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Today, like the idiot that I am, I 'bought' an 80GB iPod from eBay only to find my money has been dudded. This is a warning to others on this site who use eBay regularly. I've been using it for years and I fell for this scam hook, line and sinker...

To cut a long story short, there are brand new iPods being offered for $180 plus $40 postage (Buy it Now) - RRP is $499. I was very skeptical of this but checked out the buyer (from Victoria) and their feedback (all positive - she even has an eBay store).

So even though the price was ridiculously good, I thought it was kosher. I bidded and paid via PayPal.

Later tonight I get an email from eBay telling me it was a fraudulent listing in that a reputable seller's identity has been 'hijacked' by another user. Sure enough, when I checked my PayPal statement, there is a Mee Ling or someone from China who took my cash, not the chick from Melbourne I thought I was dealing with. End result is that the iPod probably never even existed and I've been scammed out of $220.

eBay have removed all record of my transaction and have told me to sort it out with PayPal. They 'politely' told me to review eBay's security hints and tips and that's about it. I find this incredulous - surely eBay are responsible for allowing such a security breach to happen in the first place! I've complained to PayPal and eBay but I don't hold out much hope.

The nail in eBay's coffin though is that 5 hours later, there are still multiple listings for $180 iPods up for Buy it Now auctions. Their security is next to useless. I'd never heard of eBay hijacking before today despite being a seasoned eBayer.

Please be warned. Anyone who has heard of similar experiences, do you have any advice?

Ill ask my wife tomorrow, she buys and sells like you wouldnt believe on eBay....but I reckon you do have some protection as you paid via PayPal...have you made any queries with them yet?

Dutchy wrote:Ill ask my wife tomorrow, she buys and sells like you wouldnt believe on eBay....but I reckon you do have some protection as you paid via PayPal...have you made any queries with them yet?

Yeah, I'm going through a dispute resolution process at the moment. They say they are contacting the (fraudulent) seller and if there is no reply in 10 days they will find in my favour, minus a $25USD service fee of course. So I'm not giving up hope - but I am p***ed of how Ebay seem to have passed the buck on this when their lack of security allowed the breach to happen.

Like your wife, I am very familiar with eBay and have never been scammed like this. In talking on the eBay forums, it sounds like this is an unusually clever scam in the way they are using PayPal.

Just FYI, here's a link to one of the suspected scams still listed: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/NEW-Apple-80-GB- ... dZViewItem

Check out the feedback and user - tell me what looks dodgy about it? The 'seller' probably doesn't even know their account has been hijacked by someone offshore.

It's very common for accounts to be hijacked and then false items advertised.
The most common of these is Ipods.

It was good to check the person's feedback though - but maybe check the items they actually sold to get the feedback.

Sorry to hear about the scam though

Dissident wrote:It's very common for accounts to be hijacked and then false items advertised.
The most common of these is Ipods.

It was good to check the person's feedback though - but maybe check the items they actually sold to get the feedback.

Sorry to hear about the scam though

I am a regular eBay user and have been for years and would class myself as reasonably scam-savvy, and yet I've never heard of eBay hijacking. If I'm so easily fooled there must be many more people out there getting dudded every day.

As for the feedback, have a look at the link I posted before. Go into the supposed seller's feedback. There is FAKE FEEDBACK from supposedly happy iPod purchasers who miraculously bought and received their iPods on the same day! Devious but very clever.

eBay have a lot to answer for when every indication is that this is a legitimate seller.

well we use ebay on a regular basis and we havent had any trouble with it so far - touch wood.

I certainly hope we dont encounter the scam that youhave.

good luck in sorting it out

Time to ring Today/Tonight and/or A Current Affair.

Well there is always that risk of these things happening, more of a risk when your getting a so called 'bargain'.

Mr66 wrote:Time to ring Today/Tonight and/or A Current Affair.

The thought has crossed my mind...

Brad wrote:Well there is always that risk of these things happening, more of a risk when your getting a so called 'bargain'.

I know it was a ridiculous offer and I got greedy. I accept that. But what I don't accept is that people are able to manipulate feedback and steal other seller's IDs and it's like eBay have washed their hands of it.

My opinion of EBAY is the same as Gambling....only spend what you can afford to lose

MW wrote:My opinion of EBAY is the same as Gambling....only spend what you can afford to lose

I've never thought of it that way, but good one MW.

Ive heard a few more stories in the last day of fake brand name clothing being sold to people.

i use ebay a lot myself, mainly buying, cant be bothered dealing with the selling side of things. and to be honest, i woulda fell for that too probably.


hope it all sorts out for you.

Brad wrote:

MW wrote:My opinion of EBAY is the same as Gambling....only spend what you can afford to lose

I've never thought of it that way, but good one MW.

Ive heard a few more stories in the last day of fake brand name clothing being sold to people.

not stories...truth!!!!

if it seems to be good to be true - it usually is!!

and always remember it's buyer beware - i have not and will not ever buy anything from ebay - as good as striking up a truthful meaningful relationship in any online chat room.. yea right, whatever!

Lunchcutter wrote:if it seems to be good to be true - it usually is!!

I told myself this before I bid...but I bid anyway

Lunchcutter wrote:and always remember it's buyer beware - i have not and will not ever buy anything from ebay - as good as striking up a truthful meaningful relationship in any online chat room.. yea right, whatever!

It is buyer beware but I've had over 100 totally satisfactory transactions before now. I'll just go in with eyes a little more open now.

zipzap wrote:

Lunchcutter wrote:if it seems to be good to be true - it usually is!!

I told myself this before I bid...but I bid anyway

Lunchcutter wrote:and always remember it's buyer beware - i have not and will not ever buy anything from ebay - as good as striking up a truthful meaningful relationship in any online chat room.. yea right, whatever!

It is buyer beware but I've had over 100 totally satisfactory transactions before now. I'll just go in with eyes a little more open now.

good for you zip zapper.... that old cliche once bitten, twice shy is certainly relevant here... sorry you got burnt.

Update: Paypal returned pretty much all my $ today and are chasing the rest (about $20) from the Chinese scammer. Nice result though I've certainly learnt a lesson or two.

Minor detail, PayPal is 100% owned by EBay.

Must admit Ive only bought 25 things on Ebay and sold one but have not had one bad experience, its all been fantastic.
But having said that, if there was something I wanted to buy that was $180 on Ebay or $200 at Harvey Norman I'd certainly head down to Harvey Norman.
Except for memory cards Ive only bought things I couldn't buy in Adelaide.