CRIMINALS (SCAM SELLERS) WHO USE ONLINE OR CONFIDENCE TRICKS

1. They usually ask ONLY for Western Union or other Money Wire Transfer company (like Egold or Moneygram). They may lie in their auction ads that they'll allow paypal or checks or money orders, etc., BUT ONCE THE AUCTION ENDS when you email each other, the seller says he ONLY wants WU or other money wire transfer service for whatever excuse he'll come up with that he can't accept the other types of payment which should be your explanation to ebay (against ebay selling rules) when you refuse to pay the scam seller.
2. These type of scams usually have the seller as having FALSE EBAY CONTACT INFO.,which should be your explanation to ebay (against ebay member rules) when you refuse to pay the scam seller. Many times, the scam seller can still get back on as a member by pretending to ebay he's moved and forgot to change his contact info. He may list a semi-honest phone/address for a while on Contact info which for sure will not be honest, so you'll have to do more verification like pay him a visit IN PERSON or call neighboring addresses/businesses/persons.
3. These sellers may have EXCELLENT FEEDBACK (mainly because of account hijacking) but again he'll probably list a FALSE CONTACT INFO and more than likely, the category of the excellent feedback is VASTLY DIFFERENT from the high priced $$$ he's selling to you e.g. the feedback shows excellent selling of $15 used books but you're buying a hundred $$$ Sony Playstation from him
4. They can use ONLINE TRICKS from account hijacking to fake escrow & fake company websites to phishing emails to tricking buyers with shipping tracking numbers using the WEB'S GLOBAL TOOLS to hacking with the auction ads so that they can have access to your financial/personal info that's on your computer.
5. They'll RELY ON NAIVE EBAY BUYERS who are naive to ebay's inner processes so they'll use ONLINE TRICKS like pretending to be ebay or the seller and send fake Second Chance Offers(SCO's) or other fake ebay/seller emails.
6. They'll RELY ON NAIVE EBAY BUYERS who are naive to ebay's inner processes so they'll use "CONFIDENCE" TRICKS like seller delays to false claims like their items are "ebay guaranteed" and use other confidence tricks.
7. These scams usually mean NON-DELIVERY--You paid for the item and you don't get any item sent back to you. The worst scam that a seller can run on a buyer is also the simplest: Take the buyer's payment and don't send anything in return.

   More than 80% of the online-auction complaints the FTC receives fall into this category.

   This is practiced by almost every type of SCAM seller listed here except for triangulation/fencing (which is a more sophisticated type of scam) and for misrepresentation sellers(who'll just send you lower valued goods).

--WESTERN UNION PAYMENT: These scams usually rely on you to send an unsafe(for the buyer) type of payment.

YOU'RE DEALING WITH A CRIMINAL IF THEY ONLY ASK FOR WU OR OTHER TYPE OF MONEY WIRE TRANSFER PAYMENT

The types of scams listed under this section are:

• ACCOUNT HIJACKING
• Escrow
• Phishing Emails
• "Winner" End of Auction Phishing Emails
• Phishing Websites
• Seller Delays
• Fake SCO's AND any other EMAIL OFFERS from the ALLEGED seller
• Clicking on a spyware auction
• Scam Shipment Tracking Number
• OOTUS or foreign scammers

ACCOUNT HIJACKING CLUES: (as mentioned many times on this website):

Again, account hijacking is a scammer somehow able to hack (whether with phishing emails or other methods) into an ebayer's account, sharing or hijacking the account and pretending to be that ebayer with the intention of scamming by "selling" items he doesn't have. Here are some clues to an account hijacking:

1) by PHISHING EMAILS where ebayers are emailed by scammers pretending to be ebay emailing that they "need" for you to click on their links in the email and enter your password and/or username and once they have this information, they'll hijack your ebay account as scam sellers. I've just now closed my old yahoo account because these creeps keep sending me these emails and i've switched to a new yahoo account which is used ONLY for ebay/paypal related stuff,

2) Scammers may use SAME honest ebayer's EMAIL OR Scammers may use "OTHER" EMAIL: Depending on whether the or not the scammer also has the password for the honest ebayer's account and/or chooses to use it, he may either be using the SAME EMAIL as the honest ebayer (basically sharing or locking the ebayer out) OR THE SCAMMER MAY DIRECT BIDDERS TO ANOTHER EMAIL HE CONTROLS AND TELLS BIDDERS NOT TO EMAIL HIS EBAY LISTED EMAIL. Scammer says on his auction ad to email him directly at a specific email [email protected] or whatever embedded email link he creates and he tells you to not email to the ebay email FOR VARIOUS EXCUSES like he won't respond to his ebay email or because there's something wrong with his ebay-listed email or because that they have already reached their email limit on the ebay-listed email. Scammer says this on the ad, of course, since the ebay email will inform the correct holder of that ebay account as well as ebay. When contacted, they many times require payment via WU, other money wire transfer service, or bank deposit transfer, and the auction ad always says "My ebay email doesn't work, please contact me directly at [email protected]"

