@custombuiltmac wrote:
Final update here:
eBay covered the transaction 100% (most likely for the buyer and the seller).
The case was put on a 10 day hold and then eBay closed the case 3 days later in the buyer's favor & I received absolutely no notification of this. Called, filed an Appeal and received an e-mail stating I would receive a full refund by replying with a copy of the Police report.
I replied with all the information I had:
Original purchase receipt (showing serial #)
Photos of mismatching return serial # on item
UPS Signature Capture (scanned paper version)
Police Report
USPS Mail Fraud Report
IC3 Internet Crime Complaint
FTC Consumer Complaint (police recommended this)
eBay replied with a full refund 3 days later.
Posting to this message board got me an invite to eBay's concierge customer service. I believe this was one of the single most helpful factors in obtaining a refund. The concierge service is what calling eBay should be for every single user with short wait times and customer service representatives who are authorized to make decisions and effective change.
On a side note I did do a complete file recovery of the buyer's returned 2010 Mac mini. The buyer erased & shipped the computer with a fresh install of Mac OS, but here is a list of the types of information I recovered:
Tax return / W-2
Social Security Number
Prescription receipts / Medical information
Adult photos / Adult dating site e-mail history
Family photos (spanning decades)
E-mail database
Messages from previous scams including him returning the wrong item & signing multiple sworn affidavits on "stolen mail" from amazon, eBay, and others.
I really didn't even dig that deep (there's 600gb of data). The information left was crazy.
Buyer has been scamming for at least 9 years. The address is a single family house with a street address and when he gets "caught" or has his accounts banned he just adds an Apartment number. I found e-mails where his address was Apt. 1, Apt. 2, Apt. 3 and so on.
Ebay covered this one. Thanks everyone for the help and information. This was the most concise and helpful list & these are the basic steps to follow:
1. Open an mail fraud case with USPS
2. report fraud with ic3.gov (maybe FTC complaint also)
3. File a report with your local Police Dept and insist they forward a copy to the buyer's local PD.
4. Report the buyer for abuse on eBay using the new links to report abusive buyers.
5. Call eBay and upload all the above documentation. Try asking for Trust and Safety when calling.
6. If eBay finds in the scammers favor, open an appeal and repeat the previous step.
Sorry that you had to go through this nightmare ..... and shocked that Ebay did the right thing .... but congratulations on your success !
Based on the information that you found on the returned computer, your police department and / or the buyer's police department might now take an interest in the case, especially since the data documents multiple crimes.
I would also call the USPS 800 phone number, explain the whole story, and see if they can forward your call to the "Postal Inspector Department" ( or whatever it's called ) ...... because, they too, might get more aggressive in investigating your case as well as all of the other fraud documentation that you found on the returned computer.
Maybe your County Sheriff or County District Attorney would take an interest in the case because of all of the information that you found on the returned computer.
In my opinion, the information that you found on the returned computer changes EVERYTHING.
It is no longer a matter of "he said / she said".
