A call for help.

[dmfunk]

Hello, my name is Dylan, and I am a Macaddict. Everything I learned about computers I learned on a mac, and for good reason.... they’re just great machines.

I’m posting here because I was the victim of eBay fraud. The new school I’m attending requires that all students tote around a laptop made by Apple. As I’m an impoverished student, I was desperate for a deal on a new Macbook. After browsing eBay for a day or two, I thought I had hit gold. Not only was the seller offering a black Macbook in mint condition, they lived in Canada, so I wouldn’t have to pay duty. I immediately bid, setting my max to $1260. A few hours elapsed and the auction ended, with me coming out on top.

I was over the moon! I was going to save $581 in buying on eBay! I rushed to open a bank account that supported Certapay (the seller’s accepted method of payment.) Two days after winning the auction, I sent $1000 of the $1300 to this person calling themself “Kevin Jollimoore.” The next day, I completed my payment and grinned.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at this point. Kevin had never sold anything on eBay before, but he had been a buyer with a 100% rating. His emails had been polite and seemed completely valid. However, after paying this person, I heard absolutely nothing in return.

Understandably worried, I emailed him and asked if everything was ok on his end. No reply.

The next day, I emailed again, saying that I would be forced to contact eBay if I heard nothing further. This seemed to get his attention, as he emailed an hour later saying that he’d have the package out by the next day (last Monday.)

Since then, I have heard absolutely nothing in reply. His eBay account has been suspended, his contact information doesn’t match the information in his listing... in fact, his phone number has a Montana area code.

I’m posting in Mac forums because I’m at the end of my rope. I’ve informed the police (they’re backed up so I have to wait a week for an officer to call back) which is the only thing I could think of doing. I’ve done reverse lookups on Canadian and American sites, with no luck.

Can anyone offer their expertise/help? I need a computer for September... and now I don’t have a way to pay for it. I’m not asking for money or anything, just knowledge.

Help!!!

"Kevin's" contact info (copy+paste from ebay):

User ID: kevn.jollm
Name: Kevin Jollimoore
Company:
City: Toronto
State: ON
Country: Canada
Phone: (406) 767-7675
Registered Since: Thursday, Mar 30, 2006 03:38:16 EST

[michaeldmartin]

What domain is his email address; if it's his isp, you can contact his ISP for his info also; I would contact the company you paid with and ask what their policy is for this kind of thing. Tell us who hosts his email if at all possible and could you tell us if the phone number is real?

[bradc]

I live near Toronto and the only area codes in Toronto are 416 & 647, and the surrounding areas use 905&519, NOT, NOT 406 as you have typed.

Is there any more info, an address?

[michaeldmartin]

My area code is 404 so it couldn't be far!
(DUN DUN DUNNNNNN)
http://www.allareacodes.com/montana_area_codes.htm
there's a list (i think) of the places that use 406

[pianoman]

sorry about your misfortune. that really sucks.

as for what you should do about it:
- my knowledge of ebay is limited, but i know they have some type of guarantee or protection from fraud. make sure you talk to someone at ebay asap.

- i've never heard of that method of payment (certapay) but i've never bought on ebay so maybe it's common and i just don't know. what i do know is that legit internet payment companies like paypal and the recently-launched google checkout have protections against fraud. talk to them right after you get off the phone with the ebay people.

- perhaps the bank you opened an account with can assist in getting your money back. i know certain credit cards offer this service, but i've never heard of a bank doing it. it wouldn't hurt to ask, though.

good luck and let us know what happens.

[elfin buddy]

I can tell you that the mods on this forum might not like you posting all of his supposed information here...they're very big on privacy rights and whatnot, even if the guy is a scammer.

These Certapay people...do they let you request refunds on money you've sent, like PayPal does?

EDIT: Just looked up Certapay...now I know why their name was familiar. In Canada, at least, they facilitate direct email money transfers between Canadian bank accounts. So, since you used their service, I take it that you made a direct deposit into this guy's bank account?!? :eek:

Sorry man, but that's not something you should do with strangers...