CLICK HERE FOR SERIOUS ILLUSTRATION ON ACCT HIJACKING

3) HOW MANY AUCTIONS IS THE SELLER RUNNING AND WHAT OTHER THINGS IS HE SELLING?: The more laptop computer or high $$$ auctions they're selling at the same time they're running your ad is a RED FLAG!! If the seller's feedback indicates he doesn't sell much and suddenly you see 13 pages of auctions or A LOT OF AUCTIONS he's running at the same time even if they're not expensive, RED FLAG!!

4) BINS AND/OR LOW PRICES: Too many buy it nows with the other laptop or high $$$ auctions is a RED FLAG!! Think about it. How many sellers would list high $$$ items as buy it nows?? Most sellers want the highest price so they WANT a regular bidding auction. Why would a LEGITIMATE seller have lots of new or nearly new high $$$ items listed at low prices?? It's not possible!! RED FLAG!!

5) SELLER CURRENCY: If a seller lists their old auction ads before in $$ and now wants Euros?? RED FLAG!!

6) MONEY TRANSFER SERVICE OR DIRECT DEPOSIT INTO SELLER'S ACCT OR FAKE ESCROW SEEMINGLY LEGIT SITE: Seller wants Egold or Moneygram?? Those are money wire transfer services JUST LIKE WU where you'll never get your money back once you send it!! RED FLAG!! Seller wants it sent by account transfer to their account? RED FLAG!! A scammer can forge false I.D.'s or steal I.D.'s easily. Many money wire transfer places like WU are well-known for employees who are known for stealing money and known for their corruption all without leaving documentation behind of what they stole (which is why I use more reputable money wire transfer services when I wire money to relatives in the Philippines). These money wire transfer places like WU will act like ebay and just say "we won't give you as a buyer any more info about the scammer nor help you get your money back from the scammer. Money wiring transfer services are used only to send money to family. we're just here as a service-we're only a 3rd party venue" CRAP CRAP CRAP lines Or is the scammer trying to get you into an Escrow site that looks legit?? RED FLAG!! The only escrow site you should be dealing with is Escrow.com and most sellers who use it have no problems with it.

7) FREE SHIPPING: Seller says he'll give free shipping?? RED FLAG!! No legitimate seller will send a high priced heavy auction for free since they know S/H will be very high.

8) SELLER LOCATION:Seller's old auction ads state he's located in Maine and suddenly he lists himself in Nevada or worse yet Europe, Asia or Africa?? RED FLAG!!

9) FAST SHORT PERIOD FOR AUCTIONS: Seller is listing a 1-day or 3-day auction, BIN, closes early, all of these are clues of a hijack account. A scammer wants to keep the hijacked account as long as possible and not get found and kicked off by ebay so they'll try to close the auction early somehow. Again, this is the total opposite of how an honest seller acts. Most sellers want the HIGHEST PRICES for their auctions and so will try to run a regular auction as long as possible to attract the highest amount of bidders and lookers.

10)FEEDBACK DISCREPANCIES like NAME: Feedbackers in the Seller's comments say things like "Luv doin business with you, Danny." The scam seller's email lists his name as "Fred." See the name difference??

11)SELLER'S CONTACT INFO DOESN'T VERIFY: So the seller's contact info doesn't match the phone directory or phone operator's facts or is not listed in the phone directory or lists a P.O. Box or a PMB(Personal Mail Box) or a Suite # which is really just a PMB or a cell phone number or an answering machine/service or a place which the scam seller uses as an address but he doesn't really live there and/or it's hard contacting him?? VERY LARGE RED FLAG!! NEVER GO THRU WITH THE TRANSACTION. DON'T PAY THIS SCAMMER!!

