Written By Tiptonium

I've been an active eBay member for many years. I've been involved in hundreds of eBay transactions. Both selling and buying. I've always been careful, especially when dealing with sellers of goods. Before bidding, I always check their feedback history, time on eBay, etc. I tend to use methods of payment that protect both the seller and buyer.

I won an auction for a nice digital camera. The cost, around $425. It was said to be in new condition. It included "stock" photos. I hate those things by the way... The seller had great feedback. Over time, the seller was selling certain types of electronics. One week, they'd sell DVD players. Then a few weeks later, only mini DV recorders, etc. This week, the seller was offering various mid to high end digital cameras in the 5 to 8 mega pixel range. Like before, these were "new condition." I contacted the seller through eBay's messaging system and all seemed to be on the up and up. Recent and past feedback was excellent.

Well, I won the auction, contacted the seller, and agreed to send a USPS Money Order. I sent the payment the next morning. About an hour after mailing the payment I received an alert email message from eBay's Lost Prevention Department that the seller has been involved in suspicious activities and that the account had been closed. Apparently, the account had been hijacked by the scammer. The scammer took an account in good standing and made it their own somehow... probably by getting the user's password somehow. The scammer then changed the address information and email. Then the scammer sold a few more items to keep the good feedback going and then.... wham, go for the big score. Scam 50+ people out of their hard earned dollars in less than a weeks time.

As you would imagine, this sort of ruined my day. I called the local police but they just told me to contact the FBI. One officer did indicate that he'd had another complaint about the same address regarding an eBay purchase... I contacted the destination city's Post Office. After 30 minutes of confusion, I finally made contact with someone that I could work with. The individual told me to contact the Postal Inspector. I indicated that I had but kept getting lost in the automated phone system. The ending conversion always took me back to the main menu. Ahhhhh!!!! The post office employee then gave me the direct line to an actual Postal Inspector. I called the number...

On the second ring, the inspector answered the phone. He then listened to me as I explained the situation going on with my eBay transaction. He indicated that he'd been scammed a while back and would most definitely help me get my money back. He indicated that the destination address is a rough area, one you'd not want to spend any time in. He contacted the local inspectors office about the situation. Fortunately, I had used Delivery Confirmation when mailing the Priority Mail Envelope so the Postal Inspector had a way of intercepting the package. I was told to hold tight and that I would be contacted within the next day or so.

The next day I received a call. The package was intercepted and they will attempt "delivery" on the next day. Then, the following day I received another call. "We've caught the individual. This is going to get messy. The individuals are not from this country. They do not have the merchandise that they are selling on eBay. Fill out form 1509 and we'll get your package back to you. Thank you for helping us." Thank you!

I'd like to take a moment to give my thanks to the United States Postal Service, and specifically to the United States Postal Service (USPS) Inspectors out there. Thanks for recovering my money, getting it back to me and for busting up an eBay Scam ring.