There are also scammers romping around between the serious offers on Ebay classifieds, who want to trick you out of your money with clever tricks. But fraudulent offers can be exposed before the trade. TECHBOOK explains how you can protect yourself from the scams.
You can find everything on Ebay Classifieds. From books and toys to cars and electronic devices. But not every advertisement is serious. If an offer is too tempting, it could be a scam. But there are ways to unmask them.
Tips to help you spot scammers on Ebay Classifieds
A first warning sign that should make you suspicious: A user on Ebay classifieds demands the money in advance. After you have paid in advance, you will never see the goods. So that you do not become a victim of such fraudsters on Ebay classifieds, we will explain to you which abnormalities can indicate fraud:
- The item is very cheap, much cheaper than similar items are traded.
- The seller did not provide a phone number.
- The seller is a private seller.
- Payment should be made in advance.
- A personal meeting is not possible for various reasons.
- The seller offers other, high-quality items.
- The account has been recreated.
- The offer duration is less than one day.
Of course, not every advertisement without a telephone number or with a request for advance payment is automatically a scam. In fact, you will see one of these points met with almost every purchase. Important to recognize a scammer on Ebay classifieds: listen to your gut feeling! If the offer seems too tempting to be true, it usually isn’t. If the above points also apply, the alarm bells should ring.
Also interesting: 6 tips for the perfect ad on eBay classifieds
This is how you can protect yourself
In order to protect yourself and recognize scammers in time, there are a few simple tips that you should consider when using eBay classifieds.
Recognize reputable providers
The most important thing when buying and selling any goods or services on Ebay Classifieds is communication. If sellers exclude personal contact, users should become suspicious. In addition, contact should always be made via the platform. You can recognize fraudsters on Ebay classifieds primarily by the fact that they try to redirect communication to other channels (e.g. in messenger apps or e-mail). Behind this is often the attempt to process the payment outside of the platform and to urge the buyer to pay in cash or in advance. A look at the profile of the users does no harm. How long has he been active on eBay classifieds? For three years or for three days?
Especially with regard to holiday properties, users should find out as much information as possible about the provider. Providers of a holiday property are usually commercial and their websites therefore require an imprint. It contains important data from the provider that you, as a prospective customer, can use to check it for plausibility. A search engine search can already be enough to find other websites of the provider or reviews from other users. If you don’t find anything here, you should be careful. It is best to contact the provider in advance, for example by making a phone call, to check whether there is a real person or company behind the number given. In general, advance payments should only be made in the usual amount.
Also interesting: Triangle fraud on Ebay classifieds can happen to anyone!
Beware of unsafe payment methods
In general, picking up the goods personally on site is the best choice for both buyers and sellers. The goods can be inspected and the money handed over personally.
If a personal handover is not possible, a secure payment method should always be chosen. But beware: you should never pay by Western Union, PaySafe, MoneyGram or with cash in an envelope. Sellers should not accept such payments either. Checks are also not a secure payment method. They are often fake or later turn out to be invalid. Other unsafe payment methods are bank transfers to foreign accounts, payment with prepaid cards or trying to use cryptocurrencies.
Also interesting: Ebay prohibits sellers from using PayPal!
“Pay safely” with Ebay Classifieds
In addition to more secure payment methods such as PayPal, Ebay classifieds also offers its own payment system that works in a similar way. When shipping items, users can use “Pay Safely” from Ebay Classifieds. The function offers buyer and seller protection. The buyer pays a fee for this depending on the agreed purchase price. The seller can use the function free of charge. “Pay safely” ensures that the buyer gets the purchase price back if the item is not delivered or if it differs significantly from the description. The money is paid to the seller only after the buyer confirms receipt of the goods. In addition, payment data remain secret and do not have to be disclosed to the other party. In addition, the seller can protect himself from chargebacks of credit card payments or from accounts with insufficient funds when using the direct debit procedure.
Identify forged documents
Fraudsters go to great lengths to make fake documents such as ID cards, employment contracts, bank transfer receipts and even entire websites look real. As a user, you should not be fooled by a professional presentation with a serious-looking logo. A healthy degree of distrust is the motto here.
Google the company details in service or job advertisements. Is the information correct? In the case of concrete job offers, it is important to check all the information for plausibility. What is the work order? Does the task make sense and is it logical? Is the specified payment for it proportionate? A dubious job offer would be, for example, accepting packages from a stranger and forwarding them to them for a commission. A scammer could be hiding behind this who only wants to use an inconspicuous address for shipping fraud.
If users discover a suspicious advertisement or have already accepted such a dubious job offer, they should no longer carry out any further work for the alleged employer, document any correspondence and inform the police.
Protect your own data from misuse
If an interview takes place via zoom or a classic telephone call, you should never give out personal data, such as your home address, account data or personal account data from online platforms, or show it to the camera. Fraudsters could use the personal data to set up user accounts on online platforms in the applicant’s name or even open bank accounts to use for their criminal activities.
Never send a copy of your ID card
In addition, they should never transmit copies or scans of the identity card. Not even if the seller or sellers have already done so or are offering to do so in order to supposedly create trust. Because criminals also collect copies of other people’s ID cards on portals such as eBay classifieds. Their goal: identity theft. The consequence for you: a lot of trouble.
The criminals can use the copies to “identify” themselves to other, unsuspecting users if they are planning further fraudulent activities. And they misuse the ID card copies or photographs to open bank accounts in the name of their victims using the video identification process.
Appropriate: How to protect your personal data online
This is what you should do if you have been scammed
Despite all precautionary measures, have you fallen for a scammer on eBay classifieds? File a report with the responsible police station and present all collected evidence and correspondence to them. Ebay Classifieds assures the authorities of close cooperation in investigations.
This is how you play it safe with eBay classifieds
Basically, you should follow these guidelines to successfully complete a purchase on Ebay classifieds or similar portals and not fall for scammers:
- Contact the seller – preferably by phone.
- Ask the seller for their contact information, such as phone number and address.
- Save the advertisement and the e-mail correspondence with the provider.
- Ask if you can see an invoice for the device.
- Agree on pay on collection or a secure, escrowed payment method – such as PayPal or Secure Pay.
- Never pay by MoneyGram, Western Union or wire transfer, as it will be difficult to get back money already paid.