HOW CONMEN FAKED AN EBAY AUCTION
As far as eBay was aware, Graham's sale had never taken place
By Maisha Frost
AN ELABORATE fraud on eBay involving the sale of a rare Mercedes has cheated a collector out of £12,500.
Graham Williams, a retired finance systems expert, fears he might not be the only enthusiast stung by the sophisticated crooks who faked a string of security e-mails from the auction site to lull his suspicions.
When Graham, from Hampshire, asked Crusader to investigate why the sought-after SL55 AMG model failed to arrive, he was confident he had taken every precaution.
The trouble began when an e-mail to Graham’s eBay address came offering the motor. “I had been bidding for a similar one but was unsuccessful,” he explained.
“I ignored this later approach because it was unsolicited and from a stranger in Slovakia. Then I got another e-mail saying the deal was being handled by eBay so I was reassured and responded.”
When discussing payment, Graham got more unsolicited e-mails, this time apparently from eBay’s Safe Harbor team giving instructions how to best to protect his money and make a secure transaction, complete with a special number from its “Trust & Safety” department.
“I sent a standard bank transfer as recommended,” Graham said. “I have sent several e-mails to eBay’s Claims and Disputes section but have had no reply.”
That is because as far as eBay was aware Graham’s sale never took place. An eBay spokesman has confirmed the first auction Graham joined in was a con so the company closed it down early. Graham was unaware this was the reason.
But the damage was done as the crooks had Graham’s e-mail address and knew what would interest him.
All the e-mails he subsequently received apparently from Safe Harbor were spoofs. The more Graham sought guidance, the more the crooks reeled him in, directing him to pay by bank transfer.
eBay strongly advises against this method when dealing with strangers because it is very difficult to trace in whose pocket the money ends up. It has now banned payments via Moneygram and Western Union for this reason.
It recommends its own system, Paypal, an option all eBay traders must offer from next month, where, for a small fee, up to £500 is protected. The transparency of the method is designed to deter crooks as Paypal holds bank details of both buyer and seller. But if someone is cheated it offers no guarantees beyond the £500.
Graham’s conmen betrayed other tell-tale signs traders need to be aware of, said an eBay spokeswoman.
She explained: “As well as our site warning against bank transfer payments, the fail-safe way of checking whether an e-mail purporting to come from eBay is genuine is to check whether it is in your My Messages folder. If it is not there, it’s not from us.
“Had Graham also sent any e-mail to spoof@ebay.co.uk our team could have quickly confirmed whether it was for real. The first auction he took part in was a single day listing only, implying someone wanted to wrap things up very quickly, another potentially suspicious sign.”
As Graham’s bank NatWest points out it was acting on his orders. But a spokeswoman added: “We will contact the receiving bank immediately to confirm the whereabouts of these funds and let Mr Williams know the outcome. The police should be informed.”
Graham is not ready to give up pursuing the crooks just yet. “I always thought I was cautious but this has been a hard lesson,” he said.
“I just hope my experience will stop others being trapped.”
CRUSADER COMMENDATION
It is worth splashing out on a shower from supplier Screwfix, says Brian Airley from Manchester.
He bought one in January from the company, based in Yeovil, Somerset. When it faltered he rang the maker who required a receipt.
Having mislaid his, Brian rang Screwfix. “Straightaway they said if the shower was faulty, it was their responsibility and they would replace it free of charge – 24 hours later it arrived.
“Wonderful service.”
Video 
EBAY/PAYPAL,JUST AS BAD THEMSELVES
29.04.08, 2:56pm
We had our Ebay account scammed and this guy was buying stuff through my lads user id we had a few hundred pounds run up with dodgey transactions,Ebay were not interested said it was a Paypal issue,waste of space the pair of them,Paypal still owe us £172 which was "stolen" from our account,trying to speak to a human being who understands you is a nightmare
They are quick enough to threaten you if you havent paid your fees but as soon as there is a problem they dont want to know,Everyone should boycott Ebay go on Gumtree its free...
• Posted by: kevk • Report Comment
PETROL, WE'RE RUNNING OUT
26.04.08, 10:48am
Abolish supermarkets !
Abandon your motor cars, fetch out the bicycle, use shanks's pony to your local farmers market, local community shops. Wean yourselves out of consumerism, Benefit the 'planet' and yourselves, break the hold of Mamon, help to rebuild a better 'Great Britain' Rebuild the railways, the dockyards, restore our small coastal vessels, plying trade as;- prior Mercedes, Volvo.
• Posted by: juan01 • Report Comment
PETROL, WE'RE RUNNING OUT
26.04.08, 10:48am
Abolish supermarkets !
Abandon your motor cars, fetch out the bicycle, use shanks's pony to your local farmers market, local community shops. Wean yourselves out of consumerism, Benefit the 'planet' and yourselves, break the hold of Mamon, help to rebuild a better 'Great Britain' Rebuild the railways, the dockyards, restore our small coastal vessels, plying trade as;- prior Mercedes, Volvo.
• Posted by: juan01 • Report Comment
CONMEN
21.04.08, 3:31pm
I too had an email purporting to come from Ebay. It basically said that they were suspiciious of an unauthorised transaction on my ebay/paypal account and would I send account details for verification. I emailed ebay for clarification and they told me it was not from them. I sent them details of this false email and as far as I am aware they have made the necessary investigations. BEWARE BEWARE BEWARE
• Posted by: kennyoldgit • Report Comment
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