eBay vehicle scams- jack buster

squarebanana

Now I know most of you on here will know about the eBay vehicle scams, and now other high value purchases such as apple notebooks, tv's and others, 1 man who is trying to stop this is Jack Buster, for those who don't know, Jack takes on eBay scams where people have been scammed out of thousands of pounds, usually by the eBay postage scam and he has had thousands of pounds returned to the rightful owners.

What I want to write here, is that "jack" has tried numerous times to get in touch with Martin Lewis by email, alerting him to the dangers people face when buying high value items on eBay, but to this date everyone of his emails have been ignored and not answered.

Can I ask if anyone here knows the good work that Jack Buster does and there's a lot, could you please comment and make it known, that these vehicle scams on eBay and especially the use of mule bank accounts needs to be in the media, and I think that Martin could make it happen.

Thanks

mrcol1000

I don't blame MSE for not wanting anything to do with this. Taking the law into your own hands is great till you target someone innocent

forgotmyname

Exactly. When an article in the papers is worded " I scam the scammers ".

So if someone robs you is it OK for you to rob them back? Is that legal?

Its not good work in that situation. He himself is a scammer is he not?

soolin

Surely there is an argument for actually educating people to use common sense online so that these scams don't happen in the first place rather than only deal with things after they have happened?

I believe that we need to keep the message out there, on forums like this one and the myriad of others that are popping up all the time. When dealing with money actually spend time and read the warnings that sites like paypal give you.

Trying to spread the message of staying safe could save hundreds of people from getting scammed rather than going for headline 'get your own back' antics.

So my own warning for the day, with thanks to mSE for allowing us to post these things is to understand the basic seller protection avenues available to a seller (or buyer) when buying online or at a distance.

This thread covers using paypal:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3146680

and this one covers collection only items:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/65282064#Comment_65282064

Enterprise_1701C

If you are that desperate to get the information "out there" why not contact Watchdog, they have the time and resources to do the appropriate investigations first.

hollydays

People who are self professed vigilantes need to be highly professional to avoid overstepping the mark.
When I see the quote " Jack Buster said: "We are scammers ourselves. We are conning the conmen. It gives us a real thrill.”
I am left wondering about the motivation, as it needs to be more about the victim and less about the adrenaline buzz.:(

Also see he started a petition urging ebay to employ him, ditto.

And "From the 64 bankbusts at Nationwide (so far) I have managed to recover over £450,000 and get it returned to victims, for which Nationwide will take all the credit.They won't mention that they got a tip-off from Jack Buster and his team - but that's Nationwide for you.
Not nice. Not nice at all."

jpsartre

forgotmyname wrote: »

So if someone robs you is it OK for you to rob them back? Is that legal?

They don't rob them back. They gain information about the scammer's identity by pretending to be an interested buyer, then passes on the info to banks and/or the police. I don't work in law enforcement but I can't imagine it's illegal. I wouldn't even describe the guy as a vigilante.

forgotmyname

Tip off from Jack or from the person that was actually scammed?

If you want to help ebay or paypal its not difficult. You don't need scam the scammers as it was worded.

You may even get a nice leather bound item with their logo on it

Allegedly of course. (NDA)

forgotmyname

One of the car sales appears to be a genuine company, registered at companies house for over 5 years and with online accounts available to show they are still trading.

jpsartre

forgotmyname wrote: »

If you want to help ebay or paypal its not difficult. You don't need scam the scammers as it was worded.

I think that's just a headline to grab attention. As far as I can tell there's no scamming involved.

hollydays

jpsartre wrote: »

I think that's just a headline to grab attention. As far as I can tell there's no scamming involved.

It's his own quote, although." He "is said to be a loose term for about 25 people.