Cheated in Yahoo Auctions !!

[nhyone]

Originally posted by alloy
In the end they will say they "sueh sueh" kena cheated and all the money is gone. But funny thing is that they always dont appear poor after that. Get wat i mean ??

My philosophy is, if you can't beat them, join them. Why always be on the short end of the stick?

 

[alloy]

Hhahaha, no lah i havent been cheated yet lah. But even if i do get cheated i doubt i would wanna join them and cheat others. Since i dont like to get cheated, better dont cheat others also. Im not trying to sound noble here, but i guess its bad karma for myself too if i go around cheating.

 

[newuser]

Originally posted by alloy
Thats y i dont really like all these card card things lah. Will spend w/o thinking and feeling the pinch, plus the danger of those computer experts/hackers in getting the card info and then cheat ur money etc. But i must agree that they do make alot of things more convenient at least.

I think you are watching too many "Hackers" movies.

The problem with hackers is that they will not bother attacking small fries. An a good firewall software from Symantec or Mcafee (I don't trust free ones like ZoneAlarm) will defer 99% of the hackers, except maybe the really good ones.

If they are good enough to bypass the commerical firewalls, I think they won't bother about the small fries, I would rather attack the bigger fishes.

Just educate yourself and your sister and take precautions (firewalls, antivirus and scan for spyware using Ad-ware weekly), and it's relatively safe to do online purchases.

I hope your unhappy experience have not put you off online purchase.

online merchants like amazon.com are very trustworthy, their service is excellent. I have had many good purchases from them.

I even sent back a DVD with a cracked DVD cover using their return policy and they resent a new one with an apology promptly.

 

[alloy]

Wat u said is quite true lah.

We didnt transact thru a credit card , so i gather that isnt so much of a problem. As for hacking, like wat u said, they dont care about small fries like us, but why then are we always so afraid to divulge all those card numbers etc. Perhaps they really do have a use for all these numbers and many are jus waiting for the time when we get careless and give out the card information etc and then use that at our disadvantage. I really dunno if wat i have jus said is true anot cos im not a card user and will not say that card using is bad and all that. Its jus that im sure a person like me is certainly not suitable to use Credit Cards, cos not only am i quite careless but i will spend horrendously at the same time

 

[baobei]

Alloy

hope the following will help, from another forum on Internet fraud.
Lodge complain to Yahoo, make sure they don't register with another credit card with the same name and address to con others.


"It will be helpful to forward a photo of the items you received when making a complaint to Ebay together with the auction item #.

Another alternative is to use Square Trade Online Dispute Resolution as an intermediary. They offer a free web based forum for you and the seller to resolve the problem. Apparently a majority of Ebay complaints are resolved through Square Trade. HTHs!

Also, please warn other MUAers of this person through your notepad and at Swaptawk. Good luck"

www.swaptawk.com

Not too sure what is this website about.

 

[discolite]

Just a word of warning. Credit/debit card buyer protection only works for official transactions. This means from online merchants, or auctions that did *not* end prematurely, as in your case. What this means is, do NOT transact outside of the auction unless the guy has a lot of positive feedback. If you can, ask people in his feedback history for confirmation of his integrity. I find the eBay feedback system is a pretty reliable indicator, anyone with 20+ *recent* ones is a pretty good bet. Too far in the past and the guy could be back for one big con, or it could have been hacked into. Also check if the item is in line with his normal wares - for eg, an eBay camera shop suddenly selling jewellery is reason to be suspicious.

Yahoo auctions are a bit more risky, simply because unlike eBay it's free to list and I'm sure people take advantage of that.

Paypal protection only works IF the guy has enough money in his account to reclaim at point of investigation. If he's taken your money and run, which is very likely given he's a conman and knows his tricks, you're left with your pants figuratively around your ankles.

I lost US$100 once to a fraudulent eBay seller, Paypal wouldn't repay me for reasons mentioned above, but UOB debit card protection came through with flying colours.

Never (ever ever ever!) pay using Western Union, eEscrow, etc, no matter what the hell they say, no matter how high their feedback is. Absolutely never. If they do that much online business, I guarantee you that they should have a proper credit card facility or accept Paypal.

Hope this helps for future occasions, but it looks like, sadly, this is as you say a lesson learnt for which you won't be able to recover the cash. Just wondering, how much did your sister lose?

 

[aosis]

I've used Western Union Bidpay for all the transactions. Still workout well. Touch wood !

 

[discolite]

Oh and to comment on what baobei said, don't waste your time on Square Trade Online Dispute Resolution. After you've lodged your complaint, they'll send an email to the accused party. If they don't respond (which of course they won't if it's a con job), that's it, case closed, you're screwed.

Absolutely useless system, except for honest mistakes. I think it was just set up by eBay to appease the pissed off hordes, but they forgot to institute a system that works...

Oh, Western Union Bidpay is okay because it's a money order/bank draft system (which requires them to give you their real name/address), and not a money transfer one (which has so many loopholes they can exploit).

 

[Giantnookie]

Just a note.

Ebay and paypal's policies protects US citizens more than anyone else.

Singapore is on their list of high credit card frauds, due to the amount fraud cases here.

And for those that got cheated or conned on ebay using paypal, you can jolly well forget about getting any money back.

i once got cheated of $89SGD.
After 3 months of grueling email corresponding with ebay, paypal and online fraud reporting, i got no more news from them.

Their reason?
My transaction was already more than 3 months and they can't do anything about it.

Ebay has been playing taiji with paypal too, pushing to and fro and shifting the blame to each other.

In the end no claims were processed.

So really no point if you realized you got conned and reported the matter within 3, 4 days or anything less than a month.

In the end, you will not get any money back.

