Why is this scam everywhere on eBay....
Discussion
Riley Blue said:
I search almost daily for Riley Biarritz, a rare pre-war saloon. If it's listed, it's always fraudulent, like this one: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1931-Riley-9-Biarritz-s...
The annoying thing is this scammer has a 100% feedback rating (only as a buyer, buying vitamins at low prices), ironically no feedback as a seller... both the Norton Commando 961, 2014 Ducati and 66 plate Kia Sportage can be yours for just £5,600 - all items he has for sale can! 
Ebay always tell people to watch out for sellers wanting Western Union, direct transfers or anything apart from PayPal which they can track.This is like the "UK Spec 3 series in France with me, I'll send V5 if you pay and then will get car shipped" that used to do the rounds on Gumtree
Edited by The Li-ion King on Sunday 17th November 21:26
V8RX7 said:
The Li-ion King said:
The annoying thing is this scammer has a 100% feedback rating
99.9% of the time they are simply using a hacked account
A while back I found the Riley Biarritz I mentioned listed by two sellers at the same time. Although I reported it again yesterday, it's still there with two bids this morning.V8RX7 said:
I've been reporting them and notice that it takes ages for them to remove them and that they will remove just the reported ad rather than all the seller's ads
Fed up, I called them today and had a numpty telling me that they couldn't just delete them, that they had to investigate...
That's just bFed up, I called them today and had a numpty telling me that they couldn't just delete them, that they had to investigate...
ks! I was advertising my dad's old Landcruiser for him a couple of years back and it was doing quite well on the bids. I then altered the listing (added more stuff to the description and the photo) from my own computer, not my dad's. Next thing they've pulled the listing due to "suspicious activity" - didn't see a lot of "investigating" there. Car sold for hundreds less second time round - presumably interested buyers were suspicious.Gojira said:
Camelot1971 said:
Joe5y said:
I fully get what the scam is either. Can someone explain please
You are the prime target.If you look at that ad and think "hmmm, looks a good price", you are the target, sorry to say.
Joe5y said:
Why? Because I don't understand how this scam works - surely someone is not stupid enough to part with money without goods?
That’s exactly what the scammers are looking for.You might be stupid/naive enough to send a few grand off for a tempting ‘bargain’, but some people will be. If you’re smart enough not to fall for an obvious scam (not hard!), then you’re not the target they’re aiming for.
Look at it this way: if it didn’t work, do you really think the scammers would go to all the effort?
Simply put, the scam works like this: the scammers hack somebody’s account (there are countries where they pay a pittance to dozens of people who spend all day looking for easy to guess passwords), they then place a tempting ad, Billy Buyer reads the ad and thinks “wow, those cars/bikes/whatever normally sell for a lot more than that!! What a bargain, I’ll pay right away”… The scammers use either a hijacked or dodgy bank account to receive the cash, clear the funds out and scarper. You will probably not get your money back, and if you do it’ll be Paypal/your bank or credit card provider that takes the hit. Either way, the scammers have their money.
The currant variant relies on the ‘buyer’ making contact via email outside of official Ebay channels. They’ll either then bombard you with spam loaded up with various nasty viruses and/or malware and try to access your funds this way. Or they’ll put you on a ‘sucker list’ as they know that if you fall for one scam, you’ll be likely to fall for another.
You sometimes see reports on the news about old people who’ve lost their life savings to these heartless f
kers.Rely on the old adage: if something looks too good to be true, then it probably is.
Don’t let greed or the desire to be ‘that’ person who manages to blag the bargain of the century override your common sense.
NO ONE sells a classic car with one picture and no information. If you’re feeling adventurous, right click on a given image and select ‘search google for this image’. Surprise, surprise: they don’t own the car at all, they've just yoinked an image of a nice car and used it for their own ends.
aka_kerrly said:
Joe5y said:
I fully get what the scam is either. Can someone explain please
Stupid person on eBay sees a car for half its normal price, sends email to random Gmail account, is told to transfer money direct an not involve eBay. No car, no money, no come back. vtecyo said:
aka_kerrly said:
Joe5y said:
I fully get what the scam is either. Can someone explain please
Stupid person on eBay sees a car for half its normal price, sends email to random Gmail account, is told to transfer money direct an not involve eBay. No car, no money, no come back. Even Nigerian noblemen trying to get millions of dollars out of their country manage to catch some mugs!
Accounts are hacked by sending potential victims emails that look like they're from ebay. Usually you will have 'asked a question' to an already-hacked account, or they will have asked you a question.
They/you reply. You click on the fake ebay page, get asked to log in (what - again?) and then they have your access details.
