Ebay second chance scam!

[Accumulator 52]

I very nearly fell for this today because it all looked so official. Please don't anyone else fall for it.

Basically I was the underbidder on a coin a couple of weeks ago and today I received an email, apparently from eBay, stating that the winner had defaulted and I could now buy it at my underbid price. This is eBay policy, and I've done it before on another item, so I was quite happy. It was only when I tried to actually complete the transaction that I became suspicious. The real seller had previously accepted the payment via Paypal (I'd bought another item from them) but this time wanted to complete the transaction with a bank transfer outside eBay. It was after this that I checked my eBay account and realised it wasn't an official eBay offer, and was a scam. I have since spoken with eBay who confirm this.

What eBay haven't been able to tell me is how the scammer got hold of all my details, as these certainly aren't shown in the bidding summary? The scammer had my name, email and postal address, matched up to my bidding on this item! eBay are still looking into the scam for me, but I'm not hopeful. Apparently they get many reports of this each day, which makes one wonder how secure their system is?

Anyway, in the meantime, if anyone gets a second chance offer be sure to check it thoroughly!

[Nick 329]

I very nearly fell for this today because it all looked so official. Please don't anyone else fall for it.

Basically I was the underbidder on a coin a couple of weeks ago and today I received an email, apparently from eBay, stating that the winner had defaulted and I could now buy it at my underbid price. This is eBay policy, and I've done it before on another item, so I was quite happy. It was only when I tried to actually complete the transaction that I became suspicious. The real seller had previously accepted the payment via Paypal (I'd bought another item from them) but this time wanted to complete the transaction with a bank transfer outside eBay. It was after this that I checked my eBay account and realised it wasn't an official eBay offer, and was a scam. I have since spoken with eBay who confirm this.

What eBay haven't been able to tell me is how the scammer got hold of all my details, as these certainly aren't shown in the bidding summary? The scammer had my name, email and postal address, matched up to my bidding on this item! eBay are still looking into the scam for me, but I'm not hopeful. Apparently they get many reports of this each day, which makes one wonder how secure their system is?

Anyway, in the meantime, if anyone gets a second chance offer be sure to check it thoroughly!

I believe that the usual cause for these second-chance scams is the real seller's eBay account has become compromised (probably via spyware of some sort) and therefore the scammers have full access to the seller's details of past buyers.

Edited February 17, 2013 by Nick

[Accumulator 52]

I very nearly fell for this today because it all looked so official. Please don't anyone else fall for it.

Basically I was the underbidder on a coin a couple of weeks ago and today I received an email, apparently from eBay, stating that the winner had defaulted and I could now buy it at my underbid price. This is eBay policy, and I've done it before on another item, so I was quite happy. It was only when I tried to actually complete the transaction that I became suspicious. The real seller had previously accepted the payment via Paypal (I'd bought another item from them) but this time wanted to complete the transaction with a bank transfer outside eBay. It was after this that I checked my eBay account and realised it wasn't an official eBay offer, and was a scam. I have since spoken with eBay who confirm this.

What eBay haven't been able to tell me is how the scammer got hold of all my details, as these certainly aren't shown in the bidding summary? The scammer had my name, email and postal address, matched up to my bidding on this item! eBay are still looking into the scam for me, but I'm not hopeful. Apparently they get many reports of this each day, which makes one wonder how secure their system is?

Anyway, in the meantime, if anyone gets a second chance offer be sure to check it thoroughly!

I believe that the usual cause for these second-chance scams is the real seller's eBay account has become compromised (probably via spyware of some sort) and therefore the scammers have full access to the seller's details of past buyers.

You could well be correct Nick. I've spent the last hour talking to eBay and in the end, all they do is insist that they have a Privacy Policy that they would never ever breach. It's like talking to a brick wall. No recognition that, say, a rogue employee could be handing names out perhaps.

[RLC35 288]

I very nearly fell for this today because it all looked so official. Please don't anyone else fall for it.

