There are numerous fraudsters on Ebay who want to steal sensitive data and rob users of their money. But with a little attention, you can spot many scams and defend yourself against the attempted fraud.
Where money flows, there is almost always cheating. Unfortunately, this is also the case on Ebay. Some scammers aim to hack accounts. Others want to steal sensitive data via phishing and still others want to get rich directly by manipulating the buying process. These scammers target everyone, whether buyers or sellers. TECHBOOK brings you six common scams to help you spot them.
The 6 nastiest scams on Ebay
1. The triangle scam
The triangle scam is fairly common on Ebay and aims to steal a product that is for sale. The perfidious thing about this scam is that you usually only notice the fraud when it is already too late.
An example: A fraudster chooses an offer for an expensive smartphone from seller A and imitates it by opening his own advertisement where he offers the smartphone for the same price. User B buys the fake device from the fraudster – and the fraudster gives him the bank details of seller A. Because at the same time the fraudster bought the smartphone from seller A and now only has to wait: User B unknowingly transfers the money to seller A and expects the smartphone in return. Seller A, on the other hand, believes he has received the money from his buyer, i.e. the scammer, and sends the smartphone to his address.
The stupid person is now user B – he has paid, but does not get any goods from the scammer because his advertisement was only a fake. With the actual smartphone, the fraudster has long been over the mountains. If User B manages to locate the person to whom he sent the money, he can try to get his money back. After all, there was no valid contract of sale between A and B. If this is successful, seller A is left with no money and no smartphone – but he has the fraudster’s address. With a bit of luck and effort, this fraud can be uncovered. Still, he’s annoying.
You can read more about the triangle fraud in the linked article.
2. The exchange trick
The exchange trick is mostly used for expensive electronic devices. For example, if someone sells a smartphone, the scammers snap up, bid for the device and pay for it. Up to this point everything is running smoothly. After a short time, however, a complaint is made about the device and the scammer sends it back. However, it is not the original smartphone that is being returned, but an identical, defective device. If the seller cannot prove the exchange with a device number, then he must reimburse the scammer for the defective device.
Tip for sellers: Make sure that you can clearly identify the device sold using invoices, photos of the device number or similar!
Also read: New phishing scam targets sellers on Ebay classifieds
3. The cash on delivery trick
Some Ebay sellers only want to send the goods cash on delivery because that is supposedly the safest way. Only when the buyer has received the shipment does he pay the amount due directly to the postman. The catch: Very few people check whether the content is really correct. Usually the postman gets his money, and only when he is gone, the package is opened. Scammers often fill such packages with junk or rocks to trick the buyer. However, he only notices this when it is too late.
Tip: Always open cash on delivery items in the presence of the postman.
4. The payment scam
The payment scam is actually easy to see through. In such cases, the fraudsters want the payment not to go through Ebay. A common method is direct transfer to the fraudster’s account before receiving the goods. After the transfer, the buyer is rid of his money and is left without any goods. Since the sale did not go through Ebay, the seller is not obliged to clarify the problem. Ebay users should be particularly careful when dealing with trading partners from abroad.
5. The secure payment trick
The trick aimed at sellers is even more perfidious. They receive a message that appears to be from Ebay asking them to solve the payment problem that the “buyer” claims to be having. To do this, the message refers to a link that the seller should click on. The link leads to an external website where the seller should enter their credit card details. This phishing method can make you lose a lot of money very quickly. In such a case, contact your bank immediately to reverse unauthorized debits and block your credit card.
Tip: Don’t let supposedly authentic Ebay messages lead you to external websites where you should enter your credit card details.
6. The hacked Ebay account
A variant that is used very frequently is the hijacked Ebay account. After a transaction, fraudsters use the Ebay user’s data to hack their account and change their password. The thieves first crack the user’s private e-mail account, then they select the “Forgot password” option on the Ebay registration page and have a new password sent to the e-mail account that has been taken over. You change the password and thus have full access to the Ebay account.
Identity theft is one of the most common online crimes. Users usually realize too late that they have fallen into the trap of the perpetrators. In order to protect themselves as well as possible when surfing the net, users should therefore pay attention to the common rules:
Install virus protection on your PC or laptop and do not open any documents or e-mails from unknown senders or sources. Criminals like to smuggle in malware via these channels, which they can use to crack e-mail accounts or read keyboard entries, for example. Also secure your access with a secure password. This should consist of at least ten characters with special characters and upper and lower case letters. Avoid using a password more than once or using very similar passwords in different accounts. A password generator can help with the definition, and there are secure password managers for saving access.
Also read: Private sellers do not have to exclude liability on Ebay
What can I do if my account has been hacked?
You should act as quickly as possible – and follow these four steps:
- Contact Ebay if you think someone has hacked into your account. This happens over this website.
- Contact eBay support. This is under the number 0800-723 57 05 free of charge and available from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Please have your username, real name and address and a valid e-mail address ready.
- Change your password and, if necessary, the security questions. Then log in and check your personal data.
- Run a virus scan to check if there is malware on the computer.
In order to better protect the account from future attacks, the so-called two-factor authentication is ideal, as also offered by PayPal. For each login, Ebay then also sends a PIN via SMS to the previously stored phone number. Even if strangers have knowledge of the access data for an account, they will not be able to log in without this additional PIN.
Also read: How to spot scammers on Ebay classifieds
How can I spot scammers on Ebay?
The seller’s rating profile is the first point of contact for users to better assess the seller. The more positive reviews it has, the greater the chance that it is an honest seller. Newly registered sellers should avoid skeptical users as much as possible. The same applies to those sellers who come from countries like Romania or China and whose authenticity cannot be proven.
What should I pay attention to if I want to sell something?
If, as a seller, you want to avoid being ripped off by the buyer (example: triangular fraud), you can restrict the group of buyers. Although he can reach fewer people with his offer, he can possibly filter out possible fraudsters. The selection of buyers is possible in the seller settings under “Ebay account”. Here, for example, buyers who do not have a Paypal account or who have violated Ebay principles in the past can be excluded.
Another no-go: never send goods for which you have not yet received any money! You should also not get involved in a sudden change of address. In this way, goods can be forwarded to third parties.