HIJACKED EBAY accounts!!!!
@beaniefanatic13 (5076)
Grand Junction, Colorado
February 22, 2007 3:07pm CST
Sorry this is going to be a little long but I just want everyone to be warned. I have seen alot of people talking about the money that they'll be getting from mylot they plan to buy things on ebay. I to that hey that's a great idea so I set up an account last week. Great right? Figured I be ready when I had money in my pay pal account to go shopping. So my daughter sends me a link about this pink apple computer lap top. I was talking about wanting to get a lap top and I wanted one of those bright colored ones. She tells me it doesn't have a picture but check it out, so I click the link and their is a picture it's just further down on the page. It wasn't one of those hot pink and white ones I had on my head but a thin cotton candy pink, very sleek in design. The starting bid is $299 and their are no current bids, free shipping. I'm thinking wow. The seller states that it had been ordered and the perons cancelled prior to shipping, I'm thinking even better it's brand new. I know NOTHING about computers so I call my brother and ask him to take a look at the link that I'm sending him. So he does and he tells me something isn't right this computer retails for $2,800 WHY would they have a starting bid of $299, I don't know I say, so he does more checking this person selling item has wonderful feed back has been on ebay for almost 2 years sounds reputable and everything. He checks and after about 20 minutes finds that everything that they have up for sale right now is $299 all computer typee of stuff. Further investigation finds that all of the previous sales were of fishing equipment he says the account has been highjacked, on other items people actually had put red flags and said contact seller prior to bidding. So I sent a link to ebay the account was removed 5 monutes later.
I know nothing about how to check things out on the computer, but am learning. I just want everyone to be aware that just because it's on ebay and the seller has wonderful feed back doesn't mean that it's legite. I have seen several discussions about pay pal hijacking and have seen discussions about not getting what they thought they were getting from ebay but couldn't find a discussion about an ebay account being hijacked and felt this was to important not to post.
Does any one have any tips about how to not get scammed on ebay? What to look for specifically?
18 people like this
37 responses
@LittleMel (8742)
• Canada
22 Feb 07
I would say that reputation shouldn't be the only thing you look at when you are Ebay buyer. The reason was that the reputation there was rated by transactions done on Ebay items only, meaning the items they put up on auction or buy now feature at EBay. Ebay sellers also conduct transactions for items they do not sell or put on auction at Ebay, mainly because they have online store and do not necessarily use Ebay to sell their stuffs. These are transactions that Ebay can not trace and buyers will not be able to leave feedbacks on hence Ebay ratings are important but shouldn't be your primary consideration as a buyer. Avoid international sellers if at all possible and prices that are way way too low or too high. Do a search and compare with other sellers selling the same stuffs, and keep all your emails communication just in case. If the seller has an online store, visit that too but know that whatever you buy there are not necessarily Ebay items and if anything goes wrong, you're on your own.
5 people like this
@beaniefanatic13 (5076)
• Grand Junction, Colorado
22 Feb 07
Wow thank you so much for this advise. I guess it's the same as in person buyer beware if it sounds to good to be true it probably is. I will make sure that I check or have someone show me how to check things out before I actually start buying anything.
2 people like this
@onabreak2 (1161)
• United States
23 Feb 07
A seller cant list off site things on ebay. So if they have a store it is a Ebay store.
So I dont know how you can consider that the same as you would this ebay hi jacking??
If I have a private store off of Ebay then it would not have anything to do with Ebay. I guess I am not understanding what you are getting at here.
3 people like this
@beaniefanatic13 (5076)
• Grand Junction, Colorado
23 Feb 07
onabreak2, are you asking me? The item that I was looking at was definetly on ebay to be sold. Not an ebay store any other type of store. Just an individual. After I reported it to ebay all of there items were removed within 5 minutes.
2 people like this
@weemam (13372)
•
22 Feb 07
I am not 100% sure of all the facts but the gist of the story is , My friend bought something from eBay and at the very last minute the buyer upped the price , she had bid and been accepted for the original price , she refused to pay and the guy got really nasty with her , I am not sure what happened in the end , I do know she didn't pay but she was in a terrible state about it , I never have joined it for that reason , its probably only one case in thousands but it worried me xx
2 people like this
@beaniefanatic13 (5076)
• Grand Junction, Colorado
23 Feb 07
I actually had an account several years ago and bought a few beanies on there and never had a problem. But I wasn't buying anything expensive just a few stuffed animals. Then I just looked at how long the seller had been there and the feed back. I never had a problem. This bothered me as I did exactly what I had done in the past, had the item been something I knew about I wouldn't have even contacted my brother I would have just bidded. The old saying "Buyer beware" Now I know. :)
1 person likes this
@beaniefanatic13 (5076)
• Grand Junction, Colorado
23 Feb 07
So it sounds like ebay really tries to also protect all parties. That is nice to know. :)
1 person likes this
@LittleMel (8742)
• Canada
23 Feb 07
When did this happen? I remember that Ebay has regulations that if the item has been bid then the seller can't raise the price. Ebay might have put this regulation up because of what happened to your friend. So do you remember when did this happen? I am only a buyer for a year and seller for 6 months now so what happened to your friend could take place before that.
