ebay help - scam email received

[TravelingGal]

Hey ebay experts, I need your help.

I rarely buy off ebay, but I''ve had an account for years and bought a handful of items with no troubles.

I just bought a band off ebay, figuring I''d take a chance, but when I won the item, I got an email that the sellers paypal account was closed and I needed to pay through Western Union.

Obviously, this is a scam, so I reported it to ebay and sent an email to the seller through ebay that I would not be paying for the item until ebay got back to me. He said, please do report it because they had something similar happen 3 months ago to another buyer of theirs.

Anyway, ebay came back and said it was a scam (no surprise) through one of their canned email responses. No mention on whether it was a third party scam or the seller himself.

So do you think I should just not pay for the item altogether, or is it possible that the scam had nothing to do with the seller? I don''t buy on ebay enough to know how some of these things really work, and I don''t care about feedback since I don''t buy a lot. But it would a bummer for the seller if it had nothing to do with the scam?

Just thought I''d get your two cents. Thanks in advance...

 

[Italiahaircolor]

When it comes to ebay, I always err on the side of caution...

I would request that the seller set up another Paypal account, or notify you when he has managed to sort this issue out with his current account. I would tell him that you''re not going wire money, and that you wouldn''t have bid on the item intially if you knew you were going to be forced into wiring money.

Setting up a Paypal account is so easy...and if his was scammed, then he should be getting a new one anyway or at least working to resolve the issue. I would extend the offer of patience on your part...but if he doesn''t get on the ball in a timely manner, I would consider yourself lucky that you didn''t fall for the scam and move on.

 

[Po10472]

I buy stuff often and my DH has his own store on ebay so like everything else there are goodies and baddies.

If you can pay via paypal then you are covered should anything go wrong, however, if your spider sense is tingling and you don''t feel good about the purchase then don''t go for it.

I just hate the fact that the bad eggs out there make buyers suspicious and it''s so much harder for genuine sellers to make a business.

If you do purchase, I''m interested in seeing the pics, is it a diamond band?

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 2/23/2009 3:02:06 PM
Author: Italiahaircolor
When it comes to ebay, I always err on the side of caution...

I would request that the seller set up another Paypal account, or notify you when he has managed to sort this issue out with his current account. I would tell him that you''re not going wire money, and that you wouldn''t have bid on the item intially if you knew you were going to be forced into wiring money.

Setting up a Paypal account is so easy...and if his was scammed, then he should be getting a new one anyway or at least working to resolve the issue. I would extend the offer of patience on your part...but if he doesn''t get on the ball in a timely manner, I would consider yourself lucky that you didn''t fall for the scam and move on.

The seller says his account is fine...there was never a problem with it. I could still do the transaction through his original paypal account through ebay. Looks like somehow a scammer sent me the email with the excuse that the sellers paypal account is closed. The scam email said that if I already paid, I would get refunded as soon as the paypal account was resolved, but that I should send payment through western union immediately.

 

[Italiahaircolor]

Date: 2/23/2009 3:14:37 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 2/23/2009 3:02:06 PM
Author: Italiahaircolor
When it comes to ebay, I always err on the side of caution...

I would request that the seller set up another Paypal account, or notify you when he has managed to sort this issue out with his current account. I would tell him that you''re not going wire money, and that you wouldn''t have bid on the item intially if you knew you were going to be forced into wiring money.

Setting up a Paypal account is so easy...and if his was scammed, then he should be getting a new one anyway or at least working to resolve the issue. I would extend the offer of patience on your part...but if he doesn''t get on the ball in a timely manner, I would consider yourself lucky that you didn''t fall for the scam and move on.

The seller says his account is fine...there was never a problem with it. I could still do the transaction through his original paypal account through ebay. Looks like somehow a scammer sent me the email with the excuse that the sellers paypal account is closed. The scam email said that if I already paid, I would get refunded as soon as the paypal account was resolved, but that I should send payment through western union immediately.