12) SELLER'S CONTACT INFO DOESN'T MATCH PAST FEEDBACKERS' CONTACT INFO FOR THIS SELLER: Many times, these smart (yeah, i'll call them smart. I'm not ashamed to say that. After all, if they can screw you and me out of money, they have to be CRIMINALLY SMART, right?? They could be smart, too, on some place like Walmart and take our money but at least Walmart will throw them off their property and hire guards or alert the police which I can't say the same for ebay.:-) ), devious scammers will even CHANGE THEIR CONTACT INFO (the address and phone number and email) LISTED WITH EBAY TO THEIR scam locations (while the true ebay holder of the seller account is on vacation or no longer really uses ebay or rarely if ever visits his email). But when you email all his past other feedbackers, they list contact info that is DIFFERENT from the one the scammer is emailing you. VERY LARGE RED FLAG!! NEVER GO THRU WITH THE TRANSACTION. DON'T PAY THIS SCAMMER!!

13)SLEAZY TERMS TO COAX & DECEIVE: Scam seller will give you 50% or more off if you buy more OR "just pay the downpayment as proof of trust." Everything is guaranteed including ebay/paypal/the scammer, etc.

14)PRIVATE FEEDBACK/AUCTIONS AND/OR PRE-APPROVAL AUCTIONS: As stated under "Analyzing Feedback 20 Ways From Sunday," the Scammer wants to hide from ebay & reputable ebayers and doesn't want anyone to contact his other bidders to see that he's a scammer so he'll hide with Private Feedback/Auctions. He may even use Pre-approval auctions so he can convince(scam) you by email to send him the money & to stop Vigilante bidders from bidding, then he'll close his auctions fast so that he can continue to use that I.D. later without getting into trouble with ebay. If you sent money to him without bidding as he wanted, then that's an "offsite ebay transaction" which means ebay doesn't care what you say and the scammer doesn't get kicked off ebay.

15)EMAILS OR AD POSTS OF ASSURANCE/INSURANCE/GUARANTEES FROM VARIOUS AGENCIES: What scammers are also doing to give you that "assurance" that they are legitimate is to prey on your NEWBIENESS or incomplete understanding of ebay, paypal, and other agencies. The scammers will say something in their auction ads or email like ".......and ebay (and/or Paypal and/or Square Trade and/or USPS and/or UPS and/or Fedex and/or Western Union and/or Bidpay) will guarantee in their insurance or warehouse........ so have no fear and send your payment." First of all, EBAY HAS NOTHING TO DO DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY WITH TRANSACTIONS EXCEPT AS A PLACE FOR SELLERS TO POST THEIR "ADS." EBAY GUARANTEES NOTHING. EBAY DOESN'T HANDLE MERCHANDISE DIRECTLY. EBAY DOES NOT WANT TO INVOLVE INSELF WITH ANY BUYER-SELLER TRANSACTION. WHATEVER HAPPENS BETWEEN YOU AND THE SELLER IS WHAT HAPPENS BETWEEN YOU AND THE SELLER AND EBAY AND ANY OTHER AGENCY NEVER GET INVOLVED!!!!!!!! Second, Square Trade has nothing to do with any buyer-seller transaction except for Feedback which Square Trade pretty much does nothing about except to collect their $20. Third, Paypal is a payment mechanism but offers no "guarantees, insurance, assurances" in regard to the seller. Third, all these and any other agencies the scammer drags into the email that has even a hint of respect HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH DIRECT BUYER-SELLER TRANSACTIONS AS FAR AS ASSURANCE/INSURANCE/GUARANTEE, ETC. The scammers are trying to "assure" you of their respectability so that you'll send payment off to them INSTANTLY without question.

From here may be one big reason for the explosion of acct hijacking:

SPAM Scam:

Another kind of scam that broke recently with regard to eBay is the SPAM scam where in a programming glitch allowed hackers to get into user�s email id�s. They then sent emails to the ids, which looked almost as though it was coming from eBay to the unsuspecting eyes. Users were asked to update their information including credit card information. eBay woke up some time after this broke and started sending real mail, which further caused confusion among the consumers. The scammers were able to make people believe that the mail was coming from eBay and they in fact created a site, which almost looked like eBay.

CLICK HERE FOR 1ST SERIOUS ILLUSTRATION OF ACCT HIJACKING

CLICK HERE FOR 2ND SERIOUS ILLUSTRATION OF ACCT HIJACKING

CLICK HERE FOR 3RD SERIOUS ILLUSTRATION OF ACCT HIJACKING

UPS ESCROW--A Scammer's Slick Escrow Trick: According to http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y04/m02/i12/s02&e=9833,
"Some eBay buyers are getting fleeced with an online scam that is a twist on the "fake escrow" hoax. Fraudulent sellers tell victims they will use "UPS Third Party Escrow" and to expect an email once they've sent the item to UPS. When an email from "UPS" arrives informing the buyer that UPS has received the item from the seller, the victim believes it's okay to send the money to a UPS agent. (The "From" field of an email can easily be altered; in this case, the email tricks people into thinking the email comes from UPS.) The victim sends the money via Western Union wire transfer, and never hears from the seller (or "UPS") again."

