[Trombone-l] New eBay Scam

[Chris Waage]

I have stumbled onto a new scam on eBay, and fortunately have been able to
work with eBay's staff to help shut down a few of the auctions.

The auction listing has several easy-to-spot "red flags":

1.  The first part of the auction states:
EMAIL ME AT
<insert e-mail address>
BEFORE YOU BID
SO WE CAN DISCUSS THE TERMS OF THE SALE
OR I WILL CANCEL THE BID !!!

2.  The body of the auction also contains a very attractive "Buy it Now"
price, but the auction does not offer the Buy it Now option.

The auction always contains very convincing text. For example, I have seen
one offering an Edwards B454 with a solid, accurate description.  There's
also one for a Shires medium-bore tenor which lists correct part numbers for
the item.  The scammers are copying auctions that have ended and using the
text and photos to run their scams.

What happens when you contact them?

The scammer then e-mails anyone who wants the item instructions on wiring
the money overseas using Western Union.

Once again, if the deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Chris 

-- 
Chris Waage, Bass Trombonist
chris.waage at gmail.com