Or instead of piggybacking existing accounts they'll register a new account themselves - but that takes time and effort and means advertising as a new user rather than selling via a seasoned account with some good genuine feedback.
Ads are put up by the thousand - it only takes one person to bite.
Ebay's system prevent emails and phone numbers being included in some types of ad, hence their using slightly fuzzy jpegs of emails inserted into the description text.
One method is EU nationals are shipped over with ID to open a bank account in their name, then shipped home the next day. These accounts are where the money is sent to, then bounced out elsewhere. I think a five grand transfer out is maybe under the radar for the banks, and that's why they advertise around that figure. Either that, or they aim to withdraw the max 500/day cash for the ten days or so before the 'buyer' asks where their motorhome delivery has got to.
Reporting on ebay is fiddly, but worth doing - just a few clicks.
I have phoned them too but the standard ebay customer service phone staff are clueless - they couldn't spot a scam if it kicked them in the face.
They just forward it to the 'fraud' team who might take the ads down in a few hours or so. That time delay is a big problem.
And if there's a contact number on the ad, phone it and tell them - genuine motortraders have had their accounts hacked regularly - not great for their image.
Basic rule : if you can't reach out and physically touch it, don't send a penny. Might seem obvious not to send money for something you haven't seen, but via Facebook I know of roughly one person a week who has lost thousands - and that's only the people who can bear to publicly admit being scammed. People love a bargain. And what could be safer than buying via ebay with all the buyer protection etc? Free delivery, 14 days inspection with full refund if you're not happy, all secure and through ebay? Bargain! Then they send their bank account details for you to send the money...
They/you reply. You click on the fake ebay page, get asked to log in (what - again?) and then they have your access details.
Or instead of piggybacking existing accounts they'll register a new account themselves - but that takes time and effort and means advertising as a new user rather than selling via a seasoned account with some good genuine feedback.
Ads are put up by the thousand - it only takes one person to bite.
Ebay's system prevent emails and phone numbers being included in some types of ad, hence their using slightly fuzzy jpegs of emails inserted into the description text.
One method is EU nationals are shipped over with ID to open a bank account in their name, then shipped home the next day. These accounts are where the money is sent to, then bounced out elsewhere. I think a five grand transfer out is maybe under the radar for the banks, and that's why they advertise around that figure. Either that, or they aim to withdraw the max 500/day cash for the ten days or so before the 'buyer' asks where their motorhome delivery has got to.
Reporting on ebay is fiddly, but worth doing - just a few clicks.
I have phoned them too but the standard ebay customer service phone staff are clueless - they couldn't spot a scam if it kicked them in the face.
They just forward it to the 'fraud' team who might take the ads down in a few hours or so. That time delay is a big problem.
And if there's a contact number on the ad, phone it and tell them - genuine motortraders have had their accounts hacked regularly - not great for their image.
Basic rule : if you can't reach out and physically touch it, don't send a penny. Might seem obvious not to send money for something you haven't seen, but via Facebook I know of roughly one person a week who has lost thousands - and that's only the people who can bear to publicly admit being scammed. People love a bargain. And what could be safer than buying via ebay with all the buyer protection etc? Free delivery, 14 days inspection with full refund if you're not happy, all secure and through ebay? Bargain! Then they send their bank account details for you to send the money...
Riley Blue said:
I search almost daily for Riley Biarritz, a rare pre-war saloon. If it's listed, it's always fraudulent, like this one: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1931-Riley-9-Biarritz-s...
Next time that you search set up a saved search and select the email option to have eBay email you as soon as a matching auction is listed.mwstewart said:
Riley Blue said:
I search almost daily for Riley Biarritz, a rare pre-war saloon. If it's listed, it's always fraudulent, like this one: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1931-Riley-9-Biarritz-s...
Next time that you search set up a saved search and select the email option to have eBay email you as soon as a matching auction is listed.Harji said:
I don't understand how Ebay is a platform for many stolen goods and no one is investigating it.
Because the Police are utterly useless.I've had a few things stolen and have tried to get the Police to follow up and they are:
Completely disorganised - it takes days to speak to an officer, it seems no one knows when they are working nor what they are working on.
If you can get them to do something it's like they've never met a thief before - IE if you see your stolen motor bike on Ebay and give the details to the Police IF they act in time they'll call and say "Hello I'm the Police, we believe the bike you're selling is stolen and would like to arrange to inspect it" Would you believe it, suddenly the bike is sold
They also find it impossible to sort stuff outside their area - ie if it's stolen in West Mids and for sale in Leics it's like it's in a different country !
I'm shocked they ever recover anything.
Crime pays and it pays very well because even though most crooks are stupid the Police are either grossly incompetent or don't give a s
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