Basically I was the underbidder on a coin a couple of weeks ago and today I received an email, apparently from eBay, stating that the winner had defaulted and I could now buy it at my underbid price. This is eBay policy, and I've done it before on another item, so I was quite happy. It was only when I tried to actually complete the transaction that I became suspicious. The real seller had previously accepted the payment via Paypal (I'd bought another item from them) but this time wanted to complete the transaction with a bank transfer outside eBay. It was after this that I checked my eBay account and realised it wasn't an official eBay offer, and was a scam. I have since spoken with eBay who confirm this.

What eBay haven't been able to tell me is how the scammer got hold of all my details, as these certainly aren't shown in the bidding summary? The scammer had my name, email and postal address, matched up to my bidding on this item! eBay are still looking into the scam for me, but I'm not hopeful. Apparently they get many reports of this each day, which makes one wonder how secure their system is?

Anyway, in the meantime, if anyone gets a second chance offer be sure to check it thoroughly!

I believe that the usual cause for these second-chance scams is the real seller's eBay account has become compromised (probably via spyware of some sort) and therefore the scammers have full access to the seller's details of past buyers.

You could well be correct Nick. I've spent the last hour talking to eBay and in the end, all they do is insist that they have a Privacy Policy that they would never ever breach. It's like talking to a brick wall. No recognition that, say, a rogue employee could be handing names out perhaps.

Anytime you get any "offer", "Discount", etc in an email from eBay, it is best to stop, and look on eBay, at your official eBay mail. If it is a valid offer (2nd Chance, etc), it will be on the official eBay mail site. If it is not on the eBay site...it is a scam!

[TomGoodheart 403]

It's interesting because when I started on ebay, you could see bidders and buyers IDs. This proved very helpful indeed, firstly because you could contact other ebay members with similar collecting interests (I have two contacts I made this way and from whom I have learned and benefitted immensely). Secondly because a few minutes checks and you could see where a seller's prices were repeatedly pushed up by the same underbidders all the time.

Ebay stopped all this by the introduction of anonymity for bidders. They explained that this was to stamp out this exact second chance scam, but in doing so changed how ebay worked as a community and made it harder to spot shill bidding.

Hence I'd be curious if in the end it hasn't helped.

Clearly it could be that the seller's account (or yours) have somehow been compromised, allowing the scammers to get the necessary info. But if it was because the information came from ebay (or paypal) it's even more worrying. Not that you'll get any admission that they are at fault of course ...

I suggest you change your ebay and paypal details if you haven't already.

[Colin88 54]

Unfortunately nothing on the internet is really secure be it eBay or Banking online....its doubly frustrating when these organisations take the view that there is nothing wrong with their systems and the problem must be with you...and triply frustrating when you have to discuss it with someone, whose first language isnt English and can only talk to you from a "script" and quadruply frusting when clearly they dont give a monkey's.

The flakeist and most dangerous is the Chip-and-Pin technology that is used in the UK...needless to say that we opted for the cheapest and least reliable technology on the market at the time about 10 years ago...it was already dangerously out of date software...and within 6 months of its introduction an estimated £200m had already been scammed...personally I dont know of a single friend that hasnt had one or several cards cloned or comprimised in the ensuing years.

I upgraded my SKY TV box today to HD....I had to speak to SKY Support....you would think that I was trying to buy industrial grade plutoniom with all the security questions I had to answer and failed (I couldnt remember the password from 14 years ago when I first got SKY)...I'm certain it would have been easier to buy a pound of heroin than to just upgrade your TV.

[1949threepence 3,367]

I very nearly fell for this today because it all looked so official. Please don't anyone else fall for it.

Basically I was the underbidder on a coin a couple of weeks ago and today I received an email, apparently from eBay, stating that the winner had defaulted and I could now buy it at my underbid price. This is eBay policy, and I've done it before on another item, so I was quite happy. It was only when I tried to actually complete the transaction that I became suspicious. The real seller had previously accepted the payment via Paypal (I'd bought another item from them) but this time wanted to complete the transaction with a bank transfer outside eBay. It was after this that I checked my eBay account and realised it wasn't an official eBay offer, and was a scam. I have since spoken with eBay who confirm this.

