I think this is important for people to know ASAP because I know most anandtechers usually buy from Ebay, and if you weren't as scrupolous as me, you could easily be scammed, as I almost was.
I've been looking for a new IBM Thinkpad off Ebay, and noticed a flood of expensive highend laptops at prices TOO LOW TO BELIEVE price with buy it now. However they all have "pre-approved buyers only" option enabled. Not only was it Thinkpad T40s fully packed for $1000 or 17" Apple Powerbooks at 1k, but i'm pretty sure they must be selling several other types of high end electronic gear which us hotdealers are always looking for.
Now the interesting thing that fools most people is that the people selling these things have high ratings like 898 positive or even power sellers. Since they look trustworthy, I emailed the seller for more details, and he responded with proposal to sell the laptop to me. However the terms are very suspicious: Email Below:
HI
Look here all the details I think you need to close this deal quick and succesfully:
First of all I must inform you that currently I'm in Berlin, Germany and I'm handling the liquidation of a big stores stock. I have been working here for the past year but now I want to sell all my products and return to USA where my family is. That is why I need money quick and sell so cheap. I preffered to restrict the bidding for our items because we have had multiple problems in the past with nonpaying bidders.
I have 3 units available right now and you can buy one from me without winning my auction.
They are still sealed in the original boxes with all the accesories.They come with fully warranty parts and labour and there will be no problem for you to use it(I will send you the receipt from the authorized dealer).
The buy it now price is 1000$ (for one unit).
Shipping: this is a thing about you shouldn't worry about because i believe that it is my responsibility to deliver it to your home.We can do in 2 way in each of them i am going to pay for all charges:
-UPS 2 days
-Fed ex 2 days
It will take 2 days for the package to arrive to you.The shipping costs will be payed by me and i will also pay for the insurance in case of any damage happens during the handling and shipping,so i will be protected in case off damages and you too
Payment: l'm a serious seller with more than 2 years of experience in this field.
l'm a fair trader with a very good feedback on ebay which is the proof that l have closed a lot of sucessful deals.
During this period l learned that the best deals are closed when the risk involved is minimum.
You will arrange payment through western union(www.westernunion.com).
I have something safe for you because I want you to be sure that you will receive the product and I hope we will colaborate in future too because I want to develop this bussines as soon as possible.
Look what I can do for you:
-you will make the transfer to my location but not to my name(you will use your best friends name for example as receiver's name)so you can be sure that i will not pick up the money untill you get the product.So you make a deposit at western union and you will give me the transfer's details(SENDER NAME,RECEIVER NAME,MTCN) so i can check that the deposit was made .
After i verify I will send you the product imediately and email you the tracking number from UPS.
-only after you will receive the product and check it if it ok you will have to change the of the transfer to my name so i can collect my money.So untill you will have the product in your hands the money will be deposited on your best friend's name at western union agent.
I think it is better to not inform western union that you will change the receivers name in a few days because it is possible they to ask you to pay the fees twice.
My old buyers of course make the transfer at western union direct to my name which is easier and i will be happy if you can trust in me but because it is our first deal i proposed you this very safe and efficient method so you can only deposit the money first and after you get the product to allowed
me to cash it.
Probably this payment method it is not very familiar to you but since i am in Germany (where is a lot of birocracy ) l have used it for many times and each of my customers being satisfied and l have to admit that it is most efficient process to go through.
Return policy: 20 days
Here is my name and adress you need for the western union transfer:
XXXXX German Address
City: Berlin
Country: GERMANY
The product is ready for shipment i just need your deposit confirmation from western union and exact adress and it will be delivered to your adress immediatelly and email you the tracking number.
Best Regards.
Now, after looking at this carefully I immediately recognized the Western Union -> foreign country scam and he is using the "change from friends name to his name" when you get merchandise scam. I saw this in a news report, but basically they ask u to send the money in a "friends name" and then change it to their name only after you supposedly receive the merchandise. (sounds reasonable). However, what's happened is they fake your friend's name ID and take the money without shipping the merchandise, and there is no insurance to cover your loss.
Another thing I noticed is that these auctions are then quickly pulled so that there are no records of it. Another clue is that these people selling expensive laptops or electronics does not match the usual merchandise that they have sold (usually cheap low end stuff).
Also, I combined this info with other stuff in the news (and on these anandtech forums) is that scammers have been able to steal real people's (honest sellers) ebay account through those FAKE HOAX EBAY EMAILS. They then email people these offers, which many people may fall for (fooled by the high feedback ratings).
Taken together Ebay should remove THE PRE-APPROVED BIDDER OPTION ASAP!!!
Again, I justify this post because a) plp here use ebay a lot b) its good to give a headsup on something that all inter-relates and show how complex and sophisticated these scammers have become. Plz post any stories, and ideas to shut out these fake auctions.
