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Well, it happened.  It looks like I’ve been a victim of eBay fraud.  I got the email today from eBay informing me that:

Our records show that you were a bidder or buyer of one or more of this seller’s items. We recently removed this seller’s active listings and suspended the seller’s trading privileges. Due to privacy concerns we cannot share further details about this seller.

I was attempting to buy a used hard drive from a Canadian seller. Looking back, the eBay fraud warning signs were obvious:

• The seller was new - Feedback score was only 1 (earned as a buyer)
• Even though the seller was new, he/she had a pretty sophisticated listing which included a checkout service.  Even when I made the bid, I thought this must be an experienced seller starting over under a new identity.
• Even though the seller was new, he/she had a significant number of listings.
• The seller was selling hard drives for a penny, but charging a significant shipping & handling charge.  Obviously trying to milk eBay for every penny while they were milking me.
• The seller was slow in sending checkout instructions.  I had to email the seller requesting the instructions.
• The seller did not accept PayPal (even though the listing implied that he/she did - I didn’t learn this until I checked out).
• The checkout service was less than professional in appearance.  (Of course this was only apparent after I submitted my bid and won the auction)

Looks like I’m out about 17 bucks due to eBay fraud.  I could request a charge-back, but I’m not sure it would be worth my time.  I am concerned that this crook has my PayPal debit card information.  Therefore, I’m going to cancel that card and request a new one.

I’ll post more of my experiences here as they transpire.  One of the purposes of this blog is for you to learn from my experiences - both positive and negative.   Hopefully this will help you learn to protect yourself from eBay fraud.

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