California Issues Alert on eBay Fraud Trend

The California Office of the Attorney General is issuing a consumer alert about fraudsters - who pose as sellers on eBay (after assuming a legitimate sellers identity) - and lure them into paying for something they will never receive.

Account takeovers and identity theft are nothing new on eBay. In most instances, they are accomplished by "phishing" legitimate members of the eBay community; who are tricked into giving up their information as a result of a seemingly legitimate e-mail.

Here is the consumer alert:

Scam Artists Posing As Sellers on eBay

Consumers should be on the alert for scam artists posing as sellers on eBay, the California-based Internet auction site, who victimize bidders through bogus second chance offers. To avoid falling victim to this scam, we offer some tips and precautions below.

In the emerging fraud scheme, scam artists try to lure bidders interested in a product away from the e-Bay web site by using “My Message,” which allows seller and buyers to communicate on the auction site. Through posted messages, legitimate sellers are able to build a positive reputation from customer ratings, product reviews and favorable reports on business transactions.

Manipulating the eBay messaging system, the scam artist posing as the seller contacts bidders to announce the winning bid fell through and offers a second chance to buy the product by wiring the purchase price to the non-eBay email address provided. The scam artist is counting on consumers being tricked into a direct sale and being lured by the positive feedback seen on eBay.

However, the message is actually from a con artist who assumed the identity of the legitimate seller who already sold the item to the winning bidder. The second chance bidder who falls for this scam is left empty handed, paying for a product that will never arrive.

For the full consumer alert, link here.

Here are two resources to seek help, if you become a victim:

Attorney Generals Office Complaint Form and Federal Trade Commission Complaint Form.

These resources are only applicable in California and the United States, here is a list where you can find victim assistance worldwide:

Consumer World: Consumer Agencies

Here are some other tips on how to avoid fraud on eBay:

25 Ways to Avoid Auction Fraud From a Seller's Perspective

Here is a post about how accounts are taken over on eBay:

Phishy E-Mails from eBay/PayPal are at a Record High