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Location: Chehalis, Washington | I posted this in the For Sale section, then thought I should post it over here for your thoughts:
I have just spent the last two weeks dealing with one of the most bizzare situations I've ever seen. Beware of ANY new ebay buyers hailing from France - I had a new ebayer using the name Moore_pepper_2000 use the BIN on my 1869, then send me a cashier's check for the guitar and shipping, which he wanted sent via his own courier. As he's out of the country, I figured that shouldn't be a problem - maybe he has someone who does this for him all the time.
When I got the cashier's check, it was for the price of the guitar...plus $2700! Now, I've checked on shipping to France before, and it was in the $150 range, so what was with this? I emailed the guy, and he explained that he was having several items shipped to him from the US and needed a large chunk wire transferred to his shipper, and figured this would be the easiest way.
Anyone here trusting enough to send $3700 cash to someone you don't know assuming they won't screw you?
After conversing several times, I finally, against my better judgement, sent the transfer (which cost him over $150 in WU fees) and emailed him the info on it. The next day, he sent me an email claiming that the value of the US dollar had fallen, and his shipper needed more money, so please wire another $1000 and he would send me a check overnight to reimburse me...
Needless to say, I refused, and let him know I was not willing to be his money transfer (or laundering?) station, and unless he could deal with this himself, I was not interested in continuing with the transaction. He responded "no problem, just deduct your ebay fees and send me a refund. You can wire it to my shipper..."
So now, I sit here with $1000 from a possible money-laundering scam and the guitar, which he NOW says he doesn't want, and have no idea which agency I should contact about this guy. I would just as soon send him his money back and be done with him, but he claims that his "financial institution" will not accept a check or money order, which is why he needs a wire transfer.
Anyone here deal with this type of thing before, or have any thoughts? |
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Location: Eugene, Oregon | :(
Are you going to have to pay your bank back? Did the check clear as good? |
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Location: Chehalis, Washington | Cashier's check - cleared just fine to the bank, or I wouldn't have sent the initial wire transfer. |
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Location: Nîmes, south of France | Edensharvest,
Yes this is scam ! I urge you to NOT ship the guitar and have NO deal with this person.
Scamers scan ad's on the internet or forums, they always offer MORE than you request, arguing for fees, financial agent, or so on. They usually proceed payment by check via Western Union, because no identitity is needed. When you cash the check, your bank says ok, with trust you ship your item, then your bank says it is a false one and debt your account 3 weeks to 2months later: you loose your money and your guitar...plus the money in excess you eventually sent back to him !
Months ago i was contacted by scamers on the internet, that was following an ad i put in a US website; they offer me 20k € for aircraft parts, that was twice the price i was asking for. Fortunately i was informed by my bank they were scamers, who operate from countries of far East Europe, the check was from a bank of Ireland, sent from Italy !!! I kept the check at home as a "souvenir" and am laughing every time i see it !
The only way to secure international payments is a bank transfer or eventually paypal, and the price is the price! If you receive a lot much more, that's not normal and scam is not far from you. Most important you must NOT send him any money back, this will be "lost money" for you...and good money for him!!
The France channel is bad for us honest french people, but fortunately there are ways to not be trapped by scamers. |
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Location: Eugene, Oregon | OK, that is what I thought. So now you have the cash that the guy wants sent back as a refund?
This is kinda spooky. |
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Location: Chehalis, Washington | Originally posted by Pokeypup:
This is kinda spooky. Tell me about it! |
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Location: Scotland | This smells really bad. I've had a few similar experiences but refused to get involved. If you have his money, keep it and send nothing, no refund, no guitar. His scam, his loss. You could send a refund and if he's used a fraudulent credit card transaction to send you the cash your bank could claim it back retrospectively. A negative feedback is a small price to pay for not losing a bundle of money. If he's legit he has legal channels to pursue to recover his money, and unless he does so I'd leave it be. |
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Location: GATLINBURG TENNESSEE :) | I would contact ebay and have them make a record of it. Then I'd leave the cash in the bank and see what happens next. It doesn't sound like you have a lot of other choices. |
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Location: San Angelo, Texas | Hey Andrew, do not hesitate....contact the FBI immediately. There is a good friend of mine that got involved in something REAL simular, and ended up with the FBI coming to HIM and wanting to investigate HIM for the goings on. |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Cashier checks can be fraudulent. Clearing you bank means nothing until the funds are collected from the issuing bank (who often knows nothing about it because the cc is counterfeit).
