Unwanted emails from supposedly 14 year old
I have received several unwanted email with different post names that say "I am a 14 year old and am interested in your item". Reported and blocked the first one a while back but got another one tonight. Tired of it and when you call CS agents they act like they do not care.
33 comments
gloryglorygifts
·9 months agoDear Blake, come back in 4 years when you are 18 and have a valid checking account to pay for the item.
JK
Block and ignore all of the new messages and report them. Don't sweat the small stuff.
j-1610-2day
OP9 months agoKeeps changing his user name. Will continue blocking.
gloryglorygifts
·9 months agoYou can try contacting ebay agents on Facebook, Instagram, or X. They have the ability to block an IP address. I did that a few years back when I had a stalker. I prefer Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/ebay. They may take a day or two to get back to you but they can help you.
albertabrightalberta
·9 months ago@j-1610-2day
If you don't want to just ignore the messages, you can report them.
Go to the message, click on the 3 dots to the right and "report message."
iamalwaysright
·9 months agoPlot twist. The buyer is a dog and is now around 80.
a_c_green
·9 months agoCould you do us a small favor and reply to the next one for me? I'm dying to know why a 14 year old would be interested in your listings for vintage streetlight heads. 🙂
ten_o_nine
·9 months agoCould you do us a small favor and reply to the next one for me? I'm dying to know why a 14 year old would be interested in your listings for vintage streetlight heads.
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For guidance or to light the way, I guess.
j-1610-2day
OP9 months agoExactly. Used the same name "Blake" both times. I think it is a silly set up.
j-1610-2day
OP9 months agoHello my name is Blake I’m a 14 year old lighting collector and have been wanting a mercury vapor street light specifically a General Electric one I’ve seen your listing and I’m interested in the light but I only have a certain amount of money would you be able to go down on the price for me? Please let me know thanks again
mtgraves7984
·9 months ago@j-1610-2day
Well... what is your weekly allowance, young man? 🙄
j-1610-2day
OP9 months agoLOL on that answer.
ten_o_nine
·9 months agoHello my name is Blake I’m a 14 year old lighting collector and have been wanting a mercury vapor street light specifically a General Electric one I’ve seen your listing and I’m interested in the light but I only have a certain amount of money would you be able to go down on the price for me? Please let me know thanks again
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What a young hobbyist.
This message contains several elements common in "sympathy-based" buyer scams
j-1610-2day
OP9 months agoI think it is a set up. My thoughts as well on why a 14 year old would be interested in street lights. Security is MIA at Ebay now, apparently.
bonjourami
·9 months ago"I think it is a set up. My thoughts as well on why a 14 year old would be interested in street lights. Security is MIA at Ebay now, apparently."
The best security for a phishing email is to delete and ignore, you are making a mountain out of a molehill.
j-1610-2day
OP9 months agoNever let your guard down. Little things can become monumental if ignored sometimes.
bonjourami
·9 months ago"Never let your guard down. Little things can become monumental if ignored sometimes."
Obviously.
chapeau-noir
·9 months agoParticularly paranoia and over-dramatization.
bonjourami
·9 months agoAnd attention.
tobaccocardyahoo
·9 months agoA 14 yo would be unlikely to know of or want anything I offer.
A scammer posing as a 14 yo would be unlikely to know of or want anything I offer.
It would be interesting if I received such a message, I would respond in a manner which might put off a scammer, and could be seen to encourage a 14yo.
onlinecentral
·9 months agoAn eBay member must have clicked on 'Leave Me Signed In Unless I Sign out'. They started a return before the package arrived with the reason Ordered By Mistake and the comment was My Child Ordered This Without My Permission.
A few days later they sent a message wanting a free return label. I explained that I would be out the original shipping and I did not want to also pay return shipping for their child's mistake/dishonesty. I encouraged them to contact the eBay parent company, not me, to ask for a free label. I also pointed out the unpaid labor I would not be paid for to ship the product, process the return and relist.
They sent an angry message saying they would keep it and cancelled the return case. I never found out if the child got a punishment or a deduction from their allowance.
It makes you wonder how many cancellations are for this reason. Most cases don't give more detail than Ordered By Mistake.
A malicious buyer could pick a Not As Described reason and you would pay the return shipping and get a ding on your seller metrics.
I know it is annoying for you to receive these messages from a minor. You should reply that they need an adult with a payment method to make the purchase for them.
Paypal was still the payment processor for eBay for a decade after 2011.
j-1610-2day
OP9 months agoBut you are able to use other methods for paying. Got scammed by a con artist when they were splitting and it cost me over 500.00. Got over it quickly.
inhawaii
·9 months agoSeveral = Two?
luckythewinner
·9 months agoOther than tell you to block the users (which you already know about and have done), what *specifically* would you want a CS agent to say to you or do for you?
ten_o_nine
·9 months agowhat *specifically* would you want a CS agent to say to you or do for you?
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I want a CS agent to hunt them down with a broom and a bottle of Windex and tell them if they have time to spam me, they have time to clean their room. 😀
j-1610-2day
OP9 months agoHow about enforcing the rules?
j-1610-2day
OP9 months agoBlock the sender. A 14 year old isn't even allowed to have an ebay account. Too many scams and asking to buy outside ebay for a reduced price is against ebay policy as well. This has to be something NOT above board.
luckythewinner
·9 months agoWhen you say "sender", what exactly do you mean?
And when you say "block", what exactly do you mean?
ten_o_nine
·9 months agoMessages claiming to be from a minor is a common tactic used in phishing and advance fee scams to lower a seller's guard.
j-1610-2day
OP9 months agoYea, or some sort of blackmail with all of the AI going around.
j-1610-2day
OP9 months agoClarification. received them as "my messages" on my ebay account, not an actual email.
lakefor94
·9 months agoYes, hard for eBay customer service to keep them from creating multiple accounts unless they get suspended and eBay rarely does anything to folks that are buyers.
I would not expect that they would do anything.
j-1610-2day
OP9 months agoI miss the old ebay of the late 90's and early 2000's. Left when ebay and paypal started having trouble in 2011.
christworks
·9 months agoThen why are you here if you left 15 years ago?