I nearly got scammed out of $2000 this week in a e-bay transaction that I
didn't figure out until the scammer asked for a MoneyGram. E-bay reported this
morning that the scam came from an "unauthorized account take-over" = hack.
This is doubly dangerous, as the initial correspondence was "official",
including my e-bay ID and all graphics and formatting (with instructions not to
send a MoneyGram).
The auction closed without meeting the seller's reserve. I then got a Second
Chance notice saying the seller had reduced his Buy-it-now price to $2000 - a
bargain "too good to be true". This notice included my e-bay ID and in all
respects looked official - same pictures, same text, logo, everything.
Somewhere around then I also got another copy in which my e-bay ID was replaced
with "buyer". I might have noticed the logo at that time, as Vista usually
blocks them. But I did not, so I accepted. Then I got a direct message from
the scammer, bypassing e-bay. We had several back and forths, before he asked
for a MoneyGram.
I had one real response from the seller that included his name. So I found him
on WhitePages.com and called. He had been getting all manner of messages about
cars that were not his, and two hours before had contacted e-bay, erased his
account, and established a new ID.
So, the lesson is that you may not be able to recognize a scam until they ask
for a direct payment of some kind outside of e-bay and PayPal.
Michael Rowe
Still searching for a car
Long Island, NY
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