Next Highest Bidder Frauds

[Riley]

just a heads up to be aware of this type of ebay scam

you are bidding on an article of some worth
you either drop out or are outbid,
so either by choice or otherwise you dont win the auction

after the auction has ended, you get an ebay looking email suggesting...
the winner of this article dropped out
the article is now offered to the next highest bidder at the bid price

it looks for all the world like an ebay email with a buy it now button
ofcourse it only looks that way

always check exactly, the detail of the seller and the adresses you are negotiating with

Riley

 

[rover]

Yes, fraudulent Second Chance offers are a problem. I actually won a trombone on ebay a couple weeks ago, communicated with the legitimate seller through the ebay system and made payment. I then received three fraudulent Second Chance offers saying the high bidder was unable to complete the transaction. Well a few days later the horn arrived, but I was the winning bidder and I still was sent emails in an attempt to defraud me.

A couple suggestions,

Always communicate with your buyer/seller through the ebay mail system.
Always have the messages routed to your email box and Ebay message box.
Always check your Ebay message box before you respond to any email.
If you receive a message via email only, require the buyer/seller to resend via the Ebay message system.
Report all suspected fraudulent emails, forward them to spoof@ebay.com.