Fraud on eBay has victimized a lot of people AND eBay rarely admits fault, or takes effective action against the fraudsters. The latest activity seems to be BIN (Buy it Now) scams.
Ina Steiner of AuctionBytes reports:
"Over the past month, eBay sellers on U.S. discussion boards have been discussing the problem of Chinese "BIN bandits" on eBay. The problem described by posters is that newly registered, zero-feedback members from China are buying BIN (Buy It Now) items from eBay sellers in a systematic fashion, and not following through on the transactions."
It seems the intent of these BIN (Buy it Now) scams is to get the merchandise shipped (0ff-eBay) and pay for it via a payment scam. This might be done with fraudulent cashiers checks (rampant in the world of internet fraud), or with one of the fraudulent debit/credit card numbers (sold in Internet Relay Chat) chatrooms OR even with one of the counterfeit money orders that are flooding the world of Internet scams.
Another problem with this scam is eBay refunding the fees to sellers when one of these BIN bandits backs out of a transaction. There seems to be a lot of "negative feedback" regarding eBay's process to get the fees refunded. Allegations are that the process is full of red tape and it often is difficult to get a refund.
Ms. Steiner stated in her article:
"One seller alleges that in a previous BIN bandit episode that lasted over 7 months, eBay only took action when sellers flooded the California and New York Attorneys General's offices with complaints."
Another speculation from the article is:
"Some eBay sellers have speculated that the BIN bandits might be members of eBay's affiliate program who receive generous compensation for sending new bidders to eBay.com. In the U.S., affiliates can earn between 40 - 70 percent of eBay's revenue on winning bids or Buy It Now transactions within 7 days of an affiliate action. Affiliates also earn between $12 and $20 for each new active confirmed registered user (ACRU) driven to eBay (http://affiliates.ebay.com/)."
Link to article from AuctionBytes, here.
eBay is taking limited action, but only the sort that won't limit their profits. For one, they suggest only using PayPal (which they own and profit from) and there are a lot of people out there, who prefer other methods of payment.
The article refers to a lot of this coming from China, but other points of compromise could be Nigeria, Singapore and those Eastern European nations. "Buy it Now" fraud seems to be the latest mutation of Auction fraud, which sometimes includes Advance Fee scams.
When reading the AuctionBytes article, I came across a great site dedicated to fraud on eBay (eBayMotorsSucks). The site is very up-to-date and a great resource to protect people. I highly recommend it.
Here are some previous posts, I've done on Auction fraud:
Do It Yourself Hacker Kits
25 Ways to Avoid Auction Fraud From a Seller's Perspective
eBay's Fraud Hall of Shame
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
A Case of the Fox Watching the Henhouse
The head of a Medicaid fraud unit has been stripped of her responsibilities stemming from testimony she gave two years ago about committing fraud. Since she was testifying against her boss, the Governor, prosecutors made a deal with her that allowed her to continue working for the people of Connecticut.
Apparently, Kristine Ragaglia, head of Connecticut's Medicaid fraud unit, is being assigned to administrative duties after the new governor (M. Jodi Rell) reopened the case.
Even now, she can't be fired immediately.
When the investigation came to a head against former Governor (John Rowland), she left her post as head of the child protection agency, did a brief stint in the attorney general's office and then was hired to run the Medicaid fraud unit.
This all happened after she admitted to a grand jury of committing fraud.
For the full story from the Associated Press, link here.
This illustrates what's wrong with a lot of our social programs and the legal system. In my opinion, further investigation should also occur into everyone, who allowed this to happen.
Apparently, Kristine Ragaglia, head of Connecticut's Medicaid fraud unit, is being assigned to administrative duties after the new governor (M. Jodi Rell) reopened the case.
Even now, she can't be fired immediately.
When the investigation came to a head against former Governor (John Rowland), she left her post as head of the child protection agency, did a brief stint in the attorney general's office and then was hired to run the Medicaid fraud unit.
This all happened after she admitted to a grand jury of committing fraud.
For the full story from the Associated Press, link here.
This illustrates what's wrong with a lot of our social programs and the legal system. In my opinion, further investigation should also occur into everyone, who allowed this to happen.
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Counterfeit Goods, A Borderless Problem
Counterfeit goods are a worldwide problem. With the global economy, the companies being counterfeited are spending a lot of money to try to stop the problem. But have they been successful?
The Daily Times of Pakistan is reporting:
A long campaign to remove pirated goods from shop fronts in Asia is finally having an impact but the crackdown has also changed the nature of the problem and new outlets are flourishing. The results of police raids, a slate of new laws and increased prosecutions can be seen across the region on the back streets of Beijing, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore and to a lesser extent Phnom Penh and Hanoi.
To counter the authorities, black market buccaneers are shifting their goods from roadside stalls and shopping malls to the Internet. Su's team now also conducts daily patrols of Internet sites. His point was echoed by industry observers in Mumbai and Seoul, where much like Bangkok and Jakarta, it's business as usual with counterfeit products brazenly on display in the tourist precincts.
In other words, the people behind counterfeiting are very adept at mutating their method of operation and carrying on.