I've been looking for a new IBM Thinkpad off Ebay, and noticed a flood of expensive highend laptops at prices TOO LOW TO BELIEVE price with buy it now. However they all have "pre-approved buyers only" option enabled. Not only was it Thinkpad T40s fully packed for $1000 or 17" Apple Powerbooks at 1k, but i'm pretty sure they must be selling several other types of high end electronic gear which us hotdealers are always looking for.
Now the interesting thing that fools most people is that the people selling these things have high ratings like 898 positive or even power sellers. Since they look trustworthy, I emailed the seller for more details, and he responded with proposal to sell the laptop to me. However the terms are very suspicious: Email Below:
HI
Look here all the details I think you need to close this deal quick and succesfully:
First of all I must inform you that currently I'm in Berlin, Germany and I'm handling the liquidation of a big stores stock. I have been working here for the past year but now I want to sell all my products and return to USA where my family is. That is why I need money quick and sell so cheap. I preffered to restrict the bidding for our items because we have had multiple problems in the past with nonpaying bidders.
I have 3 units available right now and you can buy one from me without winning my auction.
They are still sealed in the original boxes with all the accesories.They come with fully warranty parts and labour and there will be no problem for you to use it(I will send you the receipt from the authorized dealer).
The buy it now price is 1000$ (for one unit).
Shipping: this is a thing about you shouldn't worry about because i believe that it is my responsibility to deliver it to your home.We can do in 2 way in each of them i am going to pay for all charges:
-UPS 2 days
-Fed ex 2 days
It will take 2 days for the package to arrive to you.The shipping costs will be payed by me and i will also pay for the insurance in case of any damage happens during the handling and shipping,so i will be protected in case off damages and you too
Payment: l'm a serious seller with more than 2 years of experience in this field.
l'm a fair trader with a very good feedback on ebay which is the proof that l have closed a lot of sucessful deals.
During this period l learned that the best deals are closed when the risk involved is minimum.
You will arrange payment through western union(www.westernunion.com).
I have something safe for you because I want you to be sure that you will receive the product and I hope we will colaborate in future too because I want to develop this bussines as soon as possible.
Look what I can do for you:
-you will make the transfer to my location but not to my name(you will use your best friends name for example as receiver's name)so you can be sure that i will not pick up the money untill you get the product.So you make a deposit at western union and you will give me the transfer's details(SENDER NAME,RECEIVER NAME,MTCN) so i can check that the deposit was made .
After i verify I will send you the product imediately and email you the tracking number from UPS.
-only after you will receive the product and check it if it ok you will have to change the of the transfer to my name so i can collect my money.So untill you will have the product in your hands the money will be deposited on your best friend's name at western union agent.
I think it is better to not inform western union that you will change the receivers name in a few days because it is possible they to ask you to pay the fees twice.
My old buyers of course make the transfer at western union direct to my name which is easier and i will be happy if you can trust in me but because it is our first deal i proposed you this very safe and efficient method so you can only deposit the money first and after you get the product to allowed
me to cash it.
Probably this payment method it is not very familiar to you but since i am in Germany (where is a lot of birocracy ) l have used it for many times and each of my customers being satisfied and l have to admit that it is most efficient process to go through.
Return policy: 20 days
Here is my name and adress you need for the western union transfer:
XXXXX German Address
City: Berlin
Country: GERMANY
The product is ready for shipment i just need your deposit confirmation from western union and exact adress and it will be delivered to your adress immediatelly and email you the tracking number.
Best Regards.
Now, after looking at this carefully I immediately recognized the Western Union -> foreign country scam and he is using the "change from friends name to his name" when you get merchandise scam. I saw this in a news report, but basically they ask u to send the money in a "friends name" and then change it to their name only after you supposedly receive the merchandise. (sounds reasonable). However, what's happened is they fake your friend's name ID and take the money without shipping the merchandise, and there is no insurance to cover your loss.
Another thing I noticed is that these auctions are then quickly pulled so that there are no records of it. Another clue is that these people selling expensive laptops or electronics does not match the usual merchandise that they have sold (usually cheap low end stuff).
Also, I combined this info with other stuff in the news (and on these anandtech forums) is that scammers have been able to steal real people's (honest sellers) ebay account through those FAKE HOAX EBAY EMAILS. They then email people these offers, which many people may fall for (fooled by the high feedback ratings).
Taken together Ebay should remove THE PRE-APPROVED BIDDER OPTION ASAP!!!
Again, I justify this post because a) plp here use ebay a lot b) its good to give a headsup on something that all inter-relates and show how complex and sophisticated these scammers have become. Plz post any stories, and ideas to shut out these fake auctions.