January 11, 2005 - New Scam -Windows Media Player ID thief scammer jailed--Scamming other people's ID for $60/each January 21, 2005 - Phishing EVOLVES with host files or a domain name server or with true links January 22, 2005 Account Hijacking-- Just surfing the ebay "Soapbox" and heard that for the last 2 months, ebay has done nothing to warn anyone about this trick by scammers. If you click on something of interest on ebay, a webpage pops up which directs you to a FALSE EBAY LOG-IN. It asks for your ebay name and password and may ask for you CC# info. Why is this bad? Because people are used to assuming that typing in your username and password on ebay is natural since the log in pages occur thruout the website. People are still getting their accounts hijacked. Be careful when you see any log in pages on ebay. If you've been using ebay for the past year, change your password & CC info immediately. January 25, 2005 Under "ootUS Intermediary or Agents" using Paypal in blue bold color, i've posted one of the latest scams which is a scammer writing letters to legitimate ebay sellers pretending to be a big company which IS a "distributor" OR needs "distributors" or "ebay listers" of its non-existent products as well as use of their paypal accounts. January 25, 2005 Under "Contact Info," I've added that buyers should check governmental tax information and business license information of businesses. Legitimate businesses should have this information. Their general localities, whether city or state, should have this info. January 25, 2005 Under "Ebay Ripoff City," I've added the Who's really "Stupid" & "Greedy"?? paragraphs if you want a few laughs. hehehe Feb 1, 2005 Added Under "Fencing"---->>> Stealing goods from Retailers then Returning for Credit or Selling on ebay. Feb 6, 2005 Under "Evidence," I've always felt the seller can change the auction ad at anytime. I've edited this info to reflect this by also including that print outs of the ad with pics should be made TWICE. Once at the time the bid is placed and Second at the time the auction ends. Feb 8, 2005 Under "Contact Info" and "Phishing Websites Part 2", I've added "Non-Governmental Agencies & Ratings Sites AND READING BETWEEN THE LINES" Feb 8, 2005 Under "Fields that Scammers Inhabit", I've added a recent article of a guy caught for scamming on tickets under "ticket events" Feb 11 2005 - Spyware for Microsoft Anti-Spyware Feb 17, 2005- ID Theft - Scammers are hacking our info thru the companies online Feb 18, 2005 - vigilante article added under "Interview with a Vigilante Bidder" Feb 18, 2005 - i'm completely finished with the Risk table which helps buyers guage how much risk they want to take on and stay away from when online & offline regarding buying & their personal/financial info. There really isn't much else to add that would go beyond what's on that table. Any important additions and i'll list as an update here. Feb 19 2005 I've added "Dealing Outside of Ebay" on the Index. We've all done it--buying from a seller outside of ebay. Is it wrong? Not on your life!! Are there dangers? Yes, but not as many as you may think!! Feb 20, 2005 I've added some articles regarding the freeze laws--freezing your credit in case you're a victim of ID theft and the scammers are using your good name for access to credit.--added onto the Risktable's Notations & Comments Feb 20, 2005 Another hint you've run into a scam seller is that he ends his auctions on weekends when ebay's "wonderful" customer support is unavailable and scammers can pile on the ripoffs with literally hundreds of victims. I've added onto the index "WE'RE CLOSED ON WEEKENDS TO SCAM VICTIMS". Also added to quiz & risktable. It's also listed on the Speedy Sheet under "LOOK AT THE AUCTION AD AND AVOID: 1. auctions that end on a weekend." Feb 21, 2005 A radical shortening of the quiz was about due. If I can remove and/or compress the questions to just a few, i will definitely try. March 6, 2005 If you're still a regular customer of Fraudbay, here's 2 things to look out for. First, something crucial! Looks like the scammers are spoofing the "ask a user a question" ebay email whereby they take you to other locations so you'll get a keylogger or virus. Here's an example (Be careful. Do not copy these links to go to these spoof addresses):. The real website locales you might be directed to are:
http://66.230.211.110/ws/aw-cgi/e8ayISAPI.php?SignIn&ssPageName=h:h:sin:US Also, CHINESE FRAUDBAY SCAMMERS are stealing/copying US seller ebayer ads, word for word and picture for picture first entering Vintage Clothing and now INVADING ALL THE OTHER CATEGORIES and EVEN GOING INTO THE 3 DIGITS AND OVER $$ MARKET. Please be careful if you have to:
March 7, 2005 Looks like one state, Ohio, sees the NEED to regulate how ebay does business, FINALLY!! And as usual, the ebay spokespeople think they are ABOVE THE LAW!! Well, we'll see if ebay law is ABOVE states' laws!! Too bad the big states like California, Texas, New York and Florida don't have the same laws.:-(
http://money.cnn.com/2005/03/07/technology/ohio_ebay/index.htm Ohio law would regulate eBay sellersLaw may require costly, time-consuming auction license for Ohio online sellers; changes vowed.March 7, 2005: 7:24 AM ESTNEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Ohio residents selling goods on eBay would have to get a license and be bonded under a law set to go into effect May 2, although authors of the legislation vow to make changes before that date to exempt individuals. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that the law, signed by Gov. Robert Taft on Feb. 1, was meant to insure that auctioneers were abiding by the established rules and regulations. The law, as written, requires Ohio residents who sell products online to get a state auction license. Besides costing $200 and posting a $50,000 bond, the license requires a one-year apprenticeship to a licensed auctioneer, acting as a bid-caller in 12 auctions, attending an approved auction school, passing a written and oral exam. Failure to get a license could result in the seller being fined up to $1,000 and jailed for a maximum of 90 days. The primary author of the legislation, State Sen. Larry Mumper, told the paper the legislature never intended it to apply to individuals selling items over eBay. But Mumper, while vowing changes, couldn't say exactly who would or would not be exempt from the license requirement under any changes in the pending law. "It certainly will not apply to the casual seller on eBay, but might apply to anyone who sells a lot," he said. "If someone buys and sells on eBay on a regular basis as a type of business, then there is a need for regulation." Kathy Greer, senior editor of UnRavel the Gavel, a newspaper covering the New England auction market, told the Plain Dealer that similar regulation efforts are under way in Tennessee and Illinois, but that past efforts have always either been withdrawn or left unenforced due to public outcry over the restrictions. Hani Durzy, eBay spokesman, said the company has reviewed Ohio's law and is not concerned. "We do not believe the law applies to people who sell items on eBay or to eBay itself," he told the paper.
IT LOOKS LIKE ILLINOIS IS ON THE WAY TO LICENSING, TOO!!http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abu/y205/m03/abu0138/s02Auctionbytes-Update, Number 138 - March 06, 2005 - ISSN 1528-6703
Illinois Says eBay Trading Assistants Need Auctioneers LicenseBy Kathy GreerEscrow accounts and continuing education are not terms one usually associates with online auctions, but in at least one state, eBay Trading Assistants may soon be in for a rude awakening. According to Terry Dunning, who sits on the Illinois Auction Advisory Board, "if you are selling goods for another (or others) on a commission basis in the state of Illinois, you need an auctioneer's license." Illinois does not differentiate between those who sell via "live" auction and those selling online - the same auctioneer's license applies to both, according to Dunning. Obtaining that license means attending auctioneer's school, passing a test, paying a $200 a year licensing fee if your business is not incorporated, another $250 if it is. Then there's the escrow accounts. Illinois requires that auction proceeds not be "co-mingled." If this all sounds familiar, perhaps it is from the previous article on this topic, located at http://auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y05/m02/i25/s02. The article stated, "Illinois, on the other hand, appears to be approaching licensing online auction sellers in a completely different respect and covering all the bases. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Division of Banks and Real Estate (DBRE) filed their final rules needed to Register Internet Auction Listing Services (IALS) in 2004. These rules implement provisions of the Auction License Act (225 ILCS 407/10-27) and went into effect on September 16, 2004." Apparently this section in the first article led to some confusion. This special section of Illinois "law" actually applies specifically to online auction entities such as eBay, according to Dunning, and thus, there are no schooling requirements. There are at least five or six companies so registered in Illinois, according to Dunning, including eBay and Overstock. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, to whom the Advisory Board reports, confirmed that both eBay and Overstock were registered with their department. A spokesperson said, "there are seven active companies who have registered and there are several more pending." She would not reveal the names of the other IALS companies registered in Illinois. At the time of this article's writing, this would appear to make Illinois the first state in the country to require an online auction giant such as eBay, located in California, to obtain a registration in another state in order to do business with buyers and sellers in that state. However, Dunning added that "the Illinois sellers on eBay and the other online auction companies, if they are selling other people's goods, for a fee or commission basis, they have to obtain a regular Illinois auctioneer's license." He said this included any of the "drop-off" auction companies such as AuctionDrop. Under "definitions" in the Illinois Auction Law, "Auction" means the sale or lease or property, real or personal, by means of exchanges between an auctioneer or associate auctioneer and prospective purchasers or lessees, which consists of a series of invitations for offers made by the auctioneer or associate auctioneer and offers by prospective purchasers or lessees for the purpose of obtaining an acceptable offer for the sale or lease of the property including the sale or lease of property via mail, telecommunications, or the Internet. http://digbig.com/4ctwq Those definitions also state: "Auctioneer" means a person or entity who, for another, for a fee, compensation, commission or any other valuable consideration at auction or with the intention or expectation of receiving value consideration by the means of or process of an auction or sale at auction or providing an auction service, offers, negotiates, or attempts to negotiate an auction contract, sale, purchase, or exchange of goods, chattels, merchandise, personal property, real property, or any commodity that may be lawfully kept or offered for sale by or at auction. Dunning said the Division of Banks and Real Estate (DBRE), which licenses auctioneers in Illinois, was "just in the process of trying to compile the list of all those based in Illinois who are selling on eBay." He said, "according to eBay, there are at least 800 eBay Trading Assistants in Illinois." He said due to a major budget crunch in the state, this could take some time, but added, "We will be contacting them. Then it will be - surprise! You need to get a license."
