[tobyg]

Forgive me for posting this here, but I'm just trying to save a potential Apple fan from losing a lot of money.

I've found an auction on eBay which I'm sure is fraudulant. The seller has only sold makeup in the past, but now all of a sudden has good deals on 4 computers. The one I found is posted as an Apple PowerBook G4 1ghz (17 inch model) and 23" Cinema Display for only $1900 (Buy it now, and you have to be pre-approved, which is part of the scam/fraud). I emailed this person asking about the auction, they emailed me back saying I can only be approved to bid after they have received funds. They then sent some email that showed coming from safeharbor@ebay.com, but the headers show it coming from relay2.zappmobile.ro [80.97.176.5].

I want to make sure this auction gets removed so noone, especially an Apple user, is frauded out of $1900. Does anyone have experience with reporting this to eBay? I've tried to report it following their web site. I reported it under "Fraud - Item Misrepresented" but I'd like to know if someone has a faster menthod of reporting obviously fraudulant auctions.

Thanks!

If anyone wants copies of the emails and header information regarding this, let me know. Based on the information I've posted here, you can find the auction yourself on eBay, but I'd rather not post a direct link to it, fearing someone may not read this entire message and attempt to purchase it.

Edit: I just found, in a different message on this board, a link to http://pages.ebay.com/help/basics/select-RS.html and have followed this to report this auction.

[DeKU]

thanks for the heads up. post the link to the auction next time. im sure the more people complain, the faster action will be taken. i've heard of these weird "pre-approved" auctions but im yet to hear of victims to this. misleading e-mail addresses is definitely fraud.

[rjt1000]

Hi,

Yeah, unfortunately this kind of fraud is very prevalent on eBay. And it seems that late model Powerbooks are the main focus.

eBay regularly searches out and closes down these auctions, but alas, they cant do it fast enough to prevent some people from getting screwed.

Its really easy to spot these fraudulent auctions, if you are a sophisticated eBay user. The one you mentioned has most of the usual red flags:

1. A deal too good to be true.
2. Insistence on payment by bank transfer, western union or other methods that leave you no recourse.
3. Hijacked accounts of sellers with lots of positive feedback but who have never sold computer equipment before.
4. Having to pre-register or some other nonsense to get your email address (so they can continue the con-game after eBay pulls the auction)
5. email headers showing isp's in Roumania, Indonesia or some other place that has lax enforcement of fraud laws.
6. stock photos rather than actual photos
7. "Featured plus auctions" (these are ones that the seller pays a lot more for, and are listed at the beginning of the search)

Unfortunately, people are at risk for this kind of scam, because they are looking to get unrealistically good deals.

If you remember nothing else, remember:

IF ITS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, THEN ITS PROBABLY ISNT.

But dont think all eBay auctions are scams. The vast majority of sellers on eBay are honest, and you can get good, reasonable deals.

But before you fork over your hard earned $$'s:

1. Look for the red flags above and avoid auctions like that.
2. Read the sellers feedback critically--see what they usually sell by clicking on the auctions they have run previosly as noted in the feedback list.
3. Insist on getting the sellers phone number, name and address and call them. Check their phone number with one of the reverse look up services to be sure it is legit.
4. check the email headers at http://www.all-nettools.com (Smart who-is). Be sure they are where they say they are.
5. Insist on using escrow services, or Paypal with a CREDIT CARD. Credit card issuers can charge back fraudulent payments.
6. Never give your credit card number directly to the seller, or use wire transfer or western union to pay.

Best wishes,

Rich (Pismo G3 500)

[CheesePuff]

Well, I found an auction I was going to use buy it now on for $1,652... seemed like a great deal but not too unrealisitic to be a fraud. It was for a Dual 1.42 GHz machine. But then I checked his other auctions and he had a Dual 2 GHz G5 with 23" Cinema for $1,999.

Got my hopes up, really wanted that Dual 1.42.

[tobyg]

Originally posted by rjt1000:
Hi,

Yeah, unfortunately this kind of fraud is very prevalent on eBay. And it seems that late model Powerbooks are the main focus.

eBay regularly searches out and closes down these auctions, but alas, they cant do it fast enough to prevent some people from getting screwed.

