Black M3 scam on the auction site.

T

the lobster

Guest
Well, I thought I hit the jackpot. I found a Black M3! It was worked on by leica in 1976 and had the papers to prove it. It was a one day auction. It is in Hong Kong. Starting bid $199 with no bids and 2 hours to go.

But wait a minute, there is another listing with the SAME DESCRIPTIN and PICTURES.

Man, there are so many things that should throw up a red flag here it's not even funny. I like the seller's feedback item. Nothing like buying a $0.35 dvd to build your trust in the community!

Yes, I reported it to Ebay and the more legitimate seller.

Bargain M3 (maybe because it's listed in "Books" category!):

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4598261343&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT&rd=1

Identical twin!:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7571889001&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT&rd=1
 
Yes, good catch, clearly a hijacked account. Seller is in Lincolnshire - Hong Kong, that is. Right. One-day auction, no reserve - dead giveaway. This is the first one I've seen that would take paypal, though. The purported seller is a victim - he or she clicked on one of those spam emails that say your account is suspended - and now their life is in for some serious changes, now that their identity has been stolen.

You can report these to eBoy.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
 
bmattock said:
Yes, good catch, clearly a hijacked account. Seller is in Lincolnshire - Hong Kong, that is. Right. One-day auction, no reserve - dead giveaway. This is the first one I've seen that would take paypal, though. The purported seller is a victim - he or she clicked on one of those spam emails that say your account is suspended - and now their life is in for some serious changes, now that their identity has been stolen.

You can report these to eBoy.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
Click to expand...


Bill, I think the scammer just stole the photos and description and created a new listing under his own account.

If you look at the bottom of the fraudulent listing, paypal isn't mentioned in the payment section. It is part of the cut and paste from the stolen, unedited description.
 
the lobster said:
Bill, I think the scammer just stole the photos and description and created a new listing under his own account.

If you look at the bottom of the fraudulent listing, paypal isn't mentioned in the payment section. It is part of the cut and paste from the stolen, unedited description.
Click to expand...

Yep, you're right again. Still could be a hijacked account, seller appears to be in the UK from previous sales, but now is in Hong Kong. That's a typical thing.

The signs:

1) One-Day Auction.
2) No Reserve.
3) Mis-categorized.
4) Fake 'hit counter' stuck at 1.
5) Seller usually has 100% feedback but low numbers and has never sold before, only bought.
6) Seller is usually from UK or Germany, but now oddly resides in HK or China.

This is what happens when phishing attacks succeed. The sellers are hoping that the greedy and short-sighted among us will suspend our judgement as well as our disbelieve and think a) the price is low because it is in the wrong category and b) I'm the first guy who found this - look at the low hit counter number. So they slam a bid in and whammo, they're done. Like a good carny game, it appeals to the inherent greed in all humans, but which only overrides common sense in a few.

Sad to see, it really is.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
 
I wish I had seen this. The item location is omly about 30 miles up the road and I could have asked to collect if I won. If they refused that, I wouldn't pay but just on the off chance it was genuine, I could have got a real bargain. A no lose situation.

Kim
 
Doug said:
Somebody from South Korea bit the bait...
Click to expand...

I have had contact with the other seller (in the UK) who has the lgit auction going. He contacted the buyer of the scam M3 he said.
 
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