Ebay motors concerns

[damizill]

I have a seller that sent me the following information about buying a car of them.

I am concerned that this is to dodgy.

The car is here in Tasmania with me, it will be shipped with our RAAF cargo boat and from harbor with the truck. Giving that it's a large transaction, I prefer to make the deal using eBay Motors, in this way both of us are protected. The car will come with keys and all the necessary paperwork to pass on your name. You will have to deposit the money into an eBay trust account via bank transfer, they will hold your money until you receive and inspect the car, eBay will release the money to me only after the 5 days inspection period ends and you confirm to them that you keep the car. In case you reject the deal by any reason (the car has any hidden damages or it is not as described by me), eBay will refund you in full, and the car will be shipped back with no extra charges, you can rest safe in the knowledge that eBay is one of the most trusted secure escrow services across the globe. So if you want to go further, let me know your full name, complete shipping address and phone number in order to open a transaction with eBay Motors and declare you as a buyer, I will use your details also to transfer the registration over. After I register the transaction on eBay, they will contact you and explain the whole process in detail. eBay will contact you without any obligation to buy or pay any fees, the fees will be paid by me as a seller. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Let me know if you think this is OK or a fraud.

Cheers

[robertybob-46]

I sent my rely to the wrong person Lol...... I read your story and it is almost identical to an offer I received from a Facebook listing. The "seller" had to be paid by bank transfer, purportedly was in the armed forces and  being deployed, hence the need of an urgent sale. I asked to inspect the vehicle but didn't receive any details of location. The request for payment email I received had eBay letterheads etc. The offer was the same as yours, to inspect the vehicle upon it's arrival and if unsatisfactory could be returned within 5 days at their expense and I would receive the full refund from eBay. I would be required to provide photos of my driver's license in order to ID me which is something eBay would never request, as they know me by name already. All I have to do is log in, my ID has already been confirmed. I tried to report it to eBay to protect their name but they only fobbed me off to a machine voice. The Facebook listing on searching 'sellers other items', was listed in Melb. Sydney, Canberra, Townsville, Perth, Brisbane and so on. Inspection welcome on weekends only. No phone number provided. Most fB ads are scams now it would seem.

[countessalmirena]

@robertybob-46,

You replied to posts that were made 2 years ago. (The date of a post is on the top right of the post itself.)

Also, when you post on a thread, it’s visible to all. You’re not sending a private message to a particular person.

Regarding these scams, I’m glad you realised it was indeed a scam. The best indicator is well before you’re asked for ID - when the car apparently up for sale is at a price lower than its current market value. Nobody is lonely to be selling a price at an unrealistically low price, particularly not in a time where the cost of living crisis is hitting hard.

We need to be educated and educate others about the expectation of a bargain and how this makes us vulnerable. Australians in particular are being seen by scammers as greedy for a bargain and a soft target.