I fear you will be out the $1000 you sent back to this scammer but you won't know for probably 60-90 days. That is why the scam is becoming so popular with the thieves....appears legit until several months down the road. |
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Location: Nîmes, south of France | You're right Stephen. The 2 key words here are "International" and "Delay", scamers play with that and win most of time ! Edensharvest, you know what you have to do now. |
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Location: Eugene, Oregon | Originally posted by stephent28:
Cashier checks can be fraudulent. Clearing you bank means nothing until the funds are collected from the issuing bank (who often knows nothing about it because the cc is counterfeit).
I fear you will be out the $1000 you sent back to this scammer but you won't know for probably 60-90 days. That is why the scam is becoming so popular with the thieves....appears legit until several months down the road. :( Yikes!!
I think that he has sent the guy or this guy's "courier" $2700 not just a grand.
Is that the extra he had you give back at first,
Eden?
eta: Do call the FBI for your own protection. |
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Location: Chehalis, Washington | Out of the $3700 he sent me, I sent back $2700, minus the WU fees. I still have $1000. The check came from a Wells Fargo bank, nothing saying international on it, though it was postmarked from France. No worries on the feedback thing, as this guy already cancelled his ebay username. I emailed ebay about it, and they said that it was not closed due to anything illegal or suspicious. The scammer claims that he didn't have any intention of using it again...
I will contact the FBI, ebay, and Western Union immediately. Thanks for all the input. |
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Location: NJ | If there has been a scam, it has been tried on me.
this is a major one in the first degree. contact local authorities and let them handle it. don't keep the cash unless they tell you to.
good luck I HATE stuff like this it gives e bay and ebay sellers a bad name. I am closing in on 10 years on e bay and I can tell you that it is a blessing and a curse. |
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Location: Eugene, Oregon | I'm sorry this happened, Eden.
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Dee....should I be concerned :rolleyes: ;) |
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Location: Eugene, Oregon | Originally posted by stephent28:
Dee....should I be concerned :rolleyes: ;) Dee? Who's that? ;)
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Location: Chehalis, Washington | FBI report has been filed. We'll se what happens...
Lots of things don't add up. The cashier's check was mailed from France, no return address, but was issued from a Wells Fargo bank. The guy's ebay address is in Indiana, with a 206 area code phone number, which is Seattle. He called the other day several times, and the number that came up is a 601 number from Jackson, Mississipi! The western union transfer has been picked up, in Paris on Friday. I'll have to call my bank tomorrow and find out about the cashier's check, and see if it's good or not. |
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Location: Orange County, California | Read my Lips:
El Cheque es NO BUENO!!! :p :D :p :D |
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Location: Chehalis, Washington | Now say that in French...and I'll kill you!!!
:mad: :mad: :mad: |
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Location: Chehalis, Washington | Totally off topic, Fred, where in OC are you? My dad actually works in Orange, but lives out in Yucaipa. I grew up down in Riverside. |
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Location: Canton (Detroit), MI | edensharvest, I hope this comes out OK for you....what a nightmare!!!!
This just reinforces why I refuse to sell outside the U.S. on eBay. If you set your auctions up with this policy, you can BLOCK non-U.S. bidders (yes, there are exceptions; specifically if the person set the eBay account up in the U.S. and then MOVED, but they are rare).
Roger |
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Location: Houston, Texas | Gosh, have I got this right? The $1000 you have now is most likely worthless and you have probably already lost $2700?
I hope that's not the case. You did the right thing in filing the FBI and other reports. I hope this turns out alright for you! |
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Location: Scotland | Originally posted by Old Applause Owner:
This just reinforces why I refuse to sell outside the U.S. on eBay.
Roger So everyone who who doesn't live in the US is out to get you? Sounds like Gdubyas foreign policy. Get real, and use a little common sense. My company sells worldwide via ebay. As long as you stay alert to possible scams, which are usually patently obvious, it's not a problem. As much as I despise paypal using them gets rid of most of the scams ( note "most") through buyer/seller protection, but then Paypal themselves have their own scams (also known as their terms and conditions) so ultimately you can't win regardless of territory |
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Location: Port Angeles, WA | Sorry to be the bearer of bad news here, but this is the oldest scam on the Internet. Also, this is one of the reasons most seasoned eBay sellers refuse to take International bids.
