topic Re: Am I being scammed? in Selling

Am I being scammed?

hulbs2012 — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 23:21:51 GMT

I'm a recently separated mother trying desperately to scrape up a deposit for a house. A few days ago I listed my engagement ring for sale, and received a message from a buyer in South Africa offering a princely figure (via Fedex), and giving their email address for future negotiation. I emailed them accepting the offer, and suggested using Paypal for the transaction.

I have since received an email from Paypal saying the transaction has been approved, but as yet the transfer is still showing as "pending".

Am I about to be ripped off? I have already placed a stop of my bank account/credit card to cover me.

Re: Am I being scammed?

kopenhagen5 — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 23:35:21 GMT

This is most likely a scam. Don't click on any further emails or links and don't give any information.

If you log directly into your paypal, paypal.com.au check to see if the transaction appears there.

Most African high end purchases are scams, designed to get you to send the item thinking a payment is waiting clearing.

Re: Am I being scammed?

kopenhagen5 — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 23:50:19 GMT

BTW, looking at your listing, all the photos are out of focus. If you hope to sell an item worth thousands, I would be revising with better photos.

🙂

Re: Am I being scammed?

iamanark — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 23:52:50 GMT

Of course you are being scammed

And as it seems you did the transaction"off ebay" you are going to get burnt

Re: Am I being scammed?

go-tazz — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 00:55:52 GMT

It is a scam.

Just follow these guidelines to report them,get your fees back and block these scammers.

If an ID with good feedback wins your auction then asks you to post to Nigeria,it means the Nigerian Scammer has hijacked another member's account to place bids.

If this happens, you can report it through Account Security Live Help:

http://contact.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ShowCUPortal&guest=1
and / or the webform :

Go to buyer and then report a member,

Account Security > Unauthorised Account Activity > Report another user’s ID as stolen

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/contact_us/_base/index_selection.html

When an account is reported as stolen, eBay generally remove the listing,email you and refund your listing fee although you may need to request a final value fee.

Check your Account > Seller Account ( top of page ) in your My eBay.

If the final value fee has not been refunded ,you can request it through
Live Help General Support:

http://contact.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ShowCUPortal

Go to Buying

Or by email:

Selling and managing your item > Fraud and Transaction Problems >
Getting a final value fee credit when buyer doesn't pay
http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/contact_us/_base/index_selection.html

If a newly registered ( 0 feedback )Nigerian Scammer wins your auction,report it through Live Help:
http://contact.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ShowCUPortal&guest=1

Go to buying.

And / or the webform :

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/contact_us/_base/index_selection.html

When the member ID is NARU (not a registered user) you can file an Unpaid Item Dispute through your Account > Resolution Centre (top of page) in your my eBay using the reason "buyer is no longer registered".
Your final value fees will be refunded to you immediately.

Put these buyer blocks in place. Go to:

My eBay > Account > Site Preferences > Postage preferences > Show >
Exclude postage locations from your listings from your listings > Edit .......and Select the countries you don’t post to.

Tick … Apply to all current live listings
Click …Apply

And

My eBay > Account > Site Preferences > Buyer Requirements > Show >
Edit .......and tick:

1. Buyers in locations to which I don't post
2. Block buyers who haven't gone through phone verification…
3. Only apply this block to buyers who have a feedback score of 5 or lower(Having a Paypal Account and / or Credit Card details on file overrides this block)

Tick all other blocks of your choice.

Tick …Apply above settings to active and future listings.
Click …Submit

Do not use a BIN (Buy It Now) option when relisting your item.

Beware of spoof/phishing emails you may receive .
Do not open them and do not click on any links.
As a precaution , run all your spyware, keylogging and virus protectionand change your passwords,(something which should be done on a regular basis anyway)

.

Re: Am I being scammed?

vikingzee — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 01:14:25 GMT

Hi there I have just had similar result from suposed ebyer with all positive feedback. I listed an item that was bought by this person, who then asked me to post to friend in Nigeria and monies will be held at Nochex UK until I prove the item has left Australia. I have informed Ebay sent through all sus emails to spoof@ebay.com . I have now received an email sus I think saying I will be suspended from Ebay unless I pay. I also received an email from seller saying he would inform the AFP if I did not send item asap. I have always had great sellers and this is the first one that has really taught me a lesson.

vikingzee

Re: Am I being scammed?

lyndal1838 — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 01:19:09 GMT

Sending emails to spoof@ebay is not the way to go in this case.

I hope you have not corresponded with the scammers in any way.

Re: Am I being scammed?

kopenhagen5 — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 02:14:26 GMT

gotazz, just so you know, scammer appears to have messaged offer and not bid or purchase. OP then accepted offer in messages or email.

Re: Am I being scammed?

superscanner4 — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 03:23:10 GMT

hulbs you have set yourself up as a target for this scammer because:

1. you have low feedback and are new to eBay;

2. you are selling a very expensive item

3. you have accepted an offer outside of eBay thus violating eBay policy and demonstrating you have little knowledge of internet safety and the warning signs of scamming in action

if you proceed any further with this you will lose both your ring AND a substantial amount of money.

Please follow the advice about blocking buyers and keep reading and arm yourself with knowledge. The safest way to sell your ring is through a reputable jeweller who deals with second hand goods.

Re: Am I being scammed?

edis64 — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 07:45:18 GMT

vikingzee, that's definitely a scam! eBay would not send you an email saying that you're account will be suspended especially given the circumstances. You didn't send the item (I gather) did you? And anyway, the AFP will probably go after THEM rather you! LOL proves how stupid some of these Nigerian (and other nationality) scammers really are!!!

