1. Expensive item, often computers, electronics, cameras – listed at auction at a significant discount off fair market value. Multiples may be offered in the fixed price format.
2. Western Union wire transfer is only acceptable payment method. WU wire transfer is untraceable and unrecoverable after the thief picks up the money. In an attempt to provide the illusion of safety, the prospective buyer is often told to send the money to a fake name or use a secret password, which the buyer will change only after receiving the item. (Also beware payment by e-gold).
3. Bidder is required to be pre-approved. When pre-approval is sought, seller offers instant sale (usually off-eBay) at significantly less than true value.
4. Bidder who was the underbidder on an expensive item receives emailed offer (customarily from a person in a country thousands of miles away) offering to sell an identical or similar item off-eBay for a huge discount.
5. Private auction. After bidding the bidder receives an emailed offer to sell “off eBay.”
6. Item listed on hijacked account. Some characteristics of a hijacked accounts:
--Seller with excellent feedback, which was acquired solely from buying or from selling items unrelated to the expensive item being offered.
--Long dormant account suddenly listing expensive items.
--US or UK registered seller whose payment terms are the usual PayPal, money orders, etc., but the auction page shows location city/country as other than in US or UK. The location city and country may be bizarre (e.g. Bucharest, USA or Madrid, UK).
-- Payment terms for an auction listed from a US location are the customary PayPal, Bidpay, money orders, and checks. When contacting the auction winner, the seller claims to be in a country thousands of miles away on a business trip, vacation, or other excuse, and WU wire transfer abruptly becomes the only acceptable method of payment. (Sure…most sellers take along a few Plasma TVs when traveling to Europe for a vacation, don’t they?)
7. Seller offers free shipping, from distant countries, often premium (very expensive) shipping such as FedEx overnight. One inept criminal offered to ship a horse trailer from Romania by overnight FedEx for $275.
8. No actual photo, or a generic photo or illustration of the item taken from a catalog or website. (Inconclusive in the absence of other red flags)
9. Three day auction, often ending on a weekend, (Inconclusive in the absence of other red flags)
10. Poor or unusual grammar / spelling indicative that English isn’t the user’s primary language. (Inconclusive in the absence of other red flags)
11. Seller recommends an escrow service other than those endorsed by eBay. Click the following link for an overview of escrow, including a list of the 5 escrow companies endorsed by eBay.
12. Buyer who is doubtful and undecided receives email (Typically containing poor or unusual grammar) appearing to originate from eBay, vouching for the seller and security of the transaction, and advising the buyer to complete the transaction. The email may assert that the seller has placed a multi-thousand dollar security deposit with eBay. Some further claim that the item will be shipped from the eBay warehouse in San Jose, CA. (eBay is only a venue; there is no “Safety Board” or “Trade Secure” division and eBay never provides email confirmation of the safety of a transaction. Being a venue, they neither have a warehouse nor ship merchandise).