posted on April 9, 2006 03:55:41 PM new
I got this form someone who just bought from me -- my FIRST eBay sale! It doesn't sound right though. Please give me some feedback:
----- Begin: Message -----
Hello,
Season's greetings to you,how is business and all other things hope all are in good condition. well I'm <name removed> from AL,but Presently i'm leading a trade fair program in <country removed>.I saw your item(6869395615)and ill like to buy it for my grandson that study in a Computer science school in University ofNigeria Next week as a gift.Do not worry about the shipping of the item,i have an account with FEDEX and ill be sending you my FEDEX account number for the shipping and if you decedided in sending the item to hard the shipping cost on the product you can still do it.Moreover i would have prefer to send you a cheque but simply because i want you to ship the item first thing this tomorrow morning,i will be sending you the payment vai PAYPAL,and so make sure you get the package ready for tomorrow morning shipment ok And kindly send me your paypal address,so i can make the payment right away.
----- End: Message -----
Does this send alarms off for anyone else? I don't really want to buy this for him or his nephue or whoever it's for!
posted on April 9, 2006 04:02:27 PM new
Stay away... stay far far away... Unfortunately, your first ebay sale is to a scam artist.
Hope you have better luck with the next one!!
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
Never ask what sort if computer a guy drives. If he's a Mac user, he'll tell you. If he's not, why embarrass him? - Tom Clancy
posted on April 9, 2006 04:04:43 PM new
university of Nigeria !!
Tell him you went to University of Bongoland and since they are rivals,you cant do business with him/
/ lets all stop whining !! /
[ edited by hwahwa on Apr 9, 2006 04:05 PM ]
posted on April 9, 2006 04:08:44 PM new
If he has a Fed exp account,he can put the cash in the fed exp envelope and expedite it to you.
/ lets all stop whining !! /
posted on April 9, 2006 04:19:18 PM new
I bet you he wont send you cash or money order but you can try.
what he plans to do is to make payment via paupal and then file complaint with paypal that he did not receive the item or his son did not receive it.
Paypal seller protection said you must ship to confirmed address with online trackable DC,so if you ship Fed exp Intl,you get online trackable DC but Nigerian address is not confirmed,so you lose.
I also suspect this Fed exp account is not his,and when the owner of the account finds out,he will refuse to pay the shipping and Fed exp will turn around and bill you.
See,they spot a new seller with zero or low feedback so they are trying to scam you.
posted on April 9, 2006 04:21:08 PM new
I figured as much, tom
Does this sound like an appropriate response?
--- Begin Response ---
Hello,
I received the email you sent me directly; please always contact sellers through the eBay communication channels (like I'm using to communicate with you).
Unfortunately, I cannot ship to Nigeria. If you would like to have the laptop shipped to a location in the US, please let me know. A verified PayPal account is required to purchase items, but I also accept cashier's checks or money orders. In all cases, I only ship once payment has cleared.
Please let me know if you are able to pay for this sale using one of my accepted methods of payment. Also, please let me know if you are able to accept my shipping policy. In order for me to sell this item to you, and ship it to you, you must accept both policies.
posted on April 9, 2006 04:23:00 PM new
You could ask him to FedEx a U.S. Postal money order to you and cash it before you ship. They will tell you instantly at the P.O. whether the M.O. is legit, or something he printed up at Kinkos. Make sure the money order includes enough for you to ship FedEx. Under no circumstances should you ever use a FedEx account number given to you by a customer to ship anything, especially internationally. Keep in mind that you are dealing with a scam artist, and he will want to modify your requirements. Probably the best advice in the short term, since you are a new seller, is to take Fenix's advice and stay as far away from this crook as possible.
If Murphy's law is correct, everything East of the San Andreas Fault will slide into the Atlantic
posted on April 9, 2006 04:28:13 PM new
he is not going to pay you with cash or money order,just block him from bidding on your laptop or any item.
/ lets all stop whining !! /
posted on April 9, 2006 04:32:22 PM new
More Tips from Inspector duRalphie, Interpound:
Identifying Scams:
There are several ways to be scammed on eBay. Some of these include:
Bogus, non-existant items (most common)
Nigerian (or other) bogus cashier's check payments
eBay or PayPal phishing email (ID theft/ credit card theft)
2nd Chance offers (See Cashmere about this one)
CRIMINALS AT WORK - TWELVE "RED FLAGS" TO WARN OF A FRAUDULENTTRANSACTION:
(Author unknown I found it on the web, the article was polished up and updated a bit
by me, but it is an excellent document on how to watch out for scams, and not to be a
victim)
(If 3 or more of the following apply to your transaction, beware of losing all your money)
(1) An expensive item - often an electronic item (especially plasma TV), computer,
camera, fitness equipment, motorcycle, snowmobile, ATV, etc. - is usually involved.