This check will most certainly bounce (it will take a while to clear the banking system) and you'll be out whatever you send this person. You were right to contact the feds, but you should have done it before you send anything back to him. Sorry if this comes too late.
As for eBay scams in general, thankfully I've been free of them. But then again I'm very careful only bidding on items that seem reasonable and making sure the seller has a good number of feedbacks, near 100% positive, and has been a member more than a few months.
My wife, who is a seasoned eBayer, made bad decision twice in the last few months. First, she paid for a small item by check. Guess what? Checked cleared but she never received the item. Not worth chasing the guy for $15.
The second bad decision was on an iPod that was being sold by someone with 100% positive feedback, but only 13 sales, and had only been a member for 2 months. If she'd done some research, she would have seen he had another account that had been closed a few months before. She promptly paid via PayPal, and then the next morning she got an email from eBay saying this guy's account has been closed and to take steps to recover her money. She never received the iPod, and Paypal refunded most of her money, but she's still out $75 of the $225 she paid.
I recently was interested in a computer that was selling for a few hundred dollars, but should have been a few thousand dollars. The listing said to contact the seller via an email address before you bid. The seller said I could use BuySafe to purchase it for $1500, still about a grand shy of what it would normally go for. I stayed away from this auction like the plague, but I still see similar auctions daily. I wonder how many of those are legit?
The lessons to be learned here are:
1. If it seems too good to be true, it most likely is a scam.
2. Check not only the positive feedback and number of sales of the seller, but also how long they've been a member.
3. If in doubt, don't bid. It's not the end of the world. |
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Location: Scotland | Originally posted by briwilt:
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news here, but this is the oldest scam on the Internet. Also, this is one of the reasons most seasoned eBay sellers refuse to take International bids.
My company has Ebay powerseller status with feedback approaching 30,000, so we could be called "seasoned" ebay sellers. We have no problem with international transactions and I'd guess "most" professional sellers would feel the same. Lets stop the scaremongering here and use a little common sense. You said it best yourself. If it seems too good to be true, it generally will be. |
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Location: NW Washington State | Originally posted by Paul Templeman:
My company has Ebay powerseller status with feedback approaching 30,000, so we could be called "seasoned" ebay sellers. We have no problem with international transactions and I'd guess "most" professional sellers would feel the same. Lets stop the scaremongering here and use a little common sense. You said it best yourself. If it seems too good to be true, it generally will be. Paul, I don't think it's scaremongering. A key point in your experience is that you are a professional seller who has completed many transactions. Your organization has experience and leverage that the average seller doesn't. You can probably afford a few losses as a cost of doing business. The average guy selling a guitar or two a year might not take a loss so easily. As an individual eBayer with only a thousand or so transactions under my belt, I won't ship outside the land of Dubya, even to the land of Poodles.
-Steve W. |
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Location: Port Angeles, WA | Originally posted by Paul Templeman:
Originally posted by briwilt:
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news here, but this is the oldest scam on the Internet. Also, this is one of the reasons most seasoned eBay sellers refuse to take International bids.
My company has Ebay powerseller status with feedback approaching 30,000, so we could be called "seasoned" ebay sellers. We have no problem with international transactions and I'd guess "most" professional sellers would feel the same. Lets stop the scaremongering here and use a little common sense. You said it best yourself. If it seems too good to be true, it generally will be.
I'm sure if you dig deep enough into the facts that you'll find these scammers are US based. They use the International thing as part of the con. |
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Location: Chehalis, Washington | The wierd part is, I've already had someone try something similar on the relisted item - regular bid by a new (as of today) bidder from Denmark, no transaction history, no contact prior to bidding. Needless to say, I've already cancelled his bids.
This guy did pick up the money transfer in Paris, France, but has a "brother" with an Pennsylvania address, and an Indiana address on his cancelled ebay account, with a Seattle phone number that actually rings to him!
