I suspect seller may be pulling a fraud. Any advice?
Summary: A participant initiated a discussion suspecting that a seller might be committing fraud and sought advice. sandypebbles, *casey*, gutterpunkz05, and sassyy19 were among those who became involved in the conversation, discussing potential signs and strategies for addressing possible fraud. The thread contained multiple exchanges where participants shared their perspectives and experiences regarding dealing with fraudulent sellers. Although the original post and responses lacked specific content, the recurring involvement of these participants suggests a focused conversation on fraud detection. The discussion reflects a collaborative effort to address concerns about online safety and consumer protection.
Hi. I recently bought a $200 item from a business seller in Melbourne with lackluster feedback but I gave them the benefit of the doubt.
After a week there was no shipping update and no communication. They finally responded to my second message with a sob story about eBay not letting them de-list unavailable stock and could I request a cancellation. This seems to be in line with a lot of their feedback.
To be honest I'm sick of non-performing sellers doing this and how eBay sometimes removes the ability to leave any feedback for cancelled transactions, so I left them the negative feedback they deserve, with the intention of lodging a claim when the delivery window closed.
However an hour or so later they updated the order with an APG tracking number originating in the UK two days prior. I have asked them what they shipped and from where, but no response at this stage. Could they be using an unrelated tracking number to try and fool eBay?
Any suggestions on how best to proceed? Should I try to open a dispute now (presumably made more complicated now there's tracking info), or wait and see what happens next?
clockwork_planet
OP8 months agoOK, so an update...
Turns out the seller WAS pulling a fraud. Never replied to my message asking what was sent. Australia Post (via chat) confirmed the item was NOT addressed to me or my suburb.
eBay (via chat) expedited a refund for INR but would not reinstate my negative feedback. Interestingly, the seller has managed to get another of his negs removed, so eBay have simultaneously agreed that he posted fake tracking info and bumped him up to 99.7%.
However the seller's store has been purged of a large amount of items, so presumably eBay has had some kind of a chat with him.
Thanks everyone for the responses and offers of support.
springyzone
·8 months agoI was going to say (before I got down to the end of this thread) that I'd be worried about a scam. The reason being that the seller tried to get you to ask for a cancellation ( to avoid any consequences from ebay). They were obviously out of stock.
Yet the tracking number was from Uk and from before they asked for a cancellation.
Sorry, but that is scammy all the way.
On these boards, we have read too often of sellers who supply false tracking. I was worried for you actually.
I am so pleased to read that you are getting your refund but what disappoints me is that okay, they removed your neg (I didn't see what you said so don't know exactly why it was removed) and even if they can no longer retrieve the comment, they could easily reinstate the negative itself. Just a red dot from you, without comment.
In fact I believe they should.
I am glad the seller's account has been affected but I believe ebay should go further. When they come across a seller who supplied false tracking info on purpose to defraud or mislead, they should face a total ban on selling, at least for a set period.
*casey*
·8 months agoThat's great news clockwork_planet. Thanks for letting us know.
"Interestingly, the seller has managed to get another of his negs removed, so eBay have simultaneously agreed that he posted fake tracking info and bumped him up to 99.7%
I'm going out on a limb with this one as I'm usually the first person to call out a scam / scammer.
Especially when the tracking showed an item coming from the Netherlands which would be a fake tracking number for sure.
BUT I've been looking into this account and I'm not entirely sure that the real account holder's always been in control of the account.
All that 'typical' dropshipping.
The account's showing as 1.5K items sold but the seller only has 318 feedback as a seller.
There should be far more, good or bad.
I wonder if eBay's removed any items in the past that weren't listed by the real account holder ?
So now all the dropshipping stuff is no longer listed, the account's selling exactly what you'd expect , the 3D printed items, which ties in with the user ID and offers postage or pick up.
JMO
twyngwyn
·8 months agoMy store is showing that I have sold 20K items, with nearly 9K feedback?
It’s either wrong, or I have combined postage, thereby only I f/b gained for multiple sales to same buyer within a week……or buyers don’t bother anymore?
It’s a big difference, regardless 🤷♀️
davewil1964
·8 months agoI've sold 6.8k items for 3200 feedback.