Often, it is listed at auction at a significant discount off fair market value. Multiples may be
offered in the fixed price format. High end digital cameras are popular as are laptop
computers. Sony VAIO and Apple Powerbook and G4/G5 desktops seem to be favorites,
but no high-end computer system is immune from these scams. Expensive telescopes
and Korg/Roland keyboards are often used. Bose stereo equipment is definitely a high
profile scam item. Automotive items (especially wheels) and high end bicycles often show
up in their listings. They usually “sell” new merchandise, but I’ve seen scams with used
items as well. Expensive sewing machines are also very popular scam items!
(2) Western Union and/or MoneyGram wire transfer is only acceptable payment method.
WU wire transfers are untraceable and unrecoverable after the thief picks up the money.
In an attempt to provide the illusion of safety, the prospective buyer is often told to send
the money to a fake name or use a secret password, which the buyer will change only
after receiving the item. (Also beware payment by e-gold). They also like to tell you about
some innovative insurance program they have in place to give you the impression of
safety. They’ll often say it’s endorsed by ebay which is 100% false. Also be wary of so
called wire transfer schemes which interface with FEDEX or UPS. They will send you
forged electronic documents making it appear as if they originated at FEDEX or UPS
telling you that they will ship as soon as the seller gets their wire transfer. So many
people appear to be falling for it because the fraudsters won’t leave ebay. It’s obviously
lucrative! One thing to remember is NEVER PAY FOR AN AUCTION WITH A WIRE
TRANSFER OR BANK TRANSFER.
(3) Bidder is required to be pre-approved. When pre-approval is sought, seller offers
instant sale (usually off-eBay) at significantly less than true value. This “too good to be
true” is just that. ebay warns you about doing deals outside of ebay for safety’s sake.
While they don’t get their share of transaction fees in such cases (when dealing with a
legitimate seller), they’re on to something. When the seller is luring you to “contact me
before bidding” or pushing you to contact them in advance of the auction, be wary. Good
sellers put as much information into the listing as possible so you don’t need to contact
them. They also won’t ask for pre-approval and won’t hide the identities of competing
bidders. Ask questions. But if seller tries to get you to do a deal outside of ebay, run, do
not walk from the transaction. Ideally you should report the communication to ebay and
they take steps to suspend of expel the user from ebay.
(4) Bidder was an unsuccessful bidder on an expensive item and subsequently receives
emailed offer (customarily from a person in a country thousands of miles away) offering
to sell an identical or similar item off-eBay for a huge discount. Recently, offers to sell
event tickets have escalated.
(5) Private auction. After bidding the bidder receives an emailed offer to
sell "off eBay."
(6) Item listed on hijacked account. This is HUGE. You’ve heard of those so called “spoof
emails” whereby the scammers email you a very official looking email from “ebay”. They
tell you that your billing information needs to be updated. You’re directed to a fake
website that will capture your password and other personal information. Even credit
cards! I read somewhere that something like 20% of people who get these “phishing”
emails respond to them. Based on the high percentage of stolen accounts I’ve seen on
ebay, I believe it! Some characteristics of hijacked accounts:
--Seller with excellent feedback, which was acquired solely from buying or from selling
items unrelated to the expensive item being offered.
--Long dormant account suddenly listing expensive items.
--US, UK and also Canada and Australia registered seller but the auction page shows
location
city/country as other than in the country of registration. The location city and country may
be
bizarre (e.g. Bucharest, USA or Madrid, UK) If a seller is registered in “Andorra” (very
common) or Luxembourg, chances are you are dealing with a scammer.
ALWAYS review a seller’s feedback, and not just the overall rating, but the
DETAILS of that rating. Review the transactions they’ve been involved with in the past.
Check the listings and listing styles to make sure they not only resemble the auction
you’re bidding on, but also that the goods they’ve sold in the past are consistent with
what they’re selling now. It’s amazing how often “doll sellers” become high tech sellers,
virtually overnight. Don’t be surprised to see the scammers goods mixed in with the
legitimate goods. Scammers will often hijack an account just after a seller has made
listings of their own. Because ebay is so difficult to contact and are so slow to react, even
if the rightful seller notices the hijack, there is little that can be done immediately. In the
mean time the scammer has complete control over the account. In cases with inactive
accounts, the scammer will use and reuse the account again and again. The feedback
will really tell a story then as you read about people who have lost money to these
criminals.
