Possible Ebay scammer selling drysuits

[cummings66]

Recently I bid on a drysuit on Ebay, didn't win the auction and shortly afterwards I got an email from the user offering a second chance on it as they claimed the high bidder backed out.

It was suspicious since I was third in line to begin with, and the email from address was from a guy where the auction was from a woman with no spouse. I played along for a while and after they got around to forging an ebay deal on it stating I could pay for it via cash at Western Union I called them on the scam. They protested saying all kinds of things but for the heck of it and being generous (I did turn them in) I sent them proof via the email headers that proved they were trying to scam me.

Today I get another offer from a different email address for the same deal, this one is better than the last (I guess they learned a bit more since I told them how stupid and obvious they were) but still easily recognized for the scam it is, besides how stupid do they think I am.:shakehead

What I don't know is this and here is why I'm posting it here. I know many of you buy drysuits on Ebay and of course many lose auctions. This may be a scammer looking at auctions and sending emails to losing bidders offering a second chance, so be wary if you bid and lose and get another chance at it. Do not do anything if it's outside of Ebay or if they ask for cash via any method. I know many of you are aware of this, but sometimes a new person doesn't and might get scammed.

I hope nobody has fallen for this as I surely can't be the first attempted mark. In any event I'm going to play this second one out and have fun with it. Life's boring when I'm not diving, so I'm getting a chance for fun here. I've already reported this attempt as well, but I'll have as much fun with it for as long as I can.

Be careful out there, their second attempt looks much better although logic and reading of headers shows it for what it is.

 

[fisherdvm]

I think anytime you bid on an item over 300 or 400 on ebay, you have to watch for the seller's feedback score. 97 and above is good, but not unless you also check the number of items they have sold or bought.

Then you need to click the feedback from both sellers and buyers.

If a person has only feedback from sellers, and none from buyers, he might have built up his feedback score just to scam you (he could buy alot of 1cent items, 1 dollar items,etc), to build up a phony ebay score.

Then he scam you out of a large sum of money. Then he get a new address, email, etc, and repeat the scam again.

Ebay is safe if you know who your seller is - buy checking out their feedback score and comments.

 

[ctmax]

I thought the same thing when I got a 2nd chance to buy a BP and Wing. I did all the checking I could and took the chance. the seller went out of her way to get the wing to me even send it with 2 day shipping. When the wing arrived it was brand new in the original packing. It was only taken out to take pictures. I guess what I'm trying to say is check as much as you can before you jump.

 

[CrawfishDiver]

I am a White collar Crimes investigator for the Shreveport Police Department. I can tell you that most of the time when you get the second bidder e-mail it is a scam that orginates out of the country. also if you get a message that they will send you a money order or check for more than the amount you are asking for something it is usually a scam also.

 

[k4man]

eBay has sent out messages to customers in the last week warning them of potential scams specifically like this 2nd chance offer.

You should report any suspicious dealings to eBay as well as any other authorities.

Watch out!!

Kevin

 

[divinginn]

i did win a computer on a second chance,sounds like the nigerians are getting in scuba gear,anyone know how to block all emails comming from there?

 

[cummings66]

I agree that you need to be careful, it seems like Ebay is a favorite scammers paradise. I've never been scammed yet but I suspect the day is coming because I do tend to trust people unless they give me reason not to. I do give people a chance if they seem legit, but as has been posted here you've got to do some checking first. There's a difference between a good deal and a steal, when you go for the steals the odds of being scammed jump greatly. I don't even buy from a new website unless I check them out with the BBB and the nearby COC so I'm still trying to be careful.

In my case I posted here about they backed off and left me alone, I had so wanted to toy with them. Too much risk, or too much trouble for them I suppose.

I did inform Ebay which has said nothing about it, although I doubt they can do anything anyhow. I gave them the auction info and everything just in case it was a scammer who built up a good rep to make a quick high dollar score.

Ebay never sent me an email about scammers or anything earlier so I wasn't aware of this going on over drysuits and posted the warning since it's the first time it's happened to me. I've lost other high dollar auctions with no offers like this one in the past and it seemed like a new thing starting up. As others have said, always be careful on Ebay, items may not be what they seem, nor the sellers.

Ebay has made it clear on their site to NEVER do business outside of their site, i.e. don't respond and deal directly with the person if they send a second chance email. It's not the same thing as a second chance auction which is through Ebay and IME not very common on the things I buy. So if you get an email that's asking you to complete the auction and it's not something done via Ebay you should run for the door.

Say CrawfishDiver. You check into this Internet sort of thing often I assume. Tell me, is it very common as in a big problem with this sort of thing? How would it compare to the traditional telephone scams which go around, or the door to door things?

I've kind of assumed it's going to be the number 1 problem very soon if it isn't already based on the spammers and their goods they hawk. As far as I can tell you never get something for nothing and those that try often get taken in the process.

Ebay's a great place as long as you're wary of it.

 

[cummings66]

I should add that everyday I get dozens of fake Ebay and Paypal spams, I don't place this exactly in that category since in this case they had to go to Ebay, watch the auction and at it's close click on your name and send you a message saying the other bidder backed out. Then you answer and they deal directly with you faking headers to make it seem like it's from Ebay when it's not.

Fortunately I get lots of practice showing other people how to tell legit emails from the non legit. This one was so simple to spot a blind man could have spotted it, but it was the first time I've seen it happen.

Well, gotta go get some sleep now.

 

[Bibendum]

If a person has only feedback from sellers, and none from buyers, he might have built up his feedback score just to scam you (he could buy alot of 1cent items, 1 dollar items,etc), to build up a phony ebay score.

Checking a user rating and feedback is always important, but just because someone only has feedback from sellers (or from buyers for that matter) doesn't mean you should necessarily be weary.

I have been using Ebay for over 6 years now and I have never sold a single item. I use it only for buying, and I am sure there are many others who do as well.

Just my $.02

 

[ctmax]

I thought the same thing when I got a 2nd chance to buy a BP and Wing. I did all the checking I could and took the chance. the seller went out of her way to get the wing to me even send it with 2 day shipping. When the wing arrived it was brand new in the original packing. It was only taken out to take pictures. I guess what I'm trying to say is check as much as you can before you jump.

I suppose I should clarify, My 2nd chance was sent to me through E-bay. It was not an email outside E-bay. If that was the case I would have never touched it.