What's this EBay scam?

Limecc · 11 October 2021, 04:38

Check out this Valiant:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/313705410...p2471758.m4703

Money laundering or something else?
Proxy seller has multiple short term auctions, cars, boats, most at bargain prices unlike the above.

Anyone care to pick a random listing and report it? Only takes a few seconds/clicks.

TmMorris · 11 October 2021, 07:14

At first glance it's looks like layering to me.

The chap has £65k of illicit cash that he needs to start getting into the banking system. By selling a non existent item to a non existent person he now has legitimate proof of funds to enable a bank to take the cash over the counter and put it into the system?

69cmw · 11 October 2021, 07:40

Looks like some Nigerian scammer

willk · 11 October 2021, 07:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by Limecc

...most at bargain prices unlike the above.

....not anymore

spartacus · 11 October 2021, 08:01

Looks like they have some horrendous stock to shift. Honda Goldwing trike!

There's a 1947 Willys jeep, 1947, barn find yadda yadda, now that would be worth having. Unfortunately this has scam written all over it. Nice to see Ebay trying to reduce fraud.

Voodoo · 11 October 2021, 10:04

There is so much of that on ebay...using one picture of someone else.s boat / car / caravan etc and then the second picture is that auto listings rubbish......doesn't look like anyone falls for it, with never any bids following the initial one. Wastes a lot of peoples time clicking on the ads.

Voodoo · 11 October 2021, 10:07

I like the inflated bidding on this one though....might put one in myself :-)

citygent111 · 11 October 2021, 11:06

Listing has gone, but is it this one?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/oxb-19/m....1&_ipg=&_from=

Amazing how someone can have so many cars, HGV's, boats and caravans for sale - and their photo's don't at all look like they've just been nicked off the web!!

spartacus · 11 October 2021, 18:15

Seems Ebay got the message and removed the seller.

No doubt they will reappear in the weeks to come under a different name.

whiskylee · 12 October 2021, 07:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by spartacus

Seems Ebay got the message and removed the seller.

No doubt they will reappear in the weeks to come under a different name.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sealine-2...-127635-2958-0

They are trying to scam daily on eBay ! 1500 plus listings under 1 account !!

Limecc · 12 October 2021, 07:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by whiskylee

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sealine-2...-127635-2958-0

They are trying to scam daily on eBay ! 1500 plus listings under 1 account !!

Wow 63 pages of listings. They must use automation software to create them, the consistency tells me there's a script behind the logic.

Same boat is used by multiple sellers. Maybe even a script to create accounts that bid? The scam must be to spread a net in the hope some gullible person sends a Western Union type deposit after 'winning' an auction.

Oldman2 · 12 October 2021, 08:41

Why Ebay themselves dont have software to look for this sort of thing? They seem to rely on user reporting to self police the scammers.

Fenlander · 12 October 2021, 09:41

Yes and that's very odd considering they have software to detect if you attempt to send personal contact details by Ebay message to by-pass paying fees. You would think it might be so easy to auto-detect 1000+ listings for different items yet the same listing wording.

Nos4r2 · 12 October 2021, 10:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fenlander

Yes and that's very odd considering they have software to detect if you attempt to send personal contact details by Ebay message to by-pass paying fees. You would think it might be so easy to auto-detect 1000+ listings for different items yet the same listing wording.

The scammers use an image with contact details in. Take a look at this one before it's removed.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/384441231...kAAOSwy3thZIHL

Fenlander · 12 October 2021, 10:32

>>>scammers use an image with contact details in

Yes understand that.... was more thinking as they use over-sensitive software that will block a message if it detects trigger words that look to be an attempt to deal outside Ebay you would have thought it would be so easy for similar software to detect 1000+ same wording listings.

Nos4r2 · 12 October 2021, 10:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fenlander

>>>scammers use an image with contact details in

Yes understand that.... was more thinking as they use over-sensitive software that will block a message if it detects trigger words that look to be an attempt to deal outside Ebay you would have thought it would be so easy for similar software to detect 1000+ same wording listings.

I'm not sure that it is that easy-think of the amount of normal things for sale on there that use generic descriptions.

I just bought a razor on there because it's out of stock in Tesco for example. Manufacturer's image and copied text.

Fenlander · 12 October 2021, 10:44

Well I'm not letting them off the hook that easy... I mean another way would perhaps be to assume 1000+ listings at the same point in time was not reasonable for a private seller's account.

Until a couple of years ago I'd had a couple of decades great success with selling on Ebay... a few good buys too... but I have less need to sell things now so the few bits I do need to shift go to the charity shop or perhaps the village Facebook site.

whiskylee · 12 October 2021, 12:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fenlander

Well I'm not letting them off the hook that easy... I mean another way would perhaps be to assume 1000+ listings at the same point in time was not reasonable for a private seller's account.

Until a couple of years ago I'd had a couple of decades great success with selling on Ebay... a few good buys too... but I have less need to sell things now so the few bits I do need to shift go to the charity shop or perhaps the village Facebook site.

Agree eBay could manage these scammers out easily if they wanted to.

Poly · 12 October 2021, 20:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fenlander

Yes and that's very odd considering they have software to detect if you attempt to send personal contact details by Ebay message to by-pass paying fees. You would think it might be so easy to auto-detect 1000+ listings for different items yet the same listing wording.

EBay charge a listing fee don’t they? No incentive to remove (I think they’d have to refund). And even a small false positive rate would piss off legit users. But I would say it’s definitely possible to identify suspect accounts, if it’s in their interests to do so.

whiskylee · 17 October 2021, 09:08

More scammed eBay accounts. It just never ends !!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fletcher-...-127635-2958-0