Imposter using ebay to target Leica-buyers

[BPeter]

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I'm sorry to say that my first post here is about an imposter using ebay, to target people interested in Leicas. I write this because I see ads on ebay that show Leica equipment being offered at "too good" prices and when clicked on, there comes a message that ebay cannot find the ad. I fell for this trick myself (and have been kicking myself ever since) when I wanted to buy my dream camera, the Leica monochrom. So, this is - in broad strokes - how this imposter works:

a) an item is set for sale on ebay. This is the bait.

b) the ad is full of details, to make it look "real". There might, for instance, be a mention of a strap or something shown on a photo that is "not included" in the sale. It's just bullshit, since you will recieve absolutely nothing.

c) The imposter offers to answer questions via an e-mail address he has written in the ad. Of course, you would perhaps be interested in asking a few questions before sending off a pile of money. The e-mail address has a fictive persons name in it, to make it look genuine (which of course it isn't).

d) If you did write to the imposter, and perhaps hinted that you are quite interested in the item being listed "for sale", you will perhaps recieve an e-mail telling you that you can buy it. Your address will be asked for (this is just more bullshit, nothing will be sent to you).

e) Now that you and the imposter have started to communicate, the ad will suddenly have been removed from ebay. This is quite clever, since if you afterwards wants to ask ebay about this "seller", you cannot do that. The reason is that ebays form for questions regarding sellers etc. requires that you write which item that is concerned, and you cannot write anything there since the item has disappeared.

f) The imposter will write you that he intends to ship (or has already shipped... yeah, right) using safe means, so that you will be refunded if the item is not as described. He will mention a service that actually exists and give you the e-mail address to their customer service. The e-mail address is fake. It might include the name of a real company, but there are also other words in it that the actual company does not use. For instance, in my case (I just kicked myself again) he used the fake e-mail address "tracking@uship-delivery.com", indicating that I uship (an honest company) would be the middle man in this deal. uship are honest, but they don't act as middle men in deals such as this, nor do they own that e-mail address.

g) The imposter lists the item on a real page at uship.com's home page. Now everything begins to look real... except that it isn't. Anyone (yes, anyone) can list an item there as if it was for real. That the item shows up at uship.com has no relevance at all. 

h) The imposter sends you an account number, but it comes from the other fake e-mail address (such as "tracking@uship-delivery.com") so if you are gullible enough (ouch), check out thecompany's homepage etc., you may actually belive that it came from a real company.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the pattern of it. So, please... ...find a better way to check out if a seller is genuine or not. Suggestions welcome.

 

Have a nice August.

regards,

Bpeter

[250swb]

I'm sorry for your loss. As including a personal email address isn't allowed in eBay sales, and is a definite flag for something being dodgy, you could've reported that to eBay. Also only reply to sellers via the messaging system so eBay have their own record of conversations.

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[LocalHero1953]

With ebay, my rule is: don't deal by email direct!

[BPeter]

Thank you 250svb and LocalHero1953. You are right.