I was recently seduced into investing in a new love – a shiny white MacBook. The upgrade was intensely satisfying, but left my old laptop out in the cold and in search of a new owner.
Drunk on Mac-y goodness, I log-on to eBay and post my sad rejected ex for sale. Within days I have an offer from the US for twice the reserve price. “Excellent!” I think, stupidly, and agree to remove the item from sale and receive payment via PayPal.
Never having used PayPal before I set up an account and sent a payment request to the account specified. All seems fine.
I shortly received notification from “PayPal” via email, stating that the payment had been received and was awaiting proof of shipping in order to clear to my account.
Here is where I get incredibly stupid.
The address the buyer sends me is in Nigeria.
Despite warnings and admonitions from my boyfriend, I can see no harm in sending it anyway – since the payment has cleared – and I certainly don’t want to be prejudiced and assume it’s a con just because the person happens to be from Nigeria.
Oh dear.
Item posted, I mention the situation to another friend of mine who urges me to check my PayPal account. Of course I have been scammed. The numerous “PayPal” notification emails are just good fakes, made using a free mail.com account, which can be customised to appear as anything people like (in this case payment@finance.com).
Luckily for me I was able to call Australia Post – who incidentally were extremely helpful – and have it sent back to me before it had left the country. All I lost was around 80 bucks postage and a considerable amount of pride.
I subsequently contacted PayPal and eBay regarding the scam and both reported looking into the matter, confirming I had been duped. However, there is little they can do if you fall for this kind of con.
So what can you do? TheVine asked Alastair MacGibbon, trust and safety director at eBay, what measures a buyer or seller can take to protect themselves against scams. "eBay has zero-tolerance to fraud,” he said, “and is at the forefront of online consumer protection.
“We work closely with the authorities and take action against sellers who do the wrong thing."
He advises shoppers review the buyer/seller's Feedback Rating (their virtual reputation), make sure you never agree to money transfers, and regularly update your anti-virus software.
But what about buyers?
By removing my item from sale and opting to conduct a private transaction I voided the protection I would have been afforded had I known to insist on processing the transaction through eBay. MacGibbon explains, "Scammers will often try to lure you off the site and encourage you to pay with untrackable payment methods such as money order.
To stay safe when selling (or buying) an item on eBay, always complete your transaction on the eBay site. We also recommend sellers and buyers use PayPal as their payment method to avoid sharing financial details. Sellers can also be covered by PayPal Seller Protection in the unlikely event that something goes wrong."
MacGibbon reminds us all: "If an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is."
If you find yourself in a similar situation or need more info on staying safe online you might like to have a look at these sites:
eBay:
eBay home page has a “LiveHelp” option just under the My eBay button on the top left of the page. You get live IM advice and assistance from an eBay operator. This service is absolutely fantastic.
For advice on protecting yourself from various scams see the
eBay Security CentrePayPal:
To report dodgy emails or activities, email: spoof@paypal.com
For more info on staying safe on PayPal visit their
Security CentreAustralia Post:
If you have sent a tracked international package you need to recall or have other questions contact Australia Post on 1800 007 678