Re: Am I being scammed?

davewil1964 — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 15:24:18 GMT

There was a link posted on one of these scammer threads over the weekend, where they reckon that scammers are deliberately outrageous.

That way the idiots credible self-select and they don't have the hassles of dealing with people with half a clue.

Re: Am I being scammed?

davewil1964 — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 15:25:05 GMT

There was a link posted on one of these scammer threads over the weekend, where they reckon that scammers are deliberately outrageous.

That way the idiots credible self-select and they don't have the hassles of dealing with people with half a clue.

Re: Am I being scammed?

ricardo_361* — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 11:53:08 GMT

Hi there,

I have also had an item won by a bidder living in the USA. They requested I send the item to their friend as a gift in Nigeria. Given the item was cheap and unwanted, we sent it out, and as expected, the money never arrived in my nominated Paypal account.

A couple of days later, the seller and a fraud paypal acocunt are requesting I send US$200 to Nigerian customs via Western union to release the item lol. Not only is the item worth a 10th of that price, but I am never sending money to these people.

Anyway, I have alerted the buyer that I believe he is a scammer and will no longer pursue dealings with him.

Is there a way to report this user to ebay? The buyer has an excellent track record accoring to feedback here, but I simply don't trust any of this crap relating with Nigeria and Western Union. Paypal has so far been unhelpful in resolving any issues, although I did report the suspect paypal emails to them.

Re: Am I being scammed?

*kazumi* — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 13:07:15 GMT

ricardo_361* (4, Nigeria is always scam, and the scammers are not just one person, they are international gangs who now have your details.

Report the ID used buying your item as hijacked, then run all your antitrust programs, and do not click on any links from anybody, especial those that look like from eBay or PP.

Next time the moment Nigeria is mentioned, report the ID.

Re: Am I being scammed?

gameboarders — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 15:19:29 GMT

For the veery life of me I can't believe just how many people are so eager to open themselves up to crooks!

The only reason I can think for why it would happen in this case is because the seller was hoping to get away without paying the Ebay selling fees, and if that's the case they are as crooked as the scammer whose trying to rip them off.

Re: Am I being scammed?

xxstuckonstickersxx — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 06:33:29 GMT

I don't see how its your fault, as people seem to be eluding to. ?:|

If I get robbed at knife point because I decide to walk home instead of drive, do I DESERVE to get kniffed?

Some of us are automatically aware of scammers and the countries they mostly work from from, but not everyone. It seems a whole heap of people still believe we live in a world where humans act like humans. Its not their fault this isnt the case

Re: Am I being scammed?

xxstuckonstickersxx — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 06:39:45 GMT

Sorry for the double post..

Regarding the emails from PP saying the transaction is approved, don't rely on email!! Ring PP customer support. A long time ago I recieved emails from PP and eBay which looked the real deal. However they were clearly too good to be true (my item had sold for $150 and PP needed my info before releasing money) so I didn't respond. Instead I called ebay and PP who both said they were fraudulent emails.

In fact I hadn't sold anything for $150 because I had nothing listed lol

Re: Am I being scammed?

gemsweddingsupplies-online — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 07:26:31 GMT

I was selling some household items under another ID. I was surprised by how many times something like this happened with false purchases/payments/scammers etc. Definately more than when I started out with this ID. I do worry about inexperienced sellers.

Re: Am I being scammed?

superscanner4 — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 09:53:31 GMT

http://www.techworld.com.au/article/428151/why_nigerian_scammers_say_they_re_from_nigeria/

Click on the link within the article for the complete pdf research study by Microsoft if you're interested. In a nutshell, scammers want to find the ideal target (those who have money and are gullible and unaware of the standard scams that are around). Finding this tiny percentage in the general population is expensive in terms of the scammer's resources (time and money) so the best way to find targets is for them to identify themselves. i.e. people who do not know that scams typically originate in Nigeria; are not alerted to something fishy by the obvious signs such as outrageous stories, bad spelling, poor quality letter writing etc. These strategies are used on purpose because educated people who spot them straight away are not the intended target of the scammers. What scammers hate is putting in the time and effort and then have their target pull out somewhere along the line. If you read the study you can see how it all works mathematically - it's a matter of efficiency. They are most likely to succeed if they can locate gullible people by weeding out the smart ones first. Can you see how it works? It's a process of elimination.

Note the suggestions of how to get back at the scammers - by pretending to be a gullible target, waste as much of their time as possible then drop them in it a the end. It is actually a sport. Many of us have done this with phone scammers. But don't do it with emails or ebay accounts because you should never make contact that way or click on links.

You want to be in the population that gets rejected in the first round i.e. by reading all the advice given by banks and software security experts, keeping up to date with the news and websites such as scamwatch.org.au. Forums are also a good source of information.

Re: Am I being scammed?

davewil1964 — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 12:59:02 GMT

I don't see how its your fault, as people seem to be eluding to. ?:|

If I get robbed at knife point because I decide to walk home instead of drive, do I DESERVE to get kniffed?

Some of us are automatically aware of scammers and the countries they mostly work from from, but not everyone. It seems a whole heap of people still believe we live in a world where humans act like humans. Its not their fault this isnt the case

It is the sucker's fault. A minimum of research would show that Nigeria ALWAYS equals scam.

If people want to transact online then it behooves them to at least have an idea of the pitfalls. If they don't or won't then, frankly, they deserve to be ripped off. There are many far more subtle scams out there. But as I said above, the Nigerian ones are after the self-selectors.