2 people like this
@Darkwing (21583)
•
22 Feb 07
I've never had any problems with EBay in two years of trading through them, except for one seller, from whom I ordered a very small item, withdrew, without sending my goods. EBay and Paypal cover this sort of thing very well, and I feel well-protected in trading through them. They answer your queries very quickly and in this instance, I put in a complaint that I'd paid my money and gone through all the right channels, trying to contact the seller to sort it out, and eventually asked them to take action. I received my money back in my account within 48 hours, so all was ok.
I never scanned for fake traders before. I always go by their feedback. I guess there's always one smartie pants who gets through the net, though.
2 people like this
@beaniefanatic13 (5076)
• Grand Junction, Colorado
22 Feb 07
That;s what I was doing looking at their feed back which was 100% positive. I had just asked my brother to look at the item to tell me was it a good deal, was it a good system and was it fast. He was the one that found out the stuff. He's the computer geek :) (said in a very loving voice).
So if I purchase through pay pal their is safety in that? I can get my money back if I never receive the item?
1 person likes this
@CallMeDaddy (535)
• United States
22 Feb 07
I had just got an email from ebay today about a few fraudulent accounts to watch out for. it is sad that people would take these skills that they can use to help people and do good things and use them for fraud. That makes it bad for people like myself with a legitimate ebay account. pretty soon people are not going to want to use ebay and then where does that leave the honest people. I tell you it is not right, but hey what you gonna do. You know. I hope that ebay does something security wise about this soon, because it not only harms sellers, and buyers, but most of all it will hurt ebay
2 people like this
@beaniefanatic13 (5076)
• Grand Junction, Colorado
22 Feb 07
True very true. I had read all the wonderfule feed back on the person and thought wow, that's wonderful and the item looked great, I had no idea what something like that retailed for, thank god for my brother and because of him I didn't get scammed and I hopefully by getting the items removed helped others from getting scammed.
It is sad that because of the fraud that goes on so many legitmate things get the short end of the stick. I hope that ebay is able to put something in place to protect all legitimate transactions. :)
1 person likes this
@jbrooks0127 (2324)
• United States
22 Feb 07
This is very good of you to point this out with personal experiance. It is so easy to forget that anywhere we shop on line could have this problem. Even the most respected accounts can and often are highjacked.
You may be aware of the attempts to obtain your sighnon information in paypal by telling you there is an account problem and to go to you account to fix it. Only you are directed to someone elses web page that captures you logon information.
Ebay is very popular and has been for a long time now. So of course someone will take advantage of this.
The only way you can watch for this is to be critical of everything you see. If it seems to good to be true it is. This demands futher checking just like your brother did.
It is fairly easy to check on computers and high end devices. The net will be loaded with information about what to expect if you look long enough. It's to low end things that you may not be able to check.
It is a shame that people are always there to take you if they can. Our job is to stop them.
2 people like this
@lingli_78 (12822)
• Australia
23 Feb 07
i never like and trust onlien shopping because i am the type of person who wants to physically look and touch the item before i bough it... also, there are too many fraud on the internet and i just can't risk myself to get into trouble... so, i never use online shopping before unless to buy an air ticket...
2 people like this
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
27 Feb 07
after reading that a person bought something and paid $400 for and all they got was a pic I would say it is not to safe to buy thru ebay , but they have been around for along time now so not all their fault but I do think they need to investigate all new comers to ebay to make sure they have what they are saying they are seling I only ordered on thing and I got that product but it was years ago before this fraud became into being. I would say if you can investigate like your brother would be the best possuible way to buy with out being scamed
1 person likes this
@beaniefanatic13 (5076)
• Grand Junction, Colorado
27 Feb 07
I don't think it's not safe that just the buyer definitely needs to aware and investigate thoroughly prior to purchasing. My brother will be the one I ask especially on any big ticket items. :)
@lauriefnp (5109)
• United States
22 Feb 07
It's a good thing that you were smart enough to have your brother check this out! I have used eBay for years and have never had a problem, but I order smaller items and items of less value like books, movies, children's toys and children's clothing. I have never considered ordering electronics or computers from eBay; it's so easy to find good sales on them locally, or even online at a reputable site where you will at least get a warranty of some kind. I guess that all you can do is to check their rating and be wary of an offer that sounds too good to be true. There are always scammers on any site, but eBay is probably one of the safest places to shop. I know that they are very responsive when there are problems or disputes between buyer and seller.
2 people like this
@jwfarrimond (4473)
•
22 Feb 07
Thanks for the heads up on this. I buy and sell on eBay - just personal stuff that i don't need anymore - nothing big. But I'll have a look to see what if anything eBay are saying about this.
2 people like this
@sunilkonda (1215)
• India
23 Feb 07
Thanks for the information...we will be cautious from now
2 people like this
@p8ntballr21 (857)
• United States
22 Feb 07
The internet is not a very safe place, I sure hope we all know that. If not, now you know.
