eBay follow up email fraud

[wergeni]

To stat with I want to say thanks to every one on this boards, I had forgot how good forums can be, haven't been around for a looong time.

I have been on eBay to find myself a new computer, hoped to find a good deal, I don't have unlimited amount of money so I thought I could try eBay. Of course I lost out on all good trades... The day after my first loss I received this mail from a guy how had exactly what I was looking for. He thought eBay was a bit slow and time consuming, just as me (I been so frustrated about the slow site and the need to wait to closing date) so we kind off connected direct, my new friend and I. AND what a deal when!!! Jackpot x 2!!!

Then another email from another trader, this one with a better deal! A lot of computers out there! Fantastic!!! It's the buyers market, must be people upgrading to G5!!!
Then another guy... same story, but even better. Fan-fu#king-amazing!!!
Dual 1.25Ghz, loaded spec and a 23" cinema and a 20GB iPod for £1400 ($ 2200).
Like a dream, ahhh, yeah, I kind of think... hot stuff... but I was still positive, never give up, every one have a private reason... SO I said yes to the deal so he email me his bank details. I found out he lived in Holland and in the same city as a friend of me. I thought that was brilliant and suggested my friend could pop by with the cash and pick up the (hotish) stuff...
> > > Sorry , but i don't meet with the buyers.
Then even I got the picture... I'm Swedish and trust everyone

Now I think I have 7 guys on the email how want to sell dream machines for dream $£.
How difficult can it be to get this guys?
I still kind of believe one of them though, he say he bought a busted shop in Italy... I know I shouldn't believe that one as well... I like to believe in people... Bugger, they are all fraud!!! It just to accept that, now I have lost all believe...

Is it me that are too "blue eyed" (Swedish expression?) and stupid, but that was a really close call for me!?!?
It must be a site somewhere to report this scum bags?

Back to start again, and I'm not going to buy anything expensive privately over the net, for sure.

If some one still read this long crap thread pleas give some secure advise there to get a good deal, or should I just type in my card # at the Apple Shop and don't spend more time on this???
The G5 1.6Ghz have the right price, but is it as good as a used G4 dual 1.25Ghz ???

Now I'm on the row, why are the price here in UK so much higher then US???
G5 1.6Ghz - £1549 -> $2460 in US = $1999 19% cheaper
G5 1.8Ghz - £1849 -> $2933 in US = $2399 19%
G4 1.25Ghz - £1489 -> $2362 in US = $1949 18% AND I think that's without super drive!!! I get so irritated!!!

Thanks for your time
Hakan Wergeni

 

[Sun Baked]

The seller frauds are idiots, i like the buyer frauds.

I'll buy your {item} for the buy-now price today.

I've got a buddy that owes me money, he'll send you a check. And you can ship me item as soon as it clears.

Sends cashiers check for a hundreds/thousand MORE than item.

My friend sent you too much, idiot. Just deposit the check, and when the check clears you can Western Union me the money when you ship the {item}.

Bank releases money.

You send money and {item}.

Cashier check bounces 14-days to 21-days later.

Bank mad at you, you paid someone to steal your {item}.

 

[Plutronics]

Just my opinion, don't buy anything outside of e-bay from those that contact you. it is safer to assume they are all scams than to chance loosing your money. e-bay has a form for all suspected frauds/scams and have rules against outside e-bay sales for good reason. i'd suggest sending e-bay all the info/e-mails you received and let them deal with it. They do a good job of Covering their ass and by proxy, yours! e-bay can be a waste of time if you let it. I've bought four Macs this year on e-bay and am satisfied with all.
Some advise:
don't get caught up in the Buying / Bidding Frenzy, decide what you want, what you want to pay, make a proxy bid on one and if it goes over that, LET It Go and bid on the next in line.
don't bother bidding on units days off... bid the day as it ends. saves time.
Use "Watch this item" and look the next day when it's sold , click on the item link and get a feel for the items worth (on e-bay anyhow) to help you decide on what you want / can afford.
I bought 2 of my four with "Buy it Now" from "regular vendors" (Blue and White G3's) I had seen a few go for a little less, but most for a little more and save some time over bidding etc.
I bid on four QuickSilvers before i got one for my $1100 proxy bid and did well at 1075 including shipping. It's running 24/7 since March 2003!
Good Luck!
plutronics@earthlink.net

 

[tazo]

if its too good to be true, it is. Period.

I hope you end up getting whatever you wanted but be careful in the future man.

 

[rainman::|:|]

Originally posted by Plutronics
Just my opinion, don't buy anything outside of e-bay from those that contact you.

Not just your opinion, but good common sense, not to mention an eBay rule--

pnw

 

[Powerbook G5]

You have to be really careful with eBay, I have had friends really burnt by people on there. As already said, 99.9% of the time, if it's too good to be true, then run away as fast as you can. Anything dealing with wiring money or sending through another person or doing something outside of the system is without a doubt a scam. Be careful if there are lots of terms and conditions. Stuff like that. Just be careful and good luck.

