Scammer

[lil_me]

So I’m new to eBay just made my account to sell an old game my bf and I are trying to get rid of and we were both contacted by who we believe is a scammer(by believe I’m 100% sure). The lady/guy was asking us to buy gift cards to go with the item he/she was trying to buy from us saying it was a birthday present. 

It was a weird request, but I didn’t really mind doing it if they payed for it. He/she then asked to use PayPal instead and then asked us to buy the gift card first... right then I knew this person was trying to scam us. I’m just in disbelief that this person not only did it to me but also on my bfs post as well. Is there any way to report this ? I don’t want this person getting someone else with this scam. 

When we texted him/her the number I got was from Texas and the one my bf texted was from California. So this person is using different accounts and area codes 

[pburn]

Age-old scam. You were smart not to fall for it.

By the time you got them reported to eBay, these two scammers would be long gone.

[inhawaii]

Scam.  DO NOT DO ANY BUSINESS WITH THEM! . Also, don't forget to BLOCK them from bidding on your listings.

[wastingtime101]

---

@lil_me wrote:

Is there any way to report this ? I don’t want this person getting someone else with this scam. 

---

If they committed to purchase your listing then you can report them here:

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/resolving-buyer-issues/reporting-issue-buyer?id=4084

If they did not commit to purchase an item and are not technically your buyer - just an interested party - then you will have to call eBay to report them or use one of eBay's social media channels on FaceBook or Twitter.

[lil_me]

Wow I wish there was more I could do then that haha it sucks that there doesn’t seem to be a lot you can do about scammers on here....

[wastingtime101]

By the time eBay gets around to banning the ID you reported, the scammer will have created many new IDs to continue their foul play. Supposedly eBay can ban by IP address and other identifying information, however I've seen the same scammer with different variations of the same ID continue on for quite a while. I don't know why it takes so long for eBay to catch up to them.

With all that said, if sellers don't report these scammers then the state of things would probably be even worse than it is now so I think it's worth taking a few minutes to report them.

[trnguye-37]

scammer everywhere 😞 I have had a similar case

[cashvaluerecovery2011]

Unfortunately i think the potential of a purchase going through and fees being made outweigh ebays desire to block scammers via ip.

[vintagecraze50]

Perhaps they operate from different IP addresses.

[mam98031]

You need to be very careful.  Not only were they going to scam you out of money, you would have been breaching a serious rule on Ebay and could have had your account sanctioned.  You can't take transactions off Ebay.  Or sell extra stuff to a buyer without having a listing for them to purchase from on Ebay.  You can't just overlook Ebay and go for a PP payment for the extra stuff.  

In other words, you can cut Ebay out of the loop.  That is a very serious rule violation.

[escuintla]

You got saved by the bell. 

I had a scammer but his luck ran out. He paid me for a VHS cassette $530, I know, you wouldn't believe it but that was the winning bid. He was asking too many questions, among them, "how to pay".  So, after a few calls to CS, they told me either local delivery, which it was impossible, he lived 530 miles away, or, pay by cash or check. 

He paid me, I went immediately to the bank, got it cashed, and then I went to the post office to ship it. I even paid priority mail and insured. Next day, my wife yells at me 'cause there was a charge back into our checking account. The guy had denied the payment. His bad luck, because I checked the tracking and the package was still in San Francisco, in one of those lazy episodes of the USPS not doing their job efficiently. I paid another $35 to get it back. On time! 

[trustedbasset]

It’s not only here it’s everywhere.
I had a email from Netflix saying my payment had problems.
They want my card info again and my SS number. It was a darn good scam. They had me at the SS number. Netflix doesn’t ask for that.

I have also had cops calling my house saying I’m going to be arrested.

I’ve also had the IRS calling and Social Security. I must be a honey because I’m drawing flies!

[luckythewinner]

---

@lil_me wrote:
Wow I wish there was more I could do then that haha it sucks that there doesn’t seem to be a lot you can do about scammers on here....

---

eBay does not require a background check or an identity veriication in order to bid, buy, or send a message to a seller - if they did, no one would shop here. 

So there is really nothing eBay can do to stop a buyers from buying and then asking a question. It is up to you as a seller to use your common sense, which you clearly did. 

Scammer do tend to prey on new sellers with zero feedback, so one thing you can do is purchase a few items and try to build up some feedback first.