According to eBay spokesman Hani Durzy, "With regard to online auction registration requirements, Illinois is the only state in the nation that has such an obligation that has been tailored specifically to the online world, and we filed the necessary registration forms. Overall, we believe these laws are redundant and unnecessary. Neither eBay nor sellers on the site are auctioneers by the traditional and statutory definitions of the term."
March 14, 2005 - Magazine subscription rip-offs added to "Fields Scammers Inhabit" and I.D. username theft so easy under "ebay Laughable Security" and Quiz-Test finally shortened/edited/enhanced. March 14, 2005 - it was already noted that scammers on ebay are having you log in to ebay and then directing you to their fake websites, well, wired magazine is calling this "pharming." April 3, 2005 - as requested, i've added a separate "Sniping" section within the "ebay abbreviations & terms" page under the definition for "Sniping" to further clarify the pro's & con's of sniping, automated sniping, auction extensions, and the "fairness" of sniping. September 25, 2005 - Yeah, i haven't updated in a long time. I don't see the need to since it's all news about companies giving away our info to scammers and scammers phishing/pharming their way into our computers like the stories I listed in the past. I probably won't be updating that much anymore anyway since most of the info is covered on this website somewhere. I've also been busy. I've updated the intro Disclaimer page and also added a few more quiz questions #66-68 and also Extra Credit Question F. Also, scammers are now adding themselves to various phone directories, internet directories and 411 phone operator directories such as the Lock Scam happening around the nation where these thieves will pretend to be a lock company and then extort huge amounts of money from you or they threaten to rob you later. I have edited the Contact Info webpage to reflect this. Nov. 9, 2005-i've edited in red font the TOO-GOOD-TO-BE-TRUE section about designer bags considering my own personal experience but have kept the warning up. Also, i've added an italicized sample for The Drop Shipper Seller section. Nov. 17, 2005-under "Ebay Security" section, i've added several italicized posts by pissed off victims scammed by a scam seller for tickets to a major event under "EBAY'S LAUGHABLE BUYER PROTECTION PLAN:" under "LOOPHOLE "30 days from end of auction" Nov. 26, 2005-i don't think i need to add this if you've read the main gist of this website but just as a heads up, there are scams going on of people who have been scammed as part of online dating. The scammer will show incredible patience, then many times not even tell the victim that he/she has sent the victim a money order/cashier's check. Anyway, you get it, the victim is told to cash the paper and send the money to them to Nigeria or other country or even the U.S. by Western Union and the victim is "promised" their money back later. The victim, having "online dated" this scammer for over a year or many months trusts the scammer and cashes it and never gets their money back. Dec 2, 2005- 2 quiz questions added #69 & #70. Also, the scammers are getting even more brazen. A good friend of mine received court-like documents via them being tossed into her mailbox. The documents described her as a Jane Doe defendant among many for credit debt to "Bank One." She automatically knew it may be a scam since she never had CC's from this bank nor owed this bank any money. She called the phone number on the document and pretended to be her own lawyer. The "person" on the other end said he'd email her other documents she'd need to find out what the debt was about. The "person" never did call her back. Since then, she's looked at her credit ratings at all credit bureaus and they're all perfect so she didn't have her credit identity stolen. Since then, she hasn't heard back from that same "agency"/"person." This looks to be a confidence scam--Since most people are in debt,these scam agencies or scam people will try to scare people into paying them off. Luckily for her, they picked the wrong person since she KNEW she had a perfect credit rating. They probably counted her as being a nervous type and/or had debt which would make her be desperate to pay them off quickly. Again, remember scammers want you to act quickly so you'll pay them fast without thinking!! Dec. 7, 2005-Wide change in layout format mainly with me having a chance to organize the subject matter better.
abbreviations for many ebay terms
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