I realise a feedback rate of less than 20% these days
clockwork_planet
OP8 months agoI'm not really sure what you are suggesting - that I was interacting with somebody other than the account owner? That's an interesting idea I hadn't considered. But the store graphics suggest an intent to sell a broader product range than just 3D prints, and I feel like I would have been refunded had I cancelled the order. The fake tracking info felt more like a smartass response to my neg by an unscrupulous seller.
I'm wondering if eBay placed a selling limit on them, or a warning to remove any items that weren't physically in stock?
*casey*
·8 months ago"I'm wondering if eBay placed a selling limit on them, or a warning to remove any items that weren't physically in stock?"
Maybe, but unlikely.
eBay's flooded with shonky dropshippers with appalling feedback, hijacked accounts and scams in general but even when reported, eBay couldn't care less. They completely ignore reports
sandypebbles
·8 months agoAccounts are hacked all the time, eBay doesn't care (I have reported several such accounts but AI says it is fine)
Hacked accounts also post here on the forum, usually here they are accounts that belonged to legit members in Australia, get hacked by scum and suddenly (most usually) they are in Brazil
Also deemed fine
Not saying IS the case here, but it happens and is support via no action being taken
*casey*
·7 months ago"Hacked accounts also post here on the forum, usually here they are accounts that belonged to legit members in Australia, get hacked by scum and suddenly (most usually) they are in Brazil"
And while we don't see as many of them actually posting rubbish on the forums these days, they're here every single day, including right now.
Their pattern is to firstly give kudos to eg: "old au news announcements", then randomly give kudos to other / our posts,
usually in threads at the top.
I could literally post 100 user IDs (and I'm sure there's plenty more that I haven't noticed yet) of these scammers who have hijacked Australian accounts.
sandypebbles
·7 months agoYes, I noticed the one starting with s
Made themselves pretty obvious by following the pattern of behaviour of the others like them, and think people here are too stupid to notice what they are
sassyy19
·7 months agoAs I said I dont think ebay is the place to buy anything these days from what I have been reading. I will see how my recent purchase of sun glasses goes from a supposedly 100% good seller.
sandypebbles
·7 months agoThey either had 100% or they didn't
How much of the feedback was for selling?
How much of the feedback was eBay automated positive feedback?
What is the item number?
*casey*
·7 months ago"Hacked accounts also post here on the forum, usually here they are accounts that belonged to legit members in Australia, get hacked by scum and suddenly (most usually) they are in Brazil"
"And while we don't see as many of them actually posting rubbish on the forums these days ???
they're here every single day, including right now.
Their pattern is to firstly give kudos to eg: "old au news announcements", then randomly give kudos to other / our posts, usually in threads at the top.
I could literally post 100 user IDs (and I'm sure there's plenty more that I haven't noticed yet) of these scammers who have hijacked Australian accounts."
...........................................................................................................................................................................................................
The boards are very quiet and it's probably a bad time of year to post the
following but for anyone who may just read the threads.....be on high alert - pass it around
There are now literally 100s if not 1000s of these hijacked Australian accounts.
Some days 5 - 10 new hijacked accounts are appearing here on the forums, just in one day !
These scammers / criminals now have all of the details showing in the 'real' users' accounts.
They will be passed around to criminals around the world.
Change all your passwords and run all your virus, spyware and keylogging protection regularly.
Be aware of phishing emails, fake text messages because more importantly,
this can lead to identity fraud
clockwork_planet
OP8 months agoAusPost tracking info
clockwork_planet
OP8 months agoAPGE tracking info
clockwork_planet
OP8 months agoThat's an interesting way to frame it, but it's quite a contortion.
It may be irrelevant now anyway - according to Aus Post the item is in Australia pending customs clearance. There's no receiver details on the tracking though so I'm still unsure if it's actually coming to me. Pretty confusing, but I'm beginning to wonder if somehow the order actually got fulfilled from the UK and the seller didn't know it had already shipped when they gave me the story about the listing?
I guess we'll find out in a couple of days...
clockwork_planet
OP8 months agoThanks Casey, I agree. I've been buying and selling on eBay for many years, and the days of 100% sellers seem to be mostly gone. But an Aussie seller with 99.3% is (or at least was) acceptable. I'd expect them to be a bit slow to ship, maybe a bit sloppy, but whatever. I don't expect them to sit on my money for a week and wait for me to send multiple messages before they admit they can't supply.
