One of the BIG ebay/Craigslist scams going on right now convinces victims of the scam to send money to an “eBay representative”. THIS IS A SCAM. The scammer convinces the customer to enter the transaction by sending emails that look like legitimate eBay emails from this email address: safe.purchase@representative.com. This is not affiliated with eBay or anything but a sleazy scam network that steals money from innocent customers.
For more information about this scam, refer to my other posts:
http://gorgando.com/blog/topics/internet_fraud/craigslist-ebay-scam-details-dont-trust-richard-grills-of-london-with-western-union-money-transfer-its-a-scam
http://gorgando.com/blog/topics/internet_fraud/scam-alert-bradley-morgan-bdmorgan117gmail-com-craigslist-scam-nfl-tickets
Here are some excerpts from a SCAM email to show you what it may look like:
Complete your eBay transaction in 4 easy steps:
1. Ebay accepts the transaction and offers purchase protection to the buyer (if the transaction is declined, no further action is required from either the buyer or the seller);
2. The buyer sends payment to one of our agents.
3. Buyer receives the merchandise and has five days to inspect it. If it is complete and as described, the buyer should accept the merchandise. If he refuses the merchandise, the buyer must ship the merchandise back to the seller within three business days.
4. After the inspection period is over, the buyer must contact eBay with the result of the inspection. If the buyer refuses the merchandise, the refund will be sent to the buyer after the tracking number for the returned shipment is verified.
PayPal Buyer Protection on eBay existed only for eBay customers who paid for their purchases through a PayPal account. Now purchase protection and issue resolution for your eBay purchases will be managed by eBay, for all eligible payment methods. With eBay Buyer Protection, buyers will receive coverage for the purchase price of the item, plus original shipping.
This seller is a verified PayPal member but for the time he has problems with his PayPal account so he won’t be able to receive payment for the item through PayPal.
| eBay’s verified payment agent address: |
Name: Richard Grills
Address: 25 Northcote Rd.
City: London
Zip Code: SW11 1NZ
Country: United Kingdom |
| eBay’s verified shipping address: |
Name: John Doe
Address: 1234 Lane
City: Springfield
State: NX
Zip Code: 12345
Country: United States |
|
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Note : The funds will not be released under any circumstances. We will hold the payment until you will send us your confirmation that you have received, inspected and you agree to keep the item. When we will have your confirmation we will release the funds to the seller.
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| Item Title: |
4 Steelers @ Saints Tickets 1ST ROW! LL on 40 Yard Line |
| Amount covered: |
US $500.00 |
Payment must be sent by Western Union Money Transfer !
eBay Buyer Protection covers this transaction if the payment is handled through Western Union. We will offer you the same protection like you are paying with PayPal directly.
Payment instructions:
To submit the payment with Western Union Money Transfer you have to pay for the transfer with cash at a local Western Union agent.
Visit http://www.westernunion.com/info/agentInquiryIntl.asp to locate the agents in your area. Go to one of them and send the payment to one of our agents.
Do not forget to inform the seller (bdmorgan147@gmail.com) that you have sent the payment, and provide all the information required to confirm it!
The amount sent (in local currency);
MTCN (10 digits number from the payment receipt);
Your details (name and address)
Within 24 hours, you will receive the tracking number for your merchandise.
Purchase protection and refund:
Currently, this seller has a $3,500.00 deposit in an eBay managed purchase protection account.
Transactions with this eBay seller are covered by purchase protection against fraud and description errors. For your safety, this account was locked today, for 45 days time period. The seller is unable to withdraw any money from it, within this period.
Should you need a refund for this transaction, the insured amount will be taken from the seller’s purchase protection account and sent to you. The refund is sent to your bank account, or by check or money order. The way you are refunded is at your choice. You have 45 days from the above verification date to request a refund. Refund requests are processed within 3 days.
.
Conditions to be meet before you may ask for a refund:
1. If the item doesn’t arrive and/or the seller stops communications after the payment was received;
2. If the merchandise you receive has different specifications than the ones you agreed on;
3. If your merchandise arrives in a much longer period than the one you agreed on (more than 15 days from the payment clearance day);
For cases 2. and 3. you have to send back the merchandise to the seller prior to ask for your refund. If you did not pay the seller by payment method required by us, your refund request will be declined.
This e-mail message was sent to you from eBay Safety Center, with the full support of the SquareTrade center.
If you encounter any problems with this transaction, please contact us.
When contacting our support team, use the reply feature so that all previous correspondences are included in your email. Otherwise, we will not be able to process your request.
To ask for a refund, simply reply to this notification and enter in the subject line: #25455422845
Thank you for using eBay!
Copyright © 2010 eBay Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners.
eBay and the eBay logo are trademarks of eBay Inc
Another email excerpt from the scammer:
Ok. Done !!!
Did you receive the invoice from eBay with details on how to purchase the tickets from me?Please also check your bulk/spam folder, I sometimes receive news from eBay there.
If you got the purchase confirmation please read it. You will be sending the money to an eBay agent who will hold the money until you will have the tickets in hand.
eBay will send the funds to me ONLY AFTER you will send them the feedback for our transaction (you received the tickets and everything is OK).
Thank you!
More details about this scammer’s scams and related scams: Click Here.
Brad is a tech professional and hobbiest. He's a husband, father, and a Mormon.
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