I won an item can seller send BUY IT NOW page and not from Ebay?

[udoittwo]

 I just got a message from the seller so I haven't even checked my bank account yet.

I saw a lot of estate coins as an auction. The ad said that they will NOT accept any bids and only a BUY IT NOW. I contacted the seller and they got back to me quickly with some info on the item. I did some quick research and found it to be a nice buy so I told them I would buy it. Didn't hear back for several hours and then the item was unlisted. A day+ later I was contacted and said I won and complete the BUY IT NOW link that THEY sent but not through Ebay. I received nothing at all from Ebay about the sale at all.

For years I have had no issues buying off Ebay so I didn't think to much about it and was excited to make the buy. I sent them the payment. Nothing back from them for a day and I started to worry. I emailed them and they said they did not receive my payment. Again, I've yet to check my bank account.

The seller[Ebay name "Pawnshop"] is in Calif. The location of the item says it's in Fla.  I have to go back through my messages because I remember something about the location being in Berlin, Germany?

Although this may mean nothing, the area code of the phone # is Boston.

How do I find out if it's a legit sale through Ebay?

All their previous message are gone from my emails? Did I just lose $4500? 

[house*of*paws]

Hi @udoittwo 

How did you pay? 

You apparently helped the seller cheat eBay … so it’s very likely the cheating will continue.

[monica-sells]

A quick review of that item number and username looks unsettling.....

It has me wondering if this is a well orchestrated scheme.....

the username is valid...the item number is not bringing up anything....nor is the history of the username for this transaction...

that 2nd screenshot has me baffled

[wastingtime101]

Back on Sept 13th another buyer reported being scammed and it was that same seller's account (link). This is what I told them:

I am sorry to tell you, but it looks like you have been scammed.

- The seller's account looks like it was hacked. The seller is legit and on the surface appears to be in good standing. The listing you purchased with the off eBay email address was created by someone that hacked the seller's account. All fraudulent listings on that account have been removed and only legitimate listings remain.

- The item was removed from the site. It no longer exists.

- The email you received about a wire transfer was not sent by eBay.

- You sent your money off eBay direct to the scammer via a wire transfer. You can speak with your bank to see if there's anything they can do to assist, but typically those funds are not recoverable.

- There is nothing eBay can do to help since the financial transaction did not take place on eBay.

I wish I had better news for you. That's a significant loss and a hard way to learn a lesson.

How did you send payment @udoittwo ? Wire transfer? Credit card? Gift card? Did you pay through eBay or off eBay?

[lacemaker3]

---

@udoittwo wrote:

 ...

---

@udoittwo,

Please check and confirm something for us.

Go to the email shown in your screenshot above, and hover over the link to the eBay item number. The URL associated with the link will show up in the bottom left corner of your browser window ... take a screenshot of the URL and post it here please.

Unfortunately, I suspect that the actual URL for that link may not be the same as what is showing up. I don't recall ever seeing a "Confirm payment" button on an eBay listing page (in your second screenshot). You have to go to the checkout page to pay for an eBay item.

That seller only has 3 items listed for sale (no coins), all located in Saint Louis, MO,  and no sold items in the last 90 days. They haven't received (or left) any feedback for selling in over a year.

[wastingtime101]

---

@lacemaker3 wrote:

---

Unfortunately, I suspect that the actual URL for that link may not be the same as what is showing up.

---

Yep, that's what I was thinking. See my above post, Lace - this seller's account was hacked a couple months ago.

[lacemaker3]

@wastingtime101,

Thanks for posting the link to the other thread.

However, I'm not certain that either of the two fraudulent items were actually listed on that seller's account. Where there any listings for sale on that account back in September, do you remember?

I suspect that the scammers just based their fake/copycat eBay page on that seller's account. I'm not positive the items were actually listed on eBay at all. They might have been accessed through a google search (or other search engine).

[wastingtime101]

That's a good question and I honestly don't remember @lacemaker3 . I've looked at so many hacked accounts the last couple months they all blur together. I remembered that one because the name was simple and memorable and it was in my browser history.

How did you come across the listing in the first place @udoittwo ? How did the scammer get your personal email? Do you have any eBay messages at all related to the item?

[monica-sells]

@lacemaker3 

"...Unfortunately, I suspect that the actual URL for that link may not be the same as what is showing up. I don't recall ever seeing a "Confirm payment" button on an eBay listing page (in your second screenshot). You have to go to the checkout page to pay for an eBay item..."

my thoughts exactly.....here's hoping it was not a wire transfer.....

[lacemaker3]

@udoittwo,

Is this what the picture on the listing looked like? 

It would really help us if you could confirm what the URL link was, that you received by email, which appeared to be an eBay item listing.

I think I found the original listing that the scammers copied, on Terapeak. It was sold Nov 3, 2021.

[wastingtime101]

---

@udoittwo wrote:

I saw a lot of estate coins as an auction. The ad said that they will NOT accept any bids and only a BUY IT NOW. I contacted the seller and they got back to me quickly with some info on the item. I did some quick research and found it to be a nice buy so I told them I would buy it. Didn't hear back for several hours and then the item was unlisted. A day+ later I was contacted and said I won and complete the BUY IT NOW link that THEY sent but not through Ebay.

---

Just want to add that some of what you said points to a classic scam. Seller lists as an auction. In the description they say they will not accept bids, and they provide a link that looks like an eBay domain (but it's really not) where you fill out a form for your offer to be considered. On that form you enter your email.

Then the scammer contacts you through email to get funds, usually in a non-retrievable manner like a wire transfer.

There have been 2 discussions about this already in the past week that I've seen. Probably more I didn't see. I saw the listings from both discussions before they removed and both were coincidentally on the same hacked account, and all the listings have since been removed by eBay. When I was looking at the hacked account there were tens of thousands of listings posted at auction for 99 cents on the same day. All with photos stolen from other sellers, other sites, etc.

Here's one:

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Is-this-Legit-Something-I-haven-t-seen-yet-in-my-23-years-of/m...

Here's the other:

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Is-this-a-valid-posting-method/m-p/34088632#M465898

Does this line up with what happened to you @udoittwo ?

[aprilaidan]

The same seller (sales person) is asking for a wire for an international purchase,  Erico Martinez from Pawnshop.   I found the unique item through a search I do on occasion and when I went back to find the item, it disappeared off eBay.  Erico stated that they removed it so that I could purchase it via wire.  I said no, only through ebay or PayPal... and have not heard from them since.

Buyer Beware!

[rlarson1223]

I just got looped into the same scam by the same email address and 'sales rep'. Thanks for flagging. The eBay private listing that they send you to is just a tinyurl. I sent the link to eBay support and they verified the webpage as fake/scam. 

[kh-phdan]

Hello Everyone,

Due to the age of the thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue discussing this topic.

Thanks for understanding!