When I shop on ebay I look at the following things:
Time on ebay, how long they have been a member.
Reputaion on ebay, how much good feedback they have and how many sales they have
Previously sold items, you will find it suspicious if someone has sold baseball cards all the time on ebay and all of a sudden iPod is sold.
You have to do your research in order to protect yourself, and even then, it isn't full protection.
2 people like this
@marian_o9 (980)
• Australia
22 Feb 07
wow... i've been using ebay for a few months now and all my transactions have gone fine.. thanks for the heads up though... i usually look at their feedback as well to see if they are legit but i guess as u sed that doesnt mean that they are. i guess you just need to be precautious like u said and ask anyone you know about the item u r willing to buy especially if it is expensive. thanks for the heads up !
@the_vicar (1477)
• United States
23 Feb 07
I have never ordered anything from ebay. I have heard horror stories about people getting ripped off such as bidding on an item and then paying for it and receiving the picture of the item.....Or a toy of the real thing. In other words, buyer beware!
@beaniefanatic13 (5076)
• Grand Junction, Colorado
23 Feb 07
I heard something on here about someone ordering some sort of computer disc and they had a hard time getting it and then when they did it was broken. They were asking for advice from here. "Buyer beware" is right. :)
@texasclassygal (5305)
• United States
23 Feb 07
Maybe he just changed inventory, kind of like what I did when I changed from inventory from selling fur coats to children's furniture, a big change but yet it is the same person.
1 person likes this
@beaniefanatic13 (5076)
• Grand Junction, Colorado
23 Feb 07
There were to many warnings on his other items for sale. All of the austions were removed within 5 minutes of my reposrting the account. I'm fairly certain that it was hijacked. As my brother said who would put a brand ne computer up for auction start bidding at $299 for something that retails for $2,800 doesn't make any cents. Even craigslist the cheapest that you can get this particular computer for is $1800 used. :)
@candygurl24 (1880)
• Canada
23 Feb 07
I always look for things that aren't normally expensive. I would hate to be scammed for any amount of money.
When you see something that seems too good to be true on there (Like a 3000.00 laptop for 300.00), it more than likely is. Stick to little things, and if you absolutely must have something more expensive, contact seller previous to buying along with ebay to make sure the account is legit.
1 person likes this
@aldinobello (13)
• Italy
23 Feb 07
Hello to everyone..i'm from Italy and i've a lot of experience on ebay because i buy and sell items since i was 15..i think that the only way to use in a good way the biggest site of auctions of the world is to see the feedbacks the seller has on ebay and the place he's located..never buy from sellers located in china,taiwan or other places like that..it's the only thing i can say about it..
1 person likes this
@samtaylorskykierajen (7977)
• Canada
23 Feb 07
Agh , I haven't bought much from ebay so don't know it all that well but thought if we checked their feedback that at least that was something to be able to rely on . I was one of the people that said I was going to use my money to buy off ebay .
I know that my friend has got stuff on ebay and then not recieved her stuff and for that reason I am very leary about spending a lot of money for something .
I would like to know some way that we could go about this without getting scammed now myself .
Thanks for the warning .
1 person likes this
@beaniefanatic13 (5076)
• Grand Junction, Colorado
23 Feb 07
Well the way my brother found out about this was going back through there history (and I have no idea how he did that) found out that all the previous stuff they had sold over the almost 2 years had been fishing stuff and then the jump over to computers and electronics for computers all items starting at the same price. Then when looking at the other items their were some sort of red flags from other members saying to contact buyer prior, possible fraud and things like that. I will definetly try to research before bidding and if still not comfortable will ask my brother for his assistance again. :) Good luck to you and just be careful, I'm sure there are more legitimate sellers than scammers.
@aretha (2538)
• United States
23 Feb 07
yes i do thanks to ebay. we found a hijacked or phishing page about a month ago. we had never used ebay before a beginner like you. the user had great feed back it was all very good we emailed back and forth with the guy and got some emails from ebay telling us what to do next so we did and we ended up loosing 2,600$. so after talking with live people from ebay they informed us that if we download there toolbar(free) you can see if you are on a real ebay site page or if any ebay page is real or hijacked. i would tell anyone that deals through ebay to get the bar.
1 person likes this
@beaniefanatic13 (5076)
• Grand Junction, Colorado
23 Feb 07
Thank you for sharing your story. Again it's buyer beware.
@mixey62 (305)
• United States
23 Feb 07
My ebay account was hijacked! They were trying to sell fake Gucci bags under my ID- 400 of them to be exact. The merchandise probably never existed...
Thankfully, I look at ebay most days and was suprised to find my password had been changed on me. Ebay informed me that someone had hijacked my account when I asked why this had happened- it actually took a week to clear up.
1 person likes this
@beaniefanatic13 (5076)
• Grand Junction, Colorado
23 Feb 07
Wow, I'm sorry that your account was hijacked. when that happens do you keep the same account? Do they take any negative feed back off that was created by the hijacker?
