I have lost my innocence, the world is a dark place, society is doomed :-(
I recently experienced a painful rip-off via an eBay related scheme. I hope by recounting it here that you all can learn from it and not experience the same thing I did.
The Bait:
I recently decided to buy a new camera body, and decided to look at Ebay. I've bought a few things on eBay before, but I am NOT an experienced user by any measure. I bid on an item, and did not win it, as it climbed out of reach of what I wanted to pay. A day or so later, I got an email from an Ebay member via the Ebay message system (thusly branded and formal looking). In this message was a well written offer to buy exactly what I was looking for at a good price (my initial bid ironically). SO not a great price, not a "too good to be true" price, but a good price. I was intrigued. I asked questions. Several emails back and forth and it was looking promising. I even got his Ebay ID looked up and there were several hundred good recommendations, and none bad. Cool!
The Hook:
The Seller was using an Ebay related service called "SquareTrade", that offers all sorts of money back, guarantees, customer satisfaction, etc... I spent 10 minutes or so digging into their website (www.squaretrade.com) and it all looked very legit.
So I agreed to the deal, and the Seller then "initiated a SquareTrade purchase order", and sure enough, I got a formal invoice with all the appropriate data on it, a transaction number, and numerous links to various guarantees and so forth.
The Catch:
SquareTrade's published policy is that they only use Western Union to transmit funds. I have never used WU, but I've been aware of them for decades, so no alarms at this point, right? So I go to the local WU desk (and there are thousands of them!), whip out my credit card and start the process...only to be immediate turned away because WU only accepts cash? Hmmmm.... Well, it is their policy and I've got the SquareTrade thing watching my back, right?
I email the Seller, explain the delay, and the next day hit the bank and back to the WU desk, cash in hand. A few minutes later, I walk away pockets considerably lighter, but with an innocent exuberance waiting for my new camera.
The Deathknell:
The next day I get another email from the Seller stating that he never got the money, that his local branch of WU said there was nothing there from him. I called WU, and they say, no, my Seller's ID was verified and he did in fact receive the funds. Delivered as promised. I email back the seller, and alarms are now going up all over the place. Things are now very suspicious.
That was 5 days ago. The Seller has disappeared. Many emails of where are, hey this is not cool, I'm going to report you, and so forth. So, off to the SquareTrade website to file a claim. Transaction number not recognized. Oh Crap! Well, I can still file a claim against his ID, and do so. Now I get a NEW page of fine print that says the seller has 14 days to respond, and if he does not, the case gets dropped. OH CRAP!
The Coup de Grace:
So I go to Ebay, ready to write the nastiest things about this chap, and guess what? It was NOT an Ebay transaction, so I CAN'T enter any negative comments. This guy gets off scott free with ALL my CASH. I can't even be protected by the normal $50 limit from my credit card company. It's the perfect crime.
I must admit, part of me recognizes the brilliance of the heist. I grudgingly give them some respect for this scheme, BUT I GOT ROBBED! Grrrrrrrrr that sucks.
Don't let this happen to you.
Nathan Woods
The guy with a much thinner wallet.
