Preventing eBay Fraud
The Fraud About Fraud
by Sidney Johnston
Author of Make Your Net Auction Sell!
Two weeks ago, a huge FBI arrest was in the news. The "perps" (I don’t watch Law and Order for nothing 
were arrested for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from online buyers.
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This past week, the police were in pursuit of a con artist named "Skunkker", who is charged with scamming hundreds of buyers and stealing thousands of dollars on eBay. He is linked to another crook who has been running hundreds of false auctions. |
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Huge numbers of people read these stories and panic, wondering if they are next in the chain of victims. Perhaps you may have wondered, yourself.
In four years of buying and selling on auctions, I have never, ever been scammed out of a penny!
That is not to say that it will never happen, or that I haven’t been very lucky, but there are prudent steps to take that will certainly lessen your chances of being defrauded.
First of all, know that the biggest advantage lies with the seller. When I have sold an item, I will not mail it until I have received verified payment in some way. This includes a credit card transaction; a third party payment handler like PayPal, or an auction site’s payment program; or a money order.
If I receive a check for any significant amount, I will indeed hold it as long as necessary to ensure that it is good. Have I ever mailed smaller items without waiting? Yes, I have but have been very fortunate this way. I have never gotten a bad check.
In short, if you are the seller there is no reason to be cheated.
As a buyer, always, always use a payment system that is guaranteed.
My one and only contact with a fraudulent seller involved a woman selling expensive exercise equipment, along with other high priced items. I paid
1. With a credit card
2. Through PayPal
So I had double coverage. When I didn’t receive my order, it was no problem to get my money back.
The seller was reported to the attorney general of her state, all the online law enforcement agencies, eBay, etc.
Yet, a couple of times every day I received new hysterical emails from her victims, who got a huge email list going. Many of them had mailed her hundreds of dollars in checks, and I am reasonably sure they never got their money back.
Yet buyers still indulge in this foolish practice. In two recent auctions of mine, for $182.50 and $266, the buyers mailed CHECKS to me.
Of course, I am an honest seller and they will not suffer for their actions.
But, they don’t know me. I could be the biggest crook who ever lived. I could easily keep their money and deprive them of their goods, if I were that kind of person.
So, be prudent and don’t buy without exercising reasonable caution. Does that guarantee you will never be cheated?
No, but it certainly does lessen the possibility.
And if you ever buy anything very expensive, use whatever kind of precaution is necessary to protect your investment. If the buyer is an honest person, she certainly won’t object.
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