Hello,
This past weekend I was the target of a scam and was able to figure out what was going on prior to sending any payments. I was contacted last Friday by an individual who said that I was given a second chance offer on an item I had bid on recently via eBay. The individual stated that I was given the chance to purchase the item at my last high bid and that if I was interested, they would conduct everything through eBay.
Well, the next day I received an email seemingly from eBay stating that I needed to submit payment to this individual via Western Union. The scammer stated that they were on a "business trip" to Italy and that PayPal does not protect transactions that take place between the U.S. and Italy. The original seller on eBay listed their location as Milwaukee, WI. Although the email was very convincing, this raised a red flag to me!! I contacted eBay and they confirmed the email I received was not in fact from eBay and that it was a spoof. Here is what eBay stated:
"If you ever receive an email that looks like it's from eBay about a
problem with your account or requesting personal information, check My
Messages first. If the email is genuine, a copy will also be found in My
Messages. You can also forward the email to spoof@ebay.com and we'll
investigate. Don't respond to the spoof email, or click any of the links
in the message. Please don't remove the original subject line or change
the email in any way."
Knowing this, I sent emails back and forth with this individual all weekend asking when they would be returning and if we could complete the transaction then? The emails become much more "snippy" and I eventually stated that I knew it was a scam.
I have never encountered anything close to this on eBay in the 7-8 years I have been buying and selling. I just wanted you all to be aware that this is going on in case a "Second Chance Offer" comes your way. eBay notified me that all communication will show up in your eBay Summary page. In the case with my situation, all of the emails came directly to my hotmail account. Luckily I was suspicious from the beginning and did not disclose any confidential information.
This was a learning opportunity for me as I was able to learn the security policies that eBay employs and what signs to watch for in the future. I would recommend you do the same if you haven't already! Be careful out there!
Thanks!
Brad