It''s my understanding that Paypal will cover you if this turns out to be B.S. But again on the side of caution, I would go ahead and call Paypals'' customer service line and ask them the "what if" questions. If Paypal can promise you that they will stand be you on this 100%, then you have nothing to loose by going forward with the purchase, if the ring is still something you want. But, you should also find out the specifics about getting your refund if the deal goes South, like how long it takes and whats the process of filing a claim...because we all know how many hoops there can be when money is involved.

 

[Steel]

Sorry Tgal. I wouldn't know what to do, but Italia does have great advice.

ETA: Good grief, I must be a lazy typist. You had posted & Italia responded by the time I bothered to hit submit

.

 

[Clairitek]

I wouldn''t go through with it if they want you to wire money. That sounds totally bogus to me. At best I would offer the seller a chance to right things by opening up an legitimate confirmed PayPal account for you to pay.

 

[makemepretty]

I had something similar happen. I won an auction(ring) and got an e-mail saying to pay a different way because their account had been tampered with. I knew it was a scam right away, ignored it and paid via paypal THROUGH ebay. I just ignore the scams. If you pay through checkout on ebay, you''ll be just fine. The poor seller has nothing to do with the e-mail you received. Scammers are just getting crafty.

 

[Rock_of_Love]

Date: 2/23/2009 3:24:15 PM
Author: makemepretty
I had something similar happen. I won an auction(ring) and got an e-mail saying to pay a different way because their account had been tampered with. I knew it was a scam right away, ignored it and paid via paypal THROUGH ebay. I just ignore the scams. If you pay through checkout on ebay, you''ll be just fine. The poor seller has nothing to do with the e-mail you received. Scammers are just getting crafty.

Ditto!

Similar thing happened to me when I purchased a microdermabrasion machine. These scammers stalk auctions that are higher in value...typically I''ve read they stalk cameras, jewelry, computers, equipment in the $500 - 1000 range and up. They contact you *outside* of ebay - through your email.

The person who contacted me said that the first buyer who won the auction fell through and they were offering the item to me. I was really excited because I had lost the auction, but I had some doubts. So, I contacted the seller *through ebay* and the seller got back to me saying it wasn''t they hadn''t contacted me and already shipped the machine off to the original winner! But, the scammer said the same thing - paypal account closed, would have to work outside of paypal, etc.

As long as you work with the original seller *through ebay* and via paypal through the ebay checkout process you should be fine. Also, double check the sellers ratings just to be sure. But, as above, I''m sure the seller had NOTHING to do with the outside email you received.

 

[TravelingGal]

Thanks all, I figured that as well. I''ll keep you posted!

 

[diane5006]

Hi T-Gal sorry this happened to you...

One of the best places to get advice (other than here)...Is the ebay answer center

http://pages.ebay.com/community/answercenter/index.html

You can also find it if you go to 'Community' upper right hand of screen then scroll down to answer center

Memeber to member forum...where experienced people can help...

It is really interesting just rading around in there too

Best of Luck

 

[HollyS]

Doesn''t the seller have a reputation/feedback/reviews that show their trustworthiness?

Personally, I would wait until I had confirmation directly from ebay about the actual seller, and whether they might be part of the problem instead of merely a victim.

 

[staci76]

I''ve been buying and selling on eBay for almost 10 years and haven''t had that type of problem as a buyer but I have had a slightly similar situation as a seller...I sold an item on eBay and one of the bidders emailed me saying to be careful because they recieved an second chance type email telling them that the item was available for sale with a link to "Paypal" to send the payment (they weren''t even the second highest bidder on the auction...they were somewhere in the middle). I hadn''t sent the email to the buyer and my eBay account was never hacked, etc. It was very odd. As long as you communicate through eBay and can send the payment through Paypal (through eBay), you should be fine. I can''t wait to see pictures when you get it!

 

[neatfreak]

You are fine if you pay through ebay (by logging in), through paypal, with your credit card.

The scammer likely sent you an email outside of ebay right? It sounds like the seller''s account isn''t compromised, which would be the problem. If the seller''s account is fine, you should be fine IMO. But pay with a CC for extra protection.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Ditto to always pay by PayPal from the ebay site itself. Never trust ANY email that changes the payment method!!!! It is always a scam!