I think that the best tactic is not necessarily who, but how. I should have denied this guy when he first clicked the BIN option with zero feedback without contacting me first. If a buyer can't follow simple instructions... |
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Location: CT | I feel sorry for you, that sucks. There are some scary things going on out there with people who have too much time on their hands, and are too lazy to get a real job. I'm sure it's fine for seasoned eBayers out there to sell to whomever the see fit. I only have 60 feedbacks, so state I won't sell outside the US (for fear I won't recognize one of the many new scams coming by). After I'd sold a Les Paul, I found out it was a buyer in Italy! I emailed him back and said no way. Not to worry he said, and sent a W.U. money transfer(not a check of any kind, but cash) and the Name, address and phone of a friend in MD I could ship the guitar to who would send it to Italy. I called the friend(guitar store owner), picked up the cash(no fees on this end), and sent the guitar. No problems. This happened several more times, but always thru a contact in the states. I think lots of these legit buyers will bid on 'US ONLY' sales if they have contacts in the states who will be a go-between for them, so ask, and if not, I would insist on the money transfer or no deal. No wait time to clear, it's cash in hand and it means they are serious. |
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Location: SE Michigan | Sorry that this happened to you Edensharvest.
What's really scary about Ebay these days is you can never be truely sure that you've been paid. I have read many web threads about money orders and cashiers checks that look good at first but then bounce weeks or months later. So my strategy has been to insist on using Paypal. Now I hear these stories that weeks or months later Paypal comes back and takes money away because of a dispute or a fraudulant transaction. Is any type of payment safe?
Ebay better get a handle on this shit or they are going to kill this market.
I also refuse and remove international bids, sorry Paul. But I do leave a loop hole open that if someone contacts me in advance and I have a chance to really check them out I will consider an international sale. But when people start playing games with wire transfers, sending extra money for an unrelated transaction, third party agents and crap like that I would run like hell.
But as I said, how can you even be sure these days that a U.S. Paypal payment is not going to bounce later? |
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Location: closely held secret | Just caught up with this thread. EH, I'm really sorry you got taken by this.
I had one of these jerks grab the BIN on my 6778LX a month ago. All the lights and whistles went off when I received this email (sent AFTER he hit the BIN):
"Hello,
I am interested in immediate purchase of your item,but before i proceed on this transaction i will like to ask some question as follow. i can only raise cashier check for the paymentn of your item so i will like to know if the item is still available and also if is in good condition Please your answer on this, will enable me to issue your payment to you asap.
1. Do you accept a ( Cashier Check / Money Order ) as a mode of payment?
2. What is the firm price of the item?
3) Will you let our shipping company to come to your house for the pick up of the item?
4)Do get back to me with your contact info where you want the payment to address to.
5) Will you be able to send the excess fund back to the shipping company via western union money transfer same day you recieve the check....
Regards..."
I replied by stating I would accept a cashier's check for the amount of the purchase, and which shipping company was he planning on using?
All I got back was this:
"HELLO,
THANKS FOR YOUR MAIL,I WILL LIKE TO TELL YOU THAT I WILL BUY THIS YOUR ITEM AT BUY IT NOW PRICE,AND I WILL LIKE TO UES MY OWM SHIPPING COMPANY TO SHIP THIS ITEM,SO I WILL BE MAILING OUT THE PAYMENT FOR THE ITEM AND THE SHIPPING MONEY TOO OKAY,WHAY TOU ARE TO DO FOR ME IS THIS,ONCE YOU RECEIVED THE PAYMENT YOUR WILL CASH IT AT YOUR BANK AND TAKE OUT YOUR OWN MONEY FOR THE ITEM AND HELP ME WIRE THE EXSCSS FUND TO THE SHIPPING COMPANY THAT WILL COME FOR THE PICKUP OF THE ITEM OKAY.I BELIVE THAT YOU CAN DO THIS FOR ME IF YES,GET BACK TO ME WITH YOUR NAME,ADDERSS,PHONE NUMBER,SO THAT I CAN MAIL OUT THE PAYMENT ASAP.YOUR QUICK RESPONSE WILL BE HIGHLY APPRECIATED AS THE ITEM IS SERIOUSLY NEDEED,THANKS.
REGARDS..."
I checked the auction again, the account had been deactivated (by Ebay), and I reported what happened to the Ebay cops with copies of the emails.
This was Ebay's reply:
"The bids placed using this account occurred during an unauthorized account takeover. We took immediate action to stop the activity as soon as we discovered the situation. We are now in the process of restoring the account to its rightful owner."
