Car scam

[amaschoe-90]

I was sent this link to purchase a car I found on Marketplace. It looks 100% like  a convincing page on EBay. I got with customer service to check its validity and was told it was not. Posting to share how good these scams can be:

[potentially hazardous link removed]

[gosimus]

@amaschoe-90 

< It looks 100% like a convincing page on EBay >     

The scammers wouldn't get very far using unconvincing methods, would they.  You didn't need to ask customer service* – you can just look at the URL (the site address) and see that it isn't eBay.  If the vehicle isn't listed on eBay, and the ad says the purchase will be "handled through eBay" then it's a scam.  And when they say that payment must be made with gift cards, well, that's the last nail in the coffin.  Congratulations on being sharp enough not to get taken to the cleaners.  

* Wondering how you spoke with customer service.  The only actual way to do that, is to go to the eBay Help pages, then through a topic, get into a chat and use the word "Agent" until you get one.  

The phone numbers you find on the internet are not actual eBay numbers.  The best case when you call one of them is that you reach a third-party pay for help site.  The worst is when you reach a scammer who persuades you to give her/him your credit card number.  Bad medicine. 

[gator08041971]

bay229.bz...

ROFL

Have to admit, I have seen in the past few years an increasing level of detail and accuracy that would fool a lot of people at a first glance.  And those that are not aware of or may not realize they are being scammed would easily fall for it. And not just eBay.  I have had convincing e-mails from a number of sources that look legit if you don't know what to look for or use that service already and know how to verify.

I had a lady contact me today (I do IT work) that had gotten an e-mail stating it was a receipt for a PayPal payment for something in BTC no less.

It was completely bogus, but she didn't know how to tell, and even questioned how I know. I had to pull up real PayPal e-mail receipts that I had to show her the differences.

All I can say is, remain vigilant, never accept anything at face value and always verify through known means.  Never click a link in an e-mail, open an attachment, or call a number shown!

[soh.maryl]

Thank you for your effort to help others by showing "how good these scams can be".

Judging from previous reports here, going back probably to the very beginning of eBay, these scams don't really have to be good for people to fall for them.  The minute a shopper on CL or Facebook Marketplace sees that 2020 Toyota Camry for $1250, any common sense he might bring to the situation just flies out the window.

When shopping on other sites, not eBay, in addition to the unbelievably low prices listed for vehicles, another red flag is "the transaction will go through eBay for your protection".  Why would eBay offer any kind of buyer protection for a sale that is not actually going through eBay?

Then there is always a sob story: wife selling husband's vehicle after his death or after a divorce, flight attendant who travels so much he has no time for the car, and, my favorite, member of the Armed Forces being deployed.

If none of the above stops the shopper dead in his tracks, how about the offer to have the car delivered to the buyer at the seller's expense for a trial period? Who, with any brains, sends a valuable vehicle to a total stranger?

Could go on and on.  Again, glad you stopped before sending the gift card numbers.  Oh, that's another red flag, eBay gift cards can only be used to purchase something actually listed for sale on eBay.  And also, they are non-refundable and untraceable.  

[kensgiftshop]

If you clicked that link, I would scan your system.