I Nailed a fraudulent ebay seller-Beware!

[chawa]

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1st day
I was searching for an IPOD in ebay.ph, then this guy’s item was the cheapest among them at around P8,500 for an IPOD Nano 4Gig.Â* As usual, I do some research first before I trust this guy.Â* His description goes:

NOTE: READ FIRST B4 BIDDING... THE IPOD NANO IS 2ND HAND.. CAME FROM U.S... COMPLETE WD CAHRGER,CD,MANUAL,BOX,USB CABLE,HEADPHONE... PLUS!!!!.. I WILL GIVE FREE OF CONVERTERS FOR THE IPOD..MUSIC CONVERTER... THE IPOD IS IN VRY GOOD CONDITION... NO HIDDEN DEFECT... REASON FOR SELLING: I'M GOING TO BUY HIGHER MODEL CP...THE IPOD IS LOCATED IN NAGA CITY... COD IS ONLY AVAILBLE IN NEARBY AREA ONLY.. BUT I CAN SHIP THE ITEM VIA DHL OR JRS... PAYMENT ACCEPTED IS G-CASH, WESTERN UNION, AND COD(ONLY NEARBY AREA)... FOR MORE INFO..CONTCT ME AT: 09159740050.. GUDLUCK!! HAPPY BIDING!!! GOD BLESS!!

I also checked his “Member sinceâ€� date and interestingly, he just registered when he had the item for bid.Â* Now that’s “Caution no. 1â€�.Â* I also checked the only bidder in his item, he was also registered only 3 days after that item was for bid – “Caution no. 2â€�. Having this kind of ebay users is alarming already, but I still had myself wanting that item, so I decided to contact him through text.

Text*
Me:
S ur ipod nano stl avail?Seen it in ebay.

Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
Yes sir.. Wats ur location? Nd ur EBAY ID? Dd u alrdy read the description?

Me:
Im in cebu.How mch shipping?ID s *&$*%,hav not bid yet.Wats d converters for?Does Ipod Nano hav dsame feat wd d big ipod?Tnx

Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
120 4 shiping.. The converter is 4 u to able to convert other song formats to ipod formats..

Me:
Ok,wil let u knw of my final decision by end of d week.U cn assure me its workng great ryt?Tnx!

Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
Yes has dsame feat. Bt nano has photo..

Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
Yes..its in vry gud condition..thanx!

After spending some time thinking, I really need to have this cheap item, so I decided to check this guy by calling him.Â* “Caution no. 3â€� came when his incoming calls were barred.

Text*
Me:
Bro,r u blockng incoming calls?

Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
Ya, bcos my cp has defct in calls.. Hav alrdy decided?
Hehe, what an excuse.Â* By this time, I knew totally this was a fake one!Â* I was truly amazed with meeting a fraudulent seller in ebay.Â* This was my first discovery of such kind, so I was thinking of going through the hastle of finding out how this guy can get away with ebay buyer’s money.Â* I ride with his story and went on, trying to get in his way of thinking.

Text*
Me:
Im jst worid re securd transactn.Im wiling 2 take as long as u cn assure me d crediblty of our transactn.Cn u find ways 2 assure me ds s not a fraud.Tnx

Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
Ha? Fraud? I cnt do such thng lyk dat.. I cn asure that ths is not scam, bcos i alrdy sold items to others..

Me:
Im sori 4 being rude.U knw we hav 2 b xtra careful wen dealng wd such amount.Wat other items hav sold n ebay?Im realy nterestd actualy!

Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
I alrdy sold 3230 phone worth 9k..

Me:
Sir,how come ur acount was creatd on d day u had it 4 biding?Ur feedbak also shows no items sold or bought yet?Cn i call u then?Tnx

Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
Yes.. In ebay.. I'm shiping it in DHL..

Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
All the item ive sold was done outside ebay.. My cp has no voice, bcos i jst dropd it last 3 days..
This guy probably had to make good excuses, he just mentioned he sold a 3230 on ebay, and now he said it was sold out of ebay.Â* One thing also, he said his phone had no voice, and yet, he’s selling a 3230… now why not use that instead of selling… Hhhmmm

Me:
Ok tnx.Bt did u jst txt me u had sold items in ebay alrdy?

Me:
I see.Ok.Bt u had jst registerd lastweek.Sold many items n a week alrdy?

Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
Jst posting in ebay ang sold outside..

Me:
Wid dat ebay ID sir?

Me:
Hard 2 bliv seling dat fast.Ok,u acept westrn union payment?Wil u also send d DHL trackng?
Was trying to use Western Union because you have to specify the right name and address of the money recipient.

Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
I only sold 1 phone nd memory stick duo..

Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
Yes dodz..

Me:
Ok,wil txt u f bout 2 send u mony.Send trackng ryt?How lng wil it b receivd?

Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
I prefered g-cash its convenient.. Once i rcv the payment i wil send the item asap..

Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
Send the money in g-cash ok.. It wil take about 2-3 day of the shiping..
DHL usually ships only a day or 2 for local shipping.Â* Noticed he didn’t answer on the tracking no. of DHL?


2nd day
After that 1st day, I was not planning to communicate with this guy anymore, it was already clear how unreliable his response were, but early on the 2nd day, this guy couldn’t get enough of thinking that he got me already.

Text*
Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
Gud morning sir, if u cn send the payment this morning, i wil ship the ipod this afternoon..god bless

Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
Gud evening sir, r u stil intrnsted in my ipod nano? Txtbk pls..thanx

Playing along this guy’s modus…
Me:
Bro,sory jst replied.So busy 2day.Dnt knw how 2 Gcash yet,do i hav 2 go 2 glob ofc n ryt ur name n adres?Btw,r u rily 4 real?Can u realy asure me?Tnx

Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
Its rily sure.. Yes jst go to globe cnter and ask for asistant bout sending g-cash..
Wow, good instruction, can’t wait to get my money? Hehehe

Me:
Ok,i read n their site dat i nid ur name n adres,cn u send me ur info?Btw,re ur items b4 n ebay,cn u send me a link of thos items so i cn take a look?Tnx

Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
The post of the item ended yesterday, if u lyk i wil post it again..

Planning to make this guy do everything he could do to get money, I tried to see if he can produce some evidences of a real seller…
Me:
Ok,bt u cn stil c dat post even f it ended.Im supos 2 c thos items 2 n d 'other items from seler' link,bt u had no other items dr wen i chekd it 2 days ago.

Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
Bcos i posted the other early to end, but the other are longer..thats why..

Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
Here is my g-cash acount: Name: kazuki takemura Addres: NAGA cp #: 09159740050

Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
My full addres is: #6 bagumbayan sur, naga city, 4400.. Cn i hav ur ful name nd adres..
Good thing he actually revealed some identities… Readers… beware of this address and number.Â* Though this number most probably is gone now…

Me:
D 1 dats longer,stil its not n ur othr items frm seller.

Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
I posted 3230 nd ipod nano, i thnk the longer there is the 3230, but it was alrdy sold outside.. Nd the item left to me is the ipod nano..

Me:
Bt stl i cud find ur item dr even f u sold it outsyd.Btw,ur bid jst ended.Hasnt d winer contactd u yet?

Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
He alrdy contacted me, but he said that, he wil pay on april 18, so i refuse to acept his offer..
Oh Really?

Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
I thnk u said that u cud nt found the item that i sold outsyd, bcos there is no 1 bid in the other item, he jst contactde me..thats why sir..

Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
Pls rply sir..thanx
Hhhhmmmm… even if his answers are far out of the usual ebay etiquette, he still thinks he got meÂ*

Let’s see if his claims are true enough, I have to let him do his homework of proving his worthiness.
Me:
Re ur othr item,even f ders no bid on it,i cud hav stil seen it dr.Ok,hw bout providng me d link of dat item,go 2 ebay n copy d adress link n send it 2 me email

Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
Of wat item sir?

Me:
D one u postd n ebay n no 1 bid bt contactd u outsyd.U cn stl prevw it ur bid items n My Ebay page.txt me f u found it n il txt u my email.Tnx

Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
Ok.. I'll send it tomrw..thanx

Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
Wats ur email ad pls..thanx..

Me:
-----*$&#@email.com. Dr wer 2 items ry?Fn n memry stck?Kindly nclud thos.Tnx.

Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
Ok..thanx

3rd Day
Can’t wait to see how this guy can get away with it.
Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
I alrdy sent the link to ur email add..txtbk pls..thanx.

Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
Sir dd u alrdy rcv the email? Pls txtbk..

