Now, I know that everyone out there feels pretty damn savvy about their ability to spot and avoid online scams. But since we get your desperate calls almost every day, I beg to differ. You aren’t as good as you think. So let’s get to the basics.
1) All scams have a basic sameness, an almost eerie predictability. I can usually tell you exactly what the ad for your “toy with a motor” will say. You don’t need to explain it to me (ad nauseum, I might add).
2) The seller is almost always out of the continental US…a vacay perhaps or maybe just a short stint in Iraq. Whatever has called your seller to distant lands, it will give cedibility to the fact that EBAY TRUST & SAFETY is now in possession of your coveted toy.
3) Sounds good right? Trust and Safety must be good. WRONG!!! Ebay Trust and Safety is a bunch of people who sit in a California office and give sellers grief for breaking any one of their thousands of vague and ever shifting policies. Not for one single second should you believe that those people are lovingly watching your car/truck/boat.
4) Your seller is so concerned about your happiness that they are willing to ship you the car/truck/boat and let you “try it out for two weeks” before returning it for a full refund. Are you kidding me? Have you ever checked to see what carriers charge to move a vehicle across the country? Oh, and you will need to send the funds before this takes place…by Western Union.
5) RED FLAG!! Don’t send any money by Western Union for a purchase of anything unless you just feel like making a donation to a stranger.
6) Here’s the scoop on the money situation….Ebay is a virtual garage sale for stuff. They don’t do money. Period…end of it. Paypal belongs to Ebay but they do handle money, not stuff. Paypal, whether you love it or hate it, will act as an escrow agent for your money and take it away from the seller if you can prove the transaction sucked. If your scammer says Ebay will be handling the money…RUN!
7) Here’s my best advice…..if you can’t go see it…don’t buy it. Any legit seller of a motorized item should be willing to meet you or at the very least have someone show you the actual item with proper title etc. If you think an airline ticket to see the item is too pricey, go ahead and send that $20,000 via Western Union.
8) Craig’s List and ebay are totally different entities…you know that right? So why would you believe that something advertised on Craig’s list will be purchased through ebay “for the buyers safety?” That’s like saying the shirt is at Macys but you can pay at Hollister.
9) Oh, and be ever so careful of “cut & paste” emails that really look good. If you can’t open ebay.com and find the item, it’s a scam. Try hovering over the browser address and see if it doesn’t come from some funky address.
Good luck out there….it’s a mad world! And remember that your mother always told you that if it is too good to be true, it probably is.
