Ebay Fraud And Risks
by: Steve Hill
I am one of many people who have had a negative experience on the internet auction website ebay. This article describes how I nearly lost a large some of money from a man who attempts to defraud people out of their hard earned money.
I have read about many people who have had bad experiences on ebay, I hope you are not one of them. I must admit, I was having a great time on ebay, and also making some cash myself until this fraudster ruined it for me.
I had been buying and selling on ebay for a couple of years and even though I was aware of the risks involved, had traded without any problems at all. I was very careful, and if I bought an expensive item, I would always ensure that I met the seller somewhere, normally just off a motorway and I even drove to their houses. I pulled off some great deals and was even thinking that I could make it into a real income. I also pleased the wife as I made money from some of our unwanted items.
Good things apparantly have to come to an end and they certainly did with Ebay.
Where it all went wrong:
I was on the hunt to buy a particular make of mobile phone and thought I had found a real bargain. I saw an advert for a buy it now phone at a price which I thought was quite low. The advert stated that the mobile phone was an unwanted christmas present.
On the advert there was a mobile number which people were able to call if they had any questions. I therefore rang the number and a man called Tony answered. I asked him all the typical questions and he gave all of the answers which I wanted to hear. He sounded very genuine and seemed really nice, however stated that he was unable to meet me as he was as he had yet to pass his test.
As stated previously, in this situation I would normally travel to the sellers house, however he lived a long way from where I did and it was deep into the country. I had a bad feeling about the deal, however reluctantly agreed to pay via a direct bank transfer. He assured me he would post the phone that very day via Royal Mail Special Delivery, to arrive by 11am the next morning. I knew I had taken a risk however believed that everything would go smoothly, how wrong could I be.
I waited in my house the next day and to my horror nothing arrived. For some reason I waited until the next day before contacting him, hoping it would be delivered, but as you have already guessed, it didn't.
I tried e-mailing him, texting and ringing his mobile phone, guess what, there was no reply.
I realised what a fool I had been, however was not happy just to let him get away with it. I therefore decided to report the incident to the police. They were very helpful and half an hour later I had a crime number, I was however warned that it was extremely unlikely I would ever see a phone or receive a refund of the money I had sent.
Outside the police station I sent Tony a text with the police crime number. To my shock he phoned me straight away swearing at me but eventually agreed to refund me the money, if I stopped the police action against him.
I was very lucky, I am sure many other people as the police stated, never get their money back.
About The Author:
Stephen Hill has a number of websites including:
http://www.alternative-therapy.co.uk
http://www.natural-health-cure.co.uk
http://www.stress-management-game.co.uk
March 2006
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