What eBay haven't been able to tell me is how the scammer got hold of all my details, as these certainly aren't shown in the bidding summary? The scammer had my name, email and postal address, matched up to my bidding on this item! eBay are still looking into the scam for me, but I'm not hopeful. Apparently they get many reports of this each day, which makes one wonder how secure their system is?

Anyway, in the meantime, if anyone gets a second chance offer be sure to check it thoroughly!

Have you spoken to the real seller, Steve, to see if e bay have alerted them ?

Clearly there is a potentially massive security issue here and e bay should be taking it much more seriously.

It's interesting because when I started on ebay, you could see bidders and buyers IDs. This proved very helpful indeed, firstly because you could contact other ebay members with similar collecting interests (I have two contacts I made this way and from whom I have learned and benefitted immensely). Secondly because a few minutes checks and you could see where a seller's prices were repeatedly pushed up by the same underbidders all the time.

Ebay stopped all this by the introduction of anonymity for bidders. They explained that this was to stamp out this exact second chance scam, but in doing so changed how ebay worked as a community and made it harder to spot shill bidding.

Hence I'd be curious if in the end it hasn't helped.

Clearly it could be that the seller's account (or yours) have somehow been compromised, allowing the scammers to get the necessary info. But if it was because the information came from ebay (or paypal) it's even more worrying. Not that you'll get any admission that they are at fault of course ...

I suggest you change your ebay and paypal details if you haven't already.

Being able to see full bidder's ID was always useful, Tom.

Unfortunately nothing on the internet is really secure be it eBay or Banking online....its doubly frustrating when these organisations take the view that there is nothing wrong with their systems and the problem must be with you...and triply frustrating when you have to discuss it with someone, whose first language isnt English and can only talk to you from a "script" and quadruply frusting when clearly they dont give a monkey's.

The flakeist and most dangerous is the Chip-and-Pin technology that is used in the UK...needless to say that we opted for the cheapest and least reliable technology on the market at the time about 10 years ago...it was already dangerously out of date software...and within 6 months of its introduction an estimated £200m had already been scammed...personally I dont know of a single friend that hasnt had one or several cards cloned or comprimised in the ensuing years.

I upgraded my SKY TV box today to HD....I had to speak to SKY Support....you would think that I was trying to buy industrial grade plutoniom with all the security questions I had to answer and failed (I couldnt remember the password from 14 years ago when I first got SKY)...I'm certain it would have been easier to buy a pound of heroin than to just upgrade your TV.

The level of ID from one organisation I dealt with made me sarcastically offer them a DNA sample. It was total overkill.

Unfortunately, it is innocent, genuine customers who are incovenienced and irritated by these ID requirements.

[Accumulator 52]

Have you spoken to the real seller, Steve, to see if e bay have alerted them ?

Clearly there is a potentially massive security issue here and e bay should be taking it much more seriously.

Yes, the seller confirms that the coin sold first time around and they have not contacted me. I do trust them, as they've sold to me previously (and other forum members).

eBay refuse to accept that they have a security 'leak' and keep pointing me towards their Privacy policy, which they claim never to breach. Naturally!

[1949threepence 3,367]

Have you spoken to the real seller, Steve, to see if e bay have alerted them ?

Clearly there is a potentially massive security issue here and e bay should be taking it much more seriously.

Yes, the seller confirms that the coin sold first time around and they have not contacted me. I do trust them, as they've sold to me previously (and other forum members).

eBay refuse to accept that they have a security 'leak' and keep pointing me towards their Privacy policy, which they claim never to breach. Naturally!

You could always pass on the fraudulent e mail address to the police.

Not sure how they'll react or what they'd do, but it might be worth a try.