For eBay listings, here are a couple quick steps to knowing thy seller:
1) Check their feedback - have they sold before?
2) How long have they been on eBay?
3) Does the listing tell you to contact them by email and list the email in the item description, stating that there is some reason their eBay email doesn't work? That's a bad sign.
4) Are they listed as registered in Canada but they want you to send a wire transfer to another country? That doesn't sound right, does it?
5) Are they insisting on being paid by Western Union money transfer or money gram?
6) Do they insist on you paying via an escrow company other than Escrow.com?
7) Did they contact you via the Contact eBay Member email forwarding system and say it was a "second chance offer" and their bidder backed out? Second chance offers show up in your My eBay - go in there to verify it was a real offer and not someone trolling the site.
8) Do they offer to do the transaction off-eBay for less money or do they promise you the item if you go off-eBay and just pay them via Western Union wire transfer? Please be aware that you will not be covered by the eBay and PayPal protection plans if the item does not end on the eBay platform and the transaction goes bad.
I'm not trying to worry people, just make you stronger online users. Remember, the number of frauds on eBay is very very small. We have teams of people working around the clock to keep bad listings and bad sellers off the site. We also have people who monitor accounts to see if they have been taken over. We work with law enforcement to get the bad guys in jail. We educate new users on how to stay safe online and most of all we have a community of users who keep each other safe by posting tips, helping each other identify fake emails, and reporting suspicious behaviour and spoof sites to us. This is our best asset, in my opinion.
I would like to thank you for your time and your attention. Happy (and safe) shopping folks!!!
Moira