 

[QCassidy352]

the OP asked if the single 1.6 G5 is as good as the dual 1.25 G4. I would have to say that the G5 will be a good deal faster (especially once it gets apps optimized for the G5 processor). Current benchmarks (with apps that are not G5 aware) seem to show the 1.6 G5 coming out ahead of the dual 1.25 G4, right? So I'd say that the single processor G5 is a great choice.

Question for Sun Baked:
how does that scam work? How can the cashiers check bounce? because 1) isn't a cashiers check pre-paid like a money order? and 2) why would the seller ship before the cashiers check clears?

 

[Sun Baked]

Originally posted by QCassidy352
Question for Sun Baked:
how does that scam work? How can the cashiers check bounce? because 1) isn't a cashiers check pre-paid like a money order? and 2) why would the seller ship before the cashiers check clears?

There are fake cashiers checks and money order (lots of them). Some fraudulent checks are even "valid" accounts .

On money orders, checks, cashiers checks, etc. the bank is releasing the money automatically in 2-7 days and may bounce the checks 3 weeks after deposit.

Lot's of people have had the money released into their accounts and then ran short when checks bounced.

We got a check that a bank teller caught, the teller though it looked funny (looked real) bounced 6 weeks later. Though it was on an investigative hold, so the money was never released.

 

[wergeni]

Thanks for the feedback!
Yeah, I reckon I have learned a lesson. As a newbe to buy from private people I think it's quite easy to get fouled into this. If I had done the deal and lost my cash I also reckon I would keep it for my self and not telling anyone, now I feel bloody stupid that I could be so naive.

QCassidy352, thanks again! I reckon I will go for the G5, looks sweet as well
I will keep my old school big mama 21" screen until I really can afford to get a nice cinema display...

Cheers
Hakan Wergeni

 

[wergeni]

New offer

Sir,
_
_We could offer you the 1.25Ghz DUAL G4 with 23" Apple Cinema Display for 1300EURO+80EURO for the WU transfere fee to Italy at the company.
_We have the G5 with the same specs as the Apple.com web page with 23" Apple Display for 1700EURO+80EURO for the WU transfere fee to Italy.
_Please advice us exactly what you want to buy and send us the shipping details if you agree so we can close the deal.
_
_Kind regards,


Dream price!!!
Please Apple drop the price to this level!!!

 

[mstecker]

eBay can work, though

I've bought and sold six or seven apple computers of various types on eBay over the last few years, and I've never been burned. There are plenty of honest sellers and decent deals out there. Here are some things to look for:

- If you're buying, see that the seller has a picture of the actual item he's selling - not just a cut and paste from the Apple website. This can be easily faked, of course, but I don't think I've ever run across a scammer that could be bothered to do this.

- If you're buying, always ask the seller if he'll use an escrow service - you'll pay all of the escrow fees. If he says "yes", and he's willing to use a legitimate escrow service, he's probably okay. I usually drop the escrow request at that point.

- If you're buying, and it's a high dollar item - call the seller on the phone after you win. Talk to him. Ask him why he's selling. Does it sound legit?

- Also, look at the user's feedback - not just their number. Do they have positive feedbacks as a seller of similarly high priced items? Two feedback patterns should make you very cautious: First, a seller who has built a positive feedback rating by recently buying a large number of small priced items. Second, a seller that has a high - or even very high feedback rating, but where most of the feedback dates from a long time ago, and there's only a bit of recent (and small) activity. That often indicates a dormant account that's been comprimised by a scammer.

Hope this helps. Ebay is fantastic because a liquid market for used macs really solves any upgrade problems that people complain about for macs. You may not be able to buy a G5 upgrade for your G4, but you can very easily sell your G4 and put the proceeds towards a G5.

 

[cb911]

there are lots of people saying they are from Italy that are running a scam. Just make sure you use an escrow service or something.

i'm not sure if you can report a scam unless you are actually a victim of a scam, meaning that until you've handed over the cash and don't have the goods, then you haven't been scammed yet.

i think you would be able to report that one though. i think there is a link somewhere on eBay's site that you can report frauds.

but for people that only suspect a fraud, i don't think there is anything you can do.

 

[Sun Baked]

Re: LA Times labels it as a twist on the Nigerian scam

LA Times - Businesses are sent bogus checks for far more than the items bought and told to 'refund' the remainder.

Kathy M. Kristof

September 7, 2003

...

Here's how it works:

A con artist orders merchandise from a business, usually targeting small, independent retailers. He tells a story to cover why he'll be sending a check for more than the selling price. The tales vary in detail, but follow a general script, Grant said.

Sending money from a Third World country is difficult, the con man will say. But someone in the United States owes him money, so he'll have that person send the retailer a check to cover the cost of the purchase. That amount is always more than the actual cost of whatever product is being sold, so the con artist will ask the retailer to send a "refund" for the difference, Grant said.

The problem is that the original check sent to the victim is bogus, but it's often such an expert forgery that it can take weeks for the retailer's bank to discover the fraud. When the bank does discover the forgery, the victim's bank account is debited for the full amount of the fraudulent check.

...

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