Got burned bad on Ebay

[troy2198]

Well I learned the hard way for the first and last time that new ebay users can be easily taken advantage of. So I'm thinking (after upgrading from a blackberry storm to a droid) that ebay might be a good way to make some money off of the old celly. So I take my time getting the pictures and the information in the posts correct and presentable. Once the posting is up, someone opts to buy it now which was odd because they were the first ones to look at the auction. Granted I have never used ebay before and paypal so I am not familiar with how things proceed and what happens when so I guess I was an easy target. The person that bought it supposedly lived in France (also have never dealt with how things work internationally) but wanted the item shipped to someone in Nigeria. Also I started receiving strange emails from paypal which at a glance look legit. So like the idiot I am I follow their instructions which said "For Security Purposes:

• To complete this payment, you must ship the item to the shipping address given to you by the buyer and provide us with the shipment tracking number to: paid.verify@europe.com for verification within 48hours so that we can credit your PayPal account accept or deny it within 30 days.

• Get back to us with the Shipment Tracking details so that we can verify that the item has been shipped and transfer the funds deducted from the buyer's PayPal account to your account.
• You can also send the Shipment Tracking details to the buyer if you want."
  

So I went a head and shipped it so I can get a tracking number believing that I was to get paid after.

[FONT=georgia, serif]Dear ,

The status of your PayPal account on our database shows that you have received a message for a new funds. We've placed a temporary hold on the funds for transaction between you and Mrs Monica Christian[/FONT][FONT=georgia, serif]. PayPal Team is working hard to make it safer than ever to pay online. One of the boldest steps to identify transactions is by holding some payments for security measures.Verification of tracking number details required to complete the transaction. Therefore, you are mandated to ship the item within 24Hours and supply the shipment tracking number details, as appears on the transfer receipt. Your account is being monitored and the funds will be accessible in your PayPal account when the tracking number (s) are received.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The pending funds has been debited from the buyer's account and will be automatically credited into your account immediately we receive the tracking number for security purpose[/FONT].

[FONT=arial, sans-serif]

[/FONT]


[FONT=georgia, serif]Verified PayPal Transaction.
[/FONT][FONT=georgia, serif]Forward the Tracking Details directly to Verification Department (paid.verify@europe.com).Be advised that this is a security measure to protect both parties involved in this transaction.

We apologize for any inconvenience.[/FONT][FONT=georgia, serif]
Thanks you for using PayPal http://www.paypal.com/,
The PayPal Team.[/FONT]




Well it turns out that not only were the emails fake, but so were all the accounts made and names and everything. Which I did not find out until Sunday in which it was pretty much too late to take any action since everyone was closed.

So long story short, I got burned. The silver lining in all of this was at least it was just an item and not a bank account like Nigeria is notorious for doing. Still got the last laugh though. Called Verizon and got the phone turned into a paper weight. Lesson learned, the hard way. But never again will I do anything internationally, or even with ebay since they decided to tell me after 4 days that the person was a fraud. Customer protection my ass. So I figured I'd vent, and listen to all the other people tell me I'm and idiot. Let me know what you think.

 

[chraland51]

I have done a few hundred transactions on ebay and have had very good luck over the years. However, I would never, never buy from or sell anything to or from anywhere in africa. I have heard about nothing, but scams coming out of that place ever since the scam for people to send someone a few hundred dollars to help get released a few million dollars that would be shared with the scammee. Yeah, right!!! Ebay and Paypal will not protect you or go after crooks. I am sorry to hear about your loss, but it is not that expensive of a good lesson. The only things that come out of africa lately are things like our president and we all have our opinions on the quality of that item.

 

[slmlrd]

Sorry to hear you got burned. This is a pretty common scam. ANother one is for someone to send you a money order for more than the agreed amount and then you send a refund for the difference. The money orders are fake and will bounce out of your account in a few days.

On line is one of the most dangerous places to be. Maybe we should have on line LTCH's.

 

[irishfan]

I will not deal with any buyers or sellers that are not in the United States. There are to many scams out there without a doubt.

 

[ATM]

...So I figured I'd vent, and listen to all the other people tell me I'm and idiot. Let me know what you think.

I think you're and idiot.

J/K Sorry that crap happened to you.

The "grammar police" flags are usually a good clue they're phishin'

...or pharmin'

or whatever they call this philthy practice of scamming nowadays.

 

[jason867]

A little common sense and attention to detail will alert you to fraud like this, in my opinion.

I've haven't had bad experiences on ebay yet either, over a hundred transactions.

