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Scammers are targeting people who are selling electronics and other values on eBay by sending them fake PayPal emails, according to an alert from the Better Business Bureau.
Here’s how it works:
The seller gets an email from eBay stating that the posted item has sold. At the same time, the buyer also sends a message, claiming to have an emergency but still needing the item right now. For instance, the buyer may claim the gadget is for a son or daughter’s birthday gift or that he or she is in the military and about to ship out. So the buyer asks the seller to send the item to an address that may be in another country.
If the seller agrees to ship out the item as soon as they get confirmation that the item has been paid, they soon after receive an email that appears to be from PayPal and confirm the payment.
But the email is fake. It’s not actually from PayPal, and the money was never transferred.
The Better Business Bureau gives the following tips to people who are trying to sell items on eBay and want to avoid being scammed:
- Check the buyer’s profile and make sure it shows positive feedback, a history of eBay use and their location. Beware that scammers often hack into eBay accounts and use them to bid, so it may not be a legitimate buyer even if the account indicates so. (That’s why they may request that the item be sent to another address.)
- Make sure the payment confirmation email is really from PayPal (the sender address will have the @paypal.com ending) Hover over the links in the email with your cursor to make sure the linked websites are to the real PayPal website.
- Watch for bad grammar and misspellings. Official notifications from eBay and PayPal don’t have typos and awkward English. “Poor grammar is a sure sign the email is fraud,” the BBB says.
- Before you ship an item, log in to your PayPal account and make sure the payment has been transferred. Go directly to the PayPal account, not from any links in the buyer’s email.
- Report fraud to PayPal. You can forward the email to spoof@paypal.com.
The PayPal website has more information on how to spot fraudulent emails.
For more consumer tips, follow the Public Investigator on Twitter @GitteLaasbyMJS or like her Facebook page.
-
John Casper – – Report Abuse
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‘,__comment.userString,’ – – Report Abuse
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