EBAY/PAYPAL SCAM

JONNYQUANGO

Ebay / paypal fraud

The scam is as follows

The fraudster opens a paypal and ebay account using a fake address . they then sell non-existent goods on ebay (usually for a very competitive price ) and only accept
Paypal as payment . the money received from this sale is then used as payment for items such as mobile phone top up vouchers ( a very large bid greater than the voucher value is made to ensure the auction is won) . part of the con is that the phone voucher numbers are requested by email so the fraudster does not have to worry about the false delivery address, which is registered .
The real problem here is that you can register with paypal WITHOUT having to register a credit card , so once your account is up and running you just have to sell some goods you don’t have , once you’ve scammed this money –spend away . amazingly paypal allow you to spend up to £500 of received funds before they require you to register a credit card .
If you sell goods and are scammed then paypal seller protection does not cover you unless you actually post them recorded delivery .
I believe that the conman then sells the voucher numbers at a discount .
Of course once it is realised what is going on the paypal/ebay accounts are suspended . however the crook just opens up new ones .
Ebayers selling services/goods, which are not delivered by post are at the greatest risk.
So please BE VERY CAREFUL
Pass this on !

scheming_gypsy

but to register with Ebay you need to give a valid credit card for verification... or at least you used to.


Which means that they can be traced through the bank

JONNYQUANGO

not true , you only need to provide a bonfide email address as an alternative to a credit card in order to register with ebay.
i quote the ebay registration

'' Registration is free. However, you'll need to place a credit card on file for identification.

Don't want to put your card on file? You may enter a different email instead, as long as your new email is from an Internet Service Provider (AOL, etc.), company, school, or organization.''


this fraud has been going on for awhile now ebay/paypal are doing nothing about it EBAY SELLERS BEWARE

terrierlady

??? when i was buying some Avon vouchers for friends on Ebay and wanting to try paypal we could not register. As S/Gyspy said we had to supply credit card details and then still couldnot use the service till next card statemet arrives with security number on.

JONNYQUANGO

to prove the scam is possible i registered a fake name and address with paypal . i then sent myself some money (from my genuine paypal account) .this money could then have been used to buy goods on ebay . i informed paypal of what i did and how easy it is for people to scam ebay traders . they showed no interest whatsoever . to summarise you CAN open accounts on both ebay and paypal WITHOUT having to register a credit card . this leaves open massive opportunities for fraud . this security loophole could be closed if paypal insisted that new accounts register a credit card . ebay have compounded the problem by following the same line (ebay recently took over paypal) interestingly i posted a message on an ebay messageboard detailing this massive oversight , and within 10 minutes they took it down . i only hope they do something about it .

System

YOU do have to register a credit debit card before you sell as ebay take a sellers listing and final value fee.

How on earth would they allow you to sell first without having a payment method for their fee's

JONNYQUANGO

i'm getting fed up of the doubters , i got scammed this way for £80 last week . let me quote directly from the ebay website

Paying Your eBay Seller Fees
''When you register with eBay and plan on listing items for sale you have the following ways to pay: ''
it then goes on to list the various payment methods one of which is :

''Pay-As-You Go: This option allows you to pay your monthly invoice by cheque or postal order or to request a one-time credit card payment. Please include an eBay payment form to ensure that your payment is accurately applied to your account. Your payment will normally be posted to your eBay account within 7 - 10 business days. Without a credit card on file for automatic monthly billing, you will be prevented from listing additional items whenever you owe more than £15.00. Once your account balance reaches £15.00, your account will be blocked until payment is made or a credit card is placed on file for regular monthly payment. If you anticipate your monthly activity to exceed £15.00 and you do not want to place a credit card on file, we recommend that you pre-pay your account accordingly to ensure uninterrupted service''

scheming_gypsy

i'm getting fed up of the doubters ,

I wasn't being a 'doubter' but from what i can remember when i signed up i was asked for a credit card number. Although i think that they stated they'd need a credit card depending on the email address used.. (hotmail, yahoo etc etc)

Like i say i was going from memory, but i've had my account for a few years so things may have changed.

terrierlady

We signed up two weeks ago and could not until credit cards given so must be erratic with this, a friend also couldnt use until card details supplied.

Nintynathan

I got scammed on ebay because I payed £23 for a CD that was very rare and out of print and he never sent it.
I contacted ebay and they said because I payed with Paypal, I had to file a complaint with them.... I did this. About two weeks later I recieved an email with the subject line reading "complaint resolved"
I hoped to open the email to find that they had given me the money back ;D

Sady, this was not the case... the email read :-
"
We have determined that the seller is at fault in this matter but regret to inform you that we were unable to recover any funds from the seller's account. As stated in the PayPal User Agreement, recovery of funds associated with a Buyer Complaint cannot be guaranteed. "

Bascally... he's emptied his account :P and, because of British laws, they cant just take the funds from his account or off his card.

Now, when I buy or sell... I use a Cheque.... much safer me thinks

kolakube_

nintynathan, it's news to me that you couldn't chargeback this fraudulent seller's paypal account - I have often read on the ebay UK chatboards many sellers worried that they might be charged back by fraudulent buyers, it even stopped me accepting paypal for a while. Sorry that you got scammed - did you report him to ebay as a non-performing seller?
odd_bod - you can pay ebay by post, definitely, it is somewhere on their labyrinthine help pages, they wouldn't miss out on their fees!