I make it a point to advertise that I will not ship items internationally, unless it's something particularly valuable, in which case I limit it to canada. I would probably be willing to ship to the u.k. on certain things.

If you can't sell it in the U.S., chances are you won't be able to sell it internationally either, so just limit yourself to the U.S. and cut back your chances of fraud and headache.

 

[zombiehunter]

Man, I thought everyone knew at this point that ANYTHING having to do with Nigeria was a scam!

Sorry about it happening to you, but next time I would suggest doing research! Nigeria is the one place that you NEVER deal with! (I personally won't deal with outside of the US, but that's just me)

 

[Yamaha]

always post united states only, always ship after payment recieved(no compromises), never drop ship it to anything other than the person's mailing address....words of wisdom for ebay.....

 

[redneckmedic]

I will not deal with any buyers or sellers that are not in the United States. There are to many scams out there without a doubt.

THIS /\

The level of a Con's con is always increasing.... shame on him this time. Chaulk it up to lesson learned.

 

[Expat]

Man, I thought everyone knew at this point that ANYTHING having to do with Nigeria was a scam!

Sorry about it happening to you, but next time I would suggest doing research! Nigeria is the one place that you NEVER deal with! (I personally won't deal with outside of the US, but that's just me)

Yep, anyone that has been on the internet for very long should hear alarm bells going off when told to ship to Nigeria. Sorry.

 

[Cemetery-man]

Always check email from ebay or paypal closely before opening it. The "real" ebay/Paypal will always include your real name to verify that it is ligit. A fake email will be adressed to your ebay username and/or simpy paypal member since they have no way of knowing your real name.

Anyone that has used ebay will get hundreds of fake emails sent to them over time trying to get your account info. The most common is to update your paypal account which will ask for your username and password.

Ebay is a breeding ground for scam artists trying to rob members. Definitely a place where you have to be on guard all the time.

 

[Clay]

I dont sell much of anything international through ebay, and the few times I have, I check and double check.

I also never log into ebay or paypal through an email link. Always go through the home page of the site.

 

[woundedyak]

I will not buy or sell from anyone over seas. I also use Paypal only when buying.

 

[jedi]

Sry to hear about your bad experience. I'm an "old hat" around ebay (stopped using them about 18 months ago due to high fee, etc..) but still sell online via other sites.

Some things to remember for any site.
-IGNORE any emails period! PayPal, eBay, your bank all have built-in message centers and that *IS* the only way to ever communicate with them and/or get important information from them.

- Legit emails from PayPal, Ebay, Your bank (ie. Chase) will inform you that a "new" message is at the message center. This way you know for sure that the message is coming from them.

- DO NOT CLICK ON ANY LINK IN THE EMAILS TO LOG INTO YOUR ACO****.

- DO NOT CLICK ON ANY LINK IN THE EMAILS TO LOG INTO YOUR ACO****.

- DO NOT CLICK ON ANY LINK IN THE EMAILS TO LOG INTO YOUR ACO****.

Yes I am repeating that 3 times. The links in the email may look real but may direct you to some other "fake" site that looks just like PayPal, eBay, Chase, etc..

Instead always, always, always open your web browser and type in the url yourself. www (dot) paypal (dot) com, www (dot) ebay (dot) com, etc...

- Use SIGNATURE CONFIRMATION for any mailing. I foot the cost of this for my sales (buyer pays shipping) but this ensures that you have proof that said person got the item. No signature NO delivery period!

- Never mail anything until you have payment.

- Mail ONLY to the address provided by PayPal and to the person PayPal tells you. Otherwise you lose the PayPal "protection".


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[slimplmbr]

Sorry to hear you were burned but ebay does warn people about third party shipments and payments. All you have to do is read a little. Just in case you didn't read it don't ever respond to an email from paypal needing to update your information. Always go to paypal's website and they will prompt you if more info is needed. I have used ebay to buy and sell internationally for over ten years now and have never been burnt. A little reading and common sense goes a long way.

 

[spec4]

I get a lot of "paypal" e-mails, always delete them without opening. Once I was selling a hitch for an RV and got an inquiry from Kasakstan (sp?), like sure, they have RV's there and need tow hitches!! Just told them sorry, US only. I bought from Germany and UK, but checked them out first.

 

[troy2198]

Man, I thought everyone knew at this point that ANYTHING having to do with Nigeria was a scam!

