How To Detect An Ebay Scam

Posted by Nick Niesen on November 1st, 2010

If this is the case, then it's time for the buyer's warning signal to go red alert because if things on E-bay seemed to good to be true, it probably is and may not even be worth the buyer's time and money.

There are lots of frauds and scams going on in the Internet today and E-bay is not excused. So, it's important for buyers to detect early signs of fraudulent activities before it gets them. Here are some important points to take note :

1. Buyers should always check the seller?s feedback rating. If a seller has many negative feedbacks or no feedback, do your due diligence and stay away from this auction. There is a chance it is a scam or fraud.

2. Another big issue ebay users need to take note of is phishing emails. Do not enter your ebay account details for any emails that tell you to do so. Some of these emails claims to be from ebay when they are not. It's already anomalous in the first place because E-bay does not send emails. Plus, E-bay would definitely not certify a seller even if he or she has a remarkable selling history.

3. Buyer should be aware of sellers that insist on wire transfers like Western Union as mode of payment. In fact, E-bay does not recommend their buyers to use wire transfer services. If the seller insists on it, then, no doubt it's a scam. If you are planning to buy expensive items on ebay, use escrow services.

4. Buyer should also be aware of "too-good-to-be-true" prices. Chances are items that are priced way below their real prices are signs of imminent fraudulent activities. One good example is DVDs and I have noticed recently many bootleg or illegal copies of DVDs being sold on ebay.

5. Online shoppers should be weary of institutions claiming they are escrow but ask payments be made to a person instead of a corporation. This is a clear case of scam.

6. Buyers should also be aware of sellers that let them pay the bid amount to wire transfers directly from the buyer's checking account. Worst, the seller contends that the given bank account is Escrow's.

The above tips are important to keep in mind when you are using ebay. After all, it's better to play safe than dumb.