 

[alloy]

She lost about usd 1000+. And thats my money

Haiz, never mind lah, she is my sis lah, money not as important lah.

 

[alloy]

Ok, will jus wait and wait. If confirm kena cheated liao then will try to see wat i can do. If too troublesome and waste too much time and money then i think jus too bad liao lah.

But i must really thank u bro/sis for ur help and advises.
I definitely will turn to u guys in future for advises if ever i wanna purchase anything online.

 

[hongsien]

When you sent a wire transfer through your bank, you were given the persons name and address and bank's name/address, isn't it? These are always the name of the cheater (or an accomplice) as he/she needs to collect the money. With that you can always inform the FBI at this site:

http://www1.ifccfbi.gov/index.asp

I have never tried it though (fortunately), but give it a try. Also, give some time for the item t arrive, maybe it was sent to you by mail, it typically takes about 7-10 days to arrive from the states. When did you send the funds? takes about 3-4 days to arrive also to the states. So, if he immediately sent it out, it could well take at the most (if you are unlucky) 14-15 days.

Sometimes people don't acknowledge receiving funds or sending out the items. Follow their other auctions as well..........

Regarding Paypal: there are so many horror stories about them, they do protect the buyer more than the seller. Scammers also use western union (NOT bidpay) often. Just read the international board on eBay:

http://forums.ebay.com/db1/forum.jsp?forum=31

Good luck!
Hong Sien

 

[baobei]

Originally posted by aosis
I've used Western Union Bidpay for all the transactions. Still workout well. Touch wood !

What is this Western Union bidpay?

Paypal is quite shitty to use as well, both for the buyer and seller apparently.

www.paypalwarning.com.
www.paypalsucks.com

seems there isn't any reliable method out there which offers protection for online buyers and sellers, particularly auction items.

 

[baobei]

Originally posted by newuser
I think you are watching too many "Hackers" movies.

The problem with hackers is that they will not bother attacking small fries. An a good firewall software from Symantec or Mcafee (I don't trust free ones like ZoneAlarm) will defer 99% of the hackers, except maybe the really good ones.

If they are good enough to bypass the commerical firewalls, I think they won't bother about the small fries, I would rather attack the bigger fishes.

Just educate yourself and your sister and take precautions (firewalls, antivirus and scan for spyware using Ad-ware weekly), and it's relatively safe to do online purchases.

I hope your unhappy experience have not put you off online purchase.

online merchants like amazon.com are very trustworthy, their service is excellent. I have had many good purchases from them.

I even sent back a DVD with a cracked DVD cover using their return policy and they resent a new one with an apology promptly.

if they didn't bother with small fries, that 600 pounds wouldn't have been lost isn't it?

 

[hongsien]

With Bidpay you pay using your credit card (+small fee) and they will mail a money order to the seller (can be outside USA). The MO is issued by Western Union but can not be cashed in at the Western Union (I think). If you are accepting these Bidpay MO's, you can give it to your local bank BUT you have to pay hefty fees (up to S$30!!) AND it takes 30 days to clear! They have to send the US MO back to the US to your bank's affiliated bank and cash it in. Very troublesome! Singaporeans can cash in at the Post office MO's from the following countries: UK, Australia and Japan (International Postal Money Orders) Note: NOT FROM THE US!! .

Another way is www.moneybookers.com
Go tho their website and read how it works.

Hong Sien

 

[newuser]

Originally posted by baobei
if they didn't bother with small fries, that 600 pounds wouldn't have been lost isn't it?

I am refering to hackers who hack into your PC or bank account not conman or internet fraud.

 

[finkster]

Originally posted by baobei
if they didn't bother with small fries, that 600 pounds wouldn't have been lost isn't it?

Every experience mentioned here is becos of online fraud & cheating, not 'hacking'.

I've purchased stuff online back in the early days when there was no such thing as Paypal or whatever crap system we have nowadays. What you had to do was email the shop your credit card number WITH the expiry date, & trust that they do the right thing. Bloody risky? Yes...absolutely!

The most important thing whenever you do your shopping online is to know who you are dealing with. That's it. If you are prepared to take the risk with strangers trying to peddle their used wares, then the price had better be worth the risk. You also gotta be prepared to lose all your money if you are prepared to trade this way.

For me, online purchases of used goods is absolutely no way. Not so much becos of the hassle & risk of fraud, but the fear that I may not be getting what the seller claimed. I'd rather pay a bit more locally and meet the seller face to face with the item in my hands before deciding.

Hope your sis doesn't feel too bad & guilty about losing your money.

 

[alloy]

Wat u said is vey true. I think everytime we wanna do an online trading dealing with total strangers overseas, there will be that danger. If we are prepared to deal under such circumstances, we should be prepared to lose all too. Even if the fraud is as simple as not getting wat we wanted in the first place. Thats the risk.
My sis is feeling guilty of cos, but i had consoled her and told to forget about the money issue lah. Think i dont want her to feel bad and all that jus becos of a sum of money thats not really that huge. Jus treat it as i broke an L lens accidentally lah.

 

[anthony.phua]

A bit sidetrack here. 2 years back, I wanted a Nokia Phone not available in Singapore so I sent a brank draft to this UK Guy. After he receivde my funds, his website disappeared and he stopped corresponding to me.

I immediately called the bank to stop the bankdraft. Had to pay S$35 for charges and it was 1 month after I've sent the bankdraft. The person has received the bankdraft too and cashed it. Thank goodness the bankdraft wasn't cleared *yet*. So I managed to get my money back!

Lesson here is : Don't buy from unreliable sources..no matter how tempting it is

 

[dragius]

Hello all, i realised i was almost duped and the advert is still in yahoo now!

http://page.auctions.shopping.yahoo.com/sg/auction/75636383