How to report a buyer attempting to scam?

[rockhardclimbr]

I would like to report an ebay member who was attempting to scam me. I can't seem to find any contact links to ebay in order to do so. He sent me a message on ebay asking me to contact him by text and he left me his phone number. After contacting him he wanted all of my information so he could send me a cashiers check and arrange for pickup. It's the classic scam going back 100 years. I would like to report his username to ebay and explain the details but there isn't an easy way to just simply email ebay on an issue like this. I couldn't find a specific category for doing so. Can anyone point me in the right direction? It's not a big deal I just wanted to see if ebay could do anything so he doesn't scam out a seller who is gullible. 

[femmefan1946]

You want Help and Contact at the bottom of this page.

Phone during normal Stateside business hours.

You get a PIN . Just follow directions.

Meanwhile, add that scammer to your own Blocked Bidder List.

https://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/manage_bidders_ov.html

[bigdeals.etc]

You can try calling and reporting this member. But honestly I think that does nothing. If you're up for it, I say go for it. It may potentially help the eBay community if I'm wrong. 

I've called eBay for this same reason before. All the agent does is put a memo. They will always first ask you if they've bought something from you. Because that's the only way you can really report someone on eBay... if they are your buyer. There is also a "report a buyer" link in a few places within eBay. You can't just report a member because they will ask you for the item number they bought from you and look up your sales history to list who you can report.

[pjcdn2005]

When someone contacts you in eBay askng you to phone or text you should reply through eBay that you can only communicate through eBay messages.  Otherwise, eBay may assume that you are going to arrange a transaction away from eBay and they obviously don’t like that.

As far as reporting them,  you can report a buyer that you are in a transaction with but I don’t know of a way to report a potential buyer.

[fashunu4eeuh]

Ebay is cracking down on off-ebay transactions and sending contact information thru ebay messages is now against policy. You are very lucky you didn't get a warning from ebay when this member sent his phone number. Here's the new policy:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/rfe-spam-ov.html

Even tho you did nothing wrong, some sellers have rec'd ebay warnings when a prospective buyer sent contact info to them. Just a head's up to be wary in the future.

Also, here on Ebay.com in the States, we don't have email contact generally for Customer Service, so you'd have to either call, use Twitter or Facebook to reach them. 

[best_vintage_photos]

Yes. I have a friend whose account was suspended for 3 days by eBay. He could not buy or sell anything on eBay for 3 days just because a potential buyer sent him a phone number in an eBay message.

[d-k_treasures]

---

@pjcdn2005 wrote:

When someone contacts you in eBay askng you to phone or text you should reply through eBay that you can only communicate through eBay messages.  Otherwise, eBay may assume that you are going to arrange a transaction away from eBay and they obviously don’t like that.

As far as reporting them,  you can report a buyer that you are in a transaction with but I don’t know of a way to report a potential buyer.

---

Only because they took the report button out of the messages.

If they were really interested in finding the guilty party instead of ust handing out suspensions to sellers who simply receive one of these messages, they would put that back in. 

Since they haven't, we know how little they care that this is initiated by a buyer.

[dhbookds]

When calling, I would ask for Trust and Safety Dept......  they may react/do something faster than normal CS............be ready with the ebay id.......

[retrose1]

---

@d-k_treasures wrote:

---

@pjcdn2005 wrote:

When someone contacts you in eBay askng you to phone or text you should reply through eBay that you can only communicate through eBay messages.  Otherwise, eBay may assume that you are going to arrange a transaction away from eBay and they obviously don’t like that.

As far as reporting them,  you can report a buyer that you are in a transaction with but I don’t know of a way to report a potential buyer.

---

Only because they took the report button out of the messages.

If they were really interested in finding the guilty party instead of ust handing out suspensions to sellers who simply receive one of these messages, they would put that back in. 

Since they haven't, we know how little they care that this is initiated by a buyer.

---

Back when the spring upchuck came out and a blue was monitoring a thread about it, the blue made a comment about ebay not knowing who was breaking the rules - and I commented that ebay used to have a report button at the bottom of every message and ebay removed it.  Since the programming was already in place - it will cost ebay almost nothing to put it back.

The blue said that is a great idea and they will pass it up the line.  Uh-huh, to the garbage can in the upstairs hall.

The lack of a buyer report button - unless the buyer has already done something wrong (which means a sale for ebay)  pretty much says it all.

[18704d]

"He could not buy or sell anything on eBay for 3 days just because a potential buyer sent him a phone number in an eBay message."

--------

Yes

but in this case, the OP would have to admit in their complaint

that they Did use the phone number and make off-eBay contact.

Lynn

[ersatz_sobriquet]

Even though you are innocent of any wrong doing, ebay doesn't look at it that way, and decides you are guilty of you don't reply to that message with --"all transactions are only on ebay and through ebay messages." or something to that effect. Reply to this message with what I wrote, and do it fast, because the bots are going to label you as an off-site offender, no matter how innocent you are. It's Napolean law--guilty until proven innocent. 

[18704d]

I don't believe eBay would think the OP is innocent of any wrong doing.

He did use the phone number to contact the other person,

outside of eBay.

jmtcw,

Lynn

[ersatz_sobriquet]

I read "after contacting him" and didn't make an assumption of how he contacted him; it could have been through ebay messages. But, if he's confessing to calling him, then yes the seller has done exactly what ebay will punish him for. 

[18704d]

" He sent me a message on ebay asking me to contact him by text and he left me his phone number. After contacting him he wanted all of my information so he could send me a cashiers check and arrange for pickup."

----------

Well the scammer didn't initially request his information, nor ask for a cashier check in their initial eBay message.

So the fact they provided it "after contact"

indicates to me, that the contact was by phone/text, outside of eBay.

Thanks,

Lynn

[takikawa4]

In ebay  messages, you  need to click on the TITLE of the message and then you'll see the "Report" button.