@posrd99 wrote:
i am fairly new to this, i recently listed an item and got an instant offer - the buyer john08gt7876 included in his bid a request for more info, if i can text him and answer a question. the product i was selling is 283999146541, we had a simple exchange in text, then he sent me this! "Alright thanks but I would love to have it mailed to my Cousin in Oklahoma as a birthday gift,i want you to get an eBay Gift Card of $400 inside the package before you ship it and I will add $400 for the eBay gift card, $30 for the shipping through UPS/FedEx and $50 for the inconvenience, are you cool with that?" i instantly noticed this as Fraud, so i declined his offer. i then went to report him, i went over to the report a buyer section, tried to enter my item number... but the system says it can't find it.. so i am at a loss for how to report this guy.
I am not having a good experience selling on here so far.
You cannot report someone that has not actually purchased from you. Doesn't matter, really, because these scammers just make new accounts to do the same thing.
I know YOU recognize this as a scam, but for the benefit of anyone reading who may not, I'm going to include this to explain how the scam works:
Anytime a buyer wants you to text or email them, it is a SCAM.
Do not engage with them at all. Give them no information.
Report the "buyer"
Block https://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?bidderblocklogin
Ignore
The whole idea is for the seller to be blinded with greed, or just stupidity, and for the scammer to get the seller's phone number or email address. Once that happens, the seller receives a very real looking, but very fake email stating that they have been paid, and in order to receive their funds they need to ship the item right away. Sometimes these emails will also have a phone number, for the seller to call and "verify" the transaction. That phone number is a direct line to the scammer.
These scammers depend on a seller's greed/naivete/ignorance/stupidity to ship the item without checking to see if they have actually been paid. It works surprisingly well, even with established sellers, because for some strange reason people want to "trust" emails.
There is no reason on this planet for a buyer to need a seller's email address, phone number, or any sort of financial/payment information. Everything a buyer needs is right there when they click the buy now button on a listing.
In addition to the above, anyone asking for a gift card to be included is a SCAMMER. Anyone offering to pay more for an item than the listing price is a SCAMMER. Anyone making an offer higher than the buy it now price is a SCAMMER.
The easier you are to offend the easier you are to control.
We seem to be getting closer and closer to a situation where nobody is responsible for what they did but we are all responsible for what somebody else did. - Thomas Sowell
