posted on March 12, 2005 11:34:39 AM
I had someone contact me yesterday about an expense set I currently have listed. He said he had a "client" interested in my item etc etc etc. I wasn't really sure what he was saying or offering and wrote him back and said so.
To day I got this - does this mean the guy is a crook?? Is he trying to steal my ID or something even worse??
I used xxx's instead of his id but it was the correct id.
"Our records indicate that you recently interacted with XXXXXXX through the eBay email system.
Sometimes eBay accounts are used to send email solicitations for transactions outside of eBay, or to send unrelated questions in an attempt to discover your email address. We wanted you to be aware of the potential fraud risk these solicitations pose and encourage you to ignore the email you received from this member. Sales that take place outside of eBay are not eligible for any eBay or PayPal protective services and you run the risk of losing your money or your item if you complete these transactions.
We would encourage you to review the eBay pages related to Fraud Protection at the address provided below for information on steps you can take to ensure that future transactions are completed successfully:
If you have already sent the item or sent payment for the item, please reply to this email and we will send you additional information about how to protect yourself.
Regards,
Customer Support (Trust and Safety Department)"
posted on March 12, 2005 12:12:34 PM
Yeah I got one of those this morning, too. Appears to be a legitimate eBay e-mail, only thing is, they are absolutely wrong about the interaction. Like yours, mine was a bona-fide auction successfully completed with the user ID mentioned in their e-mail to me. I fired off a P-O'd response to them, received another form e-mail that they will get back to me in 2-3 days.
JUST IN CASE though, I am changing my eBay password today, good to do that every once in awhile anyway.
Probably just another eBay goof-up. Wonder how many thousands of these e-mails went out automatically and unnecessarily?
posted on March 12, 2005 02:51:06 PM
My auction has not ended. What concerns me is the guy just registered yesterday - has bid on nothing so far. He wants to send me a cashier's check asap for the item but he has not bid.
If this was $20 or $30 dollars - no big deal but this is a $800 item that will cost about $400 to ship. And now this email has me thinking he's going to rob my bank account and steal my first born or something like that???
posted on March 12, 2005 07:26:37 PM
I did receive a reply from eBay. Apparently they sent the e-mail out, not because of anything specific, but because they "wanted to make users aware of the dangers of trading outside of eBay", another load of you know what from them.
posted on March 12, 2005 07:47:42 PM
Lady...It's easy enough to take that $1200.00 cashier's check to the bank and verify that it's not forged, stolen or counterfeit. After you get the money in your hot little hands, ship the item and do the happy dance.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on March 12, 2005 07:48:27 PM
Now that just wrong!!!!
How can they justify sending something like this email on a active auction when anyone has the right to ask a question about that auction?
Are they reading the emails? It did sound as if he was trying to get me to sell it to him outright but I did not accept!! I didn't tell him to kiss off either. Could this be why I got this? It really doesn't sound that way to me. Sounds more like they think he is crook?
posted on March 12, 2005 08:04:24 PM
Sparkz, my bank would treat a cashier's check just like a personal check. They will be happy to cover it with funds in my account and then if it turns out out be fake, they deduct the funds from My account!
My warning to the OP would be to make sure their bank had cleared the cashier's check before they ship.
I don't worry about checks from buyers with good FB history, but I am more careful with newbies.
posted on March 12, 2005 08:15:32 PM
ltray...You are absolutely correct. That's the proceedure for most any bank. Lady could always call the issuing bank herself and verify the authenticity of the check. My major concern would be that the buyer printed the thing himself with a color printer. I was thinking that if her bank handled the verification task themselves, they would be more thorough in their inquiry, and would likely get faster service as a "professional courtesy". Besides, she would be sticking her bank for the cost of the long distance call
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
[ edited by sparkz on Mar 12, 2005 08:16 PM ]
posted on March 13, 2005 05:27:45 AM
I would not sell it outside of ebay (especially now) but I would offer to put a buy it now on the item for him before it gets a bid. Now I wonder if I should block him altogether??
He never really said he would buy it for xx amount either - just that his "client" had authorized him to purchase for them?
If I end up doing business with him - I'll take the cc to Western Union and cash it. I've done this before as my bank is no good at letting me know when funds are free & clear. With Western Union they call the person and verify that he wrote you the cc and then cash it - for a small fee which is less than paypal.
posted on March 13, 2005 07:42:08 AM
New development - the person in question is no longer a registered user.
Looks like he really was a crook or something.
Here's the scam - he wanted to pay me for the item plus shipping which his client has arranged and have me wire the shipping cost to the his clients shipper.
The CC would have been fake but my wire transfer would not - quick $400 or $500 profit.
I changed my password - do you guys think I need to do more?
posted on March 13, 2005 09:25:12 AM
This is a very old scam. What the person is doing is looking for suckers to steal items from and get money too. What they do is use stolen checks and credit cards, tell you that they will pay you hundreds over what you are asking and state to send the change to them. Only problem is when you send the change, the original money is fake so not only are you out the merchandise, you are out the money as well. It is a big scam run through Lagos, Togo in Africa via places like Chicago, Miami, many places in Texas and surrounding areas.
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Alive in 2005
