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Spotting fake Auctions

by: komod0( 30Feedback score is 10 to 49) Top 1000 Reviewer
26 out of 26 people found this guide helpful.
Guide viewed: 1092 times Tags: scam | fraud | theft | stolen


Thease days there are a lot of scam auctions on ebay to try and catch people out and steal their money, this guide will help you to determine if a auction if a scam or legit

-One day listings-

Scammers will use a one day listing to quickly gain money while their account has some good feedback, the account may be stolen. Avoid any one day auction listings

-No History-

Scammers will either have a stolen eBay account or use one of theirs and sell cheap items to get a feedback score high, check to see if they have sold big ticked items before. If they never have i would take that as a warning that it could be a fraud.

-Selling multiple items-

Most scammers will try to get the most out of their eBay account so they may list many of the same type of auctions, nearly all of them will be big ticket items. If a seller has listed 10x Xbox 360's it is most likley a scam

-Having offers outside eBay-

On scam listings there could be a notice saying to contact me with a email address to discus buying options and such, this is a big giveaway that it is fake. Also if you do do a deal outside of eBay then you have absoloutly no protection from fraud

-No Pickup-

This isnt a major giveaway that the auction is a scam, some people dont like the idea of meeting people with expensive goods and they could be robbed. Nearly all scams will have no pickup option and if they did they could rob you of your money when you turn up. That is highly unlikley but it has happened to people.

-Bad or lacking details-

If you win a acution and suspect it to be fake, request their details and see if they check out, this option has little protection due to fake adresses and numberes but none the less still a important step

-Payment method-

Scammers will try to use a fake escrow services and force you to use cash transfers e.g. Western Union


-List of common fraud goods-

Plasma TV's
Gaming consoles
Car Audio
Home Entertainment
Computers
Jewlery
Phones

Guide ID: 10000000001207905Guide created: 17/06/06 (updated 14/07/09)

 
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Related tags: fraud | stolen | scam | theft


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