Scam Warning

ILW

frank_potter wrote: »

Perhaps not that much protection for those who don't make payment through Paypal.

So if you want protection, go through Paypal. I am having trouble seeing the issue here. All sales have to offer Paypal option.

ballisticbrian

If I worked officially for eBay, these hack-scams would rapidly become a
thing of the past. That's because they're dead easy to find, yet the only person
really committed to removing them quickly is me.

I strongly suspect that this scam is the tip of the iceburg and you are swimming around only looking for iceburgs, while under the surface lies all manner of sharks waiting to bite your fingers and toes and you swim blissfully on your one man crusade.

There is a team at eBay called "Trust and Safety", and I have been in touch with them and have seen quick results for other types of scam. I would imagine they have some sort of prioritisation or order of precedense for scams and security issues.

frank_potter

ILW wrote: »

So if you want protection, go through Paypal. I am having trouble seeing the issue here. All sales have to offer Paypal option.

As long as the scammers can hack legitimate user accounts (and effectively advertise for free) I doubt they will be too bothered about Paypal. The scammers already appear to have 3 items listed this afternoon:

JCB 924 4WD forklift( like manitou matbro telehandler digger )
Takeuchi TB016 mini digger
SMS MX-15 ISUZU MINI DIGGER EXCAVATOR TREE SURGEON 1.5TON WITH GRAB THUMB
.
Another item
2009 XAS137 ATLAS COPCO Diesel Portable Air Compressor With Deutz Diesel Engine

Now that they have been reported I wonder how long it will take for them to be removed?

ScambusterNumber1

frank_potter wrote: »

The scammers already appear to have 3 items listed this afternoon:

JCB 924 4WD forklift( like manitou matbro telehandler digger )
Takeuchi TB016 mini digger
SMS MX-15 ISUZU MINI DIGGER EXCAVATOR TREE SURGEON 1.5TON WITH GRAB THUMB
.
Another item
2009 XAS137 ATLAS COPCO Diesel Portable Air Compressor With Deutz Diesel Engine

Now that they have been reported I wonder how long it will take for them to be removed?

I can tell you quite accurately:-

The JCB 924 : 2.0 hours
The Takeuchi TB016 : 3.0 hours
The SMS MX-15 : 2.5 hours
The XAS137 : 4.0 hours

This is bad, but it's better than it used to be. There's no doubt that 'report item' is the weakest/slowest option, even if it's the easiest. Using that option alone leads to down-times of 5-6 hours on average.

It's better to email the HAO. The average downtime is about 2 hours or thereabouts, and even eBay have admitted to me in a direct email that this is the better option.

But by far the best option is to telephone (or text) the HAO. This gets dramatically better results, results that can be measured in minutes rather than hours. Yesterday (Wed) I think I spoke to about 4 HAOs (some also phoned me back), and in a couple of cases the scams were deleted within 5 minutes.

In order to have the phone number of the HAO I usually have to bid, and since the scammers know all of my eBay User IDs (I have 6 at the moment - I need more), they always block me from bidding. But sometimes I'm very lucky and find a scam listing before it has been 'doctored', and in those cases I am always able to bid and in turn get the phone number. That has happened twice so far today (Thurs) - there have been 6 scam listings and I was able to telephone 2 of the HAOs. Both resulted in my leaving voicemail messages.

I'm more committed to this than anyone else. Some will suggest I SHOULD be committed, but even the patronising critics accept that what I do is 'a good thing'. It has dramatically reduced the amount of money that these people have earned from crime over the past couple of months. That's a fact.

And I should know - I have all the facts.

frank_potter

ScambusterNumber1 wrote: »

I wouldn't put it like that.

eBay-savvy people seldom get scammed - yes.

But the people who do get scammed are sometimes victims because they are honest; because they only see the good in others. They trust others too easily. You could say: They are gullible.

I agree - honest people are amongst the most vunerable to these scams. There is little doubt that the criminals know who to target. The only mistake most of the victims have made is that they have trusted others too much. I disagree with the view that it is the victim's own fault because of their greed. After all everyone likes a good deal or a bargain - this is a money saving website isn't it?

A news article about some victims of the scammers here:

http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/Rogue-eBay-trader-steals-digger-cash-Canterbury/story-17329625-detail/story.html#axzz2UnETBmKI

ScambusterNumber1

frank_potter wrote: »

A news article about some victims of the scammers here:

http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/Rogue-eBay-trader-steals-digger-cash-Canterbury/story-17329625-detail/story.html#axzz2UnETBmKI

Yes, I saw that a few weeks back. Do they look 'greedy' to you? Nope. But some on this thread seem to imply that it's avarice that prompts these people to fall into the web of the scammers. That's just wrong. I'm sure that if I were to meet that couple from Canterbury I would think that they're simply nice, decent people who were unaware of the scams that riddle eBay every single day. It's people just like that who I am trying to protect. And I'm sure you feel much the same, Frank.

frank_potter

ScambusterNumber1 - Don't allow yourself to be deterred by the negative thinkers; You are doing a great job of increasing public awareness of the scams while at the same time making life increasingly difficult for the scammers.

I noticed yesterday that a number of the scams were directed towards arborists and tree professionals including the following scam listings:

BIG 2005 ECHO Bearcat 72928 9 inch wood chipper woodchipper timberwolf kibota

Predator Tracked Stump Grinder not timberwolf wood chipper 69 hours from new

firewood processor hakki pilke 1x37 Late 2010 !

Wood Chipper

KUBOTA KX41-3 MINI DIGGER 2005 AND INDESPENTION PLANT TRAILER

jcb 155-65 fastrac

mini digger / micro digger excavator jcb 8008 and indespension plant trailer

frank_potter

A few more fraudulent listings from scammers on Ebay so far today:

Komatsu PC 27 mini digger

KUBOTA K008 MICRO DIGGER 2007

2008 NISSAN NAVARA EXP EDITION LWD DCI

jcb 8008 mini micro digger excavator and indespension plant trailer

JCB 801.5 mini digger 1.5 tonne rubber tracks set of 4 buckets and trailer

Phoenix MK4 Self-Propelled Tar Chipper chipping spreader

Neuson 1404 1.5 Tonne Mini Digger & Plant Trailer

TIMBERWOLF 150 PETROL WOOD CHIPPER 6" CAPACITY HONDA ENGINE LIGHT TOWING SERVICE