[michaeldmartin]

sorry about your misfortune. that really sucks.

as for what you should do about it:
- my knowledge of ebay is limited, but i know they have some type of guarantee or protection from fraud. make sure you talk to someone at ebay asap.

Pretty sure that's what paypal's for. I wouldn't buy anything from ebay using something other than paypal.

[elfin buddy]

I did a reverse phone number lookup for you on Bigfoot.

Basically, the number is unlisted, but there's some other information that might be useful if it is indeed the guy's real phone number. To see it, go here (https://www.intelius.com/people-search-phone.html), enter the phone number, and search. It gives the town and county where the number *would* be located if it were listed, and also names the carrier for that phone number. Good luck :o

[pianoman]

Pretty sure that's what paypal's for. I wouldn't buy anything from ebay using something other than paypal.

right, but doesn't ebay have a similar service? or do they do everything money-related through paypal?

certapay should have a similar feature, if ebay can't help him out.

[balamw]

right, but doesn't ebay have a similar service? or do they do everything money-related through paypal.
eBay bought PayPal a long time ago.

All big eBay purchasers should consider using an escrow service...

B

[elfin buddy]

certapay should have a similar feature, if ebay can't help him out.

Actually, I don't think Certapay has any refund procedures once someone has accepted the money transfer. I believe it's a direct transfer between two accounts, so the money officially belongs to the receiver once it's deposited.

Since we're talking real, honest-to-goodness bank accounts here, Certapay can't do jack all to freeze assets or reclaim money.

[dmfunk]

Wow, so many posts.

michaeldmartin, his email is a gmail account, so no luck there.

Bradc, that's all the information I have.

Pianoman, eBay has denied that he is a scammer and that he is probably just out of town. Maybe it's true, but I paid $40 in shipping, which I assume is only 2-3 business days.

Elfin buddy, I'm kind of ticked off at this guy so I don't mind posting his info. If a mod wants to take it down, I have no problem with it. And yes... I directly deposited into his bank account.

Certapay has said that they can tell me who the recipient of the transfer was if I show them a police warrant. They have no way of returning the money to me.

The thing that confuses me is this: His phone number is from Montana, his info says he's from Toronto and his listing said he lives in Regina. He must have a Canadian bank account to accept the transfer... so where is he? Mor importantly... where's my computer! Bah... I'll stop rambling now and get back to looking for information. Thanks for the enthusiastic replies thus far.

[pianoman]

if certapay requires a police warrant, go to a public attorney (one that represents the government) and tell them what happened and they'll probably set you up with a warrant. make your tax dollars work for you.

i would continue pressing ebay since that doesn't seem like a good enough response. how mad can you get when on the phone? more mad = better. especially since you paid $40 for shipping... that is quite a bit.

what happens when you call the phone number?

[Raid]

"Kevin's" contact info (copy+paste from ebay):

User ID: kevn.jollm
Name: Kevin Jollimoore
Company:
City: Toronto
State: ON
Country: Canada
Phone: (406) 767-7675
Registered Since: Thursday, Mar 30, 2006 03:38:16 EST
Hi, sorry to hear about your problems... I'm going to spare you the lecture on "safe ebaying" right now and get down to tracking this guy. I did a search on canada411.ca and replacing the area code with '416' didn't come up with a Jollimoore. Interstingly enough when I type in the original number I get this :
(406) 767-7675 is a land line based in Ridge, MT The registered service provider is Rt Communications**. Detailed listing information is not available.

I can't find anybody with that last name listed in Toronto, or Canada for that matter. So I think chasing down the contact information would be a waste of time.

I think you might want to persue the problem with your bank. Certapay is really just a new method of bank to bank transfers. You should be able to request details on your accounts transactions, and see where the money went. Now I'm not saying you'll get the guy's name and address or anything, but if you provide your emailed correspondence with him I'm sure they could escalate this to some sort of fraud protection service.

Good luck. I hope this is all really a misunderstanding, but it does have all the tell tale signs of a sour deal.

[dmfunk]

I don't suppose anyone would know the phone number of eBay Canada? Their customer support is... how you say... teh suck.

/back to googling