While the vast majority of auction transactions are conducted by legitimate traders there
are Fraudsters at work. Below are some things to be on the lookout for
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- New Users
- With a new user, (low single digit feedback with or without shades), there
is no history of successful transactions so caution is necessary.
- False Feedback Profile
- It is always worth looking at feedback profiles
looking for
- lots of feedback from low feedback / new users
- feedback from other users who are show as not registered
- Feedback which was given only a short while after the Auction transaction closed
- look at the actual items, do they look genuine
.
- Knowledgeable Newbies
- Most new users
- Know little or no HTML so will have plain text item descriptions
- Will accept payment by Cash, cheque and maybe Postal Orders, they are unlikely to have heard of
any other payment methods and even more unlikely to only accept one of them
- will have basic, simple or non existent terms and conditions of sale
All of the above tend to be gained only over time when using auctions. If in doubt think back
to when you were a new user.
- Expensive Items
- With expensive (big ticket) items look for sellers who will accept Escrow
services or Cash on Delivery/Collection, if the seller is unwilling to accept these ask yourself
why. (An Escrow service acts as a middle man between the buyer & Seller
more info)
- Broken in the Post
- If a buyer claims the item you sent him
was damaged in transit ask for proof before sending replacement, making claims from the carrier etc.
It can pay to mark items prior to shipping with a UV pen so you can check it is your item which is
returned.
- Private Feedback
- A feedback profile can be set to private so you cannot see
the numbers and comments, one of the reasons why this might have been done is to hide a negative
feedback rating.
- Ask Questions
- If in doubt, ask the seller. Do not bid unless you get a satisfactory
answer. Do not be afraid of losing the item if bidding is about to end and you have not had an
answer.
- Shill Bidding
- (Non Genuine Bidder)
If you suspect another bidder on an auction is bidding strangely (to deliberately inflate the price),
do an advanced search by bidder, include completed items and look to see who's auctions the suspect has been
bidding on. Also look to see if the bidder is winning or has won any auctions.
- Multiple Identical Auctions
- Be suspicious of multiple similar / identical items either
currently on sale or ended. The same item might be being offered over and over again.
- Change of Selling Pattern
- Look at the items the member has been selling, are
they all in the same price bracket / area, has the seller been building up feedback selling low price
items prior to switching to high value items?
- Misleading items
- Look closely at the item descriptions. It is not unheard of to find
auctions for empty boxes, i.e. "Wizzo Phone Box & Charger".
- Occasional Fraud
-
I have seen a seller with a very respectable feedback who was selling an item with a misleading description,
much like the one above, one extra clue with the item in question was that the seller usually gave
a long description of the item he was selling with all the features etc, with the misleading item the
description was little more then a statement saying "I am offering a Wizzo Phone Box & Charger, payment by
Cash, Cheque or Postal Order".
- Professional pictures
- Pictures of items which are taken from Catalogues or the
Manufacturers web site while making it clearer what is being sold do not prove that the seller
actually has the item available to sell.
- Make a Second Chance Offer
-
eBay has a selling option called the Second Chance Offer which allows the seller to offer the item to a
losing bidder at their offer price,
there is no obligation
to accept but if you do you are covered by eBay's fraud protection cover,
the initial e-mail making the offer
will be from eBay.
You need to ensure the item offered is actually listed on eBay as some spoof emails claim to be second chance offers.
If you are contacted by the seller making a direct offer it will not be covered by eBay if
anything goes wrong.
- Too good to be true
- Hard to obtain, latest must have, item at a
bargain price are an area which attracts the fraudster, beware.
- Not A Registered User
-
If someone you are trading with becomes 'not a registered user' stop the transaction
immediately and only proceed with extreme caution.
The user might have asked to leave eBay or it is more likely that eBay have suspended the
user due to fraud or fee avoidance.
eBay will not tell you the reason due to the Data Protection Regulations.
- Contact Details
- If you are in doubt about a trading partner you can get a copy of
their registered Contact Details
and check them out, you can check the electoral register at
192.com.
If you find that the contact details and or e-mail address are incorrect report the problem.
