[Closed] eBay Story - Deadbeat SELLER...

Peter, Not doubting you, but did you check to see that the second chance offer was actually from the genuine seller? In the last few months I have received several second chance offers from Ebay sellers on items that I bid on and lost, and even for one I actually won! They appeared like legitimate offers from the seller through Ebay mail, but it turned out they were fraudulent offers. I forwarded them to spoof@ebay.com and they were verified as fraudulent by Ebay. Also, these offers did not appear in my Ebay mail on Ebay, as would be the case with a legitimate offer. Down at the bottom of some of the messages I received were instructions as to where to send payment and to whom. Each time the individual was in Spain, or Italy and wanted payment by cash transfer using Western Union. I knew my seller's were located in the USA, and there names were not the same as the crook listed!! Take another look at your second chance offers and forward them to spoof@ebay.com for verification. I also contacted one of the original sellers and asked if the second chance offer was legitimate, but it took over two weeks and several e-mails to get a response, as he thought I was trying to scam him. Also, can you imagine how stupid the fraudster was that sent me a second chance offer to buy a model I had already won?!!

Peter, what William said. It's happened to me also quite a few times.

Chances are the offers were bogus. I've received emails that looks very authentic from "buyers" who claim they sent me hundreds of dollars for something that they purchased on line from me and then threatened to sue me. Problem is - I had nothing for sale on Ebay.

I always check My Ebay to see if the same email shows up there.

So far I've been lucky but it doesn't hurt to verify any message that could cause you to lose money.

Whenever I sell something on ebay I am very quick to get it in the mail so it really irks me when someone does not leave feedback or takes weeks to do it.

Some of these guys are very quick to ask questions but slow to follow-up. Most are very good, a few aren't.

Thanks guys. The email looks so real, graphics and all...

But under the circumstances and based on your comments I've sent it to spoof@eBay.com to be sure. Gee, and I thought I couldn't be fooled. 🙁

The verdict...

Thanks very much for the tips everyone. I've been a computer guy since the early EIGHTIES, yes that's right. Can you believe it? LOL I know all this stuff, and have never been fooled by any of these scammers, but this one got past me somehow. Fortunately The only thing I clicked on was the email link to contact the seller. I was privacy officer for a large corporation so I know how to keep my identity safe, but I must admit my desire to get the model may have over-ridden my normally cautious and skeptical approach. Anyway, the guy probably ditched when he saw I wanted a paypal invoice. That's a little tougher to fake I bet. I've since forwarded the email to eBay and they confirmed it was a fraud.

Peter, Paypal Invoices apparently are not as difficult to fake as you think.

I've received a couple of them.

Be careful out there . . .

I just hope you didn't log in to ebay using that link. It's all they need.

By replying or clicking at any link inside that email they can catch your email assuming thats your PayPal email id. Once you click and log in to ebay (Of course, a fake ebay log in page) you give out your password and most of the times your ebay password is your paypal password too.

Best practice is to go to "my ebay" page and verify if indeed you were sent a "2nd chance offer." It would be under "Buying Reminders."

I would suggest you change your ebay / PayPal log in password immediately. Rule #1 Never click on a link inside an email message regardless how well known the sender is. You can always copy and paste the link on your browser, but most of their links are disguised. If you need to log in, say your bank or credit card account, you can always type the home page at your browser. They (crackers) can always crack email servers and find out who sends you emails, bank statements, credit card payment alerts, and work they way in your privacy from there.

Thanks Guys. I don't want to brag or tempt fate...

but I am a computer geek and not easily fooled by these things. I have never been successfully scammed or had my identity stolen, or had any of my passwords cracked, etc. etc. etc., though I can't tell you how many times they've tried. {KNOCKING WOOD}

I try to stay one step ahead, changing my important passwords often (do you do that? you should!) and taking advantage of new security options as they become available. For instance, did you know PayPal now offers a "random" number generator fob which requires entry of the currently displayed sequence (changes every 10 secs) in addition to your password. I had one for my office laptop to keep the network secure while doing VPN (that's more geek talk).

I definitely let my guard down on this one, and it won't happen again if I can help it, but luckily I never revealed any information the person didn't already have about me. I only meant to say that a faked paypal invoice was more than THIS individual was able to produce on short notice. If they had been smart enough to asked me for personal info it would have aroused my suspicions. It was actually their stupidity that probably disarmed me. They asked for my address, and they already had it on the second chance offer form. LOL

At any rate, it just goes to show that even the sharpest, most computer savvy among us can be fooled, and must always be on our toes. I was Privacy Officer for a major insurance company here in Philly for years, and I know that no matter how hard you try to keep things secure, somebody will always find a new way.

Peter-Me Too

I also received a "second chance" offer on a model that I'd already purchased and, at a lower price. Rather than turn it over to EBay, I merely deleted it!