eBay

gurlcat · ‎03-03-2024

I've been thinking about this scam a lot, since it seems so bullet-proof (for the scammer), and I just can't accept that any given sale could go that way, with no recourse for the seller. Finally just now an idea occurred to me, but I don't know if I'm forgetting some important factor that would make it not work.

Say you sell a high-dollar item and notice that the "buyer" has a new account and low/no feedback -obviously NOT a guaranteed scammer but definitely a bright red flag. If they ARE a scammer, then they are some person in China or whatever -they definitely don't live at the shipping address, which they have changed so that you'll send the item to the real buyer (who bought it much cheaper from the scammer who used a copy of your listing). And if you ship the item, it will go to that real buyer, but then sometime later the scammer will file a return, still pretending to be "the buyer" but they'll send you a face mask, and you'll be forced to refund them for the actual item you sold.

So, how about this? -Before shipping, you write an email something like this:

Thank you for your purchase. Due to recent cases involving fraudulent shipping addresses, I must ask you to send a photograph of a piece of mail you've received from a utility company or government agency, showing your address on the front. If this isn't too much of an inconvenience, I will ship immediately after receipt. Thanks for your understanding.

In my view, if it's someone who really bought the item, they would have no beef with that, partly because they may think there's a risk of them not receiving the item and losing their money for nothing. But if it's a scammer they'll either not reply or make excuses, then you would just cancel the sale, based on a (LITERAL) 'problem with shipping address.'

gurlcat · ‎03-06-2024

@sextons-sweet-deals wrote:

What is really going on is the big question. Are these scammers using stolen C.C. cards, using stolen gift card numbers, or hoping that they can open a case with eBay or C.C.?

NO. None of those things. Please read message #4 if you want to know what is really going on with THIS scam. -There are many kinds of scams, and this one has a very specific strategy, one where seeing images of the delivery address and requiring signature would be of zero help whatsoever.

gurlcat · ‎03-07-2024

So, although my post was about a general idea, I did have an upcoming listing in mind that I was definitely nervous about. This one:

No your eyes are not playing tricks, this is a little piece of junk metal, enamel and crystal. And apparently I underpriced it when I listed it this morning, because it sold in only 35 minutes. Wealthy collector people -hey, explain them to me and we'll both understand, I just know what they're looking for, not why.

The thing is, I have seen tons of highly collectible pieces by this designer for insanely CHEAP prices in Google searches, and they're always on this or that weird website with a limited amount of items, including random other high-priced things like sneakers, watches, etc. It is very clear the photos are all taken by different people, and I have found the original LIVE listings that were being copied, from eBay, Etsy, etc. So I am pretty sure they are running the face mask scam, either that or credit card scam, maybe a mix of both, where the scammer uses a stolen card number to put in his part of the "investment" before getting it all back in a face mask refund.

Anyway, just saying I had good reason to be nervous.

So get this. My buyer has a 1999 member account and 12K feedbacks ..... but ...... his name on the order page doesn't match the name on the shipping .... and .... his profile location doesn't match his shipping address. So, because of his stellar history I didn't feel the need to ask for proof of his address, but I wanted to get something from him to reassure me. So here is what I wrote:

"Thanks so much for your purchase. Since your name does not match the name on the shipping address, also the address is in California but your profile says Canada, may I ask, is the California address a freight forwarder? If so that is fine, I just need to know as this is a higher-priced item and I want to make sure no one has hacked your account or anything."

He quickly replied:
"Hi - thanks for asking. This is shipping to our friend in California, and it's a mail service that signs for delivery. Could we ask you to send it express, next day or 2 day delivery? Let us know if there's an extra charge - many thanks"

And then we worked out the shipping agreement. So, as you can see he was glad to have the seller reach out and communicate and make sure everything is okay. And maybe asking for a photo of a mail piece would be overboard even with a sketchier-looking order, I'm still not ruling it out, but anyway I do believe that high-dollar items can make (real) buyers nervous just like sellers, so I don't think it's offensive to seek some kind of confirmation from them that the purchase is legit.

And now I believe I shall do a little dance. This is by far the best sale I've ever had.

gurlcat · ‎03-07-2024

It didn't even occur to me to check whether that ^ sold via promotion until just now. HALLELUJAH it did NOT! I was especially nervous about checking because what reminded me was I just discovered THIS stupid decimal error I made on another thing I sold today (supposed to be 9.1%). OOOOF!!!
Any other day I'd be slightly upset, but today, no.