FRANKLY, FOR MOST THINGS ON EBAY EVEN THOSE COSTING HUNDREDS OR THOUSANDS OF $$$'s, MOST REPUTABLE EBAY SELLERS DO NOT USE ESCROW SINCE THAT'S TOO FAVORABLE TO THE BUYER AND THEY DON'T WANT TO DEAL WITH SCAMMER BUYERS.

• force you as a bidder to hurry with payment or face a NPB alert
• not having to give refunds for any reason
• the scammer being able to stall for 30 days by law before shipping
• the volunteer sellers on the ebay forums telling you you have to be patient and defer to the seller for just about any reason (in case he's sick, in hospital, adopted a sick koala, etc.)

FAKE SCO's OR ANY OFFERS BY EMAIL: Buyers are getting fake SCO's or other offers by email from scammers pretending to be the established seller, many times by hijacking the seller's account. Any SCO offers should be suspect and you should do everything you can to see that this "seller" isn't a scammer by calling him, mailing him by regular mail, contacting his neighbors, his place of business, asking neighbors how long he's been in business, etc. just like you would with a new seller, EVEN IF YOU'VE DEALT WITH THIS SELLER BEFORE.

ebay Forum volunteer posters say that if it's a true SCO, it will be posted on your "My ebay" page. That's a good way to initially verify it. BUT AN ACCOUNT HIJACKER CAN POST THIS ALSO, so COMPLETELY VERIFY THIS SCO by going thru the tedious steps of the "Contact Info" section (Look at "Account Hijack" and "Contact Info") SINCE AN ACCOUNT HIJACKER CAN CHANGE ALL THE ADDRESS & PHONE CONTACT INFO & LISTED EBAY EMAIL ADDRESS TO THE SCAMMER'S OWN TEMPORARY "ADDRESS, PHONE, EMAIL, ETC."

OR IF YOU'RE DEALING WITH A FORMER GREAT SELLER YOU'VE DEALT WITH YEARS BEFORE AND WERE WISE OR LUCKY ENOUGH TO RECORD HIS CORRECT PHONE NUMBER FROM YEARS BEFORE, PHONE CALL HIM FROM THAT PHONE NUMBER FROM YEARS AGO TO VERIFY THE SCO, HIS EXACT EMAIL & ADDRESS.

OTHERWISE, DEAL WITH THE SCO AS YOU WOULD ANY SCAM SELLER ON EBAY UNTIL YOU CAN COMPLETELY VERIFY HIM AND HIS BUSINESS.

Sometimes, the scammers will say they're using a DIFFERENT EMAIL (like an anonymous email like yahoo or hotmail) and they'll email and/or post on their auction ad that they're using this DIFFERENT EMAIL ADDRESS ONLY for these types of offers to do business with or give some other fake reason like they're having trouble with their original email or they've closed their original one and changed it to a new email or give some other FAKE reason.

Sometimes, they'll change their email address to an address that looks like the seller's. Example: If the seller's name is GreatSellerIsHonest, the scammer will use the email [email protected].

Just bidding on items makes you a target for scammers since they look at what items you bid on and will email you these fake offers pretending they're the actual sellers.

SOME, not all, sellers will warn their bidders in their Me pages or auction pages something like "I don't offer Second Chance offers, ...." which is a dead giveaway that if you get an email from this "seller," it's a scammer.

CLICKING ON A SPYWARE IN AN AUCTION AD: be careful of auction pages where there are links made by the "seller". these links (and they may be invisible) may be websites that will determine your i.p. address and try to hack into your computer taking your financial or other info, giving your computer viruses or worms, adding a dialer or spywatcher.

If you want to see how vulnerable your computer is to hacking, go to

Anonymizer and there is a fast great Free Privacy Test on the bottom left of the webpage.

There is also:

• Browserspy
• PC Flank
• PC Pitstop
• GRC
• DSshield you can find out if your computer is being used by hacker spammers.

Go to the ANTI-SPYWARE PROTECTION SECTION for more info on protecting your computer.

THE FALSE SHIPMENT TRACKING NUMBER: Even if the scammer gives you a shipment tracking number from the post office, USPS, Fedex, DHL, whatever else shipping company, that tracking number is no indicator that any package had been picked up by UPS. Also, they could ship you a rock and you wouldn't know it until it came. Also, scammers use stolen credit cards to pay online for item shipping. By doing this they get a verifiable tracking number for their non-existent item.

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