Sorry about it happening to you, but next time I would suggest doing research! Nigeria is the one place that you NEVER deal with! (I personally won't deal with outside of the US, but that's just me)

You see thats the thing, if it was Nigeria from the start I may have been more aware of it. But the original buyer was from France. Heres the email I got from the supposed buyer. (also just to note the names and places are probably fake and thus is why I'm not censoring it.)

Dear Mate,


How are you doing this morning and how was your night?, sorry you are getting this from me late as I got back late from work yesterday - pretty late. It has been a very longand busy day for me..just want to take a short nap and will resume for today's work again. As I said before, I bought this item for my Husband - who is currently working with (WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION).


I want to tell you that the payment for this item has been made and the total money has been deducted from my Credit Card. I have made a 60.00 USD available for the shipping through Usps Mail International Signed For RE or RR, did you get a message confirming this as I received a Receipt No:4736-0287-2092-232 after the money was removed from my Credit card, so endeavor to get the item in the Post ASAP this morning, so that it can get to my husband on time for the Birthday anniversary coming up next week, and confirm what ever shipping info given to you to PayPal as I have been told that I will only get the shipping info after you have received your money.


Here is the delivery address below - it has also been CONFIRMED by PayPal:
ROGERS CHRISTIAN
30 OGUNTOLA STREET
SHOMOLO
LAGOS -STATE
NIGERIA
23401


Hope to hear from you soon. Bye and take good care of


yourself.
Many thanks,



The wife buying a phone for her husband bit in my mind was pretty believable. Its not as obvious as I'm a prince and I want to give all my money to you. There is really no way for me to know if that story was legit. Sadly it wasn't. This one was a bit more thought out and I think better executed than the ones I've seen before.



​

 

[troy2198]

Always check email from ebay or paypal closely before opening it. The "real" ebay/Paypal will always include your real name to verify that it is ligit. A fake email will be adressed to your ebay username and/or simpy paypal member since they have no way of knowing your real name.

Anyone that has used ebay will get hundreds of fake emails sent to them over time trying to get your account info. The most common is to update your paypal account which will ask for your username and password.

Ebay is a breeding ground for scam artists trying to rob members. Definitely a place where you have to be on guard all the time.

As far as using the real name, on the fake receipt from paypal and ebay they both used my full name. Tell me what you think of this ...

You Have Gotten New Funds!

Receipt No::4736-0287-2092-232Hello A******T C******,

Monica Christian has sent you an instant payment of $345,00 with PayPal for an eBay item.

For Security Purposes:

• To complete this payment, you must ship the item to the shipping address given to you by the buyer and provide us with the shipment tracking number to: paid.verify@europe.com for verification within 48hours so that we can credit your PayPal account accept or deny it within 30 days.

• Get back to us with the Shipment Tracking details so that we can verify that the item has been shipped and transfer the funds deducted from the buyer's PayPal account to your account.
• You can also send the Shipment Tracking details to the buyer if you want.
  

Seller Information
eBay ID: t********
Account: t**********@*******.com
Item Number: ********1968
Item Amount: $275,00
Postage & Packing: $60,00
Total Cost Paid: $345,00
Item Title: BlackBerry Storm2 9550 (Verizon)

Important Note: For security purposes, This payment is pending because it was sent in a currency in which you do not currently hold a balance. Also we got complains from our customer that some seller refuse to post an item after they have receive clear fund.Therefore to complete this transaction. Get back to us with the tracking number details so that we can verify that the item has been shipped and transfer the funds deducted from the buyer's PayPal account to your account. If you have any question or you want to send the Shipment details to us at PayPal customercare at: paid.verify@europe.com You can also send the bar code details to the buyer if you want. If you do not accept or deny this payment within 30 days, it will be cancelled and the funds will be returned to [FONT=tahoma, 'new york', times, serif]Monica Christian[/FONT]"s account.

Buyers Shipping details

Name: Rogers Christian,
Address:30 Oguntola Street
Shomolu
23401
Lagos,Nigeria
Address Status Verified

If you have any question or you want to send the Shipment Tracking details to us, please contact us at: paid.verify@europe.com

Thank you for using PayPal!
The PayPal Team

You can contact our customer service care at: paidverification@usa.com

(My info was the only things to be censored)

 

[jedi]

@troy

Do you have a PayPal account?
That email you got did you read it as saying that they had sent you $345 to your PayPal account?

 

[troy2198]

Yeah I have one. This was my first time using both ebay and paypal. So I had no idea what to expect out of it. I read both emails as thoroughly as I could and yes I did a lot of checking back and forth and wondering what was happening. Since it was an international deal I also didn't know what to expect.