stiffride

I was conned into paying $1645. for a set of wheels on Ebay about two months ago. I'm still hoping to get the upperhand on this. The scam appeared to be a fraudulent seller that was somehow posing as a well-established Ebay seller. The item # was 1873310898.
Now, I have found the same scam being repeated in item number 2401155579, and several others listed by "southern-exchange".
Ebay has been essentially non-responsive, so far.
Don't bid with confidence on these items!

John Miles

eBay usually cancels these auctions where a genuine seller's identity has been hijacked pretty quickly when informed. The folks who do this usually go for high ticket items.

To protect yourself do the following:

For high-value exchanges always start an email exchange with the seller. Check their language, spelling and grammar. A seller in the US with this sort of profile will be able communicate well. Many of these scams are from the third-world and Eastern Europe and the grammar/spelling is a mess. In addition, the fraudsters often know nothing about what they are selling and obviously do not have the goods. Ask detailed technical questions (eg what part/size numbers are stamped on the wheel rims etc.)

In most cases the payment method is a little suspicious (boxes, Western Union, business accounts, overseas accounts etc.) explore this.

Secondly, always ask if you can personally collect and pay cash. You probably don't want to actually do this, but ask as a test and if the seller objects, walk away.

Thirdly, look at the seller's previous auctions and see if the new one is similar (your first seller seems to specialise in $2-$3 items, why of Porsche wheels suddenly?)

Fourthly, ask to speak on the phone with the seller. A reputable seller will give you a number and will chat for such a high-value purchase. Then goto the eBay profile for the seller and check the real seller's details and call the number listed there which will be different as I think the imposter cannot change the profile without loosing all the feedback.

Finally, as a good samaritan and if you are sure the auction if fraudulent, you could get a new eBay id named something like "this is a rip-off" and just make a huge bid on the item. This will alert other bidders and probably eBay.

eBay can be an Alladin's cave for buyers but also a easy earner for crooks.

J

PS in the UK eBay pursued one of my son's fraudsters, involved the Police and he got a letter last month from then informing us that the culprit was doing 9 months in jail.

PPS Would any of the above exposed your seller?

Jeff Curtis

Southern Exchange is a legitamite business. I purchased a set of wheels from them about two years ago.

If their identity was truly "hi-jacked", then that explains why the first item#(1873310898)provided asks only for a "WIRE TRANSFER TO U.S. BANK" while the second example, selling the 996 "Twist" wheels asks for Paypal, M.O., Check, etc.

The BANK WIRE TRANSFERS is how they get you. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Frown]" src="frown.gif" />

Syd B.

I too, was defrauded on an item a few years back, although not near the value of your situation. When I attempted to involve Ebay, I was quite surprised at how disinterested they were in providing any assistance. I followed the buyer insurance process and they make it so cumbersome that its virtually ineffective. One would think that it would be in Ebay's best interest for them to protect the integrity of the bidding process, however, when push comes to shove, its buyer beware. Like my Dad used to say to me when I was a wee fella, "if you have a problem and you expect someone else to solve it for you, then you have two problems".