eBay Phishers, ever caught one out?...I just did...
There I was surfing the net and looking for cars, deciding I would like to buy a new one in the near future was easy, deciding what to buy was harder, so I took a look on eBay and saw a Mini, ok I had not considered one, but at this price, and fully loaded, it was just too good to miss out on, so I asked the seller a question....
"Hi there, I am interested in this mini, please can you advise what sort of price you are wanting for the car? I see you quote £6000 but want clarification on the actual price you are looking for.
Many thanks."
Within 3 minutes I had the following reply....
"Hello,
Thank you for your interest. First of all you should know that the car is in excellent condition, mechanically and aesthetically intact, no damages, no hidden defects,.
Although my eBay account was initiated in U.K., I'm located in Germany for the moment and I'm willing to ship the car from here through Lufthansa Air Cargo and cover the shipping and insurance fees to your location. The total price is £6000 (shipping included) and I want 50% downpayment so I can start the shipping. The price is low because I need some money to rearrange a store here in Germany, and I thought selling this car on ebay would be a good idea.
I would like our deal to be supervised by eBay and Square Trade. I prefer to receive the payment by wire transfer and this way I can arrange the shipping the same day that I validate the transfer. In case we have a deal I will notify eBay transactions department so they can inform you about my reliability and how we can proceed with this transaction in a 100% safe way.
If you are further interested in purchasing the car (it has a clear title) and to start an eBay secure transaction, in which you will be 100% protected, please let me know as soon as possible:
- your full name
- your address
- your eBay user id
I'm waiting your reply in order to go on with this deal.
Thanks"
Cue alarm bells louder than the local fire station. Most people would have reported it to eBay, but I decided to have a play.... he got this reply..
"Can you please advise me which escrow service you are planning to use?
Obviously you say it will be supervised this way, but I presume the
wire transfer will be done through escrow for my own security."
Within 3 minutes....the following came back...
"I'm sorry but I will not use escrow or other method..
As I told you our deal will be protected by eBay's Square Trade.
Let me know if you agree."
Then I decided to finally get him at his own game....
"I would, but I work in internet security, and as far as I am aware
there isn't a Turk Telecom in Germany, but I would advise you to
cancel the auction and take your phishing elsewhere, otherwise this
will be reported to eBay, I have all the details I need and will
report you unless the auction is removed within 15 minutes.
Is this your ISP per chance?
address: Turk Telekom
address: Bilisim Aglari Dairesi
address: Aydinlikevler
address: 06103 ANKARA
phone: +90 312 313 1950
fax-no: +90 312 313 1949
e-mail: abuse@ttnet.net.tr
Your choice."
The reply? Comical to say the least....
"I'm sorry but I have other ip at my computer because my son change the proxy to make jokes with his friends."
So let me get this stright, you know your IP has been changed and yet you still use it, yeah, cos thats intelligent...
Basically, within 5 minutes the listing disappeared and the account the person was using went no longer registered, I suspect this was reported to eBay before I did, but all the same I had my little part of evening entertainment and satisfaction....
Ahhh well, better get back to the car hunting...
Matt.
