Beware of the eBay Scam
eBay is the best universal marketplace on the internet, you can buy and sell to people that are on the other side of the world. However, the amazing technology opens the door for scam artists as well. No matter how legitimate a seller may seem, the anonymity of the internet creates an open field for the con artist and scam artist.
Most Common eBay Scam
The most common eBay scam occurs when a buyer bids or does a Buy-it-Now on an item and then asks you to immediately ship out the item via express mail. Most people think that they will be able to tell the difference between a real sale and a fake but it is very difficult to distinguish. Commonly, scammers pose as Nigerians that are out of the country on business or are in the country and sending out an item to a family member overseas.
Sometimes they will do the Buy-it-Now option. In order to avoid these sorts of eBay scams, set guidelines when you have that option. For instance, you can make it so the person has to have at least 10 positive feedbacks or whatever number you choose before they can buy it now. You will notice that scammers often have zero feedback or private so others cannot view it. You can also set these qualifications for regular auctions just to be sure.
eBay scammers have gotten smarter because they now even incorporate PayPal. Normally what they will do is send an initial e-mail saying that they have bid on or bought your item and they need you to send it out immediately, via express mail. They say that they sent the money through PayPal but that PayPal will not release the money until they have a tracking number (meaning you shipped it) for the buyer's security. This is never true! PayPal will never hold your money unless your account is frozen for some reason.
Then the scammers even go so far as to create a fake PayPal e-mail. They will use the PayPal logo and they make the e-mail look as official as possible. They make PayPal's e-mail explain exactly what their e-mail said only in more sophisticated terminology. Therefore, don't ever trust an e-mail. First of all, if you're an experienced user, there are ways to tell the difference. For example, an e-mail from PayPal will be username@PayPal.com whereas a fake e-mail will be PayPal@ Yahoo or Gmail or Hotmail.com. Fake e-mails will never have the PayPal server e-mail, it is impossible. Pay attention to this. Not to mention, in most cases eBay scam artists will send PayPal e-mails with very broken English.
The best and most sure way to know whether or not you have received a payment is by signing into your PayPal. eBay scam artists can send you messages through eBay or through e-mail but they cannot make it appear like you have money in your account if you do not. Never send an item out or take any action until you see that money in your account. Once it is there, it is yours to do whatever you want with. Surprisingly, eBay scammers get away with these sorts of things every day; you'd be surprised how clever they can get. There's no way to know for sure unless you have the money in your account!
