Fraudulent Seller I lost $1350AU

[jcrosthw]

I have been scammed and lost $1350AU which is about $1000US. The scammer listed an Ipad pro and provided the only option for payment to be direct bank transfer. I decided to proceed with the transaction using the bank details provided through the ebay site itself. I based my decision to proceed on the seller feedback.  The seller was shown as a member of ebay for 10 years and had 115 feedback items all positive some of which were highly commlimentary. Soon after I paid I recieved an email from ebay who had just identified this seller to be suspicious and immediately de-listed the the item I had just paid for. I have put in a non-delivery complaint to ebay and made an official compliant about the seller. I have also request return of the money through my bank as the transaction was conducted within Australia. Unlikely to to have any success there. This is a considerable sum of money and ebay have not responded to any of my complaints. Is there any other way I can contact ebay and ask for immediate action about this scammer.

[twyngwyn]

ebay will be unlikely to offer you any help as you paid by bank transfer....it also may have been a 'hacked' account.....

report online fraud:

https://www.cyber.gov.au/acsc/report

[lyndal1838]

You have no protection through ebay as you paid with an unsafe payment method.

There is no protection for bank deposit payments.

[repentatleisure1952]

Once again Phineas T. Barnum is correct.

[jcrosthw]

Yes so why do ebay allow this type of transaction anyway? Surely ebay could have warned me that I had no protection saying "do you really want to proceed etc"..... They keep promoting their buyer guarantee but you need to read the fine print.....

[padi*0409]

eBay doesn't allow it, but scammers get around it by offering credit card payment in the listing (EFTPOS) which they probably don't have.

https://www.ebay.com.au/help/selling/listings/choosing-get-paid?id=4106

[daydreams_12]

The fine print forms part of any transaction that you participate in.  As already mentioned this may well have been a hacked account.  I feel for you but unless your bank can help there is not a great deal you can do.  Ebay certainly cant/wont.

I would contact Online fraud on the link that has been given.  It wont get your money back but may cause a few probs for the scammer if you have enough details  PLEASE DONT PAY DIRECT DEPOSIT

[repentatleisure1952]

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@jcrosthw wrote:

Yes so why do ebay allow this type of transaction anyway? Surely ebay could have warned me that I had no protection saying "do you really want to proceed etc"..... They keep promoting their buyer guarantee but you need to read the fine print.....

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I looked at the MBG... no fine print... all the same font size... 2 clicks & 20 seconds to find what is not covered.

https://www.ebay.com.au/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-pol...

[jellybirddesigns]

I'm really sorry to hear this happened.

However,  why not buy direct from Apple and at least have peace of mind? Or, if you're in the market for a second hand one, I know you can get from places like EB games which will also come with a guarantee. 

Never, ever pay with bank deposit 😞

Ebay cannot assist you with this, but perhaps your bank will be able to help if you can show that you have been defrauded.

I think I read somewhere that banks do have a duty to assist in these cases - you have to approach the bank with the facts that even though you sent the money in good faith, the seller was a scammer who gave you limited options on how to pay and had no intention of ever sending the device. Seller has therefore acquired the funds illegally and you need the bank to pursue it.

[*tippy*toes*]

All the recent scam attempts (and successes), the "seller" usually lists AMEX along with direct deposit, as the safe payment method. They get around it that way. Most people have a credit card, not that many have AMEX, so the scammer knows it's unlikely a buyer will use that option. Not that they would be able to anyway, because the payment would be in limbo.