I filed a dispute resolution and my reserve and final listing fees were refunded the same day.
If a buyer or seller wants to do ANYTHING outside of normal practice where money is concerned, it's probably a scam!!!! |
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Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | Would keeping your paypal account and linked bank account at zero stop this "take back" from happening? I always thought it would. |
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Location: south east Michigan | I would think that the bank would just put a negative amount to the account and come after you any way they could. You could ignore it all but the result would be a black mark on your financial history. No win there. |
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Location: East Wenatchee, WA | I don't think it had to do with Paypal. The point to the scam is these guys have a way of hi-jacking a legit users ebay profile. They then seek to pay using a cashiers check or money order for something OVER the purchase price. If you think about it...how many of you would trust any seller (ebay or otherwise) to send you back excess funds from your paycheck?
The counterfeits (yes folks, I am a banker and have seen these deals) are very convincing, usually created by scanning an actual instrument, altering it using appropriate software then printing out with great quality laser or inkjet printers. I have even seen micr ink used on them so that they clear the automated reader/sorters at the accepting bank.
The item is then run through the system, but it becomes a manual item once rejected by the drawee banks proof system. Then it takes time (sometimes days, sometimes weeks depending on where it was routed) to get it back to the depositing bank. That bank then will look to you to make good on the counterfeit item.
Sure...you have a zero balance account, but depending on the amount of the loss, the bank will pursue you with anything from a bad listing with the check verification companies to a full on lawsuit to recover.
It's an ugly mess and another reason to stay up with the latest scams and anytime something looks amiss....verify, verify, verify.
Oh...for those who think the bank is the bad guy because they want the money back, that is the same as thinking you are the bad guy because the crooks got into your pocket with the scam. Everyone likes to do business on the basis of honesty and good faith. Unfortunately, there are a bunch of uglies out there that take advantage of that. |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | I got two phoney "Second Chance Offers" on Mike Cooks 1537 shallow bowl prototype. Reported them both to ebay. They were VERY professionally done. Dave |
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Location: SE Michigan | I don't think it had to do with Paypal I wasn't talking about this specific case, but I have recently seen a couple threads where a seller recieved a Paypal payment, shipped the item, then had Paypal retract the funds days or weeks later. This can happen if there is a credit card dispute by the buyer, or if you unknowingly do business with a hijacked account.
I think the best insurance is to only ship to a VERIFIED paypal address, require signature confirmation of delivery (rules out fedex), and only deal with people with long histories of good feedback.
Too bad the "uglies" are ruining it, I thought Ebay was one of the best ideas on the internet. But like I said, this is really an Ebay issue, because if people keep getting screwed using their service they will be out of business. |
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Location: SE Michigan | I also agree with what Jeff said, if somebody wants to send you more money than the auction requires, ding-ding-ding GAME OVER. It's a scam. |
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Location: NW NJ | Hey Brian, why do you say "rules out fedex"? I ship FedEx round all the time and get signature confirmation of delivery. Am I being ignorant about something? |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | FedEx you (sender) can choose to require signature on delivery or not. Dave |
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Location: SE Michigan | I've been told by fedex that they will only obtain signatures from business addresses, not residential addresses. And I like shipping fedex, they always have the best rates.
I dunno, maybe I was talking to an uninformed counter clerk. |
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Location: south east Michigan | I am resisting getting "verified" with ebay.
They want personal bank account numbers. I don't want them to have that information and the ability to debit that account. I'll carefully continue being un-verified. |
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| Slip, I definitely agree with you, it's absurd to give ebay all your personal information when they can't guarrantee anything beyond all the 'small print' excuses they're going to cop-out with to debit your account into the red when someone scams them...and keeping a zero balance will only be used against you... so U.S. Postal Money Orders are the way to go...if the buyer wants the item bad enough they'll pay the price. I've used them along with certified mail/return receipt on high dollar items, no problem. |
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Location: closely held secret | Too late, Brad. They asked me about you, and I told them everything. |
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Location: Minden, Nebraska | I have shipped well over a hundred guitars internationally, sold on eBay, with no problems other than being one of the early ones caught by the Indonesian scam ten years ago. I think with some common sense and experience, it isn't hard to weed out the scams from the legitimate buyers. This particular transaction is in the pattern of what is now a well-known scam. |
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Location: Chehalis, Washington | This guy had a brand-new ebay account (bad karma #1) with no history, and the bank did take the check through the auto reader...no problems so far, but who knows?
