Scammed

[sunnybrae]

Thanks for the links to the other items, I'll be passing copies over to the police today.

The ebay name he is using isn't his so he has hacked some ones ebay account but I'm sure he'll use other ones as well until he gets caught!

[Backwoodsman]

Sorry to hear of the scam.

I saw this on e bay, it all sounded to good to be true. The final selling price seemed to be a real " Rogues bargain " !!!!

As a side note you can search bank sort codes online for the address of the Bank and branch it relates to, maybe handy when your asking the seller all the questions.

[Phil M]

Searching sort codes are all well and good but I have an account I opened when I lived in Berkshire and now live in Cumbria. also any internet bank sort code will lead you to the location of their head quarters, not a branch.

[MikeCC]

Sorry to hear about this.

Take a look at his completed listings - mostly agricultural. Someone bought a wood chipper recently as well. Wonder how they got on.

Have reported the John Deere as suspected fraudulent listing.

[sunnybrae]

Thanks for all your help, I've spoken to ebay this morning about the john deere tractor being a fraudulent listing and it should be removed shortly!

Some good news is that the account I paid into has been frozen and there is still money in it so I may get some back one day.

[boristhebold]

I very much doubt the culprit is in this country, probably a gang out of eastern europe or nigeria who do nothing all day but scam people on ebay, they may have middle men in this country to set up account details etc etc.

I would be amazed if you ever get your money back, sorry to say it but the police just dont have the resources to investigate this kind of crime. Fraud costs the uk over a billion each year. Ebay and other sites are full of it.

Ebay doesnt care nor do any of the other sites, it would cost too much for them to improve security. And the police are too busy to care as its only money.

Best rule of thumb is

Learn how to spot fakers
Speak to them on phone and view goods and paperwork before parting with any money.
Use a card that has fraud protection if possible that is covered by the bank.
Only deal with people on ebay who have good records and even then be careful as might be a hijacked acoount.
Any thing looks or sounds fishy then it is a trout and walk away.

when viewing pictures on ebay of boats, look at the background closely and any vehicles, if the boat says its in Doncaster and in the background of the picture you see plam trees and an american fire truck then its probably Miami and not cosher.

have a look at tinyeye.com and try a reverse image lookup on the picture, that tool may spot it on other websites but remember just because it might not find it on other websites doesnt mean it is legitimate.

Look at the text descriptions, out of a company website, or full of bad english and grammar ?

Insisting on a deposit before viewing via bank transfer or other.

Going way over the top to describe to you the story about why they are selling it, this could be an indication they are making it up on the spot.

lots more tips out there.

[beaver4084]

Hi, we bid and won this rib on Monday 28th July; we contacted the seller to arrange to view within a couple of hours of his listing, as we are half an hour from Inverness; our suspicions were aroused when he said viewing wasnt possible until monday morning (the bidding finished at 9.30am Monday), we then searched Inverness for a place matching the photos and came to the conclusion that it was not in Inverness or anywhere around. As he was offering cash on collection we thought we'd bid anyway; if it was real we got a bargain, if it was not, then we had called his bluff and prevented someone else getting ripped off. On winning we contacted him and said we'll collect that night, just tell us where, surprise surprise no reply after many messages! It is a clone of someone elses listing in March; same photos, same blurb, with the addition of the keen to deliver blurb. We informed ebay that evening (mon 28th July) so we are surprised he managed to persue a sale! The guy is Andy swaby from Scunthorpe, Hope you get your cash back, Ebay need to clamp down on these scams; our freind had someone trying to sell his vehicle last year, he just came across it by chance......same scenario!!!!! Good luck, and definately go see before parting with cash; we've viewed a few horrors that looked great in the photos; thankfully we bought another rib last week!

[Deekus]

ive also enquired about a rib for sale with similar circumstances...,"husband deceased, i know nothing about boats, please send cash to this account and i will arrange for the rib to be delivered free of charge"
When ive asked if i can view the boat with cash in hand..... nothing!

Ive also bought 3 cars off fleabay and never parted company with a deposit until a viewing has taken place, docs etc. If it goes before i get to view...so be it.

Hope you get some comfort in your fight for justice

[Doug_G]

Hate scams.

Interesting that the 'name' hand painted(?) on the port bow in the second picture is:-

'BANDIT'.

[sunnybrae]

Thanks Mr Beaver, I've passed his name onto the police, I thought that may of been his name from the email address I had.

[beaver4084]

according to ebay Andrew *****'s postcode is ******; although who knows whats real!

[Nos4r2]

Please don't give out names and postcodes-the ebay account has been inactive for a long time before it was used for the scams which suggests it's been a victim of hacking.

It's very likely you're giving out the name and address of someone who is also a victim.

[Daniel]

I wonder if mr beaver's experience (probably need his real name...) might help Op's case with the police.

Essentially it was reported to ebay as fraud before and they did nothing about it.