eBay buyer/seller protection - Is this a scam?

  • avatar

    by: rexy5
    SaleHoo Junior Member
    17 posts

    eBay buyer/seller protection - Is this a scam?

    Posted 14 Jan 12 5:07 am.

    I found a listing for brand new apple iphones 4 on ebay for a very cheap bulk lot price. I made contact on a personal email as requested and then the seller took the listing off ebay due to buyer enquiry (so he said). I said I wanted to go ahead, so he said we would proceed under ebay buyer/seller protection, and I would receive an invoice from ebay.

    I did receive the invoice to my personal email- it said it was from ebay - and I am to send the money via western credit to a third party, who seems to be an individual person.

    Does ebay do this? Wouldn't everything be through the website? It would be easy to bodgy up an invoice to appear to come from ebay.

    The price asked was very cheap, and if something seems too good to be true, then it usually is.

    Does anyone have any thoughts?? If this is genuine, then the profit would be handy, but if this is a scam, then I can't afford to lose $5500USD at the moment.
  • avatar

    by: fudjj
    SaleHoo Staff
    2969 posts

    Re: eBay buyer/seller protection - Is this a scam?

    Posted 14 Jan 12 5:54 am.

    You just saved yourself a bunch of lost cash rexy5!

    What you have come across is a hacked account. These will always direct you to email the seller directly, not through the eBay system (usually because of some technical issue). This of course then gives them one on one with you to complete the sting.

    The truth is, the real owner of that account most likely has no clue what is going on whatsoever!

    Your instincts are very good, if it's too good to be true, then it probably isn't!

    Of course the other big give away is the payment method. I would strongly suggest never, absolutely never send money via wire transfer without knowing the seller personally or trusting them 100%, because once that money is sent, you have ZERO chance of getting it back once it is claimed at the other end.

    100% scam, walk away and report the account to eBay so they can get the owner to change the login details!

    Marc Ransom

    Community Manager
    SaleHoo.com

    About the Community Manager

  • avatar

    by: rexy5
    SaleHoo Junior Member
    17 posts

    Re: eBay buyer/seller protection - Is this a scam?

    Posted 14 Jan 12 7:50 am.

    Thanks Marc. I knew that really. Just that lure of the quick cash makes you think twice!! We are weak, that is how the scammers win.

    I can't report it to ebay, because he took the listing off, I can't remember who the seller was.
  • avatar

    by: fudjj
    SaleHoo Staff
    2969 posts

    Re: eBay buyer/seller protection - Is this a scam?

    Posted 15 Jan 12 9:34 pm.

    100% correct, it's the lure of scoring the great deal that gets a lot of people into trouble with scams, and that's exactly what the scammers play on. Your instinct was spot on and you saved yourself a bunch a cash, hopefully this thread may well save some others as well from falling prey to a hacked eBay account..... fingers crossed!

    I'll Just run through the warning signs of a hacked account for others.

    1. The deal simply being too good to be true
    2. The member requesting direct email connect, not through the eBay
    system
    3. Closing the transaction off eBay.

    Always use the eBay message system and always close the transaction through eBay if you are not 100% confident in who you are buying from. If you insist on closing the transaction off eBay, then ensure you get the sellers PayPal id to make the payment and go to PayPal to make that payment.

    Never use Western Union or use an invoice that they have mailed to you with any links, whether it has PayPal written all over it or not!

    It's a great warning, scammers are everywhere, even eBay!

    Marc Ransom

    Community Manager
    SaleHoo.com

    About the Community Manager

  • avatar

    by: ikki
    New SaleHoo Member
    7 posts

    Re: eBay buyer/seller protection - Is this a scam?

    Posted 10 May 12 11:13 pm.

    I would like to add that there is a similar scam where the scammer sends you an email which purports to be a Paypal payment notiification but is in fact a fake page. Defo look out for that as well.

    Check out my site for some cool tips on setting up your own link hidden