EBay user warning

[dharmon]

I just wanted to pass on a little incident that happened to me this weekend. I was the winning bidder on an item this weekend and used Paypal to pay for the item. Shortly after I paid, I received an email from "Ebay" complete with Ebay addresses and formatting..it looked very realistic, saying that there had been a problem and they needed to verify my ID. The email had fields for name, address, user name, password and variety of personal data. I was a little concerned so I forwarded the complete email to [e-mail] per Ebay's instructions on suspicious activity. Sure enough, it had not been sent by Ebay and was some sort of scam.

Just thought I'd pass along this little warning. Ebay's response to me said they will never ask you for personal data or your password in an email. If you do get something like this nd it looks suspicious, don't fill it out and forward it to them for action.

[Anonymous]

There is also a fake Paypal email going around stating that a 3rd party has accesed your account and paypal needs you to login to verify you are the user.

[Anonymous]

I've heard of various versions of this scam - known as "phishing". Bear in mind that no reputable organisation will ever ask for your passwords in an email and you should be ok - if unsure, email back asking why they want the details - many of these will have fake or non-existent return addresses. Basically, never give out your details to anyone who sends you unsolicited emails. Banks have been targeted as well as the companies mentioned before, sadly many people fall for it. I do wonder why - after all, if a stranger approached you in a bar, claimed to be from your bank, and asked for your account details, would you tell them? I think not, and what's the difference between that and a unsolicited email?

[Anonymous]

I had something similar happen to me purporting to be a Canadian bank. I was offered a Visa and Master Card for a fee. The person who called was either Indian or Pakistanii. Anyway he gave me the big build up and said the fee would be $75 for both cards and that a fellow worker would call to get details of my checking account so they could collect the fee. Sure enough a second person of the same race called and said I had agreed to the fee and to give him my checking account details. I told him before I did that, to send me his bank's paperwork on the offer. Needless to say, I never heard from them again.

[krump]

I have chosen to only make Ebay purchases when I can pay via personal cheque... the above discussions are even more convincing.
Some sellers may not accept a cheque, and that is fine, but I won't buy from them. Some sellers will ultimately accept a cheque (if you ask nicely) even if if is not a stated payment option...

the Nigerian phone scam of the past several years is another example of the "verification" process - a seemingly, toll free number that when called, locks on long distance billing for an hr or longer, charging an incredible amount of money (hundreds per minute).

as far as Ebay.ca (Cdn) goes, we've had no trouble after some 30 purchases. as always buyer BEWARE.

[Big_Boy_4005]

I recently had a different eBay related scam try to catch me. It was a very official looking email saying that my account had been suspended because someone was trying to access it from a location that was not my usual location. I got suspicious when it asked me for all of my personal info, stopped and reported it. I tried accessing my account and there was no problem. It was close, but my brain was working that time.

[Anonymous]

This shows that we must be viligant against Phishing and other scams. That is precisely why I never want to buy anything via internet. However, it will not be difficult to set up with my Bank a very small "Secured" credit card of say $300- for internet use. Once that card is used up it is shredded, account cleaned out and closed at the Bank's office.

It is unfortunate that people seek to take advantage of others by way of "Social Enginerring" and strict use of such confidential information as well as careful monitoring and tracking of such purchases and avoidiance of direct access by others to the account (Bank) is best defense.

One thing I want to cation people is to watch the use of the credit card at a restraunt, Mall or someplace for a purchase... Make SURE they do not swipe it twice. One can go to Office Depot and buy a credit card reader for 60 bucks, wire it to a laptop and sit it next to a cash register... use that then swipe it into the "Real" card reader to fini***he purchase.

Nothing beats a willing LHS and cold hard cash. If he or she cannot get it then Ill wait for Train Shows. If I cannot get the item then Ill take the time to search out a suitable subistute.

Best of luck everyone!

Lee

[Anonymous]

I'm always careful with stuff like that.

[AggroJones]

Thats why I don't use Ebay. No buying, no selling. I don't trust these people.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by AggroJones

Thats why I don't use Ebay. No buying, no selling. I don't trust these people.

"These people" have nothing whatsoever to do with eBay. They are outside scammers trying to steal your money, just like all of the others with their schemes.

eBay is you and me, and fellow modelers who buy and sell items. There are fraud artists out there of course, but with a little bit of caution and information, buying and selling on eBay can be quite rewarding. I'm mostly a seller of my accumulated hobby stuff, and haven't lost anything yet, and have a feedback rating of 301.

BB in Canada

[CP5415]

If I can't touch it before buying it, I won't get it then.
I know that for the most part that ebay has been fairly decent, you still will get the occasionally shady character that'll spoil it for everyone.

Gordon

[vsmith]

I NEVER use paypal, to many bad stories about botched payments, incorrect amounts, payments to the right person for the wrong item, payments dissapearing into e-space, etc,etc.

Thats what Money Orders and Cashiers Checks were made for...If a seller will only take paypal, I find that real fishy and wont do business with them.

[AggroJones]

QUOTE: Originally posted by FundyNorthern

QUOTE: Originally posted by AggroJones

Thats why I don't use Ebay. No buying, no selling. I don't trust these people.

"These people" have nothing whatsoever to do with eBay. They are outside scammers trying to steal your money, just like all of the others with their schemes.

eBay is you and me, and fellow modelers who buy and sell items. There are fraud artists out there of course, but with a little bit of caution and information, buying and selling on eBay can be quite rewarding. I'm mostly a seller of my accumulated hobby stuff, and haven't lost anything yet, and have a feedback rating of 301.

