eBay fraud!

I got scammed and just received a refund from paypal.

eBay scammer id: refinnej143

Paypal scammer email: lkirby7656@aol.com

I did a buy it now and used PayPal, it seemed fishy after the whole
Process started. Seller had good ratings and good communication before purchase. They provided a fake tracking number after funds cleared and I called paypal right away.

PayPal was actually pretty solid on this one, took 1 day and they had the money in my account.

Scammer was exceptionally deceptive obviously pretending to be 2 different people (one on eBay and one on PayPal).

Lesson learned if it's too good to be true it likely is.

Even though PayPal did well it was pretty stressful having to deal with getting money back on a complete fraud transaction. There is always a small chance that the seller can win these disputes which is why I will likely never use ebay for anything over 100$ ever again.

I too only use EBay for purchading inexprnsive items.

shocking

What did you buy? Did you pay $1k for a 5dIII or something else???

I bought a 500mm f4 is II for 6350$

It looked too good to be true but the communications as solid and I figured it could be an estate sale or something like that.

I took a chance and gambled in hopes that PayPal protection would cover me and they did.
In retrospect it was not worth it I would not behave like that agin but at the time it looked solid and I believed the deal was real.

PayPal was extremely helpful and efficient, open and closed case.

The scammer apparently sent a host of documentation to paypal to try and win the case, PayPal told me it was not even close, but it's crazy that they are so fierce with their scammmery.

Part of me wants to pursue a law suit toward the individuals involved.

It's crazy to think people can get away with a slap on the wrist when trying to steal thousands of dollars when people get thrown in jail for less.

Thanks for the warning ahead.
Beside "too good to be true", what else prompted your suspicion? You said the seller had good reviews, that's something most people go after.

mikeassk wrote in post #17101494
I bought a 500mm f4 is II for 6350$

dchen99 wrote in post #17101592
Thanks for the warning ahead.
Beside "too good to be true", what else prompted your suspicion? You said the seller had good reviews, that's something most people go after.

I think it's very important to look at which items the feedback is on, rather than just look at the feedback score as a whole.

This seller has 225 positive feedbacks, however, only 23 were received as a seller.

http://feedback.ebay.c​om …143&ftab=Feedba​ckAsSeller

Looking at the list, most items they listed were well under $100 and nothing photographic. Definitely a sign of a hacked account.

Also, a price 30% below the typical used price for the lens is another point of suspicion...

PhotoPrice wrote in post #17101607
I think it's very important to look at which items the feedback is on, rather than just look at the feedback score as a whole.

This seller has 225 positive feedbacks, however, only 23 were received as a seller.

http://feedback.ebay.c​om …143&ftab=Feedba​ckAsSeller

Looking at the list, most items they listed were well under $100 and nothing photographic. Definitely a sign of a hacked account.

Also, a price 30% below the typical used price for the lens is another point of suspicion...

The seller was inactive after 2010. In 2011, sold one item. And 2013, sold a $2 ring.

i have only been buying under 200. items from e-bay just because of the risk factor! and i don't ever think i'll buy a camera or lens there,but its nice to hear you got your money back,would you risk doing it again !!

blanex1@netzero.com wrote in post #17101622
i have only been buying under 200. items from e-bay just because of the risk factor! and i don't ever think i'll buy a camera or lens there,but its nice to hear you got your money back,would you risk doing it again !!

Really??? Well, you are overly cautious. I sold and bought plenty of cameras and lenses on Ebay. You just need to know that if the price is too good to be true, maybe it is. And you have to look and study the feedback. Is the seller a vendor? How active the seller is? What items they usually sell? And the photo quality of the items too. I just bought a Sigma 17-50 f2.8 OS Nikon from a Hong Kong vendor. $340 versus retail price over $500. The lens arrived to NYC within 3 days, from HK!!!! Brand new with only a Japanese warranty. Last week, I just bought a Nikon D300 with only 5k shutter counts, $375. It should get here this Wednesday. One issue is that it has no charger. The seller has over 1k feedback with no negative ones. He is specialized in estate sales dealing with bike and camera gear.

i bought some expensive things off of ebay...nothings ever happened...and in the large majority of instances when there is a scam, ebay and paypal take care of it...so i really think there are other things to worry about...yeah don't bid on things that look like a scam, and you'll save yourself any headaches

i recently bought a backpack, that i was pretty sure was a scam, shipping from china...received an email from ebay saying that they had removed the item, and if i had already paid, not to worry about it...so i'm not sure if something is going to be coming or not...but they also said if i had any problems they would be solved right away...so i'm giving the seller a couple weeks to see if i i get the backpack.

ebay's got plenty of good deals though, i'd say more deals than scams

dchen99 wrote in post #17101592
Thanks for the warning ahead.
Beside "too good to be true", what else prompted your suspicion? You said the seller had good reviews, that's something most people go after.

Well when they sent a bogus tracking number I asked what was up and got a response that was total bs. They said it was an accident and they would ship on Monday but I knew it was a ploy to buy time to get the money out of the likely hacked paypal account because PayPal and eBay said that now that a tracking number has been submitted it was up to me to prove I had not received a package. It was pretty easy because ups said the package to that tracking number had been left at the door of another address.

I am not quite sure how the scammer was intending on getting away with this. In all likelihood they may try this so many times and have the occasional computer novice or elderly person that gets frustrated with the process and gives up perhaps. It took hours (4-5) of phone calls with paypal to get my case closed as efficiently as they did.

Pay pal told me they had submitted supporting documents that would enable them to win the case.

PhotoPrice wrote in post #17101607
I think it's very important to look at which items the feedback is on, rather than just look at the feedback score as a whole.

This seller has 225 positive feedbacks, however, only 23 were received as a seller.

http://feedback.ebay.c​om …143&ftab=Feedba​ckAsSeller

Looking at the list, most items they listed were well under $100 and nothing photographic. Definitely a sign of a hacked account.

Also, a price 30% below the typical used price for the lens is another point of suspicion...

Yes you are right about all of that.

I did a buy it now on my phone while driving home from a shoot.

When I got home I looked closer on the computer and I will admit it looked super fishy so I ebay messaged the seller and asked if everything was ok and that I was going to pay after I got confirmation that it was legit. Communication was solid and they even talked about the lens. They appeared educated. I then called paypal and told them I was going to pay for this item but had suspicions that it was a scam, they told me I was 100% covered no matter what, they even put me on hold to check the listing.

At that point I paid, thought I was going to get a good deal. I watched the payment clear got the bogus tracking number and immediately opened the case.

PayPal did good on their word, the money is now transferring back into my bank account (Sunday) after clearing payment on Thursday. That's pretty amazing, especially since I have heard so much negative banter about paypal.

One thing that is interesting is that I learned through research how troubling it must be as a seller. Not just in fraud cases but in cases with unhappy buyers. Paypal seems to just side with the buyer on most occasions. I am afraid to sell through paypal after all I have read.

And I just sold my 30D for $160 shipped on Ebay. I was trying to sell it here but someone was generous enough to offer me $100!!! Hahahaha....