Before it gets to that stage, however, check out the seller’s profile – is it brand new? What’s their feedback like? Also, talk to them. Your ‘seller’ has duplicated a genuine listing – either from eBay or another second-hand car site – masqueraded as the owner of the vehicle, and vanished with your money. When you get there, the car’s there, but the seller has no idea who you are, and says that it wasn’t listed on eBay, or that no-one has paid for it. You’re in love with the car, so you make a payment and head off to collect your new vehicle. eBay scam 3: The copycat carīuying a car on eBay, you’ve been persuaded by the seller to complete payment outside of eBay. Scrutinize the emails, including the senders address – although because eBay and PayPal messages are totally automated, they can be convincingly duplicated. Also, check that the PayPal email doesn’t mysteriously arrive before the eBay email notifying you of a sale – eBay’s messages should always come through first. But you’ve been scammed – the email was a carefully designed hoax, and there’s no money in your account.Ĭheck your PayPal balance, rather than just believing the email – and don’t click links in the email either, but go to PayPal separately. Selling an item, you receive the customary email notification from PayPal that your buyer has paid, and duly mail them the goods. Fortunately, victims of this kind of fraud have usually got a refund from eBay. Moreover, check out the seller – if their other listings and history are pretty blank, they may have signed up recently just to pull this stunt. Read the listing fully, and be suspicious of anything that sees you winning a brand new piece of technology for less than you expected – a common trait of both examples above. Sellers list a high-demand item like an Xbox One or a Macbook, and when the unsuspecting buyer wins the auction, the seller posts a printed photograph of the item: claiming that ‘technically’, that is what the listing was all along.

Possibly the most frustrating – and unbelievable – eBay scam out there, this has made headlines in the UK twice in the last year. eBay scam 1: Buying an expensive photograph

Here are some of the most common eBay scams and how they can be avoided. Here are some of the most common eBay scams and how they can be avoided.īuying and selling on eBay can be great, but it can also be fraught with risk. Buying and selling on eBay can be great, but it can also be fraught with risk.

Ebay gift card transaction history