Link to Daily Times article, here.
Of course, we in the West can blame Asia and the third world for this activity, but if weren't for people in the West buying these goods, I doubt it would have grown into an international (worldwide) problem.
AND the companies being counterfeited probably have something to worry about. With the popularity of Internet auctions, the business of counterfeiting goods is likely to grow. Internet auctions are big business and sites, such as eBay refuse to accept blame for the actions of their members. The sale of counterfeit goods is rampant on these sites and Tiffanys and Microsoft are spending a lot of money bringing legal action to try to curb it.
Some of these companies might be contributing to the problem in another way. After all, do you think all the $100.00 tennis shoes we buy are made in North America, or Europe? Not very likely in the global economy. In the quest for cheap labor, long regarded as one of the major expenses of doing business, many of our goods are produced in the same countries that produce the counterfeits. The end result is counterfeits of about the same quality as the item being counterfeited.
I doubt there will be any significant impact on this problem until all parties involved clean up their acts. We can blame and prosecute counterfeiters in far-away lands, but as long as there is a demand and a ready means to distribute these goods, the problem isn't going away.
I recently read a book by Tim Phillips, "Knockoff," which is best analysis of the situation I've seen.
If you are interested, I would highly recommend reading it.
A Rumor of Raids Against Illegal Immigrants
Nina Bernstein of the NY Times is reporting:
False rumors of random federal immigration raids have sent panic through immigrant communities around the country this week, emptying classrooms, work sites and shopping areas and sending thousands of people into hiding.
Whatever their source or intent, the rumors have given an unintended jump-start to a nationwide boycott many groups have planned for Monday, a day on which immigrants are being urged to stay away from work and to refrain from shopping to protest legislation that would make it a felony to stay in the United States without proper papers. At the same time, some immigrant advocates fear that the scare will keep people away from public demonstrations called as an alternative to the boycott. Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices have been deluged with inquiries about reports of random raids, from pizza parlors to construction sites, said Ernestine Fobbs, a spokeswoman. Many denials, she said, have failed to stem the rumors.
Link, here.
This is a sensitive issue, on one hand, no one wants to target hard working people trying to make a better life for themselves, but on the other hand, a lot of criminal activity is related to illegal immigration.
In fact, criminals (primarily the organized type) make a lot of money smuggling humans and other things over the border.
There is also the need to secure our borders from the very real threat of terrorism.
Unfortunately, it also seems that a lot of corporations turn a blind eye to all this criminal activity, which victimizes the general public and the immigrants, themselves.
Then there is the problem of social programs going bankrupt. Part of this is fueled by the needs of people, who are here illegally and the fact that the corporations hiring illegal immigrants aren't paying their fair share of the social costs.
Tomorrow should be interesting, but the fact remains that massive reforms and actions need to be undertaken to address this problem.
Perhaps, we should give preferential treatment to those illegal immigrants, who turn in the criminals profiting from their hard work?
Recognizing those, who exhibit the qualities of a good citizen should be one of the factors considered when deciding whether, or not they are fit to become legal.
It makes a lot more sense to use our resources planning raids against criminals instead of hard working people.
We need to create a fair and just way for hardworking people to immigrate and address the root of the problem, which is criminal enterprise.
False rumors of random federal immigration raids have sent panic through immigrant communities around the country this week, emptying classrooms, work sites and shopping areas and sending thousands of people into hiding.
Whatever their source or intent, the rumors have given an unintended jump-start to a nationwide boycott many groups have planned for Monday, a day on which immigrants are being urged to stay away from work and to refrain from shopping to protest legislation that would make it a felony to stay in the United States without proper papers. At the same time, some immigrant advocates fear that the scare will keep people away from public demonstrations called as an alternative to the boycott. Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices have been deluged with inquiries about reports of random raids, from pizza parlors to construction sites, said Ernestine Fobbs, a spokeswoman. Many denials, she said, have failed to stem the rumors.
Link, here.
This is a sensitive issue, on one hand, no one wants to target hard working people trying to make a better life for themselves, but on the other hand, a lot of criminal activity is related to illegal immigration.
In fact, criminals (primarily the organized type) make a lot of money smuggling humans and other things over the border.
There is also the need to secure our borders from the very real threat of terrorism.
Unfortunately, it also seems that a lot of corporations turn a blind eye to all this criminal activity, which victimizes the general public and the immigrants, themselves.
Then there is the problem of social programs going bankrupt. Part of this is fueled by the needs of people, who are here illegally and the fact that the corporations hiring illegal immigrants aren't paying their fair share of the social costs.
Tomorrow should be interesting, but the fact remains that massive reforms and actions need to be undertaken to address this problem.
Perhaps, we should give preferential treatment to those illegal immigrants, who turn in the criminals profiting from their hard work?
Recognizing those, who exhibit the qualities of a good citizen should be one of the factors considered when deciding whether, or not they are fit to become legal.
It makes a lot more sense to use our resources planning raids against criminals instead of hard working people.
We need to create a fair and just way for hardworking people to immigrate and address the root of the problem, which is criminal enterprise.
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