Today part of the population has access to the Internet and its users. Unfortunately there are many mechanisms, boringly obvious to those involved, which may mislead the inexperienced user.
As in the past even today people cheating outweigh any technical deficiencies with the genius: build scams with the simplest tools.
Going step by step what happened so we have to figure out how many have been warning signs that they put me on guard.
The item and the auction
I put up for auction on eBay starting at 1 Euro, a phone second hand, to navigate via UMTS, the market value of 90-120 euros. I have also enabled the "Buy Now" (which allows the immediate purchase of the object, until tender offer is launched) at a price of 135 Euro. I certainly exaggerated figure, but are clearly undecided about selling and I do not want to sell off the telefonoHo also selected the European Union as "market deployable" within which I shipped the item, stating the need to contact me in advance to find a formula P sensible.
Buying
Just hours after the listing receive a notification: a user is awarded the object mode "Buy Now". I checked the status of the user and I noticed two unusual details: this is a new account (no transaction completed assets) and domiciled in Ohio, USA. Definitely an American can make up better prices than the Italian ones.
My first reaction was to welcome then the "newcomer" and ask him to reconsider the purchase and communicating my willingness to cancel his offer without consequences.
Meanwhile I forgot to have limited shipping to the EU, which would allow me, however, to cancel the offer at any time.
I selected as the only form of payment using PayPal, the trusted intermediary whose purpose is precisely to secure transactions on the Internet, between people far apart geographically.
Negotiations
By in email contact with the buyer (with the character created by scam): an American woman, currently traveling in Ireland, who wishes to have the item in question in its daughter, who is studying Science Communication at Lagos in Nigeria. Provides
to recognize the buyer many times that the total cost exceeds the price of next-generation phone, bought in any store in Nigeria (I calculated the rates of major shipping companies, to about 120 Euro on average, to which probably should be added duties and taxes Nigerian).
The only answer I receive calls simply the total, to make the transaction quickly. I am also requested to send the item immediately.
The transaction
To formalize the common procedure of the total spending by the special panel eBay buyer and sends a message specifying that the shipment would leave as soon as payment is received.
few hours later I receive an email confirmation from PayPa (see attached), certifying the payment has been received but that the sum will be credited only after I sent the tracking number (ID number for the shipment) to an address email included.
excited about the speed with which I concluded the sale I am going to turn off the computer to go to the shipper, but just then I get a strange feeling. Turns on the computer and I type the address manually PayPal (the only way to be sure to reach the original site is to type address), log into my account and see that there is no acknowledgment of the transaction. I can understand that the procedure that the sum should be blocked until I send the item or until the item is not delivered, but it is also true that somewhere should be the sum mentioned. Instead, the balance of my account is 0. All figures are 0. There is nothing that proves your payment (certainly not received the email, as anyone can set at will on the "sender" and simulate a notice from PayPal).
At this point I open the offending email and I realize that some details underline the fraudulent origin:
1) The email begins in an unusual way: "You've got cash!" And then continue with a more official
2) The text is typeset in an approximate way, I expect far better from a formal message from a large business
3) The text contains grammatical errors;
4) The email address that is not part of the domain of PayPal, this is an external address to PayPal;
5) The link to verify the status of the transaction (I checked only later) leads to a blocked account;
6) The email contains an image of PayPal or references to methods of verification of its authenticity;
action
now certain to be the victim of an attempted fraud, I am going to give immediate feedback (user feedback) and negative contact eBay customer support, indicating the event.
Communicate timely fashion such events is key to customer support because it can prevent other people from falling into the trap before who owns the site of illegal trades are aware of the attitudes of the user is charged.
Surely the lesson is always said that he sees the rush as a bad counselor. No one should be forbidden to take the time to verify everything in place. If I had not checked further, I not only lost my beloved card for Internet access, but I also spent my own pocket for the expensive shipping in Nigeria! I would have been ripped off twice.
Unfortunately we hear often on eBay, as the cradle of scams. Each week they invent new ones.
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