-Payment terms for an auction listed from a US location include the customary PayPal,
Bidpay, money orders, & checks. When contacting the auction winner, the seller claims to
be in a country thousands of miles away on a business trip, vacation, or other excuse,
and WU wire transfer abruptly becomes the only acceptable method of payment. (Sure,
most sellers take along a few Plasma TVs when traveling to Europe for a vacation, don't
they?). Just because a seller says they take Paypal in their listing, doesn’t mean they
really will! This is just the hook to reel you in and give the listing an air of legitimacy.
(7) Seller offers FREE SHIPPING, from distant countries, often premium (very expensive)
shipping such as FedEx overnight. One inept criminal offered to ship a horse trailer from
Romania to the US by overnight FedEx for $275. Once again, watch out for forged
documents from FEDEX/UPS. They do not bundle their services with Western Union, no
matter what the scammer tries to tell you.
(8) No actual photo, or a generic photo or illustration of the item taken from a catalog or
website. (Inconclusive in the absence of other red flags) . Not everyone has a digital
camera, but if you start seeing the same photo and details all over ebay, chances are
you’re seeing scam items being advertised. Also be wary of listings that just look as if all
the details were just cut and pasted from a company website, with little else in there.
Seller’s should provide you with information on shipping, payment terms etc. Scammers
want you to contact them for a reason which is why they tend to keep their listings sparse
of the real details. Another thing to watch for is they’ll often steal listings from other users.
I’ve seen listings which supposedly sell items in the US, but references in the listing all
related to places in the UK, including the currency. Remember, if unclear, ask lots of
questions! Good sellers will respond to you as soon as possible in a courteous manner.
They “usually” know about that they’re selling as well!
(9) Three day auction, often ending on a weekend, (Inconclusive in the absence of other
red flags)
(10) Poor or unusual grammar / spelling indicative that English isn't the user's primary
language. (Inconclusive in the absence of other red flags). There is a consensus view
that a good majority of these scams originate in Eastern Europe, and countries that were
part of the former Soviet Bloc. The language barrier tends to come through in the emails.
If you know a lot about an item, ask the tough questions. Chances are, they don’t have a
clue about the technical details because they’ve never seen the item! For some reason,
they like to call you “sir” or “madam”. Often their responses look like a form letter in their
response. I’ve emailed these scammers many times and they do tend to reply with the
same wording, offering you a deal outside of ebay. Then the scam begins. Often, the item
is listed in North America but they’ll tell you they are now in England, Italy or Spain now.
This is an actual reply from a scammer and I’ve many derivatives of it:
Hello ebayer,
Would you be interested in buying this new item now ? My prices
are
fair and I am willing to negotiate.
You can do that instead of all bidding process which takes time
and
give you no reassurance you will win the item.
Let me know at your earliest convenience, sir/madam.
--
Best regards,
office
(11) . Seller recommends an escrow service other than those endorsed by eBay. Click
the following link for an overview of escrow, including a list of the 5 escrow companies
endorsed by eBay:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/buy/buytrust-escrow.html
(12) Bidder/buyer who is doubtful and undecided receives email (typically containing
poor or unusual grammar) appearing to originate from eBay, vouching for the seller and
security of the transaction, and advising the
buyer to complete the transaction. The email may assert that the seller has placed a
multi-thousand dollar security deposit with eBay. Some further claim that the item will be
shipped from the eBay warehouse in San Jose, CA. (eBay is only a venue so they do
NOT stock merchandise).
Report an offer to sell off the eBay site by clicking the embedded "Contact
eBay to report an off-site email offer from a seller" link, near the bottom
of this eBay help page:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/rfe-spam-non-ebay-sale.html
Other ebay links:
Further info on how to protect yourself:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/confidence/index.html
If you see a scam in progress, REPORT IT! ebay tends to drag their heels on security
related issues, but they will eventually get it done. They also make it very difficult to
contact them. Their contact information tends to be buried deep inside the webpage, but
if you bookmark this link, you’ll always be able to report anything to them:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/contact_inline/index.html
This list should only be considered a guideline and is not exhaustive. It is evident ebay is
virtually powerless to stop these scams at present and there are a lot of them going on at
any given time, day and night. ebay is taking reactive measures (closing scammer’s
accounts and restoring hijacked accounts), but it remains to be seen if they can be more
proactive but using technological methods to stop these listings from getting posted in the
first place. I read often how ebay is making massive profits every year. It’s high time they
invest those profits back into the system which made them rich in the first place!