- Bouncing Cheques
- Be wary of shipping goods before cheques have had a chance
to clear. As a seller it is up to you to decide your own level of risk with cheques.
- Don't be rushed
- As a seller be careful of buyers who want the winnings quickly,
do not compromise any normal precautions you take in an effort to please them.
- Paying with cash
- If you pay for something using cash you are not protected by
eBay's fraud protection.
- Western Union
- The person receiving funds via Western Union can be anywhere in the
world and only has to know you are sending them some money and be able to prove his ID to withdraw
the payment.
- ID Stealing
- A common problem with a number of online services which require a
user id & password is users being sent e-mails asking them to confirm their details or re-enter them,
once the sender of the e-mail has your details they can use your ID. On eBay they might
start selling things using your ID. If they get access to PayPal, NoChex or similar then they can draw
money from your Bank or Credit Card. Never tell anyone your user id and or password
-
Private Offers
- While not strictly fraud, sellers are occasionally contacted and asked
if they want to cancel the auction and sell for a fixed price.
The buyer might realise they can resell the item at a huge profit and want to stop the sale before
their competition also spots the item. This could also be seen as fee avoidance by eBay.
In all cases I would advice the
seller to tell the person making the offer to join in the normal bidding process.
- Auction Description / Picture
- It is worth printing a copy of the Auction Description
Page on the day the auction ends, including any pictures,
this is especially important if the image is not being hosted by eBay /
ipix as the image can be removed at any time. The description &
any pictures are of vital importance if you suspect the item you have
been sent is not the one that was offered.
- Auction Stealing
- When you receive the e-mail from the seller in an auction
check that their e-mail address matches the address on the eBay winner notification
e-mail. If it does not match contact the seller using the e-mail address on the winner notification
and query the different e-mail address. (You are more likely to be targeted by this if you use your
e-mail address as your eBay user id).
- VAT Registration
- It is ok to charge VAT on eBay sales, provided it is stated in
the auction description and the seller is VAT registered. A invoice giving the VAT number should
be included with the goods. But if in doubt ask the seller for the VAT number and check it on the
HM Customs & Excise web site prior to bidding.
- Indonesia / Romania
- While it seems unfair to tarnish whole countries,
Indonesia, Romania & some other ex-Soviet Republics appear to be a hot bed of Credit Card fraud, so be very wary of Indonesian transactions
by Credit Card, either directly or via PayPal, etc.
- Fake Web Sites
- Fraudsters are aware of the benefits of
Escrow in transactions and
there are frequent attempts to trick people by setting up fake Escrow sites.
A good source of information on fraudulent Escrow sites is the
eBay Escrow Discussion Board
if you cannot see the Escrow site you are checking out post a new
message about it.
You should also be aware of fake shipping companies. If in doubt about any web site ask on the
Discussion Boards
- Electronic Payments
- Many fraudsters will only accept electronic payment methods.
When they do this they do not need to give any contact details and can even gain a degree of
anonymity from their chosen service due to data protection regulations which stop the service giving
out the members contact details.
If a seller is only offering Electronic Fund Transfer, NoChex, PayPal, Payhound etc as a
method of payment it is worth asking if they will take a cheque instead and asking for their address
to send the cheque to (it is worth adding that you have no objection to waiting while the cheque
clears). If an address is provided this can be checked out at
192.com, directory enquiries and
compared to their registered details.
If you do get defrauded via an electronic payment system
you might be protected by
your credit card company or bank,
but the level of protection can vary from company to company.
As a seller PayPal & Billpoint offer little, or no, protection if they are used by a fraudster to pay for goods.
- Import Duties
- Be aware of overseas sellers offering items with
no import duty or VAT to pay. These claims are usually false and regardless of how they might label
the parcel Customs & Excise
conduct spot checks on incoming packets and will not hesitate to charge you import duty where it is due,
which will also be accompanied by an extra charge from the courier company for collecting the import taxes.
- Forged Postal/Money Orders
- We have had reports of bank staff being warned to look out
for forged Postal & Money Orders. Apparently there are cases of people paying in Postal/Money orders into
thier accounts only to have the bank take the money back a few days later when they realise it is a forgery.
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