EBay fraud, dangerous downloads, investment and credit card hoaxes - the dizziness of the ancient art is alive and well above the Internet. And here’s how to ensure that you do not have the next victim.
Maxon Christmas thought, she knew that the advantages and disadvantages of online auctions. Indeed, it was a big fan of EBay. So when she decided to buy a DVD player last fall, Web designers and the people of Crested Butte, Colorado, led the auction house. She found a model to please, with a detailed description of the product, but there was one drawback: The seller was new to eBay, not a single comment to its entry in the valuation profile. Maxon was not deterrent, though. “The collection was very professional, and I was pleased to see that the seller accepts PayPal [the payment service provider],” she recalls.
Maxon has bid $ 500, and bingo-test - the DVD player she was. Or if she thought. PayPal seller’s credit for the full amount, but never received Maxon players. And it was not the only remain high and dry. The same vendor - allegedly operating from Michigan - appears to have bid around 500 points of about 200 people, without ever delivering the goods. Maxon believes that the scammers is made more than $ 40000 in “Winning” commandments.
EBay immediately suspended the seller of another transaction. Maxon complaints filed directly with the FBI, the Federal Trade Commission and Michigan State Public Prosecutor General Office, but time is running out, the seller is not a crime. Insofar as Maxon and his colleagues and bidders can not say it is too big. “All these types of putting again, eBay, with a new user ID and he is back in business”, says Maxon.
This online auction bidder 200 Maxon’s Fall were thousands of consumers to take the table, with artists on the Internet during the last year. According to the FTC, Internet crime in 2000 increased by over 14 per cent, the Federal Centre received more than 18700 complaints in 1999, and that number jumped nearly 21400 in 2000.