I did recieve his email, and his real name is Ivan Avizola, as reflected in the email name.Â* After checking the link, indeed he sold a 3230 with 2 bidders on it. I went through the trailing of his bids and items until I found and item that he supposedly bought from a certain dej_16, I checked his Member since date and damn, they had the same date with avi_com. What’s funnier was dej_16 item description:

SONY 2 GIGABYTE MEMORY STICK PRO DUO YOU CAN USE IT FOR DIGITAL CAM., SONY PSP, PHONES OR OTHER GUDGETS.. IT'S 2ND HAND BUT WORKING PERFECTLY... I GIVE 1 WEEK WARANTY AND MONEY BACK... for serious buyer only.. the item is located in naga city, COD is only available in nearby area... or i can ship the item via DHL or JRS the shipping fee is shouldered by buyer... i will ship the item once i recieve the payment... payment accepted: G-cash, COD(only in nearby area), western union money transfer... for fast transaction contact me at: 09063167434... HAPPY BIDDING.... GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!...

compare it with this:

NOTE: READ FIRST B4 BIDDING... THE IPOD NANO IS 2ND HAND.. CAME FROM U.S... COMPLETE WD CAHRGER,CD,MANUAL,BOX,USB CABLE,HEADPHONE... PLUS!!!!.. I WILL GIVE FREE OF CONVERTERS FOR THE IPOD..MUSIC CONVERTER... THE IPOD IS IN VRY GOOD CONDITION... NO HIDDEN DEFECT... REASON FOR SELLING: I'M GOING TO BUY HIGHER MODEL CP...THE IPOD IS LOCATED IN NAGA CITY... COD IS ONLY AVAILBLE IN NEARBY AREA ONLY.. BUT I CAN SHIP THE ITEM VIA DHL OR JRS... PAYMENT ACCEPTED IS G-CASH, WESTERN UNION, AND COD(ONLY NEARBY AREA)... FOR MORE INFO..CONTCT ME AT: 09159740050.. GUDLUCK!! HAPPY BIDING!!! GOD BLESS!!

Hmm.. looks familiar!!!

I was really enjoying my trail, at last I found some proof of this guys’ fraudulent activities! I checked dej_16 number by calling it, it was already out-of-service. I also remembered that he was selling this same item.Â* So I figured, why would he sell and item he just bought? I tried to trick this guy if he still tries to get away with it…

Text*
Me:
Sir,wer s d memry stck link?Wer u able 2 sell it 2?
Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
Ive sell it, as the same as the buyer of 3230, i ddnt post it, i jst offer it to him..
Hahahahaha…. Really?

Me:
Ok,n y are u seling another 1?U hav anothr memry stck 4 bid?I tot u sold it?Hhhmm

Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
I jst want u to see it so i post it..
You know you’re nailed….

Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
Is there any question sir?

Making this guy ‘sing’ his real identity, let’s nail him down.
Me:
U dnt hav 2 post it bak,i cn see it stl even if it ended alrdy.Sory,all my txts wer jst 4warded frm my ebay QC adviser.He was jst tricking u i gues 2 find out how u fraud biders.he tracd ur IP add alrdy n confrmd dat u n dej_16 r d same.Tnx 4 ur worthles ofers.He alrdy has ur credentials n i dnt knw wat he's going 2 do wd it.God bless!Great item!Recomended fraud seler!

Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
a..ok..thanx again.. So ur wd dudz a..mwuah! Luv u sir..
So there goes the moment of truth, a fraud seller claiming his real intention!!!Â* His statement on the “So ur we dudz..â€� struct me.Â* Maybe someone else too is after this guy… Hhhmm… had many victims already.

Fraud Ebay Seller - avi com (+639159740050):
Thats y i ddnt let u call then.. Cos i knw..
Oh really? I knew it all the way already…

This is how ended.Â* I nailed this son of a *&*$(….

I come to realize some points to remember in bidding and e-shopping, buy and sell in general:
1.Â* Always do some checking and trailing with the guy you are dealing with.Â* It really does save some amount than risking a needed item and loose it after risking of wanting it.Â* Points to look at:
-items bought and sold by the seller.Â* Try to see a circle of buyer-sellers
-membership dates.Â* Usually new members and selling stuffs right away, and the bidders of their items are with the same membership dates of the seller, or just days difference.
-Feedbacks are useless since these guys can always make a new accounts and do circle transactions to add positive feedbacks on themselves.

2. Ebay, in my own opinion, is not doing a tough work on securing its users.Â* There are people trying to post list of fraudulent sellers, but they banned it, saying that seller feedback is enough to warn buyers.Â* THEY ARE WRONG!Â* There could have been many things they could do to warn buyers before bidding or buying it.Â* Like when bidding is on-going, users should be able to check the IP address history of the users so identical users can be monitored.Â* Their solution is passive.Â* Paypal a solution? Not for ebay.ph!!!!

I’m doing this so other people will be warned.Â* I’m not saying e-shopping is that unsecured, but we all have to be cautious.Â* Hope this will help you all!!Â* Happy Bidding…….

[Freeza]

nice thanks for info and tips

[blacktop_boy]

great info :mrgreen:

[omad]

nice info

here's some more helpful links with regards to transactions on Ebay:

click here
click here
click here

have a safe shopping spree!!

