What's The Scam?

[wireman]

I have seen a lot of these types of listings on ebay:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Land-Rov...743111?hash=item216beef4c7:g:9cwAAOSw8t1eW4zJ

I sense there is a scam involved, buyer has feed back for selling shoes, but now selling a lot of very good classic Land Rovers. I'm sure I've seen the same vehicles advertised by another seller, again with dubious or un related feedback. Adverts are always the same, poor description and a cavaet ''email this address or bids will be removed'' (not an ebay email either).
So what's the scam? Is there a vehicle at all? (I doubt it) How do they con people?

 

[kermit_rr]

Probably just a front for selling something else

 

[kermit_rr]

Likely the con is to eBay. I'd report it

 

[wireman]

They have at least 30 adverts for different Land Rovers/Range Rover, all at low 'come and look at me' starting prices. As I've seen this type of listing a lot, I was wondering what the scam is and how they do it.

 

[kermit_rr]

If i want to sell something to another eBay user, then i make up a listing and only accept a bid from a certain user, then i get to see that users details. Transaction complete. eBay is just the online mechanism. No scam just eBay abuse
Maybe the seller just likes land rovers

 

[Flossie]

I should imagine they want contact outside of eBay then payment outside of eBay with the pressure of a good price and your money is gone, no car.
It almost happened to me quite a few years ago (2005 iirc), bid on an honda enduro motorcycle not a million miles away from where I worked at the time.
I didn't win which I was disappointed with at the time especially as I had seen the bike and it was perfect. Few days later I received an eBay email saying that the buyer hadn't turned up and I could have it at my bid but to make contact via the email address he provided and not through eBay so he could avoid eBay fees. He then wanted immediate payment via some link he also provided. This seemed a little silly to me as I had the cash and could come after work ,pay cash and take it away in my van. He started to get arsey and said he would sell it to someone else if I didn't pay via his link.
I can't remember exactly what happened next but I accidentally clicked on the original eBay advert and sent a message to the seller that I would pay via the link he sent me and what would be a good day to pick the bike up. I then received a message back straight away from a very angry seller demanding to know who I was and that I've been reported to eBay!
I was properly confused now!
Then got an email off eBay telling me the transaction was 'probably' fraudulent and not to send any money and that was that.
I was well green back then and would never fall for that sort of thing now.

 

[Flossie]

Item can't be displayed
On the link.

 

[wireman]

Item can't be displayed
On the link.

You're right, it's been deleted along with all the other listings from the same seller.

 

[rob1miles]

It was a scam. I for one reported it and e-bay took all the items down. It had all the tell tale signs. Most likety a legit e-bay account with genuine feedback had been hacked No way was someone with 90 feedback selling 2300 items. Any contact outside e-bay breaks e-bay rules so if tts requested always say no and report the seller. If you break the rules you loose the e-bay and paypal buyer protection which could mean a big loss.

 

[wireman]

Same vehicle back again, along with all the others, different user ID this time. I tried reporting it but it says the listing doesn't exist

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Land-Rov...632655?hash=item3fdd2cae8f:g:MucAAOSw-wVeXVRO

 

[Shimsteriom]

Same vehicle back again, along with all the others, different user ID this time. I tried reporting it but it says the listing doesn't exist

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Land-Rov...632655?hash=item3fdd2cae8f:g:MucAAOSw-wVeXVRO

Just tried to report it and it worked fine.

 

[rob1miles]

I think its being done using a bot to capture and upload multiple listings - it looks like several 1000 at a time. I'm sure the listings keep disapearing because e-bay are trying to shut them down. Its a race and the scammers don't need to catch many people to turn a decent profit. The scammers know their targets and unfortunatly a lot of people on a forum like this fit their target profile:
Older and less tech savvy
Have some money, often from a retirment lump sum
Like old vehicles and are prepared to pay 1000s
Loose rational judgment when faced with a collectable vehicle at a bargain price (Ok that's all of us, me included..)
Tend to trust large organisions (ie e-bay)
Sadly its the same group that are being scammed by the fake call centres and the bank push frauds.
The answer is what wireman did - post everything suspicsious and between our collective expreince we should spot a scam.
There was a guy (probably gang) advertising very nice clasic bikes on e-bay, but always in remote places and he was always abroad on business so the sale was to be escro, but its a fraud - the escro account is fake, the escro agent is fake and the cash and account disappear. I saw one and got suspicious so I asked to go and see the bike, the guy said "of course but its in xxx" (some tiny hamlet in Scotland), so I said "that's amazing, I come from there, describe the house", After a week of e-mails he gave up.
I'm currently haveing a run in with our local Police (Thames Valley) as scammers tried to get my 95 yr old mother to transfer funds, they made multiple calls, re-directed her calls and impersonated the Police. Well done to her she rang me on her mobile (11:30 at night) and I told her to hang up. She has high blood pressure and was leaft unable to sleep for days, this could have killed her. Can I get a response that is proportionate to the crime from the Police? Of course not, but I'm not letting them off the hook yet.