Keeping up on Ebay Scams

[mscher]

Anyone know of a good web site, etc. that keeps up with the latest ebay scams and other security matters? Maybe even on ebay web site itself (I can't seem to find much)?

For instance, I see a 1-2 year old computer notebook, which sold for about $1200 new, hover around $550, then quickly jump to $2500, even $5000 at action end. The buyer is a new account with no feed back. What's the scam here?

I have some photo and computer stuff I want to sell and want have a decent auction, avoiding the usual crud.

Thanks

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: Keeping up on Ebay Scams

Most auctions get the heaviest bidding in the last minute. I have won a few using Sniping software. You set your highest bid and time remaining and the bid is made for you. Not necessarily your high limit, but the next higher bid just as if you were doing it, only at computer speed.

Some things go for absurd prices. They're not always paid for. The scammer is probably not the seller, but the buyer. The seller will probably get an email asking him to deposit a cashier's check for way more than the selling price, then give change. The cashier's check will end-up being phoney two weeks later and the buyer will already have the item plus all that change. Newbies are easy prey.

eBay has a fair amount of scam prevention info on it. Look at the FAQs or Help.

 

[dolluper]

Re: Keeping up on Ebay Scams

When your setting up your auction,there is a section where you can block out bidders:example bidders with less than 5 feedback,or only those with a paypal account then only bidders will have at least 10 feedback.But you also will have to have 10 before you can set up the PP account also to accept PP.Blocking bidders could be bad for selling though newbie's bid large!!

 

[JasonJ]

Re: Keeping up on Ebay Scams

My mother almost got taken by the cashiers check thing when she sold an antique clock. She is in her 70s and is only mildly knowledgeable about Ebay and scams. She was all excited until I told her it was utter bollocks. My sister almost got taken by the Nigerian scam back when it first started. Again, she was all excited until I told her that it was, you guessed it, bollocks.