[t3ChNo™]

great tips!

[mr.suavi]

yep.. hard to trust pips in ebay.. ive even tried to sell 2 2nd phones and a biider tries to bid for 2000 us dollors..

can u imagine.. 2000 us dollars for 2 2nd non-colored fones.. after that, i didnt reply to his emails cuz his price was not reasonalbe.. smells sumting fishy alreadi..

i forget his id cuz it was about 3-4months i think??


uhmmm.. how can we trust pips on ebay?? cuz thier are sum gud items on ebay.. how can we trust those sellerS??

[clarkhkent]

uhmmm.. how can we trust pips on ebay?? cuz thier are sum gud items on ebay.. how can we trust those sellerS??

ahh try to meet them in person!

anyway thanks for the info!

[chawa]

Bitaw,there are others nga you can trust, but not in ebay.ph, labi na mga taga manila! I already bought an item in ebay.com, maayo nalang to kay ebay store, maka trust gyud ka, but for .ph, mag imbestigar pa tawn ta.. haayy.. kapoy...

[franzrebs]

Wow that was fun.

[dagget]

i think with all your text only Globe Telecom is happy....

anyway

all I can say is Ebay has been asking me a lot of documents in a span of 1 week.

Example from Eddy L. of Ebay philippines(didn't know someone was working for Ebay here in the Philippines):

Hello,

It has recently come to our attention that the contact information that
you supplied when registering with eBay may be either inaccurate or
incomplete.

We realize that this is most probably due to oversight or privacy
concerns. However, all of our members must provide this information
(including your first and last name, complete mailing address, and a
valid phone number) in order to remain active on our site. Please take a
moment to update your records by following these instructions:

1. Go to www.ebay.ph
2. Click on the 'site map' link located at the top of most eBay pages.
3. Under 'My Account' in the 'My eBay' section, click the 'Change
Registration Information' link. You may be asked to sign in.

Once you are on the 'Change Registration Information' page, please
follow the instructions as provided.

Please note that this information must be changed within 48 hours.
Otherwise, eBay will have to suspend your registration until such time
as the updated information is received.

You can verify this is an legitimate eBay email by logging into
www.ebay.com, go to "My eBay" and then click on "My Messages" to find
this email.

Your cooperation and quick action in this matter are greatly
appreciated.

Warmest Regards,

Eddy L.
eBay Philippines Customer Support

This is my reply to Eddy L.

Message: I have already updated my contact information 2 days ago

If there is still a problem

I can provide you a fax of my passport, driver's license, bank
statements, or phone bill



from Eddy L.

Hello,

My name is Eddy, thanks for writing to eBay regarding your registration
information.

I appreciate the time you took for the update, although it still appears
to be incomplete. In order for us to verify your contact information,
please kindly fax us or send us any document listed in Group below:

Be sure to include the User ID and email address of the suspended
account you're appealing on all documentation/documents sent to us. If
your documents do not contain this information, it will not be
processed.

Evidence of Address

- Recent copy of Utility bill or a certificate from a supplier of
utilities confirming the arrangement to pay for services on pre-payment
terms. Mobile phone bills are not acceptable.
- Copy of Local Authority council tax bill (valid for the current year).
- Copy of Bank, building society or credit union statement containing
current address.
- The most recent copy of a mortgage statement from a recognized lender.
- Copy of Local Council rent card or tenancy agreement with address
showing.
- Copy of notification letter from the benefits agency confirming the
rights to benefit (if not used for evidence of name).

Please fax this information to:

63-2-857-2018 (PH)

My reply:

Can you please explain why you won't accept phone bills

Is Globe Telecom not a recognized leader in the market


Then i get a message from ELen another Ebay philippines representative

Dear eBay Member,

Thank you for writing eBay in regards to your concern. My name is Elen
and I will be happy to help you further with this situation.

A mobile phone bill does not provide solid evidence of your address as a
stationary address is not a requirement for the service.

I appreciate your patience and understanding regarding this matter and
look forward to your response so that we can resolve this matter as soon
as possible for you.

Regards,

Elen
eBay Philippines Customer Support



I replied to Ellen:

This is the funniest thing I have heard in Ebay.

Are you from the Philippines?

If not. Then i would understand.

Because my Mobile phone service requires a permanent billing address.

Please if you don't mind try to know the companies in my country. They
are quite strict since they are aware of the high incidence of fraud.

suffice to say. Ebay needs to do more than just inconvenience legitimate
users and let fraudulent users get away...........