Over the last decade, the eBay auction site has become legendary across the world as the source of many fantastic bargains in all types of goods. Many individuals have saved thousands of dollars or obtained rare goods just not available anywhere else. Unfortunately, it is also becoming more and more infamous as a den of thieves. Now don’t get me wrong, most of the sellers doing business on eBay are honest and legitimate businessmen and businesswomen simply trying to just sell their products and keep their customers happy. These good folks certainly make up the vast majority of sellers. However, because of the large amounts of money changing hands and its anonymous nature, eBay has also become a safe harbor for thieves, scam artists, and computer con men. The problem for most buyer is determining which is which before they make a purchase. Until eBay takes concrete efforts to require that sellers are legitimate, traceable, real individuals, and make it difficult to create phony identifications, the number of con artists and criminals working eBay will continue to increase.
So who am I to write this? Well, I have been registered on eBay selling and buying gemstones, crystals as well as gold and silver jewelry since 1999. During that time, I've completed many thousands of transactions, and have been myself the target of scams and frauds are regular basis. In fact, everyday I get about 20 e-mails from con men phishing, trying to takeover my eBay account for their nefarious purposes. There are more than plenty of dishonest people already buying or selling on eBay and because eBay isn’t going to do much about it, you are going to have to protect yourself! I am this free information to help and make you aware of just what is going on. Let the buyer BEWARE! Never forget that if a deal seems too good to be true, it almost certainly is put there to rip you off in one way or another.
Here's a listing of the ten of the most common scams which continue to be used on eBay in various forms and mutations meant to trick the gullible eBay viewer into permanently parting with his or her cash. Many of these are standard con games which have been used for many years outside the Internet, but are now being modified and adapted for use on eBay and other similar auction sites.
1. Take over someone else’s account, and if possible, steal their whole identity.
2. Sell items and goods that you don’t own.
3. Old School Bait and Switch Tactics: offer something great, but sell them junk.
4. Pyramid Scheme Recruitment: Find gullible individuals to work for you.
5. Fencing Stolen Property on EBay: who needs a pawn shop nowdays?
6. Selling illegal and counterfeit goods: knock offs and frauds
7. Schill bidders: bump up the prices on your goods
8. Phony second chance offers to failed bidders.
9. Phony Escrow Service Scams: get the big money!
10. Scams Done by the Buyer to the Seller: scam the honest businessman
Well, I hope that this is enough data to tell you that it is important to be careful on eBay, but I have a whole lot more information on my website. I’d like to provide you with a full description of these scams and information about how to protect yourself and minimize your risk when you do business on eBay. I have written a free e-book the “Encyclopedia of eBay Fraud" which is divided into three detailed portions, covering
Section 1: 10 Common Scams, Cons, Frauds and Rip-offs on EBay
Section 2: 10 Important techniques to protect yourself from criminals on EBay
Section 3: 5 Things to do if you've already become a victim of crimes on EBay
To learn more about how to protect yourself and stay safe, click here to read this important e-book:
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Chris Ralph writes a monthly series of articles on small scale mining and prospecting for the ICMJ Mining Journal. He has a degree in Mining Engineering from the Mackay School of Mines in Reno and markets his own line of gemstones and jewelry. His web home page can be viewed at: http://nevada-outback-gems.com
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