BB in Canada

I mean I don't use Ebay because the possible scammers and tricksters who may get ya.

[Anonymous]

Well Dan, I really Appreciate you letting me know

I would have fallen for it, i'm telling you right now.

[Anonymous]

Another e-bay scam that i found in the last weekend. Not really that obscure, but the upping of shipping costs. I won an auction for 24' of cork N-scale roadbed, the winning price was $5 and change. The seller wants $4.80 for the shipping. That seems absurdly high. Does it not?

[Anonymous]

A lot of sellers inflate the price of shipping a little as a way to squeeze a few extra bucks out of the auction.

[Fergmiester]

QUOTE: Originally posted by doccm9

Another e-bay scam that i found in the last weekend. Not really that obscure, but the upping of shipping costs. I won an auction for 24' of cork N-scale roadbed, the winning price was $5 and change. The seller wants $4.80 for the shipping. That seems absurdly high. Does it not?

If you compare that with handling and shipping charged by some of the distributers and retailers in MR it's typical. next time you look at the advertisements for MR equipment just check the S&H prices. Shocking just Shocking[:0]

[Anonymous]

This also happened to me this past weekend. They told me that my membership was about to be cancelled because I had not verified it. After "logging in" it took me to what looked like the ebay site asking for credit card, bank info and social security number. I contacted ebay, and they sent me a reply very similar to dharmon's. Luckily, I didnt fall for it......However, I realized they had my ebay password, so I changed that immediately. Ebay is not a bad thing, you just have to be careful with who you deal with, and if you order anything from Amazon, or any other online business, you have the same risks associated with using ebay or paypal. Just be cautious and careful. Ive never had a bad experience yet.

Dave

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by krump

I have chosen to only make Ebay purchases when I can pay via personal cheque... the above discussions are even more convincing.
Some sellers may not accept a cheque, and that is fine, but I won't buy from them. Some sellers will ultimately accept a cheque (if you ask nicely) even if if is not a stated payment option...

the Nigerian phone scam of the past several years is another example of the "verification" process - a seemingly, toll free number that when called, locks on long distance billing for an hr or longer, charging an incredible amount of money (hundreds per minute).

as far as Ebay.ca (Cdn) goes, we've had no trouble after some 30 purchases. as always buyer BEWARE.

Just an FYI... A personal check is one of the easiest ways to get scammed. If a person is holding your check, they have your routing info, name, address, and checking account number. These items are all that are needed to order electronic transfers from your bank without much other verification info needed. Pick up your checkbook and look at the info. Imagine calling a "check by phone" to your power company. Thousands of places allow this type of activity. Someone could buy goods, or recieve cash from many of these places that will take a "check by phone." Heck, some people even have their phone number or social security number printed on their checks. With all of this, you are basically holding a persons financial life in your hands with their check. (These are the reasons that there are few insurances / gaurantees / limits for a checking account, but there are for debit cards and credit cards.)

Some dangerous scammers are the check kiters. People who Kite checks often order a book of their own with your account info... most banks will give them a "credit" of $100.00 to $250.00 for starting an account with a deposited check PRIOR to the check going back to your bank for rejection. They immediately withdraw all but $50.00 and skip town. Because it is often less than $250.00 it is not followed up on as diligently by law enforcement until they can make a connection of multiple transactions.

(Just a quick thought, I use Paypal for these precise reasons as a seller and a buyer. If another ebay user also uses PayPal, they are only forwarded your specific amount of money assigned with the auction information, not your personal or financial information. Anything else short of a money order gives them access to YOU. If you look carefully, some of the Ebay people are PayPall VERIFIED... This means that their addresses and accounts have all been tracked and verified for security. They are less likely to be part of a rip off or scam.)

Not preaching... just wanting some of those not in the day to day financial stuff to be aware. I own a business and handle a significant amount of transactions through our bank. We are constantly being updated about situations like this that are occuring here locally, so that we don't "accept" bad checks, or get our information stolen.

[Anonymous]

Shipping costs. $3.85 up to the first pound. Delivery confirmation is $.55. Etc Etc. Just visit your post office and ask to see the shipping rates. Or go to USPS.gov. Everything you need is there for info.

My S&H vary on EBay because of weight considerations when I sell. When I buy I add the S&H in with the bid and consider it a part of the purchase price. Do this and don't go over and you will be safe. Remember if you don't get it the first time because of price, invariably a like item will come up that you can buy based on what you think is a fair price.

Scams are in every part of life. Just get to know them and you will be OK. Use common sense - helps alot. And as many of the above posts pointed out, ask questions.

This is a good thread to jump start peoples thinking have they not thought of these things. Will probably save some people a bit of grief maybe.

By the way, I use EBay, Paypal, wire bank transfers, and the like. Never had a problem. Why? I took the time to learn about it . A legitimate outfit will answer your questions without hesitation. They are in the business and no business can afford to alienate their customers.

[StillGrande]

The $4.80 sounds close to correct.

You do have to check the shipping charges listed, as that is where people try to jack up the price. Also, be wary of people who say they will charge actual shipping costs and won't respond to a question about how much that will be. Those are the guys who really try to gouge. You can get an idea of the cost from USPS.com.

I don't understand people who won't use Ebay because something might go wrong. Do they walk everywhere because they might have a car accident? Ebay and Paypal (now one and the same) have so many layers of protection for the buyer (including getting your money back) that you almost have to go out of your way to get ripped off. Look at the ratings, ask questions, and don't bid if you don't like the answers. Know what you are looking for and what it costs elsewhere. The Walthers Catalog is worth its weight in gold to let you know what it really costs.