The guy is still emailing me, and I'm waiting to hear back from the feds at this point. |
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Location: SE Michigan | the guy is still emailing me I'd email him back and tell him you bought some lottery tickets with some of his extra money and won the jackpot. Then tell him you'll split the winnings with him but he has to show up in person to sign the forms. |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Brian, Fedex requires a signature when the item is insured above a certain amount and I have never sent out an item via "FedEx Home Delivery" where it did not require a signature.
I think the clerk you talked with was mistaken. |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | I have long ago "isolated" all my online stuff. I have a bank account and credit card at a totally different back than where I keep the witko fortune. Balance is < 500 bucks. All ebay, fedex direct bill, and paypal draws from this bank. I float about 1500 in paypal for impulse purchases. So far I have not been stung. Dave |
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Location: Chehalis, Washington | I just did...bank just verified that the check was no good - $2641 actual loss, unless the FBI actually ever gets back to me about filing a report on this mess. Now I feel like about the dumbest guy on earth - I got robbed by being stupid enough to send the money right to the crook. Does it get any stupider than that?
Better yet, my bank account is now in the red, my rent check hasn't cleared yet, I'm seeing wierd possible charges appearing on the unseen "posting" list, and I had to cancel my checks and bank cards, close the account (when it's back in the black), and my wonderful bank is COMPLETELY worthless! The 22 year old manager was nice, but completely clueless. I contacted the bank's fraud department, which is aptly named, because they don't (and apparently can't) do anything either!
These guys are either the spawn of hell, or geniuses. They play the system that keeps perpetuating itself, because the banks are too stupid to catch the glitch and FIX IT! |
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Location: Dawesville,Western Australia | That"s a very hard lesson as that particular scam has been around a long time. The authorities seem to have so much to go on but it appears they "can"t be bothered". If they were bothered how many other offences would they uncover? You were dead right ...the banks should not pay up until the cheque is cleared... I would take that up with them..a long letter might work..or fifty letters.. perhaps you can change the system? If it makes you feel better it has cost you about 65 cents a week for your lifetime. Another way you can be positive is to think of all the times you won something or got a bargain ....all the best...get writing !!!! |
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December 2003
Posts: 1889
Location: Central Massachusetts | Edensharvest, you need to talk to your local police about your options here... unfortunately they are likely somewhat limited, but it's worth a try.
here's a good "fraud awareness" page from craigslist that discusses this particular scam, among others... it has some links and phone numbers you might want to look into craigslist discusses internet scams
You might also want to check your homeowners/renters insurance policy.. some policies cover theft and credit card fraud, so there may be some hope there.
A good "to-do" list specific to victims of this scam: http://www.scamvictimsunited.com/resources_cashier\'s_check.htm
and another...
http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/cashier.asp |
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Joined:
August 2005
Posts: 3736
Location: Sunshine State, Australia | Hey guys, don't write all us foreigners off as scammers. Some of us have no choice but to buy their O's from dubya land. Try and find a US made, deep bowl cutaway downunder for less than 3 grand. I think I'm the only one in Australia with a contour bowl. (I had to use my wife's cousin in LA as no-one would ship overseas - except Paul, but he wasn't selling an '05)
More importantly, the 'second chance offer' scam has found its way Downunder, too. The email is very cleverly disguised and there's even a link on their email to report suspect emails. The original email looks legit and the linked page looks legit.
I didn't realise immediately, but I was about to leave my account wide open. The link asked me to log in. It had my eBay identity, but not the password. I typed the password in and hit 'enter' and got an uneasy feeling. I don't know why, but I immediately shut down firefox, restarted it, logged into my eBay and changed my password.
Oh, I remember now why I was alerted. My computer is set up to remember all my login details as I'm the only one that uses it. I thought it was unusual that it wanted my password.
I contacted eBay and they confirmed that it was a fraud.
I think that's how these scam scum take over people's accounts.
eBay advised me that if you aren't sure if it's a genuine eBay communication, check in your 'messages' in 'My eBay'. If there's not a copy there, it's not from eBay.