Its really easy to spot these fraudulent auctions, if you are a sophisticated eBay user. The one you mentioned has most of the usual red flags:

1. A deal too good to be true.
2. Insistence on payment by bank transfer, western union or other methods that leave you no recourse.
3. Hijacked accounts of sellers with lots of positive feedback but who have never sold computer equipment before.
4. Having to pre-register or some other nonsense to get your email address (so they can continue the con-game after eBay pulls the auction)
5. email headers showing isp's in Roumania, Indonesia or some other place that has lax enforcement of fraud laws.
6. stock photos rather than actual photos
7. "Featured plus auctions" (these are ones that the seller pays a lot more for, and are listed at the beginning of the search)

Unfortunately, people are at risk for this kind of scam, because they are looking to get unrealistically good deals.

If you remember nothing else, remember:

IF ITS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, THEN ITS PROBABLY ISNT.

But dont think all eBay auctions are scams. The vast majority of sellers on eBay are honest, and you can get good, reasonable deals.

But before you fork over your hard earned $$'s:

1. Look for the red flags above and avoid auctions like that.
2. Read the sellers feedback critically--see what they usually sell by clicking on the auctions they have run previosly as noted in the feedback list.
3. Insist on getting the sellers phone number, name and address and call them. Check their phone number with one of the reverse look up services to be sure it is legit.
4. check the email headers at http://www.all-nettools.com (Smart who-is). Be sure they are where they say they are.
5. Insist on using escrow services, or Paypal with a CREDIT CARD. Credit card issuers can charge back fraudulent payments.
6. Never give your credit card number directly to the seller, or use wire transfer or western union to pay.

Best wishes,

Rich (Pismo G3 500)

Excellent points. Those are all things I used and noticed to definitely tell it was fraud. Actually the fake email coming from the .ro really tipped it in. The guy never responded to my emails after that, and he was actually rather quick with them just previous to me pointing that out!

As for an update, eBay emailed me today informing me that the user ID was disabled. Here is a link to the persons feedback http://cgi2.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAP...serid=jenvince . All of the auctions for those 4 computer systems that this person had are removed.

Glad this was removed, hopefully nobody lost money. There's really no way to tell if someone had done that wire transfer, since nobody was allowed to bid on the auction.

I will post the information in one of the emails I received from this guy doing this fraud. Perhaps that will help potential people searching this forum from being nabbed by similar scams.

I like the line at the bottom, about thanking me for trusting them! Yeah, right. Oh and he mentioned some email that would come automatically from ebay verifying their legitimate... that was the email that came from that .ro address.

Email is below:

Dear Sir,

The item is new, sealed in the original box and comes with all the factory accessories. It is 100% insured and has two year of US warranty. We are a US company with electronics and hardware stores in United States, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Island, England and Ireland.

Our main store is in New York. Our policy for e-commerce does not allow us to ship you the item directly from our store. We tried this method but not with satisfactory results.
We agreed with eBay (as well with other auction sites like uBid or Yahoo Auctions) to send our high priced items (like notebooks, plasma TV’s etc) to its warehouse and be inspected first. By this method both sides (seller and buyer) are insured by eBay Square Trade. The shipping will be sent to your address from eBay’s warehouse in San Jose, CA, where the items are now, so we will need your full name and address. You will receive it in about three days. If, for any reason, you are not satisfied with your purchase from eBay warehouse, you can return the product within 30 days of receipt.

This is a pre-approved auction, that means that you are not allowed to bid or buy the item until payment is completed.
The payment must be sent on the name of our sales manager:

Mr. Nicholas Casdia
654 W End Ave
New York, NY


As payment we prefer Western Union wire transfer. Advantages of the Western Union Service:

Years of experience in the Money Transfer business
Locations worldwide in more than 186 countries
Transfer fee charged to the sender
Funds available within minutes worldwide
Always local currency (usually cash)
Easy - no bank accounts or lengthy procedures
Reliable - proven track record
Convenient - open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, 364 days of the year
High level of security - authorized users only

eBay will send you a confirmation mail as soon as you ask a question as "Question for Seller" to backup the legitimacy of our auctions.

Thank you for trusting our company.
Btselectronics

[tobyg]

Wow. I just did some searching for different things on eBay again.... and I found MANY auctions that all appear to be scams. Quite a few apple ones! I may investigate these further tomorrow and see if I can get the person to fall into the same trap.

How frustrating!