Ebay - Be Forewarned
Ebay - Be Forewarned
Me, too. Again.
A few years ago I placed my 280i TVR up for auction on eBay. About midway through the auction two bidders working in tandem quickly drove the price above market squeezing out the half dozen or so real bidders.
At the auctions end I discovered the "winner" was actually a loser who claimed to be out at sea on a research ship. When I google earthed his home address I discovered it was an empty lot in an industrial area. Scammer.
I contacted the next highest bidder. He represented himself as a high end sports car dealer out of Italy. My brother deals with Italians in his business. I had him checked out. He did not exist. Scammer.
Seeking replacements for my top down car and later for my V70R Volvo spent a bunch of time following up on eBay auctions. I discovered what happened to me was not rare. Car after car was/is being relisted due to fraudulent bidders.
Particularly galling was the one of one Jaguar S Type R being sold out of NJ. The scammer hit the "buy it now" button (despite the above market asking price) late on a Thurs night. There was a deposit required within forty eight hours. But it was Thursday night and the "buyer" was in California and it was the week end.......Scam. Excuse after excuse tied this car up for weeks while other cars sold and potential buyers were lost. The seller lost his auction and even being a police chief could not do anything.
Ebay continued to show that attempt at fraud as a completed sale skewing the comparables for both buyers and sellers.
Recent eBay auctions of Crossfires posted on this site confirm same. While private bidder auctions are justifiably subject to suspicion and laughably obvious manipulation, still there are some real attempts to sell that are getting derailed.
Not wanting to deal with that and being offered a free listing, I recently posted my SRT6 with a best offer solicitation. While it did not sell I was satisfied with the exposure and response.
One potential buyer from the opposite coast repeatedly contacted me. In each response I attempted to blow him off. There are a number of Crossfires between California and Tennessee and I did not feel it made sense for either of us.
After this third email and verifying his number, I gave in figuring maybe he was going to in town or had a cousin with a transport company. What was there to lose?
With tribulation, I called. After a number rings it was with a sinking feeling I heard the click of my call being forwarded. The call was never returned and no follow up email was ever received.
However, within a day and numerous times since then I have been called by various numbers from different parts of the country claiming to be from the IRS. The recording states I am being sued by them and to immediately contact them at another number. I am on federal and state do not call lists. i do not get many calls like this and never did before returning a call to this number.
I have posted the ebay members name and number to save others from this. At the least he is an inconsiderate dreamer, more likely he collects verified phone numbers to sell to scammers.
Please call me at 626-890-0234. I'm still interested in this vehicle. I am looking to make a purchase within the next weeks and would like to speak with you. Thanks!
- juniorhsu
A few years ago I placed my 280i TVR up for auction on eBay. About midway through the auction two bidders working in tandem quickly drove the price above market squeezing out the half dozen or so real bidders.
At the auctions end I discovered the "winner" was actually a loser who claimed to be out at sea on a research ship. When I google earthed his home address I discovered it was an empty lot in an industrial area. Scammer.
I contacted the next highest bidder. He represented himself as a high end sports car dealer out of Italy. My brother deals with Italians in his business. I had him checked out. He did not exist. Scammer.
Seeking replacements for my top down car and later for my V70R Volvo spent a bunch of time following up on eBay auctions. I discovered what happened to me was not rare. Car after car was/is being relisted due to fraudulent bidders.
Particularly galling was the one of one Jaguar S Type R being sold out of NJ. The scammer hit the "buy it now" button (despite the above market asking price) late on a Thurs night. There was a deposit required within forty eight hours. But it was Thursday night and the "buyer" was in California and it was the week end.......Scam. Excuse after excuse tied this car up for weeks while other cars sold and potential buyers were lost. The seller lost his auction and even being a police chief could not do anything.
Ebay continued to show that attempt at fraud as a completed sale skewing the comparables for both buyers and sellers.
Recent eBay auctions of Crossfires posted on this site confirm same. While private bidder auctions are justifiably subject to suspicion and laughably obvious manipulation, still there are some real attempts to sell that are getting derailed.
Not wanting to deal with that and being offered a free listing, I recently posted my SRT6 with a best offer solicitation. While it did not sell I was satisfied with the exposure and response.
One potential buyer from the opposite coast repeatedly contacted me. In each response I attempted to blow him off. There are a number of Crossfires between California and Tennessee and I did not feel it made sense for either of us.
After this third email and verifying his number, I gave in figuring maybe he was going to in town or had a cousin with a transport company. What was there to lose?
With tribulation, I called. After a number rings it was with a sinking feeling I heard the click of my call being forwarded. The call was never returned and no follow up email was ever received.
However, within a day and numerous times since then I have been called by various numbers from different parts of the country claiming to be from the IRS. The recording states I am being sued by them and to immediately contact them at another number. I am on federal and state do not call lists. i do not get many calls like this and never did before returning a call to this number.
I have posted the ebay members name and number to save others from this. At the least he is an inconsiderate dreamer, more likely he collects verified phone numbers to sell to scammers.
Please call me at 626-890-0234. I'm still interested in this vehicle. I am looking to make a purchase within the next weeks and would like to speak with you. Thanks!
- juniorhsu
Re: Ebay - Be Forewarned
"Please call me at 626-890-0234. I'm still interested in this vehicle. I am looking to make a purchase within the next weeks and would like to speak with you. Thanks!"
The key words here are "this vehicle". A real buyer will say "your Crossfire". This is a standard generic scam format.
The key words here are "this vehicle". A real buyer will say "your Crossfire". This is a standard generic scam format.
Re: Ebay - Be Forewarned
I too was getting threatening calls from the IRS stating I must return their call by that afternoon or suffer the consequences. Caller ID even showed the call coming from "IRS". Did a search of the number which had nothing to do with any gov. agency and then searched the net. The IRS clearly states that they NEVER will call you nor send any email, and are well aware of said scam. They strictly correspond by snail mail only.
More info: IRS Reiterates Warning of Pervasive Telephone Scam
I figured that I could take care of any discrepancies as soon as I received my $3.5 million ATM card from Benin Republic!
More info: IRS Reiterates Warning of Pervasive Telephone Scam
I figured that I could take care of any discrepancies as soon as I received my $3.5 million ATM card from Benin Republic!
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