topic Scam alert in Buying

Scam alert

danielb9665 — Mon, 18 Aug 2014 08:52:24 GMT

I just noticed what I think is a new scam, hopefully someone on this board can put a stop to it before anyone gets hurt but you only have a few hours.

Perhaps I am wrong about this but it is setting off a lot of red flags for me, what do you guys think?

The gist of it is there are a series of 3D printers on auction that are suspicious for the following reasons:

- Seller name is a random string of letters and numbers (one seller per item)

- Seller a meber for less than one week

- Seller has no other items for sale and no history in general.

- Item add is a direct copy from other more reputable sellers

- Auction starting price hundreds of dollars less than the cost of parts and only 3 days long

Items I've found so far that match this pattern:

321493591029

251618979442

251618969822

171421716779

321492772826

151383577686

251618219701

321492728896

121411292740

181496511019

Re: Scam alert

lyndal1838 — Mon, 18 Aug 2014 09:06:07 GMT

I am sure a lot of boardies will have a look but don't just leave it to everyone else.

Use the Report link on each listing that you find and alert ebay...they cannot act if they do not know about it.

Re: Scam alert

go-tazz — Mon, 18 Aug 2014 09:08:40 GMT

Thanks for that,(all reported).

If everyone that sees this reports them they may be removed quicker.

They are the usual scam listings via Chinese accounts,

Re: Scam alert

bigbrickshop — Mon, 18 Aug 2014 09:20:15 GMT

Done

Why do buyers bid on items like this without doing some basic checks.

Re: Scam alert

danielb9665 — Mon, 18 Aug 2014 09:56:42 GMT

Done.

Hopefully ebay admin are on the ball. At least it looks like those items aren't going to reach full price, so I guess there are many cautious people out there.

Re: Scam alert

bsal6160 — Mon, 18 Aug 2014 10:28:53 GMT

What? you mean i cant buy a $2,000 3d printer for under $40? well i never......

Re: Scam alert

book-of-hezekiah — Mon, 18 Aug 2014 13:30:30 GMT

All those listings are gone! They were taken down in the last 5 minutes, two of them I could get into and all the way to report until the final click and it said to check the number!! Well done everyone!

I also suspect a bit of circular bidding, too!

Re: Scam alert

go-tazz — Mon, 18 Aug 2014 21:18:11 GMT

@bigbrickshop wrote:
Done

Why do buyers bid on items like this without doing some basic checks.

They are gullible members that still believe the early eBay hype that "bargains" like these listings can be genuine.

It happens on a regular basis and long term members with a 200 plus feedback score will bid on these as well.

That's why the scammers keep doing it,(they know that there are easy targets out there)

Re: Scam alert

go-tazz — Mon, 18 Aug 2014 22:08:48 GMT

Good result.

Would be good if all scam listings where removed so quickly.

This similar scammer has 4 listings: 261562116769

These also appear on a daily to weekly: wind generators: 141379081153

ipads: 251613475927 , no current ones,(this and another 10 are sitting in completed and only some have been

removed).

They seem to have backed of on the Visionking binoculars,walkie talkies and some others.

That generally means they have found something else that they can use.

Then you have all the fake plant seeds that eBay encourage members to buy,

More and more scammers are listing them as they know eBay allows them.

They keep saying they want to hang on to buyers but any buyer that gets scammed on this site might never

return as a buyer,(that figure could be over ten thousand now just in the fake seed category alone).

Re: Scam alert

audistarelectronics — Mon, 18 Aug 2014 23:15:06 GMT

What gets me is these sellers accepting Paypal, then hoping the buyer just leaves it for more that the 45 days before opening a dispute when the item never shows up? Am I missing something here, or do some buyers actually get caught so easy?

Re: Scam alert

cq_tech — Mon, 18 Aug 2014 23:38:19 GMT

Probably fewer than 3% of eBay members come to these boards so I'd imagine that the number of buyers who fail to act within the 45-day Paypal cutoff period could be fairly high and when you add those to the number of buyers who pay via direct debit, I'd hazard a guess that these scammers are doing a hell of a lot better than you or I would expect.

Given how eBay are always going on about how much they value their buyers, It's a bit of a shame that eBay isn't a bit more proactive in protecting those "valued buyers" by keeping these mongrels from listing their non-existent wares, because once a buyer is ripped off on ebay, the chances of their returning are slim to none IMO.

Re: Scam alert

audistarelectronics — Tue, 19 Aug 2014 02:29:38 GMT

Yes, guess you're correct, as the old saying goes, there is one born every minute. Shame that people obviously don't read the conditions on their paypal account, which would then alert them to the protection available.

Re: Scam alert

bigbrickshop — Tue, 19 Aug 2014 03:02:39 GMT

Buyers do not even have to read through pages of policy on the PayPal site. The 45 days info is on the bottom of PayPal payment receipt emails.

Issues with this transaction?

You have 45 days from the date of your PayPal payment to open a dispute for eligible transactions in our Resolution Centre. Learn about Buyer Protection

Re: Scam alert

audistarelectronics — Tue, 19 Aug 2014 03:09:44 GMT

No excuses then. Plain as the nose on their face. Hard to believe buyers fall for these things, then come to the forums bleating for help that is under their nose.

Re: Scam alert

cq_tech — Tue, 19 Aug 2014 06:06:54 GMT

No excuses at all, but then we all know that the majority of buyers are their own worst enemies because so many of them simply don't read listings in their entirety, and you only have to look at the number of buyers who come to the boards asking for help to realise that very few of them read the Paypal Payment Advice either.

Re: Scam alert

phorum_junkie* — Tue, 19 Aug 2014 07:14:53 GMT

Getting a payment that is not cancelled in time is a bonus, what they are really after is the email addresses which they can target at a later date with lookalike phishing emails from ebay and Paypal.