Gift Card Fraud

[stalangle0]

The last month I have been trying to communicate with eBay Gift Card Fraud team about a scamming ring advertising cars. A local person posts the ad, and then when ask to respond, they give a email address. The person answering the email, is very persausive and replies that ebay will handle the transaction. Yes, the first of July I fell for it, and got scammed for $1500. Ebay claims no responsibility, but the $1500 ends up in the bank account of ebay. Ebay then honors the cards numbers for merchandise, and they make a profit on that transaction. Then ebay is alerted that the money was stolen by deceit. They know who bought the merchandise with the gift cards. Why doesn't ebay go back to that account, and debit that account, and return the money, or credit the ebay customer that got burned? On Aug. 1, I was able to identify another ad on CL, that looked like mine.

I played the people involved, and came up with documents, to purchase the vehicle. This sales document, had been updated, and 3 pages of instructions on buying gift cards. Same thing as my July 1 deal. I sent them card numbers from the first time I got burned, knowing those numbers were frozen. I sent a message yesterday afternoon, If everything had worked out for them, and if they got the message? I got a response from this scammer. She said the cards were empty, and to stop wasting her time!!!! How arrogant, and heartless. I responded by saying she needed to be wasting her time in a jail cell, cos she was nothing but a crook. If I can locate these people, what's going on with ebay? I sent them the documents, with ebay logos, and at the end, it even gives the copyright of ebay, saying All Rights Reserved, trademarks of ebay on and on. When I told this story the first time, I got 2 responses. And it says there are over 5,000 included in the ebay community? Really? I wonder about the apathy, or the fear of critisism from the administration. Doesn't anyone care? Speak up. Your company is being scammed.

[kensgiftshop]

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@stalangle0 wrote:

I hope the employee's of ebay will share how many times they have heard of 

Gift Card situations just like this. The point is to get this stopped, so others don't suffer from the financial loss.

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Sorry that happened to you.

This is a well known scam on CL and since Ebay is not involved in the transaction, there's not much they can do.

As far as how many times we (we are not Ebay employees) hear about this scam, daily.

It's sad how many people still fall for this scam with the warnings on CL and Ebay about it.

Tracking down these scammers sound easy, but, by the time you find out you've been scammed, the gift cards have been emptied, the merchandise has been shipped to a forwarding company headed out of the country.

As far as filling a lawsuit for the vehicle, there is no vehicle to get.

[mr.elmwood]

How to disguise your number .....

"

Use an App

Another option for disguising your cell phone number is to use an app. There are many apps that allow you to do this both on an Android or iPhone device. One app is SpoofCard, which allows you to mask both your phone number and your voice. This app is free but allows you to make in-app purchases to add features. Another app is Line 2, which allows you to make calls from a separate number in the app so that your recipient doesn’t see your real cell phone number. This app is also free with in-app purchases to add additional features. The Phoner 2nd Phone Number app is another free app with in-app purchases that allows you to make anonymous phone calls. All three apps are available in the Google Play or iPhone App Stores.

[stalangle0]

I do believe it happens daily. Thanks for the kind words. The lawsuit is for the car, in a breech of contract matter, or the refund of the money lost. That's up to the judge. I feel like I have to try something.  Nothing that they can do, I know it's a huge problem, but we can't give up, or all the trust will be eroded. And maybe it has already happened. Don't give up, don't ever give up.

[atikovi]

So you're gonna spend $5,000-$10,000 on a lawyer to try and win a $1,500 case?

[stalangle0]

It's in small claims court, and doing it myself. The fee was $38.

[mr.elmwood]

There is no car. The money has left the country. The "people" that posted the phony CL listing are in Eastern Europe, Nigeria, pick somewhere inaccessible. There was no-one local. The phone calls came from a different country using phone number masking.

https://itstillworks.com/disguise-cell-phone-number-calling-someone-1617.html

[rock.star]

There is no car so good luck with that .

[stalangle0]

What's the defendant going to say when the judge tells them that have to honor the contract, and they have to produce the car? It also asks if not the car, the $1500 will be sufficient. For $38 filing fee, I'll probably get nothing, but I have to try something, and it will probably stop 1 person from the scamming business. Ha

[atikovi]

What's that river in Egypt called?

[mr.elmwood]

There is no car. The money is gone. The phone number was fake. There is no defendant.

The "defendant" is in Eastern Europe or Nigeria where you will never find them.

[stalangle0]

No, we know where the money is. It's in the ebay bank account. Best solution is to drop the gift cards completely. They are being used illegally. 

[mr.elmwood]

That tactic is not going to work. You converted the cash into another financial instrument. You sent that financial instrument to another party outside the country.

That party then converted that financial instrument into cash through a third party. eBay does not have the money. The money has long since left eBay.

This has been tried, for the last 12 (twelve) years that I have been aware of this.

You let us know when you find the defendant and serve them.

[stalangle0]

Then drop the gift cards. That seems to be the evil of choice.

[tony1963]

eBay has no liability that I can see.  Someone scams you for $1500 and then uses that money to buy eBay Gift Cards.  The gift card is a legitimate transaction.  There is no way legally to interfere unless you are the district attorney and you want to claims that the entire process is part of a criminal enterprise and criminal conspiracy.  

Also, you will find (assuming that you actually filed a complaint) that small claims court does not have the jurisdiction to order "equity" or "performance" on a contract.  You sue for money damages period.  So, unless you asked for a specific amount of money, your case will die.

Another interesting situation will be jurisdiction.  Generally, unless specified otherwise, the jurisdiction in the case will follow where the goods are located.  Good luck with that one.

This is yet another case of someone trying to get something for nothing and then got burned.  There are plenty of licensed dealers who have cars for sale that would have made you happy.  Instead, you tried to save a few bucks and now you are out $1538, at a minimum.

I would like to see who you actually served in  your lawsuit.  Image the documents and post them here.  Otherwise, this is just talk.

[stalangle0]

That's okay, I can take it. It needs discussion, because it's out of control. I did ask for the amount. I know I screwed up, and again there are a lot of good cars that people sell for that amount on CL. If this has been going on for 12 years, the statement on the back of the card is invalid? I'm learning alot, and it sounds like you are well informed. It doesn't change the fact that others have found flaws in the gift card system, and are pouring it on. I'm a trusting person, and that's not going to change. And I trusted the people at ebay to have control of the gift card system, but I don't think there is any doubt, you don't have control of it. I hate to see the bad guys win, and the good people get burned with your Logo, and your reputation. Are you saying that you are giving up, and not looking for a solution?

I'm just a common man. I'll survive, but I won't stop trying to help my fellow Americans.