Fraudsters have struck eBay Malaysia once again. Some of our innocent members, Buyers and Sellers alike, have reportedly been scammed.
One Seller has been conned of shipping out a mobile phone to, of all countries, Nigeria. I wonder how this Seller can ship out an item when payment is not in his hands yet. Ya, these Nigerians can be very persistent and convincing but still .... is it voodoo?
There are also a few Buyers who were conned of quite a large sum of money by a smartie joker who was "selling" laptops. Isn't it typical? These conmen ALWAYS "sell" highend electronic items which cost thousands of Ringgit. Moreover, such a Seller will always bid on and win the item himself and then offer it to the second highest bidder.
This way, the Buyer (second highest bidder) will not be protected by eBay's Buyer Protection Policy, since the sale is not on record.
This Seller will be so kind as to sell his item at way below market price, and also reserve the unit for the Buyer (eventual victim) and then "chase" for payment by making up plenty of sob stories.
Chasing for payment is understandable even in a legitimate transaction, but only if there's no response from the Buyer and if it has already been longer than the stipulated time period.
If the Seller is unreachable by mobile phone, despite him giving you a number to call, to allay your fears, then Buyer should be alarmed. In today's IT world, being unreachable is not an excuse anymore.
Alot of victims have already sworn off e-commerce due to the rampant fraud cases. If trading platform companies like eBay and Lelong do not continue to crack down on members with ill intentions and tighten rules for the benefit of everyone, then where would that leave legitimate Sellers like me?
Monday 24 July 2006
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