. You'll also receive important guidelines + instructions from them (please go through them exactly). I'll handle the shipping, so this will be free of charge for you + I am willing to deduct you with the fee for handling the payment procedure.Also, a refund policy will be included. Looking forward to hear from you . Regards...

Then after stating I would only pay via Paypal and not Western Union as the email stated (the item description said Paypal accepted):

i really like to use PAYPAL but I`m here in Romania with bussines for UNICEF and here paypal is not available. If you want to see please check the website and you can see that please! www.paypal.com Thank you and i wait your answer soon

So I decided there and then I wasn't going to pay - and told him so. The reply:

Pay through western union

I said I wish to pay via Paypal and i get this reply:

I have explained you why i can`t use pay pal...I` m in Romania and i can`t use it from here...so you must pay through western union. I hope you will understand me and you will do the payment! Thanks!

I forwarded the email to

spoof@ebay.com and they replied within 5 minutes to tell me it was a scam. A second incident then....

I'm the owner of the item that you've recently bided on eBay through the eBay system, Item number: I am in a bussines trip for 3 weeks and i want to close the auction earlier because i don't have time for it so please let me know your best price. I'll provide you 5 days money back guarantee, no questions asked. That means within 5 working days you decide if you don 't want to keep the item. The deal will go strictly according to ebay's rules and policy regarding to this buy it now offer- to start the official transaction, i need to know: Your best price: ebay user id: First name: Last name: Address: City/State: Country: Zip: As soon as i have them i'll start the official procedure, and ebay will notify you about this. You'll also receive important guidelines + instructions from them (please go through them exactly). I'll handle and pay for the shipping, so this will be free of charge for you. Waiting for your answer ASAP! Thank you

This was also confirmed to be a scam. Note the way this person is also mis-spelling business (bussines). It's a different item and different seller! My 3rd item is being investigated... I will just say - watch out for this - if in doubt, check up on ebay for details of scammers. couple of things to make sure of: Dear user (as opposed to dear ebay member) A duplicate email in your ebay account I don't believe this has anything to do with the sellers (all reputable).

[Big_M]

thanks for posting all this info... It really makes you hate these bastards trying to screw everyone. I would love to have one of these con-artists in the same room with me for five minutes.

at least these scams are easier to spot than fake clubs though... I have only bought two clubs from e-bay, both for my wife, and thankfully I dealt with good sellers each time.

it's too bad a few bad apples ruin things for everyone else.

[Shindig]

This is generally known as sock puppet auctioning : the bidder bidding against you was likely an alternate ID of the seller. He likely "won" the item and then, since he has a list of everyone who bid on it, sent them an email asking for them to buy it at some other price. He was probably hoping you'd over-bid based on competing with someone for the item.

It is a good rule of wrist to *never* deal with an eBay seller you don't know off of eBay. You're subject to being scammed. I'm glad you weren't hurt by this.

I'm glad you picked up on give-aways such as the mis-spelling of words like 'business' and the desire to be paid by Western Union instead of PayPal.

[hawkeye]

the 3rd one has just been confirmed as a scam too.

and now i have a 4th one... (this was sent to my email address....)

Hi MY USER NAME ,I am the seller of the NEW TaylorMade 2007 Burner 460 9.5* Driver Stiff - item # XXXXXXXXXXXXX, and I've just been contacted by the eBay staff who informed me that the winner of this item got rejected due to security reasons (either failed to follow through on the purchase commitment or outright refused to do so). Your last auctioned bid of US $75.00 prior to being outbided is taken into consideration as eBay policy automatically proclaims you to be the winner by default. Nevertheless,I need your agreement on this so I may contact eBay to confirm your winning position otherwise I'll relist the item. If you're interested please confirm by forwarding this message to e-mail and include your name, address and ebay ID. Thank you

[choran]

I purchase most of my clubs on eBay and luckily have never come upon a situation such as this...my rule of thumb is to ALWAYS pay with Paypal and buy from a legit seller (rockbottomgolf, globalgolf, globalgolfexchange, 3ballsgolf are all legit sellers and ones whom ive had a good purchasing experience with).

[mancest]

Have had this happen in the last 2 weeks, I lost on an auction for some prov1s and for a scotty putter. Got 2nd chance offers away from ebay, with same story of sick relative overseas and the item is with a shipping company he regularly uses.

couple things to spot on this, check your ebay account, if you have not received a message actually through ebay, then it is not legit. The email was also some random email, that was nothing close to the sellers email. I changed my password on my ebay account because I was afraid somebody might have hacked that. Not a bad idea to do regularly, I have done it since somebody listed a ferrari under my account.

There are a lot of big sellers on there, be wary of the little guy that has very little feedback. I am selling some of my used clubs, and list them as such. if somebody is smaller and selling in this way, they should have positive feedback for items they have bought as well.

[cpht]

I've found a few guidelines for buyers to follow to protect themselves from these scams.

1. Never give out your personal information - Ebay and paypal have this on file and supply the seller with it at the end of the auction. As a seller, it is my job to confirm that the information given to me by ebay is up to date. I'll tell my buyers the information ebay has given me and just ask them to confirm it.

2. Ignore all contact from ebay members that doesn't show up on your MY EBAY MESSAGES page. Fake second-chance offers and offers like those listed above from people acting as the seller do not show up in your MY EBAY MESSAGES page, unless the seller's account has been compromised.

3. NEVER WIRE TRANSFER MONEY TO ANYONE. There is no protection for you using this type of payment.

4. Ask sellers questions before you bid. This will let you know what kind of customer service to expect if you have a problem later on. If they won't answer questions now, will they later?

5. Read feedback, don't just look at the numbers. Many sellers/buyers threaten to leave negative feedback if the other party does. You'll see where negative feedback was "mutually withdrawn" for no apparent reason. That's a clue that there is a problem. Also, read feedback left BY the person you're dealing with. This will give you a clue as to their professionalism and business practices.

6. Look for pictures of the actual item you're bidding on. STOCK PHOTOS are generic photos of a similar item. If you're at all concerned about the condition of the item, actual photos are what to look for.

7. Beware of sellers who have very little or no feedback. This is someone who has just created an ebay account to sell something. Often, it can be a seller who's account was closed due to violating ebay policy and he just created a new one with a different email address.

8. AS FOR COUNTERFEIT CLUBS - My best advice is to avoid buying NEW clubs on ebay altogether. I know the prices are great, but there have been way too many counterfeits to trust anyone. Callaway says on its website that AUTHORIZED DEALERS ARE NOT PERMITTED TO SELL ON AUCTION WEBSITES. That means that you're either dealing with a corrupt authorized dealer, or someone who has "acquired" what looks like Callaway clubs. There may be the occaisonal raffle winner selling the set he won, but far too often they turn out to be counterfeits. Compare the posted pictures with pictures on the manufacturer's website. Ask the seller for serial numbers.

9. Pay with a credit card through Paypal. At the very least, your credit card company should support you if you don't receive what you paid for, or if you receive something that was misadvertised.

10. As a general rule - If no one else is bidding and the price is just too good to be true, there is probably a reason. Look for anything suspicious in the auction before you bid. Odds are that you're probably not as lucky as you thought you were.

I apologize for making this so long, I'm just sick of seeing good people get screwed. In my experience, 95% of the people I've met through ebay have been good, honest people just trying to save some $$.

These are just my opionions and in no way guarantee that you'll be protected.