I hope this warning helps prevent someone from losing control of their account. |
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Joined:
February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Also, Ebay and Paypal will always use your real name when they send you an email. Anyone can get your user id. |
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Joined:
April 2006
Posts: 972
Location: PDX | Originally posted by edensharvest:
I just did...bank just verified that the check was no good - $2641 actual loss,
Oh man, what a f'd up mess. You must feel just horrible.
I hope they catch this guy for you.
If you have home owners/renters insurance, be sure to check with your agent to see if any of this is covered. Maybe, maybe not, either way small consolation for the violation you've suffered.
Vile acts like this damage us all. We take defensive posture and become suspicious of our fellow man. In the end it drives us apart. Sad.
_____
gh1 |
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Joined:
May 2003
Posts: 425
Location: SE Michigan | EH, you mentioned that you have some phone numbers where you called this guy? There are web sites where for a small fee they can translate even unpublished numbers into addresses. Who knows, might be nearby someone on this forum.
And if nothing else, once you have exhuasted all of your law-enforcement options, I would make certain that the people at those phone numbers get woke up at 3am on a regular basis. Even if they are not the actual maggot, I would be sure his friends learn what he is doing. I would also enroll the guy's email address in every porn web site I could locate, maybe the maggot is married. Maybe you should pass those phone numbers and email addresses around, there are some pretty creative people on this forum.
It just makes me sick that assholes get away with inflicting severe harm on other people and it doesnt seem to bother them a bit. |
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Joined:
March 2006
Posts: 1634
Location: Chehalis, Washington | Thanks, guys for all the support. Muzza, I know what you mean - I almost got caught in the same thing a while back. I clicked on an ebay link,and a fake login page popped up.
I appreciate truly all your concern. We'll see what happens with the authorities. Meanwhile I'm still fighting with the bank.
Just more fun... |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 1817
Location: Minden, Nebraska | Bad news. I'm sorry to hear it. Keep the faith. |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12761
Location: Boise, Idaho | I tried to post this before, but the site apparently dropped it. My father-in-law ran into a similar scam last week trying to sell his motor home out of a newspaper in the midwest. Someone wanted $7500 wired to him in Canada. My father in law smelled a rat and emailed me and tried to call me, but we were on vacation. I hope he didn't do it. |
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Joined:
September 2004
Posts: 777
Location: East Wenatchee, WA | EH,
How did you send the money to this guy. If Western Union, is there a fraud method of stopping payment? (although too much time has probably passed).
Grasping at straws here (as one of those nasty evil bankers wanting to redeem the profession). |
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 4081
Location: Utah | EH, I feel saddened that you have been victimized like this. When the scum take advantage of good people it is maddening!
I hope that you find a way to get your money back, or at least get even in some way. |
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Joined:
March 2006
Posts: 1634
Location: Chehalis, Washington | Jeff, I did send via WU, but they picked it up the next day in Paris, so no luck there. It's in the hands of the FBI now (maybe?). I am working another lead now...we'll see where that goes. |
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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 208
Location: Illinois | Just a thought before reading the rest of the responses. As I haven't time this p.m. and want to put my 2¢ in to maybe save you some green.
I have heard that checks from a foreign land, even a cashier's or bank check, may, MAY mind you, take several months to 'bounce'. By the time it gets through your bank and your bank's bank and your bank's bank's bank... ad. infiniutum, to the bank upon which it is drawn (if it exists) then possibly rejected then back through your banks' bank's bank, yada, yada yada. to YOU. could be months. Unless you have unreserved trust in your buyer and / or a letter of credit (that's how the big boys do it), respectfully decline to accept foreign checks. Given the current state of foreign affairs, especially through France, I'd be reluctant to buy or sell anything overseas.
ESPECIALLY IF I HAVE TO PART WITH COLD HARD CASH!
This moax obviously did not follow YOUR RULES, which didn't include giving back four figures worth of 'change', cancel the sale without further discussion. I case you haven't figured it out, this guy doesn't care about getting your guitar, he want's your cash.
If he wants to legitimately do this on one check. Have him write the check to his courier and have the courier cash it and give you and every other seller CASH at delivery.
I'd be willin' to bet a shiny new pick this guy is a s dirty as the day is long or my pen name aint TommyK. |
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Need thoughts on ebay scam