If buyers were a bit more honest with their feedback this seller would be nearer 98%.
*casey*
·8 months agoSo.....As far as "pulling a fraud", I don't think it's an outright scam.
The seller asked you to request a cancellation so they won't get hit with an 'out of stock' eBay selling defect if they cancel the transaction.
You'd receive an automatic refund if the transaction was cancelled, so it's not a fraudulent listing for a non existent item where the seller's trying to scam you.
Also the seller has 2 positive feedback for the same item.
At first glance, it looks like dropshipping but they could be using a supplier or warehouse close by.
The UK tracking number may be delay tactics.
IMO, I don't think it's an intentional fake tracking scam - but I could be wrong.
Did they mention receiving new stock any time soon ?
As already advised, there's not a lot you can do until the last estimated delivery date has passed.
as you can't open a MBG dispute until then.
clockwork_planet
OP8 months agoOh I never thought it was an outright scam, I'm sure you are right - this seller either drop-ships or orders the items in as required. The 'fraud' I'm referring to is the tracking info. I don't believe it is for my item, and it may not even be heading for me at all. It looks like the seller did it in direct response to my neg, either as a delay tactic (as you suggest) or an attempt to deny me a refund out of spite for the neg. Obviously either of those would be an attempt to defraud myself and/or eBay.
I don't particularly care if the seller negs me, but if there's a way to stop any such shenanigans I'd like to find it.
*casey*
·8 months agoSellers haven't been able to leave negative feedback for buyers for many years.
If it's a fake tracking scam it's hard , but not impossible , to receive a refund.
If it comes to that, we'll all help you as best we can, with all the various ways we know ,in order to help you receive a refund
clockwork_planet
OP8 months agoHa, I completely forgot that sellers can't neg buyers any more!
And thanks for the reassurance. We'll see what happens when the item gets delivered!
sandypebbles
·8 months agoSince about 2008 it was I think that eBay brought that in
sandypebbles
·8 months ago*Sorry, got side tracked
Meant to add, *if * they should happen to leave you a 'false positive' (green tick with a negative comment) you can report that to eBay for breach of policy
gutterpunkz05
·8 months agoSeller gave you a chance to cancel your purchase, which you refused, your choice. The seller can now continue to fulfill your order, from whatever source is available to them and can argue that you have agreed to wait for the item to be restocked.
*casey*
·8 months agoThe seller's had your feedback removed
Just revised my post in case it's not a fake tracking scam, so let us know how you go
sassyy19
·8 months agoBy the sounds of it & my experience plus the messages I received back e bay may not be the place anymore to buy anything
lezned-toycollector
·8 months agoObviously there are certain people for whom unsupervised online shopping is definitely not an appropriate activity. With these people in mind, you're correct - eBay is probably not the place they should be buying anything.
However, for the vast majority there's absolutely no reason why they shouldn't transact with eBay sellers.
domino-710
·8 months agoOh Brother.
clockwork_planet
OP8 months agoWow, thanks. I don't think 99.3% exactly qualifies as "in the toilet", does it? Yes I've bought some carp from overseas sellers in the 96% range, and if they don't supply, they'll get a neg too.
However this seller has 289 positive, 12 neutral and now 3 negs (including mine). Looks to me like a legitimate seller with some performance issues rather than a scammer.
I'll get my money back one way or the other, I'm just thrown by tracking info being added AFTER the seller told me they couldn't supply, and especially as the tracking info originated BEFORE they told me they couldn't supply. Never seen that before and I'm not sure what their game is.
*casey*
·8 months agoQuite a few of the neutrals should be negs as well as 5 positive feedback for cancelled orders.
gutterpunkz05
·8 months agoHow long ago did you leave the neg?
sandypebbles
·8 months agoIf you are sick of dodgy sellers being dodgy, then stop buying from them
You said yourself this one was 'lackluster' so you knew you were taking a risk buying from them
Just looking at several random sellers you have supported them and every single one has feedback in the toilet, or wosre
Best way to proceed is stop supporting scammers sellers
You complain about eBay removing negs, yet you ignore all the negs after negs of the sellers you buy from so why would your neg make a difference ?
You cannot open a dispute until after the last estimated delivery date
And yes, scammers like these have all kinds of 'tricks' to be as dodgy as possible
They could be up to anything, and they hope you don't know how the eBay MBG works