NOTE:
Inspector duRalphie observes that the above info is slightly dated, but, also notes that he is a DAUG, so WTF do ya want outta him??!!
posted on April 9, 2006 04:33:51 PM new
No. Unfortunatly you cannot cancel a BIN hoewever you can file for a return on the closing fees.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
Never ask what sort if computer a guy drives. If he's a Mac user, he'll tell you. If he's not, why embarrass him? - Tom Clancy
posted on April 9, 2006 04:44:51 PM new
They dont print money order on their machine anymore,there are fake postal money orders,someone came to this board last year saying he tried to cash two at the post office and 2 USPS investigators asked him to follow them to a room.
There is a Yahoo shop which receive money order from some Ohio Grocer Association and it turns out to be fake.
If they know someone in a print shop in Nigeria which will co-operate,they can print checks and money orders and cashier checks.
If they know of any legit bank account,they can print checks which bear the magnetic ink stuff on the bottom of the check
/ lets all stop whining !! /
[ edited by hwahwa on Apr 9, 2006 04:46 PM ]
posted on April 9, 2006 04:53:14 PM new
It would certainly be nice if we didn't have to deal with all the idgits out there. Unfortunately, I guess that's part of the game.
I guess I should go ahead and invoice this fellow? ... so he can't say the sale failed because of me? Do I have to do this to get my fees back later?
I just updated my preferences to block bidders in countries I don't ship to. I also added a note to my items stating that I only accept verified PayPal accounts or US Cashier's Check or US Money Order.
posted on April 9, 2006 04:54:00 PM new
To summarize tomwii's prolix cut-and-paste: This auction has SCAM written over it in big red letters, and don't let your desire to make a sale cloud your judgement!
You are a neophyte, and the "buyer" is a veteran. No matter how you try to cover yourself safetywise he will be one step ahead of you.
Actually I've been in retail sales most of my life in one way or another Thankfully I have kind of read-up on some of the scams that can happen prior to participating in the e-commerce way of doing business.
I did read Tom's post / the link he posted. Seems these Nigerians are really bad folks.
From the looks of things, this person created a new account for the sole purpose of buying my item. The account was created today, and has no feedback. I bet he's betting that since my feedback is low I'm real naive. I have to admit, I wanted to hear confirmation from you all that he was trying to scam me - I didn't want to believe it. BAM! SCAM! ... and welcome to e-selling! Lovely initiation ...
You all are fantastic! Thanks so much for your great advice and feedback!
posted on April 9, 2006 05:10:32 PM new"No. Unfortunatly you cannot cancel a BIN hoewever you can file for a return on the closing fees."
TRUE, but...
BigEd: Is your buyer registered in the US?? Or a different country?? Was your listing restricted to USA?? Or Worldwide??
If your listing was restricted to US ONLY (this would have been done on the SYI form before auction launch), and yer bozo-buyer is NOT registered in the US, but CLOSED yer auction with a BIN, you CAN file an UNPAID ITEM COMPLAINT right NOW & get back your FVFs IMMEDIATELY!
I reported his account as being suspicious and hope to get my fees back.
Dare I go ahead and relist the item? Maybe laptops are magnets for idiots and I should stay away from them? How on earth does anyone sell successfully on eBay with junk like this happening? Can I ask more questions?
posted on April 9, 2006 05:30:18 PM new
well,if he creates a US account and you accept Paypal,he is your man,the only problem is that he wants you to ship to Nigeria.
You can pull his contact information and I bet you his phone number is not valid,then you can report to Ebay and Ebay will shut him down.
/ lets all stop whining !! /
Why? If you sent a complaint into TRUST&SAFETY, this BOZO will be NARU'ed soon...THEN, after he is NARU'ed, that's when ya want to file for FVF credit, because you will get the credit instantly!
posted on April 9, 2006 06:04:50 PM new
That LIST is all his recent activity on feeBay: FOUR laptops (including YOURS), ALL bin'ed on the SAME day -- NOT good, said Inspector duRalphie!
posted on April 9, 2006 06:16:21 PM new
He will be NARU'd soon as every seller only ships in the US. Won't take long unless a seller falls for his story??
Mama
